Readers coming from Mark Lawrence’s The Broken Empire and The Red Queen’s War will find that his new novel Red Sister is a wholly different beast—and not just because we are now venturing into an entirely new universe, completely unrelated to those trilogies. There are other differences as well, like the fact the story is told in the third person, follows a protagonist who is a young girl, and—at least to my eye—does not feel as dark as Lawrence’s previous works.

The book introduces us to the icebound world of Abeth, populated by people who descend from four main “tribes”: the Gerant, distinguished by their great size and strength; the Hunska, dark-eyed and dark haired, capable of great speed; the Marjal, who possess the ability to tap into the lesser magics; and finally the Quantal, who are gifted with the ability to work greater magics and enter a state known as “walking the Path”. Children who manifest even a single talent characterized by any of these four tribes are highly sought after by various institutions from churches to academies, and those who display two or three can even be worth more than their weight in gold. Across the land, children are given away or sold if they show potential, which is how protagonist Nona Grey ends up traveling in a cage along with a dozen other boys and girls her age, being carted off to a prospective buyer.

But things don’t exactly work out for Nona. At the age of eight, she finds herself facing the hangman’s noose for committing savage attack on a member of a noble family. However, just before her execution can take place, she is rescued by the abbess of Sweet Mercy, who whisks Nona away to her convent where young girls are trained to be fighters. There, Nona flourishes as a novice and learns the ways of the sisters, becoming especially adept in the arts of combat because of her Hunska blood. She also makes a lot of friends, though she still guards her secrets closely, unable to fully come clean to anyone about why she was sold away from her village—and why her mother allowed that to happen. Eventually though, Nona learns the hard way that the past always has a way of catching up with her, and unfortunately, her old enemies have not forgotten what she did to them either.

At first glance, Red Sister may seem to lack the complexity of Lawrence’s previous novels. I might even have felt an inkling of “Young Adult vibes” coming off at some points, and not just because of the age of our protagonist. After all, many of the genre’s tropes also hold true in the first half of the book, not the least of them being the beloved “magic school” motif, following Nona as goes through the motions of attending her various classes, making new friends and enemies along the way. Dare I say, at times these themes are almost Harry Potter-like in their style and treatment, despite the school here being a convent, Nona and her friends are all training to be killers, and the teachers are nuns who have a disturbing tendency to poison their students for fun or punish misdemeanors with a good old head-shaving. There’s even the trope of the “hated professor”, inevitably the sister Nona manages to piss off on the very first day, who then winds up holding a grudge against our protagonist for the next two years. To my bewilderment, the familiar concepts didn’t stop there either. Throw in the idea of prophecies and the foretold coming of a literal “Chosen One”, and I was starting to wonder how this could be written by the same author who never ceased to surprise me with his inventiveness and imagination from his previous trilogies.

Which just goes to show, I really should have reserved my judgment for until I reached the second half of this book. Not that I didn’t enjoy myself in the first half, mind you, namely because I actually have fondness for training school stories no matter how common they have become. I also adored Nona’s camaraderie with her fellow novices, despite or perhaps because of the long time those friendships took to build. This book places a huge emphasis on the bonds of trust, and I appreciated how much attention was spent on relationship-building in the first two hundred pages or so. Still—and I think most readers who have read the book will agree—the real fun doesn’t begin in Red Sister until Grey Class, after Nona has spent two years at the Sweet Mercy convent, or roughly around the halfway mark. This is where all the game changers are. The big threat is introduced. Secrets are revealed. Nona and her friends take action.

Furthermore, even while the plot employs a number of coming-of-age tropes, the overall story is compelling and the characters are irresistible, making it very easy to be swept up in the action and excitement. Mark Lawrence is a great writer, which is no secret to me of course, his skills on full display here as he experiments with new spins on old ideas, perhaps trying to push the boundaries of his own comfort zone. And yet, in spite of how different Red Sister feels compared to his previous books, fortunately a number of strengths remain the same. For one thing, you can be sure this novel will include a meticulously constructed world full of various intrigues, as well as Lawrence’s in-depth characterizations. Compared to the first person narrative used to his previous trilogies, the third person mode in Red Sister may feel a little less nuanced, but the genuine emotions and personalities involved are still right there.

Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if this book ends up being polarizing among the author’s fans, simply because he has indeed shaken things up quite a bit. That said, on the flip of the coin this could also mean that readers who couldn’t get into either The Broken Empire or The Red Queen’s War trilogies might find themselves taking to this novel instead. So if you found those books to be too grim (or Jorg from The Prince of Thorns too unpleasant), it may be worth a shot to revisit Mark Lawrence again, since Red Sister is a whole new ballgame. As someone who has enjoyed all his previous novels, I must say reading this new series opener was a little jarring at first, but by the end I was enjoying myself immensely and now I am looking forward to the next installment.

Red Sister is a rare example of a novel where not much happens but it doesn’t matter because the characters are so strong.
The first book in a new trilogy, it is a solid coming-of- age story set in a world where magic exists and girls who possess it are sought to become trained killers in the name of religion.
Much of the action centres on protagonist Nona’s childhood and her time at the Sisters of Mercy convent, an ancient and spiritual training ground for the next generation of warriors. Lawrence smartly interweaves the story with snippets of Nona’s future, hinting that the final two books will explore a larger, darker story, but for the most part book one is a tale about a young girl finding herself and discovering her powers.
Reading 400-odd pages of her schooling should not be so entertaining, but it is because of the wonderful richness to Nona’s character. Lawrence is a master world builder with a knack of creating engaging, three-dimensional characters.
As a standalone novel Red Sister is very good. But what it does is set the scene for what promises to be an epic middle and final act in this exciting new trilogy.

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence is the first book in his new Ancestor series. When I started this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect, since some of the new fantasy books that I have read have been ok. I am happy to say, I loved Red Sister. Wow, what a fantastic story line, equally fantastic characters and wonderful world building.
In Red Sister, Nona Reeve is our young heroine, but there are a number of young girls that play major parts in this story. The story starts with 8 year old Nona facing execution in the gallows, only to have a nun save her. The Abbess Glass, who runs the Sweet Mercy Convent, manages to whisk Nona away and brings her to her convent, which is filled with young girls, who are novices in training. Nona, who is a peasant, is at first uncomfortable surrounded by those who come from families, who can afford the Convent fees. Why is Nona brought there, as she has no family and is still being sought out for murder?

The Nuns in the convent all have strange and magical abilities, and in each class the girls are trained how to use those abilities, such as weapons (knives, throwing stars), shadows, paths, poisons, spirituality, etc. These trainings were unique, strange and very difficult; much time is spent on watching the girls learn from these nuns. But early on, Nona will find two friends to trust, and eventually others will accept her, and they will form a wonderful group of friends. I loved Nona, Ara, Clera and Hessa. But the cloud over Nona’s head remains, as those who are determined to get Nona back to pay for her crime,(which was truly done in self defense), will stop at nothing to get her. The Abbess will once again save her, at a horrible cost, but Nona, will have to find a way to use her untrained ability to win the battle. We know that though she is saved, those villains will continue to haunt her for the rest of this story.

What follows is an intense, harrowing and exciting tale of a young girl, her friends and their growth to be more than they were destined to be; in a place where they are trained to become self sufficient, and learn to be deadly killers, if need be. Nona will become a kick-ass heroine, who will need to use her anger to utilize some of her special Hunska blood that will help magically enhance her abilities. Nona not only is tough, but her loyalty to her friends makes her special. Some of the other girls will also learn from their training from their at times dark atmosphere, strange and tough teachers to be equally powerful.

The last half of the book upped the ante that left you holding your breath as Nona, and the girls faced danger & death defying situations. They will also learn more about Nona, and her abilities as they struggle to survive. What a fantastic climax to a wonderful story. There was an epilogue that has us waiting with bated breath for the next book in this series. If you enjoy fantasy, in this unigue intriguing world, with a fabulous heroine and other wonderful characters, you must read Red Sister.

If you read any of my other reviews, you might notice a trend... I have so many books on my TBR list, and there may be a good bit of time between when I request a book and when I actually get to read it. So, I have a tendency to request books after reading their description or reading good reviews, then not exactly remembering what they're about or why I requested them when it comes time to read them.

This was was the case with Red Sister. I didn't remember what it was about, and the short description I read on NetGalley before downloading it only talked about the author's previous best-selling series and how this is the start to his new series. So, that's all I had to go on when I started reading the first line:

"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 and Lano Tacsis brought 200 men."

I've found that going into books you know you requested but don't know what they are about can be pretty exciting. It's not like just picking up any book at random and starting to read. That could spell disaster. Imagine instead, going through a bunch of books and reading descriptions and reviews, picking out 20 or so that you think you will like, then forgetting about them for six months. Then, randomly picking up one of those books and start reading, without looking at anything else about it.

I doubt the description said anything about armies killing nuns, but starting out a book with that first sentence, gave me an awesome first impression, and the rest of the book followed suit.

I absolutely loved everything about this book! The main character is strong and independent, and the author never takes away from that at all by adding a cliche love interest. The story doesn't call for it, and trying to add it in there would have ruined the story IMHO. The heroine is perfectly capable of rescuing her self, and she does (sometimes with a little help from her friends)!

After reading this book, I did a little more research and found out that it isn't going to be released until April, meaning that I could be waiting a long time for a sequel. :( While I might not be waiting patiently, I will be waiting anxiously awaiting more about Nona the nun!

I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

"That's my secret and my shame. I'm Nona Grey, war is in my veins, and the screams of my enemies are music to me."

* * * * *
5 / 5

Absolutely incredible. Red Sister is the amazing, heartwrenching, slow-paced, bloody story of ten year old (then twelve, then older) Nona Grey, first sold to a child-seller, then to a a gang of ring-fighters, then inducted into the Sweet Mercy convent of assassin-nuns to save her from the hangman's noose. It started with a bang and ended with my heart in pieces and my eyes yearning for more. Seriously, it starts with:

"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."

And Red Sister only got better from there on out. Exponentially better.

Nona Grey is our wonderful protagonist. She's inquisitive, bold, and as afraid as any ten year old has the right to be. I don't much like books with younger protagonists, but Lawrence wrote Nona so beautifully that have no complaints about her character - most of the time I forgot how old she was. She and her companions are children but they are not childish. I certainly never found her annoying. We meet her at the hangman's noose, having killed a prized and noble ring-fighter who threatened her friend. She is whisked away from death by Abbess Glass of the Sweet Mercy Convent as Nona dully reflects on how she came to be here, trafficked in the cart of a child-seller, having been given up and rejected by her mother and her village. Nona is a strong-blooded Hunska, her speed making her a valuable recruit for a killer nun, and so she enters training.

"Keep that fire. Use it. We're wild things us men, and when we remember it we're at our most dangerous"

Nona's tough as nails, pisses off half the nuns and is beloved by the others. She makes friends rarely but when she does she'll defend them unto her dying breath. She's also powerful but not overpowered, a very fine line to walk that Lawrence has managed to tread exceedingly well. There's a prophecy about a Chosen One, but it isn't Nona. She's fiery, damaged, haunted by her past, and confused as she grows into her new powers. At the convent Nona first befriends money-driven, power-seeking Clera, whose father has been jailed. Then there's golden-haired, beautiful, Chosen One Arabella, whose relationship with Nona is developed lovingly from antagonistic to friendship:

"Ara's crimes appeared to be confined to being beautiful, being born rich, and being the Chosen One. Everything else, Nona realised, was something given to her by Clera, or something assumed."

Lawerence's choice here is not only a heartwarming moral message but much more interesting than the "mean-girl Chosen One" trope, and I grew to love Ara fiercely. Nona's entrance into the Convent is not without it's troubles: The Tacsis' want their revenge for their son, the Emperor's sister wants her hands on the Chosen One and thus the power of the prophecy, and killer ice-tribe child Zole comes loaded with secrets and antagonism. Lawrence crafts a plot heavy with deceit, politics, betrayals, friendship, and gory, bloody scenes of violence. There's also a plethora of fascinating and highly developed female characters (and a couple of relationships between them hinted at) against the backdrop of an interesting world.

"We may fight here in this hall and think that because are battles are unconstrained by rules that we truly understand what it is to make war. Do not be deceived. Fights end with defeat. And death is the only defeat a warrior understands."

I did think Red Sister might end up being unnecessarily gory. I read another of Lawrence's books a number of years ago (long enough to dull my memory of it properly), the Prince of Thorns, and I vaguely recalled it being rather bloody. He's also renowned for some scene involving a dog, I think. Whilst Nona's world is harsh and cold and the convent tough, it is never anything out of line. Yes, there's gore, and it is rather unpleasant to think of a twelve year old killing people, and the convent can be unpleasant in it's punishments, but there is nothing you would not expect from the synopsis of the book. Off the top of my head, only two scenes struck me as horrifying - one involving animal cruelty and another where Nona is whipped under the command of royalty.

The world, though not actually much explored in the book beyond the convent and the nearby city of Verity, is intriguing. The planet is named Abeth and it is almost entirely covered in uninhabitable ice, with the exception of a fifty mile inhabitable strip running around the equator: the Corridor. Lawrence gives the impression that the planet is rather large, as the Corridor is made up of hundreds of different nations. We have a bit of exposure to the ice tribes through Zole and Nona's memories of her father; tribes range the ice, hunting, scavenging and catching fish, and live in the tunnels beneath the ice, abandoned by people long past. Vast, cold, ice winds blow off landscape into the Corridor such that it seems like the world is in perpetual winter. It is a shame that we don't get to see much more of the universe, but this is more than made up for by the wonder that is the magical system.

"Among the stars the quantal built their lives around the Path, generation upon generation, until it lived in their veins."

The people that currently inhabit Abeth can be traced back to four tribes: Gerant, with great size, Hunska, fast and nimble, Marjal, able to tap into lesser magics, and Quantal, able to walk the Path. Some people have a touch of tribe blood, others present more strongly: half or full bloods. The Convent has little interest in Marjals who can create fire, warp shadows, and bend the earth. These are the domain of the Academy, though a couple of the characters have a touch of Marjal. Nona is a full Hunska and this gives her a fascinating ability: she can slow down time on command, giving her the ability to consider her options more fully. This isn't exactly a rare ability at Sweet Mercy, which makes it extra interesting to see fights played out between two Hunska, or to have Lawrence consider Hunska against Gerant. How far can speed go towards winning a fight?

But Quantal is the rarest and most curious of them all. Lawrence devotes a fair amount of time to exploring the Path, that which runs between life and death, the holiest of journeys. Step and walk upon the path and you are granted destructive powers of the divine in a very literal way. Two characters, Hessa and Ara, can walk the path but this manifests in differing and intriguing ways. The Path is accessed by mastering serenity and patience, by changing your perspective, but it comes at a high cost.

"Here's a moment. All the world and more has rushed eternity's length to reach this beat of your heart, screaming down the years. And if you let it, the universe, without drawing breath, will press itself through this fractured second and race to the next, on into a new eternity."

The writing - I always start my reviews with a favourite quote at the top. Lawrence's writing is so beautiful that I had trouble restricting myself to only using a handful of quotes to pepper throughout this review, let alone chose a favourite one. I use the highlighter function liberally on my Kindle, but for Red Sister when I started marking every other page, I knew I had to chill out. Lawrence writes sparsely - there's no massive chunks of description. But what he does write is evocative, beautiful, and immersive. There's a seamless blending of present moments and past recollections, of third-person perspective but also allowing a glimpse of Nona's inner thoughts and motives. He's also mastered the art of sounding like you are imparting wise, insightful comments, and then ruining them with a hilarious remark:

"You will learn about pain, fear, rage, and control. You will learn how to balance the first three to achieve the fourth. And you will cary those lessons into Grey Class where I will put weapons in your hands and teach you what it is to be a Red Sister. In Grey Class I will teach you how to make the fuckers bleed"

This coming from a serious, wise, deadly nun, it made me laugh aloud. On that note, there is a reasonable amount of strong language used, but I never thought it was excessive or used purely for shock value.

One warning I have is that some may find the pacing a touch too slow. I thought it was perfectly done, but I have a weird and undying love for "training" scenes where we can watch our character slowly develop and evolve into the person they become at the end of the book. The first half of the book traces Nona's journey to the convent and through her entrance to the Red Class, the youngest of those at the Convent. I never thought this was dull - there's intrigue, politics, prophecies, relationships and characters to explore, as well as a bunch of flashbacks. What there isn't is a lot of blood, which some may find disappointing. The second half is where the action kicks it up a notch as Nona is twelve and a member of the Grey Class. There's a whole chunk more ring-fights, blades, more complex and interesting magic, and, yes, blood. Just something to be aware of.

My only real criticism of Red Sister is that at the start most of the characters seem to blur into one. There's a few standouts - Abbess Glass, Arabella, Hessa, and Clera - but then there's a mishmash of nuns - Sisters Wheel, Tallow, Rule, Chrysanthemum, Flint, Kettle, Pan, Rock - and students - Croy, Jula, Ketti, Leeni, Ruli, Suleri - who all start to blur into one. As it progressed, I definitely managed to keep a grasp on all of the different characters, but the nuns all having similar names threw me off a bit at the start. Other than that, I have no complaints other than the fact that I have to wait for the next one to come out!

I've written a pretty long review (by my standards), but that is nothing less than Red Sister deserves. It's clever and compelling, the premise itself is original, the writing outstanding, and the characters equal parts lovable and terrifying. Do yourself a favour and read it!

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book.

The author creates a unique world that is very detailed and quite captivating. I would not have believed a book written about nuns could be adventurous and exciting.

This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. Even though it was a new author for me I had no issues getting into the flow of the writing style and was immediately interested in this new world. There are quite a few interesting/intriguing characters and I enjoyed their progression throughout the book. The world building was done very well and the plot was great. The magic system was an interesting one, which I feel will further expand in the next books. I don't know that I fully understand it but I thought it was so well done. It is perhaps a little slow at times but it is all part of the set up and I personally never felt it dragged. I am excited to see where things will go from here and I will definitely be picking up the sequel.

So I read an ARC of Red Sister, by Mark Lawrence, back in December but I have been holding off talking about it because I wanted to review it closer to publication date, and because I needed to calm down a little so that this review wasn’t the word vomit equivalent of “go buy it now”. I like to think that Mark and I have a fairly interesting relationship in that I have moved from one of his loudest detractors to one of his larger fans. The Thorns trilogy was really not my thing, but I found The Red Queen’s War charming, fun, exciting, and very well written. When Mark announced that he had a new series coming out, in a completely new setting, I was excited. I looked forward to seeing if my enjoyment of Mark’s work would continue to grow, and maybe his new book would be his best yet. I was not ready for Red Sister.

Red Sister is of a fairly different style than Mark’s earlier books, but is still completely him. The book feels like the spiritual sibling to Name of the Wind and Blood Song, but might surpass them both for me. The book tells the story of Nona, an orphan of sorts who enters into the Sisterhood - an order of battle nuns that specialize in training girls to be Sisters. Sisters are trained to be warriors, scholars, tacticians, and magic users all in the service of a well rounded education in being awesome. The book's plot is character driven, revolving solely around Nona’s life and various challenges and events that confront her and how she handles them. Mark has always been an excellent character writer, and a focus on this as the driving force of the book was an excellent choice - as he has only gotten better. The cast is fantastic, and the book places a large emphasis on friendship and the development of relationships that really struck home for me. Red Sister takes place in a magic school of sorts, and the teachers are some of the best since Harry Potter. Their charismatic classes, weird personalities, and clear love of their students nailed my guilty pleasure of magical schools when it comes to fantasy.

The characters are phenomenal, but the world is no slouch either. In traditional Lawrence style, there are some interesting things going on in the world that I won’t spoil, but the magic system might be one of my favorite of all time. The world of Red Sister has four ‘schools of magic/powers,’ each based on bloodlines. People of the world are descended from four distinct groups, each with their own powerful traits. While most individuals have had so much mixing they do not have the powers of any, a small collection are still able to access the powers, abilities, and traits of their ancestors. Some of these people can even access to more than one. Gerants are gigantic, hunskas can move at extreme speeds, marjals have small unique magic powers that remind me of the x-men, and quantals can manipulate energy around them to powerful effects. Nona is a hunska - but we see action from all four and the interplay between these groups is some of the most exciting reading I have done in a long time.

Speaking of Nona and her hunska abilities, the combat in this book is astoundingly good. Red Sister would do Joe Abercrombie proud and has some of, if not the, best fighting I have ever read. As mentioned, hunskas can move at extreme speeds but they also can perceive time more slowly allowing them to assess their fighting as it happens. Nona’s ability to have an inner monologue of analysis while she is fighting for her life enhance the thrill and adrenaline of fights greatly. In one particular scene involving a test, I got so immersed in what was happening my significant other started shaking me because I had started screaming aloud without realizing it. The combat is that good.

Red Sister also feels like a kinder and more mature book than Mark’s earlier work. While it is not as grim or dark as his first two trilogies, it is certainly not a bastion of sunshine. In the past I have had minor difficulty following the plot of some of Mark’s books, but Red Sister strikes the perfect balance of keeping you in the know and letting mystery build. The book grounds you in the world, establishes the status quo quickly, but then centers you on Nona’s life as a focus. This allows for a great structure, but also leaves tons of room for Mark to improvise to keep things interesting (which he does in spades). In line with this, Red Sister tells a very full and satisfying story but it only feels like the tip of the iceberg. On finishing the last page I got the sense that he is just getting started and it is only going to get better from here.

I don’t actually have any criticisms for Red Sister. It is always possible for a book to be better, but I personally can’t think of a way I would improve Mark’s newest creation. It is definitely going to be a contender for my number one spot of 2017 and I suspect it is going to sweep the awards this year. 2017, the gauntlet has been thrown and the challenge has been sounded. Red Sister has set the bar high for fantasy this year and we shall have to see if anyone can meet it. The Quill to Live unequivocally recommends Red Sister by Mark Lawrence, go buy it now.

Rating: Red Sister - 10/10

Magic, murderous nuns, and mayhem in the ice-age kingdom! An excellent novel and great beginning to a new series.

Dark, powerful, and brilliant. Formidable storytelling from an absolute master.

I received an advanced copy of Red Sister from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to announce my gratitude to Mark Lawrence, Ace and Berkley Publishing Group for this opportunity.

Throughout this narrative, we flaunt within the mind of and follow the actions of Nona. Our protagonist is a young girl who we are introduced to initially whilst she is awaiting execution via the gallows for killing a renowned pit-fighter. Luckily for Nona, it just so happens that Abbess Glass, who manages the Sweet Mercy Convent has taken such an interest in her hardships that she offers her the option of joining the nunnery as a Novice, thus escaping the impending death sentence. A large contingent of the interested parties are not particularly happy with this outcome. Perhaps the reason being that Nona did murder the son of one of the wealthiest and proudest men in the world. The repercussions of this singular act ripple throughout the tale.

Nona, a fiery but slightly damaged peasant with talents she doesn't truly understand then finds herself in the establishment where the Sisters of Sweet Mercy frequent. It is here where they train future nuns within certain art forms and most importantly, where all revere the Ancestor. Did I mention that these novices are trained to become some of the deadliest killers in the land for their Holy purposes?

"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"

The nunnery is reminiscent of the magic schools such as those created within The Kingkiller Chronicles and A Wizard of Earthsea. Claustrophobic atmospheres, close friendships, harsh teachers, bizarre traditions, bullies and the ultimate shaping of the raw talents shown by Nona, and others; into what their potential will allow. Nona reminded me of Sonea from the Magician's Trilogy. They are similar with their poor upbringing, attending establishments of special education against the wishes of many influential individuals and also, whispers that they are some kind of "chosen one". This is a lot darker than Trudi Canavan's trilogy. The vein here is more sinister, despondent and Nona's past seems extremely more tortuous than Sonea's did.

A large percent of Red Sister is set within the convent. The trials and tribulations here, in some aspects, are similar to youth experienced by all young girls such as making friends, dealing with bullies and disliking teachers amongst other dramas. What isn't similar to our world is that the novices become trained in extreme fighting (using fists, knives and throwing stars), taught about poisons and other skills that readers would describe as magical. The convent also has what is known as the Blade Path, which is a timed assault course like activity which would put army endurance tests to shame. In addition to the antics at the convent, the nuns and novices travel elsewhere in this world should their studies find it befitting, such as training with other youths at The Academy. The escapades elsewhere mainly lead them to the capital city of Verity, however; I will not say much about the storyline when the sisters are "unleashed" from their habitual establishment. A highly intriguing aspect of this book was the ingeniously placed flashback sections regarding Nona's youth prior to being found guilty of murder. Examples include juggling lessons and her being abandoned by her family. Each flashback adds an extra layer to Nona's already intricate, complex and perhaps even notorious character.

In Lawrence's envisaged world, the moon is falling, there are two miles high fields of ice encompassing the majority of the globe leaving The Corridor where the action takes place and also, one of the finest "magic-systems" I have ever seen depicted in fantasy.

The "magic-system" is labyrinthine in its complexity. I used quotation marks with that phrase as to describe it as being as simplistic as that statement is underwhelming for what has been created. For precision, complexity and potential - the magics are potentially on par with the Warrens used in Malazan and Allomancy in Mistborn. At the moment, as stated, I would say they are on par, however; we have no idea of the full possibilities. We were given glimmers throughout of the extra powers certain characters witnessed without understanding and which they could learn when older to manipulate to their will. It is exciting. There is a good mix of John Woo: Stranglehold like slowdown of time, thought control, mind sharing, walking "The Path" to obtain phenomenal destructive power, Witcher-like tracking senses amongst other talents. The skills they have acquired depend on which of the four legendary Abeth tribes these novices descended from.

The fabrication of the abnormal powers seems confusing at first but I believe this is intentional. Nona is of course, in an educational environment and as she learns about the magic, possibilities, poisons and histories of the world, then we as readers learn it also. Our gaps in knowledge are filled as the tale progresses, with the necessary information as Nona learns herself; which equals heightened affinity to our protagonist because we are going through the same learning issues and symptoms.

This book has scenes of macabre and harrowing happenings but it will then switch back to a pleasant scene in the Convent's dormitory where Nona, as a 9-year-old is gossiping about the happenings in the nunnery and also chatting to her fellow novices about families and friends as young children would. These scenes brought me metaphorically back down to Earth where I had to put the book down for a second and re-analyse that these girls were that young going through what would make many grown men weak at the bladder. It is a great juxtaposition and unifies Nona's relationship with important characters such as Ara, Hessa, Zole and Clera.

The finale of this story was utterly breathtaking. Nona is one of my favourite characters in fiction. Lawrence has created one of the most engaging fantasy worlds that my mind has allowed me to visit. At the finale, the second book is set up exceptionally well. It hit me yesterday that because I have an advanced copy of this, that I have to wait even longer for the second book. That is quite upsetting. When it is released officially I will buy this as it deserves a prime of place on my literal favourite bookshelf in my library. This tale was so extraordinary in my mind that I am questioning my previous ratings of other similar stories in this genre. So, note to authors; if I take a star or two off your rating then it is Mark Lawrence's fault, not mine.

James x

It’s important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size.
That’s the first line of RED SISTER, which has taken its rightful place as my favorite Mark Lawrence novel.
To be honest, it isn’t even close. I liked Lawrence’s previous efforts, but RED SISTER stands out in a way that makes me hope this is the book that introduces every new reader to his works moving forward.
In the second half of RED SISTER, our protagonist Nona is warned that a book is a dangerous journey, and the person who closes a book may not be the same as the one who opened it. It’s an idea that I’ve seen before in other forms, but somehow that line stayed with me, even in a book that is just as quotable as Mark Lawrence’s previous efforts. Not because I changed from the first to last page of RED SISTER, but because this book seemed like a giant step forward for Lawrence, and I can’t help but feel that the author who penned RED SISTER is far more focused, engaging, and capable of reaching new, wider audiences than the man who told Jorg’s story in THE PRINCE OF THORNS.
Ever since THE PRINCE OF THORNS first hit bookshelves, Lawrence has drawn legions of fans with his violent antihero, Jorg, and followed that trilogy’s success with THE RED QUEEN’S WAR trilogy, featuring Jalan Kendeth, a simpering princeling whose laziness and lack of morals made for a very different sort of antihero.
In RED SISTER, Lawrence’s new protagonist is an altogether different character, and not merely because she is female. While she clearly has a dark past, Nona is an easily likeable character, one whom a wider audience can enjoy without feeling guilty. I love the sheer balls of writing a character like Jorg, but writing about a violent, murderous 13-year-old inherently limits the audience your books can attract. Nona, on the other hand, is vulnerable in a way Jorg never was, and her naivety and fierce loyalty to her friends are endearing, even as she develops the skills to kill her enemies in a hundred different ways.
Simply put, I enjoyed Nona’s company far more than that of Jorg or Jalan, even as I appreciated the humor of their warped worldviews.
RED SISTER is just as violent and caustic and humorous and twisted as its predecessors, but it also has more heart thanks to its protagonist. When readers first meet Nona, she is an accused murderer, set to hang in the gallows until a nun from the nearby convent rescues her. But this is no ordinary convent, as you or I would know it. Once at the convent, Nona is enrolled in courses – academics, blades, poisons, and studying the Path.
Alongside her classmates, Nona is taught countless ways to kill in service to the Ancestor, and soon learns that like many of her peers, she is one of those blessed with an exceptional ability – in her case, superhuman quickness. Using these abilities, the novices are transformed into weapons, and challenged in a variety of ways.
For Nona, those challenges include the hatred the royal Tacsis family still holds for her after she escaped murder charges for nearly killing one of their own, and the announcement by one of the nuns that Nona is fated to be The Shield, defending the life of Arabella Jotsis, a fellow novice destined to become The Chosen One. Whether Nona or Arabella actually are fated to be special or were merely named as such to serve the nun’s own ends are never entirely clear.
In many ways, RED SISTER reminds me of Jay Kristoff’s NEVERNIGHT, which probably was my favorite new book of 2016. Like RED SISTER, NEVERNIGHT features a collection of young novices being trained in the arts of assassination, but NEVERNIGHT is actually a darker and more disturbing book than RED SISTER. I certainly look forward to seeing where both authors take their series, and the ways in which their plots diverge in the forthcoming chapters.
If you liked NEVERNIGHT or RED SISTER but haven’t read the other, you’re in for a treat. Their protagonists and worlds are just different enough to make for distinct tales, but they share such similar themes, exceptional worldbuilding, and clever, intelligent writing that I have a hard time imagining someone liking one but not the other.
I may give RED SISTER the edge because I think I enjoy Nona as a protagonist more than Mia Corvere, but the ever-present threat of death for all the characters in NEVERNIGHT constantly had me on the edge of my seat.
Perhaps the advantage lies with Lawrence’s flash forward scenes, which provide us just enough clues to guess what life is like for Nona and her friends after they graduates from the nunnery. RED SISTER is a great beginning; judging by our glimpses into these characters’ future, it’s shaping up to be Lawrence’s masterwork.

I really enjoyed this book although I think the "warrior nun" concept is getting to much play in YA.

Disclaimers: A digital copy of this book was provided to us via NetGalley courtesy of the publisher (Ace, a division of the Berkley Publishing Group). This review may contain spoilers. You have been warned.

Why we chose it: We wanted viciousness.

Review: Can someone please tell us why we haven’t read a book by Mark Lawrence sooner because there is no logical answer that we can come up with. His writing is amazing! Red Sister was definitely a good book to start with because we got to meet Nona and the Sisters of Sweet Mercy. They’re nuns and they pray, but some of them might just slit your throat if they have to.

Being us, we found problems and we’ll start with how we weren’t entirely sure who the book was focusing on in the first few chapters. Was it Sister Thorn in the prologue or was it the girl mentioned in chapter one? We couldn’t tell and that confusion made keeping a decent grip on the story a little difficult for a while.

There are unexpected problems with having a wonderful prologue. A wonderful prologue lulls the reader into a feeling of literary ecstasy where they believe every single sentence will contain tension and magic and a heart thumping feeling that is just pure anticipation. When the story properly starts one can find themselves a bit disappointed. We know we did.

That disappointment can carry over to the world building too. In Epic Fantasy, there’s a lot to get right from the start. An author has to set up a cast of characters, develop their relationships and create a certain type of magic before even writing the first chapter. There was definitely a sense of avenues going unexplored for us, but then we realised something.

The way Mark chose to write this book, the way he chose to set up the timeline followed and everything else is quite similar to the direction Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them took. Both contain a satisfying story with a beginning, a middle and a worthwhile conclusion, but both need further instalments for the story to be truly complete.

Thanks heavens for us discovering there’s going to be two more books. Two more books that are already written!

We definitely enjoyed things from Nona’s world though. We liked how the planet she lives on, Abeth is a planet that is suffering from a dying Sun. Ice is taking over everything and the majority of the world’s population lives on a section of land called the Corridor. We thought that was interesting.

You know who we thought was really interesting? Nona Grey. A girl who’s got Hunska in her blood and demons in her heart. Nona hasn’t had a happy life or an easy life. Everything’s been hard, she’s had to fight to survive…she’s had to do more than fight and we love her. Vicious little people are always our favourite.

It’s important to note right now that Sister Kettle and Sister Apple are the best couple in existence and that leads us right back to the Convent of Sweet Mercy.

It’s a place for many girls to train in the way of the Ancestor, to worship the Ancestor because he is there god. From what we gathered as we read Red Sister, some girls are sent to the Convent to be educated, a bit like a private academy. Some are rescued by Abbess Glass and some end up in the Convent as a last resort.

We loved reading about the lessons and the different paths to the Ancestor that the girls may take if and when the graduate. Some girls become Red Sisters, others Grey. Some will become Sisters which are Holy and the remaining graduates become Mystic Sisters. That’s all we’re going to tell you about for now because there’s something else we must mention.

Time jumps exist in Red Sister and there are two types.

The first time jump is one of two years that happens quite early on in the novel so we don’t feel like it’s too much of a spoiler. Such a jump in time is common enough in books and while we were a little shocked and sad at all the possible information we missed out on.

The second is one where an unspecified amount of time is skipped and it ties into what we said earlier about the story needing more than one book be completed. It’s completely and utterly necessary to have sequels to Red Sister for some of the events to even make sense.

Whenever we come to the end of a review, we’re always left knowing that there’s so much story and character development left to cover. We want to tell you all more. Tell you everything that happened and our thoughts on it, but we can’t because books are a solitary adventure and maybe when you’ve all read Red Sister you’ll come back to us and we’ll have a chat.

So, in conclusion Red Sister by Mark Lawrence is a book we expected to like and ended up really, really liking even if it looks like we complained a lot here. It’s full of great characters and deceptive myths. There’s intrigue and bloodshed, but most importantly there’s sisterhood and friendship because sometimes the best books are built on the bonds of its cast.

Short summary: badass nuns.

Short reaction: wow!

Long version: Mark Lawrence opens the first book of a new series in a bleak, cold world that, under a dying sun, is livable only in a fifty mile wide swathe. The rest is howling wind and ice.

Life is just as bleak. Lawrence often jumps back and forth in time, and this book is no different: we begin with a frame, a sister alone, facing an army. Then we switch to two little girls, one summarily hanged, the other saved in the nick of time, and taken off to a nunnery to begin a new life. How she got there becomes an important thread through the entire story.

This first book follows Nona’s initial years among the girls; in this future world, with a ‘moon’ whose orbit is degrading above peoples who have evolved into several races with different magical traits, human nature is set in survival mode.

In this world, the difference between nuns (in various traditions, from Buddhism to Roman Catholicism, nuns lead a reclusive life dedicated to prayer and religious observation) and sisterhoods (sisters, which can be a term used by nuns, are dedicated to service in the community in some wise or other) has merged: these nuns are being trained to fight and kill.

I had to think for a couple of days about why I resist calling this book grimdark, though it is extremely violent. Many of the grimdark books I’ve tried and set aside feature not only a crapsack world I don’t want to live in through imagination, but characters I don’t care about, whose lives are meaningless and dark, scorning loyalty and justice, faith and mercy. Any fiction that makes me feel the same way I do after watching the news is not going to hold my interest long.

Lawrence managed to make me care deeply about Nona, Hessa (her disabled friend to whom she is psychically tied), Markus (seen briefly, but so memorable), the mercurial, Mercutio-like Clera, Ara the heroic, and so on. He imparts complexity and subtlety to the nuns in charge of the girls, and creates some villains you really, really want to see get what they deserve.

Lawrence writes with a masterful economy of style, conveying vivid, sometimes merciless imagery while never losing sight of empathy, even compassion, shafting insight deep within the human psyche in its struggle to survive, and not just to survive but to find purpose, dignity, meaning.

The magic system is fascinating, hinted at without ever overburdening the pacing, which speeds along at a relentless clip. The endgame was so tense that I’d meant to read just my usual chapter or two before turning out the light, but I ended up glued to my Ipad screen to the very end, though I knew the alarm would be going off a scant few hours later.

Altogether a bravura book on all levels—a smashing start to this new series.

I think Mark Lawrence does an excellent job of world-building in this book. He creates an interesting society while leaving many questions unanswered about it's past and it's possible future (more to find out in future books!). However, I feel like the characters could have been developed more. I didn't care enough about what happened to them.