Mass Market Paperback, 475 pages

English language

Published Feb. 26, 2018 by Ace.

ISBN:
978-1-101-98887-9
Copied ISBN!
Goodreads:
34020941

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (36 reviews)

The international bestselling author of the Broken Empire and the Red Queen's War trilogies begins a stunning epic fantasy series about a secretive order of holy warriors … At the Convent of Sweet Mercy, young girls are raised to be killers. In some few children the old bloods show, gifting rare talents that can be honed to deadly or mystic effect. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don't truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls. A bloodstained child of nine falsely accused of murder, guilty of worse, Nona is stolen from the shadow of the noose. It takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist, but under Abbess Glass's care there is much more to learn than the arts of death. Among her class Nona finds a new family—and new enemies. Despite the security …

10 editions

reviewed Red Sister by Mark Lawrence (Book of the Ancestor, #1)

Review of 'Red Sister' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

My son loved this book! I, on the other hand, really tried to quit reading, but Levi encouraged me to finish it. I'm glad I did, but seriously, the first two thirds are tedious and boring – to me anyway.
The whole first part is world building, but slow and subtle. Small things are dropped that are important to be picked up on, but, as I say, it's subtle.
The last "arc" (as Levi defines it) is stunning, and it really defines the whole book and the point of things.
I don't think I LIKE the world, and the convent is uncomfortable at best and far from what we in OUR world consider the reason for a convent or religion, and the world overall depends far too much on distrust and violence. Again, it requires way too much buildup – boring buildup in my mind – for a satisfying but …

reviewed Red Sister by Mark Lawrence (Book of the Ancestor, #1)

Review of 'Red sister' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

It's ok if you know not to expect anything from the plot. The world is intriguing, which is why I picked it up. The fights and reveals in the end were kind of fuzzy because I had caught a cold and was listening to it beyond where I was completely comprehending. But I liked how it turned out.

reviewed Red Sister by Mark Lawrence (Book of the Ancestor, #1)

Review of 'Red sister' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This series is tailor-made for an anime adaptation, with its eerie world, the powers of its characters and the wonderful fight sequences they get into, and its general vibe.

A fun, engrossing read. But I found the writing to be disjointed/confusing at times - only grew into it when I started reading it for long stretches.

reviewed Red Sister by Mark Lawrence (Book of the Ancestor, #1)

Review of 'Red sister' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

IT IS IMPORTANT, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size. For Sister Thorn of the Sweet Mercy Convent Lano Tacsis brought two hundred men.

This story is an ass-kicking story of ninja-nuns wrapped in a melange of opposites: politics & prophecy, magic & technology and most of all friendship & treachery.

There are some things that must be done quickly or not at all. If someone asks you if you love them you cannot hesitate. There are some paths that must be taken at speed.

I finished reading the book in record speed despite a slow start with a poetic prologue which made me read every word twice to understand it. But that's no reason to be put off. The prologue is not only beautiful but at once a foreshadowing of things to come, an epic frame to the story and it raises …

reviewed Red Sister by Mark Lawrence (Book of the Ancestor, #1)

Review of 'Red sister' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Could not put down.

I haven't read Red Queen's War yet, but this book feels very different from Broken Empire. The usual Mark Lawrence flair is there, and the violence, but the moral center is shifted back into the human spectrum. The world-building is sparse, but efficient, and the mix of science fiction and fantasy that ML has put into each of his worlds still feels fresh. It hints at more, but leaves plenty unresolved - yet it doesn't feel unsatisfactory.

Nona is a very fun protagonist as well. She feels very much like Arya, but the dream-Arya who returns to Westeros and murders her way across the kingdoms. The fight scenes are visceral.

Most importantly, the book is about magic warrior nuns.

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Subjects

  • Fantasy
  • Fiction