I enjoyed this book, as I've enjoyed all the other books by Mark Lawrence books I've read. His style remains consistent, and I love the way he writes. Thorn stood without motion, for only when you are truly still can you be the centre. She stood without sound, for only silent can you listen. She stood without fear, for only the fearless can understand their peril. This is a story about a chosen one, but it is done in such a perfect way that you are left constantly questioning what is true and what is false. This isn't your typical chosen one cliché in the slightest. The prophecy in this book is unlike any other you've read, and the battle for the truth is such a treat to read about. For a very long time I've been feeling a little left out. Everyone has something to say about Lawrence's books! He frequents a lot of the same subreddits as me as well so I see him around a lot on the interwebs. I can't escape the man, goddammit.

There is in every delicate thing, no matter how precious, nor how beautiful, a challenge. Break me . No one is truly all good; everyone comes with failures and faults. Good people can do terrible things just as easily as bad people can perform righteous miracles. Believing in someone else can be a great treasure or a horrible curse, but believing the bad or the good of yourself can be catastrophic. Mark's work is one of beauty and ingenuity. His great mastery with words alongside the excellent use of allegories and aphorisms result in a purposeful and interesting prose with no equal. A significant number of archetypes are reversed, twisted and contorted with the unique skills of a master craftsman, taken beyond functionality and turned into art. Worth mentioning is the exceptional handling of anaphoras in the two prologues and the epilogue. The Book of the Ancestor trilogy is a series of three fantasy novels by Mark Lawrence. It comprises Red Sister (2017), Grey Sister (2018), and Holy Sister (2019). The three novels tell the story of Nona Grey, a peasant girl with mystical abilities. Red Sister was nominated for the 2018 David Gemmell Awards for Fantasy. First off you must know there are a bunch of jerk holes in this book. Taking children from their homes to sell for different reasons. Mainly to fight for some other jerk in the rings. Children being killed for whatever stupid reason. And there was one part with a horse that pissed me right off and I wanted to kill everyone in the immediate area. But I digress.The touchstones of Nona Grey’s life had all been thrown into disarray when she was sold to a childtaker. Or perhaps, it was long before that, when she had been all of three or four years and held bloody hands to her mother and said, “ this was inside him.” Or maybe that came long after, when Nona brought down near-death and woe upon Raymel Tacsis for hurting her friend and did not count the cost.

The main story and themes were great but it was the characters that shone. Almost all the characters in the book were female; they were splendidly written. Nona as the main character was simply relatable and compelling to read. Although the narrative was told almost in entirety from her perspective, I found every single side character to have their own clear personality. Nona treats friendship preciously; it���s her life, her treasure and she’ll do anything for her friends. Reading about Nona’s new found friendship and family was endearing. Arabella, Abbess Glass, and the badass Sisters interaction with Nona provided a sense of addiction in the narrative. If I weren’t before, now I’m definitely intrigued to find out how the relationships between the characters will develop in the sequels. My only issue... The writing, while beautiful and immersive, sometimes veered into philosophical which left me confused and wondering what the hell was being talked about. Still, I loved it. The Book of the Ancestor is Lawrence's first series featuring a female protagonist. It is unconnected from his previous works. Lawrence believes that reading the Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton with his daughter inspired him to focus on an all-female school setting. He also credits various fantasy novels such as The Name of the Wind, A Wizard of Earthsea, and Ender's Game as inspirations for the novel. [2] Reception [ edit ] Started Grey Sister, and even though there was a nice recap to start off with, I just couldn't remember enough of the tiny details of the first book. So, grabbed the first one again and reread done and dusted now. Still awesome. Your death has not been waiting for your arrival at the appointed hour: it has, for all the years of your life, been racing towards you with the fierce velocity of time's arrow. It cannot be evaded, it cannot be bargained with, deflected or placated. All that is given to you is the choice: meet it with open eyes and peace in your heart, go gentle to your reward. Or burn bright, take up arms, and fight the bitch.”Ok, I can see why some people might want to compare the convent to Hogwarts, but...no. I mean, yes there are kids being trained in a 'school setting' to use different forms of magic, there are friendships and rivalries, and there is a prophecy about a Chosen One who will save the day. The experience of reading Red Sister is akin to getting onto the wrong train—the story draws you relentlessly in and you can’t see the journey ahead, much less guess what it holds. An equally daunting and exciting interruption of the mundane. Depending on the reader, you might decline the adventure and choose to disembark at the next stop. Or you could stay, drifting, allow yourself to be jolted out of your habits and see it through ‘til the end. Then we end up in a school type setting and everyone is a bit nice or a bit mean. And Nona is hiding secrets but she's doing right by her friends. This is when I worried. Has Mark Lawrence gone soft? Is this long awaited (by me) female lead going to let me down? I met Jorg ( Prince of Thorns), I know what this author can do, so why are there girls' dorms and nuns?? Is Mark Lawrence writing... cuddly fiction?? Everyone is talking about how Goodreads needs to add half-stars, but what I need right now is a sixth star specifically so I can give it to this book. Red Sister is the first book in a three-books series, and so, it falls upon it to do a lot of heavy-lifting. And it succeeds in doing so effortlessly. In spare prose of great clarity (the quotability of this book is staggering), Lawrence builds a vivid, densely believable world with an intriguing confluence of history, politics, religion and culture. His world-building is a labyrinthine sprawl of past, present, and future. The layered narrative across the decades is more like bloody footprints steering you wildly into the dark than a walkway threaded with light burning lines through the reader’s mind. But Lawrence makes it work beautifully: we come to learn about Nona’s past along the other characters as memories are returned to her, unsought, from the ether. My mind was awhirl with thoughts, and, at the center of everything: the mystery of Nona Grey.

Mark Lawrence’s latest novel, Red Sister, is a dramatic departure from the “grimdark” trilogies for which he’s most widely known. The first in a brand-new series, Red Sister introduces us to a different world and whole new cast of characters. But before we discuss its merits, let’s get the inevitable comparisons with Lawrence’s existing work out of the way… The FRIENDSHIPS were so realistic and wonderful, like I wish the girls were my best friends in real life. Without giving too much away, Red Sister weaves together three distinct timelines. The main part of the story follows protagonist Nona’s time at the Sweet Mercy convent, beginning with her arrival at the convent and focusing on her education, her developing relationships with her peers and mentors, and her martial training. Think Harry Potter meets Blood Song, but with an all-female cast. The second thread gradually reveals Nona’s past—from the unspoken incident in her childhood village, to the months spent in a slaver’s cage—and the third thread takes place a few years further on from the first, framing the rest of the story like a much more exciting version of Kote’s narrative in The Kingkiller Chronicle . It had never crossed my mind that I would read a greater story than that of Kvothe the Arcane. I had never thought it was possible to find a greater character than the Emperor Jorg Ancrath. I had never even slightly considered that there might be a fantasy world out there toppling that of Τhe Final Empire, and most definitely, I had never thought that i could love a book more than The Night Angel. But here we are.

All Mark Lawrence Reviews

Nona thought of Raymel Tacsis lying in his father’s halls surrounded by Academy men sweating to keep him from death. Saida was dead - Nona had seen her feet poking beneath the seat in the prison yard, their wrappings still stained with Raymel’s blood. She had no pity for him. I suspect it’s going to be impossible for Lawrence to escape the notoriety that’s surrounded him since the release of Prince of Thorns. I’m also fairly certain that he wouldn’t want to; the bloke’s sold more than a million(!) books, after all. (No such thing as bad publicity, and all that.) The story started strong, addicting, and fascinating. It's told in the 3rd person from Nona's pov. While our girl is more mature than most of our YA heroines nowadays, she's no reliable narrator. She told her friends lies and I believed her until she told another lie and I learned to never do. She's always keeping something to herself or alternating past events. She played with the truth and reformed it. Yet, you can't help but admire her. Nona is brave, vicious, smart, and deadly. I just love her. Even though the cliffhanger in Red Sister is no major one, I want to read the next book so bad. She was already amazing at 10 and 12, so what will she become at 18? It isn't as dark as his other stories: I agree and I was glad for it. Anti-heroes are all the rage and I don't want to spoil anything but I was very pleased he chose not to go down that path. The MC thinks she is a monster but you don't. And personally, I was relieved by this. Anti-heroes used to be tragedies or redemption tales... these days authors mostly introduce you to an asshole and genuinely expect you to root for them for... reasons!?!?. The worldbuilding in this book is quite creative even if it was too confusing sometimes. The sun is dying, the moon is falling, the globe is iced, except for a very limted part called the Corridor. The moon is the only thing keeping the earth from being completely frozen. This is brilliant. The magic system is well developed. Some people have special abilities because of their blood, some more than others. You can be faster, bigger, walk the Path (greatest power), or have some minor magic but also impressive. Those who have more than one gift are rare and more powerful. However, scarce are those who possess more than 2.