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 … 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 and isolation of the convent, Nona’s secret and violent past finds her out, drawing with it the tangled politics of a crumbling empire. Her arrival sparks old feuds to life, igniting vicious struggles within the church and even drawing the eye of the emperor himself.
Beneath a dying sun, Nona Grey must master her inner demons, then loose them on those who stand in her way.
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Given the landmark nature of Mark Lawrence’s Broken Empire books comparisons with his latest offering are inevitable. However, I feel ‘Red Sister’ deserves to be considered on its own merits as the start of a completely new series. Via a third person narrative we follow the exploits of village outcast Nona who finds herself rescued from the gallows at a young age to be raised and educated as a nun in service to the Church of the Ancestor. It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to discover that Nona is not the praying, contemplating, helping the needy kind of nun. No, she’s the more the kick-ass, unnaturally swift with a very particular set of skills variety. She’s also possessed of an instinctive, almost maniacal need to protect those she sees as friends. Nona’s world is often an ugly place, full of scheming priests and morally bankrupt nobility. Civilisation is confined to an equatorial corridor between two encroaching ice shelves, maintained via the ‘focus moon’, a vast orbiting mirror built generations before. It’s clear this is a colony world of some sort, but it’s also a world where magic exists, or at least something so powerful and mysterious it can be mistaken for magic. The population is descended from four distinct genetic groups which have interbred over the centuries. A person’s role in life often determined by their lineage. Nona, being mostly of the slightly built but remarkably swift ‘Hunska’ line with a smattering of magical ‘Marjal’ blood, is destined to be a warrior nun, or ‘Red Sister’.
The scope of the story is deliberately restricted, confined mainly to the Convent of Sweet Mercy with occasional forays into the outside world. This restricted setting focuses the narrative on Nona’s emotional growth and her relationships with the other novices. We find a vibrant and compelling mix of personalities amongst both Nona’s fellow students and her tutors, including spoiled but kind former princess Arabella, utterly deadly blade mistress Sister Tallow, mischievous poisons mistress Sister Apple and the politically adept Abbess Glass.
Lawrence makes a virtue of placing an inherently heroic central protagonist at the heart of the narrative. Nona’s journey from outcast to powerful heroine recalls the work of the late David Gemmell with its many trials, complexities, and betrayals proving a protagonist doesn’t have to be ‘anti’ to be compelling. The lyrical excellence of previous books is present in full force here and it’s fair to say that Mark Lawrence has evolved into a master of his craft. In ‘Red Sister’ he has produced a novel that is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining, and as poignant as it is ferocious. Highly recommended.
For the longest time, fantasy (epic, dark, whatever) hasn’t spun me up. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering if it’s me or them, right? If you’re going on a lot of dates but not connecting with anyone, it’s probably not the people you’re seeing. It’s you! You’re the selfish troll with halitosis.
Then I found Red Sister. Before we get too far, I need to say two things:
1. Fantasy genre: all is forgiven!
2. It really is them, not me. I’m validated by my one successful genre date.
Red Sister is set in the Convent of Sweet Mercy. Wait! Don’t go. This isn’t the convent where women are trained to be nicer nuns. Sweet Mercy trains women to be sorceresses and murderers. It’s like a ninja academy with better uniforms. The story revolves around Nona, a girl who’s been sold into servitude by her mother. It’s set on the world of Abeth, in the throes of an epic-level ice age. Hints of ancient technology set a scene of a crumbled people. Satellites and starship reactors are golden-age relics, but things have been bad for so long, no one knows how they work. The giant orbital mirror keeping the world from freezing solid has a decaying orbit.
Imagine if Earth had all its population squeezed into a narrow frozen strip around the equator, and you’ll get an idea of the world Nona’s born into. It’s ready to die, but Nona’s not the lying down type. She grins when she fights, with all the feral majesty her upbringing bestows on her. Red Sister’s reminiscent of Hugh Cook’s Chronicles of an Age of Darkness series; magic and adventure abounds, with ancient technology rotting in the fringes. It’s a land desperate for heroes, and when they don’t answer the call, Nona steps into the hollow silence.
Lawrence’s world building is some of the best I’ve read. He doesn’t spend a lot of time building a layer cake. No reams of description, but at the end you’ll feel cold after snow- and ice-filled scenes. You’ll despise the rulers of the shit pile Abeth’s become. The writing style is immediate and pervasive; so much so I had to put it aside at a scene involving one of the rulers and a helpless animal. Lawrence wastes no words, but the impact is real, pervasive, and stays with you.
The story doesn’t trample the old tropes. Magic won’t fix everything. There’s no army of golden warriors. The gods have forgotten Abeth. It’s just people, gritting their teeth until the end takes them. All that remains is Sweet Mercy, and the littlest killer ever.
It’d be easy for Red Sister to leave you with an enduring sense of misery, but the story’s the opposite – the ending has huge payoff, but not without consequence. Nona’s friends don’t all survive, and her wary trust is misplaced. For all that, her spirit remains strong. I immediately ordered and gobbled the sequel Grey Sister, and am now in the hellish darkness that is waiting for the finale, Holy Sister.
If you want fresh fantasy, you need to read Nona’s story. An easy . This is a series worthy of your time.
I can’t believe I finally finished this book. It seemed like I was reading this book forever and a day …. but I can say even though it took me forever, I really enjoyed this book.
It did take me a bit to get into the book. But once I did, I was super invested in Nona and her people….
The worldbuilding is kind of slow and I liked that.
We have few characters and it’s hard to tell in the beginning who is important and who is not…. But really, they all are.
The magic system is slowly throughout the whole book explained. We pretty much learn with Nona which I liked, that way it was not so overwhelming all the time.
It was hinted since the beginning that there is more to Nona than what we know and I hope you are not in a hurry, because it takes the whole book until we get to that. And I’m sure there will be even more that we didn’t know.
I really liked Nona, she learns quick on some areas and other things not so much. But one thing is for sure, she is super loyal to the people she cares about.
I often forgot that Nona and her friends are just kids and very young because they do seem very mature.
This book is hard to review… so I make it short, it’s a slow paced very detailed and brutal world that is easy to get lost in. The characters and their journey never stop to surprise you as there are many plot twists along the way.
The end kind of confused me and it felt like at the end the pace just sped up, like we went from 0 to 50 within a few pages… I think the next book will be a lot faster as well. I’m also super worried about Nona and can’t wait to read the rest and see what happens to her and the rest of the group.
Overall, even though it took me forever and I had my moments of confusion with this book I really enjoyed it. I do recommend this book but read it when you have time and don’t need to rush otherwise, I think it might be a bit much and overwhelming as the world is a little bit more complex in the beginning.
I’m sorry this review is so super jumbled but I just had a hard time reviewing this book
I rate it 4
Audiobook
Narrator 5 stars- excellent
Story 3.5 stars good but I felt like I missed something
A young girl is saved from hanging by a nun with some different beliefs than the nuns I’m used to. She is pursued by a nasty man with revenge in his black heart. The nuns take her in fight for her, while teaching her. Some are assassins, some have a wicked mean streak. BTW This is not a religious book. The bad is relentless, super nasty, and powerful.
There are powers, touched on, whispered of almost. I really couldn’t nail down what were the powers, she could they could but it was never really exposed ? I felt like I missed something somewhere, did I ? Maybe this is something explored in the next book
This could have been a 5 star book except for the long length of details and lack of action. Even so, with all the info dumping it was a solid read, fun with great characters. I enjoyed reading every page but it seemed like it took forever to get someplace.
I think I’ll read the next book, we’ll see.
Please note this is s review of the series rather than just one book.
I’ve never made any secret of my admiration of Mark Lawrence as an author. Neither have I hidden the fact that Red Sister is one of my favourite books.
Then I read Grey Sister.
I devoured it in just over a day. It takes everything that is good about Red Sister:
the ebb and flow of drama that builds relentlessly
the imagination
sublime prose (and that opening line…)
the insights into human nature
the people — brilliantly flawed and utterly human
a plot that both twists and turns as it winds itself around you and won’t let go
an attention to detail that doesn’t overwhelm the story
the intelligence behind it all
and somehow improves on it.
Grey Sister gives us characters like –
Joeli Namsis – a villain in the mould of Dolores Umbridge, so much worse than any imaginary monsters because her petty vindictiveness is so relatable.
Abbess Glass – a woman surrounded by super humans who has her own power: an uncanny ability to read people and think through consequences.
Nona Grey – a complicated girl centred by two opposites: rage and friendship.
There are sacrifices – both the noble ones of people dying for their friends and the ignoble ones of those hiding behind others’ deaths.
As good as Red Sister is, its grey sister is better.
The word ‘unputdownable’ is over used. This is one of those books that deserves it.
Bound is a short story set between Grey and Holy Sister. It’s short. It’s twisty. It’s good. And features a nice twist on that opening line from Red Sister.
What of Holy Sister?
Holy Sister doesn’t have the pace of Grey Sister but packs its own punch as the tragedies mount. There is more than the vague glory of death here, characters change, they grow, they learn respect and love. But, unusually for a Mark Lawrence book, I had a few small issues with this one.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
I’d have preferred the story be given chronologically rather than split between two time lines. Some of the tension was leeched from the ‘ice’ timeline knowing that Nona is in the ‘siege’ timeline. You could argue that her presence in the latter half of the book was a given, but it turned the overriding question from ‘will she survive?’ into ‘how will she survive?’
I’d also rather have had Abbess Glass present for at least some of the book. Her absence worked for the story, especially the ‘reveal’ of Abbess Wheel. But, given how important she was in the previous books, I wanted her final moments on the page rather than in Nona’s memory. (Yes. I know that’s almost the same thing.)
And, being pedantic, I’d rather have had a few more commas. There were some sentences when the flow of the story stuttered as I had to reread what had just happened to who(m).
SPOILER ALERT OVER!!!
I feel a little churlish pointing these things out as the book is great. It reminded me of the finale of Emperor of Thorns (the technology left behind by a previous civilisation) and The Wheel of Osheim (the relentless carnage of the final siege). Holy Sister builds on its predecessors and rounds out the series nicely.
To sum up…
Red Sister is one of the few books I’ve read more than once. It will be one of the few that I will read more than twice. Along with the sequels.
Buy the books.
Beg, borrow or barter for some free time.
Read them.
Repeat.
Red Sister has a lot going for it–a spunky underdog main character, an elite training school hiding as a convent, an original and terrifying villain–but what I loved most was the setting. An entire world buried in ice save for a single strip of land around teh equator, kept melted by a failing satellite in the sky, and reduced to Iron Age technology, though mysterious machines buried in the ice promise much greater power… Amazing. And page-turning besides. Well worth a read!
The more you get into the Red Sister, you hate stopping and next thing you know you’ve finished the whole series, the world become more alive.
I really enjoyed this book and have also purchased the second in the series. I’d recommend it to any fantasy fan.
an original look at a strange world
I really enjoyed this book as it was so interesting and kept me up reading it. It was stretched out in a few places, but I really enjoyed it. It was one of the few books I’ve read lately that made me keep reading and reading! I was a little leery at first when it took place in a convent, but after the first chapter I was hooked! It is a great book and I highly recommend it.
Loved it
This book is a roller coaster ride of a wonderful/horrible/well-told story!
I could not put it down, or the next book in the series.
Not for the faint of heart as there are graphic hardships that happen to young children.
It’s an epic about the live of many and one in particular.
If you’re looking for a wonderful read, take a chance on this series.
I still have no idea how it’s going to come out – but I’ll keep reading until I do!
Very good readability with a cast of characters that are original and have interesting interactions with the story.
Assassin Nuns do I need to say more?
Well if I do.
I really enjoyed this book. The beginning seemed a little slow but then again that tends to happen when you are developing your own world but once I really got into it, it seemed to fly. This book has a medieval feel to its fantasy I only point that out because some people like it and some are really put off by it.
There is something about the character Nona that I just love and I can’t decide if the author intended her to be liked or not but I have made my decision. There were many times that I wanted to yell what do you think you are doing??? But then I would have to remind myself that Nona is only 10 when this story starts out. As you read her story and see all the crap that she goes through you really start feeling like she is much older than she is. Essentially Nona is a survivor and she values her friends above all.
I really can not wait to pick up the next book in this series so I can see what all is going to happen next. I can’t wait to see what happens and if new bonds are formed. Yes, I have theories but we will see what happens.
Have you read this book yet if so what did you think. I really want to talk more about this book and now that I have written this I can finally pick up Grey Sister.
Book one of a trilogy and I am so grateful.I am looking forward to the next two books. Lawrence can’t write them fast enough.
mark had got to be one of the best in the business at this sort of thing. in just a few words he can draw you into a world he has created and leave you mesmerised to the last page. no book has ever gripped me as quickly as that first line, “it is important, when killing a nun, to ensure you bring an army of sufficient size”… tell me you don’t want to know what happens next
4.5 this book was amazing, I really loved Nona, she’s a girl with many secrets, she has a sad past and a loyal heart, she’ll do anything for the ones that are important to her.
The story begins when Nona is about to be hanged for killing a noble, but then she is rescued by Abbess Glass, who takes her to the Convent of Sweet Mercy, were Nona will study and learn how to fight among other things…
In this book you will find friendship, action, betrayal and political plot. A must read if you’re looking for a great read developed in a fantastic world.
Nearly finished reading my first Mark Lawrence book and I find my reading is getting slower as I don’t want it to end. A thrilling, suspenseful and non stop action book about a group of girls being trained in a convent, to discover their dormant, years old, hidden skills. The story is based on “Nona” who appears to be the first of her kind for 100 years. I’m very impressed with this author although this story fits into a genre that some will like and some will not.
I liked this book well enough to buy the second book in the series, Grey Sister. The plot moves along quickly and character development is, for the most part, very well done. I am not one for ‘hints of things to come’ so I don’t like the snippets of future events that are described towards the beginning of each book. That is a personal preference on my part so I would still recommend the series.
I am not a reader of fantasy fiction or sci fi so this book caught me completely unawares. I’m not a fan on males writing novels about the inner lives and struggles of young women. However, this author showed an understanding not only of the feminine inner life but also the suffering required of women who dare carve out identities in a male dominated world. Frankly, I couldn’t put it down and read late into the night at least twice. I have bought the second book of the series, ‘Grey Sister’ but have not begun to read it yet. Please, please don’t disappoint.