The Priory of the Orange Tree

A queen without an heir, a spy with magic, and dragons stirring once more.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon is set in a world on the brink. Queen Sabran the Ninth is still unmarried and has no daughter, and without an heir the protection of her realm will fall away. Within her court works Ead Duryan, a lady-in-waiting and secretly a member of a hidden order of mages who protect the queen without her knowing. Far to the east, Tané has trained her whole life to become a dragonrider, until one choice puts everything at stake. While East and West refuse to speak to each other, something ancient and fire-breathing begins to stir.

This first book in The Roots of Chaos is epic fantasy on a grand scale: several continents, several narrators, dragons on both sides of the world and women who shape the course of history. For readers who love to sink into one big, rich world for weeks on end. English edition, a hefty hardback of more than eight hundred pages.