![]() ![]() ![]() At least partly, I had read it on the promise (from a podcast) that it was complete in itself and not part of a series. And really, that’s how I’ve been talking about it. ![]() I just finished all 848 pages of The Priory of the Orange Tree and I kind of enjoyed it. That single bit of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the “watery bint” bit, is the best genre critique of monarchy and the whole basis of the world building that exists: played for laughs. Sure, sometimes the protagonist is an outsider (or several outsiders), making their way into the upper reaches of the hierarchy with imposter syndrome and trepidation, but we are rarely questioning the need for a King, Monty Python style. Those who challenge the hierarchy are often portrayed as evil, and the peasants, on the whole, are mere background characters, dragon victims, refugees, burned out of their houses and generally disregarded by the heroes-whoever they are. Of course, the joy of the genre is in taking us behind that curtain of formality and showing us the cold clockwork underneath. While the best of it might offer a critique of monarchy and feudalism, most of the core texts are set in worlds with Kings, Queens, knights, court intrigue, hapless soldiers and peasants, operating in a rigidly hierarchical society with stultifying formality. ![]() Fantasy is an inherently conservative genre. ![]()
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