A thrilling, absorbing prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree, A Day of Fallen Night is about one of the darkest nights of the fictional world the books inhabit and about the protagonists at the four corners of the world who find themselves compelled to save it. Brutal and heartfelt, full of twisting politics, intense action sequences, and likeable and complicated characters, it doesn't quite reach the catharsis of Priory but is still a stunning piece of high fantasy literature.