Among The Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon

ARC Disclosure: This book was received free of charge from Boomsbury Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

At a Glance: An Introduction to the Roots of Chaos

Among the Burning Flowers is the novella entry into the Roots of Chaos world, it gives some amazing easter eggs for those who have read Priory of the Orange Tree previously, but also serves as a decent entry point into the world Shannon has created, it has a compelling story told in the shorter format and I think could introduce those to the world who are intimidated by Priory of the Orange Tree and it’s length.

The novellas central focus is the lands of Yscalin and Mentendon during the time right before and after the wyrm Fýredel awakens and Yscalin becomes a land that worships the Nameless One as Draconic Cultist. It’s told through 3 distinct POVs, with the Donmata Marosa being the only consistent one in both halves of the story.

For those familiar with the world, we also get a POV from Estina Melaugo and in the before section and Aubrecht Lievelyn in the after section, though Aubrecht is referenced throughout the before section in Marosa’s POV.

Smaller Scale: Shrinking the World to Two Lands

Among the Burning Flowers only takes place in two of the territories in the larger known world from the Roots of Choas, allowing new fantasy readers to get an intro to the world building without having to track 6 distinct lands. A lot of the lands are mentioned but not expanded upon all that much as due to the nature of the novella format.

We do get some brief insights into the dual dragon mythology that the Roots of Chaos is known for and a quick nod to the east and the land of Seiiki where the dragons are worshiped as gods, much to the disgust of the west where this story takes place.

The magic system isn’t the forefront of this story either, but we do get to see some of how Fýredel wields his wyrm powers to control humans and we see some of the hybrid wyrm based beast that are truly unique to Shannon’s world.

There is a lot of focus on the political systems in place, particularly Yscalin’s monarchy rule under King Sigoso and Mentendon with Aubrecht as the soon to be ruler. The religious system is also focused on but in less detail than other entries, but we do get the high level of Virtudom, a system that incorporates the Six Virtues of Knighthood—courtesy, justice, courage, genorosity, temperance, and fellowship—which all serve the purpose of the ultimate rule of Inys and Queen Sabran.

Character Heroism: Every Action has a Cost

The book has 3 main characters that serve, with a primary view in both the before and after, and two other main characters in each half.

Marosa Vetalda the Donmata of Yscalin is one of the best written and I’m glad we got to see her POV through both the before and after. She is essential a prisoner in her own home due to her father King Sigoso and his distrust of anyone and everyone and his consistent belief she is trying to take his thrown early. She is strong and determined but also knows how to play the game of court politics which comes to serve her even more so in the second half of the book under the rule of Fýredel. She is caring, never cold, and willing to sacrifice not just her life but her autonomy to keep her people safe. If you read The Priory of the Orange Tree then you will certainly have a much deeper appreciation for Marosa, but even without that prior read she is an amazing character in Among the Burning Flowers.

Aubrecht Lievelyn is the prince of Mentendon who should have been ruler of the region but due to his young age at the time is held back as his uncle takes the throne. He refuses to vacate that throne as Aubrecht is now of an age and mindset to take over which adds political tension to the story. Betrothed to Marosa in the before section, we get to see their long distance relationship for each other grow, but due to the circumstance of the after, he has to make a difficult decision. Readers of The Priory of the Orange Tree will get a much deeper understanding of his circumstances and decisions in this book, but even without the prior read I think most will still have an understanding of the difficult choices he makes.

Estina Melaugo is a culler—hunter of the sleepers, draconic beasts from the grief of ages—who is wanted and on the run while trying to cull to survive. She is our “commoner” perspective in this story and gives us a glimpse into how the world at large is effected by the dragon uprising since unlike the nobles of Yscalin, they have no use to the wyrms at first. She has the most on page relationship with Liyat and they have a deep emotional connection and provide a great romance subplot. Sadly we only get to see Melaugo in the first half of the book, and personally her story ending just felt a bit abrupt. We do see Estina Melaugo a few times in The Priory of the Orange Tree and every time she is on the page, she’s a fun read, but sadly for new readers, I think she isn’t done the justice she deserves.

Fýredel the Great Western Wyrm is an interesting character, who we only see once in the dragon flesh, but get glimpses of him through King Sigoso. Fýredel is a great antagonist, he is the overall looming threat even though the interactions are brief, you can feel how he is truly evil, terrifying, and not a force that will be easily defeated.

Slower Start: Pacing Struggles in Short Form

Among the Burning Flowers feels a bit slow to start, there is a lot of background info and world building that needs to be conveyed for an epic fantasy world like this one, and the struggle here is Shannon needed to find a way to balance that without it feeling like an info dump while simultaneously not rehashing what veteran Roots of Chaos readers already know. This all had to be done while keeping within the novella format and the limited pages, I think Shannon did a good job, but the beginning (before section) felt a bit slow for the first 50 or so pages.

The story does pick up, and does a great job at building tension, giving some shocking plot twists even for people familiar with the story, and really shines during the character work and relationship building. Even without previous investment in these characters, you feel for them, and I quickly became attached to Melaugo and Marosa, which is what made Melaugo’s ending in this book feel a bit rough.

I did love the structure of before and after, getting to see the consequences of the fall of Yscalin from the inside and the after effects on these two close regions was a really interesting setting and I think that combined with Shannon’s incredibly easy to read prose made for a perfect marriage in the novella format.

I think for new readers interested in the world but not wanting to commit to 800 pages, this will work to serve it’s purpose and be an entry point to give you just enough to want to continue on and read the other books in the series.

Between the Sheets: Focus on Emotional Connections

Among the Burning Flowers has some incredible relationship building, but we don’t get any spice in this one, which I found fitting, which earns this a 🌶️ (1.0) on our spice scale. I felt for these characters and their relationships, especially for Melaugo when she was confessing her struggles with expressing her feelings to Liyat and trying to get her to understand her guarded position.

While they aren’t ever in the same place during the book, the relationship that is blooming from betrothal between Marosa and Aubrecht has that perfect yearning anyone who enjoys a romantic subplot will appreciate. The thoughts from both their POVs about the life they want to build together and the theoretical children they would have really gets you right in the feels.

Bro Reading Comfort: Fantasy Forward

This novella doesn’t feature any spicy scenes and strictly focuses on the emotional connections and fantasy of the world Shannon has created, earning this one a 😳 (1.0) on the comfort scale. The cover art, like all of the Roots of Chaos books is absolutely stunning, and Among the Bruning Flowers might actually be my favorite cover of the three books in this world.

There are darker moments and themes in this one, but nothing I would be weary about if I was sitting at the park with this book on display.

Darkness Factor: The Start of Despair

Among the Burning Flowers starts before the awakening of Fýredel but even during the before still has themes of emotional distress for both POVs, and in the after we truly get to see the plight, devestation, and emotional toll the draconic rise has on the characters and citizens earning this one a 💀💀 (2.5) on the darkness scale.

Shannon is a master at conveying emotional situations without ever telling the reader how to feel, and even in this short format manages to create character moments that pull at the heart strings and make you feel like you’ve known these characters for way more than a little over 200 pages.

Book Battlefield: Epic Fantasy Novella

I never thought I’d say something was an Epic Fantasy novella, but here we are and Shannon has done just that. The book might have a bit of a slow start, but overall I’m really impressed with Among the Burning Flowers.

This will also serve as a good entry point for those looking to get into both Epic Fantasy as a whole or just the Roots of Chaos. I think Shannon does a great job making this accessible for both fans of the series and those that will be new to the world. As someone who has read and enjoyed The Priory of the Orange Tree, I never felt bored, even when the content was a refresher or consisted of things I already new because the delivery was from a new perspective.

I think Shannon has already proven herself in the world of fantasy, but I’m always a big fan of when authors attempt to make fantasy more accessible to those who just have trouble committing to 500+ page stories or finding an entry point to try the genre.

Should You Bother?

For Priory of the Orange Tree Fans: I think Among the Burning Flowers gives some great additional context into characters and parts of the story that are really enjoyable. It’s fun extra lore, but certainly not a requirement.

For Fantasy Newbies: This novella does a great job at introducing all the things that make an epic fantasy great without the commitment of reading an 800 page book.

For Emotional Readers: Shannon does an incredible job at making you feel for the characters even when we get to spend such a little amount of time with them. I was fully invested in their relationships and struggles.

Final BroMantasy Verdict

Among the Burning Flowers accomplishes a lot with it’s shorter page count, really pushing back on the common “fantasy novellas don’t work” due to usually having to sacrifice in one area or another. Shannon manages to world build, deeply develop characters, have a cohesive plot, and a complete arc in this type of short format, my only small issue was the slow start because it’s so short, which earned this a 4/5.

As someone who really enjoyed The Priory of the Orange Tree but was never compelled to read the prequel A Day of Fallen Night just because I was a huge fan of the characters moreso than the world (but enjoyed that to be clear) Among the Burning Flowers being only set 2 years prior to Priory made this a very enjoyable read for me. It didn’t hurt that it’s just over 200 pages compared to the 880 pages of the prequel, but after finishing this novella I feel the urge to dive into her other book in this world.

I will be recommending this to any one who might have that fantasy bug but the commitment issues that will keep them from an 800 page book, the Roots of Chaos is such an interesting world, and Shannon’s way of having all these stories work as standalone but also tied together is really cool. I never felt guilty or like I was missing out not reading the prequel, and I love that they’re all in the same world, but there is no prerequisite to having to read multiple books for a complete story.

Be sure to pick this up when it comes out, the standard edition is stunning on the shelf, and the special editions are 👨🏻‍🍳💋.