The second novel in a brilliant fantasy trilogy from the international bestselling author of Prince of Thorns.Behind its walls, the Convent of Sweet Mercy has trained young girls to hone their skills for centuries. In Mystic Class, Novice Nona Grey has begun to learn the secrets of the universe. But so often even the deepest truths just make our choices harder. Before she leaves the convent, Nona … leaves the convent, Nona must choose which order to dedicate herself to—and whether her path will lead to a life of prayer and service or one of the blade and the fist.
All that stands between her and these choices are the pride of a thwarted assassin, the designs of a would-be empress wielding the Inquisition like a knife, and the vengeance of the empire’s richest lord.
As the world narrows around her, and her enemies attack her through the system she is sworn to, Nona must find her own path despite the competing pulls of friendship, revenge, ambition, and loyalty.
And in all this only one thing is certain: there will be blood.
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I had read the first book in the series, Red Sister, and had enjoyed it immensely and this second venture into Mark Lawrence’s Book of the Ancestor series is as good or better. Wonderful twists and turns in the plot, that left me surprised. Great world building and characters. Give this series a try!
Wow! If you haven’t read Mark Lawrence’s work yet, you are missing out on an extraordinary experience. Highly recommended!
I really enjoyed reading this one. The world building was “out of this world”. Really powerful and intense characters but not so much that they outshine the storyline built for them. Really enjoyable read.
Really enjoy the relationships that develop between the girls and the teachers.
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.
The book of the ancestor is one of my favourite series of all time. Mark Lawrence is a master story-teller, who artfully crafts characters and worlds that stick with you long after putting the book down. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
What if Harry Potter was a tough-as-nails 15 year-old girl in training to be a Ninja Assassin… it would be this book AND I LOVE IT!!!
Read Red Sister and couldn’t wait for Grey Sister. Gripping, gritty story—bloody and sweet, sad and compelling. Tremendous world building. You won’t be sorry. But read them in order.
Worth the wait!
So… This is the story about a girl named Nona that was preparing and studying with the sisters of Sweet Mercy Convent, but she broke the rules and had to be expelled in a very unconventional way.
On the other hand, Abbess Glass had to endure being under the scrutiny of the inquisition, while Nona and sister Kettle began a journey in order to save their lives and discover a terrible political plot on the way.
In this book Nona shared space with a demon, I must admit I really enjoyed their dialogues.
Finally other novices made their appear and helped Nona and Abbess Glass, showing one more time that that friendship is a fortress and has the power to heal and to conquer…
The sad part is that in the end….their world is about to collapse and war is brewing. Could they save it and defeat their enemies?
Nona Grey is back from the wilds. Again within the walls of the Convent of Sweet Mercy. But, her enemies are unrelenting. Among the novices who study with her are girls from families allied with Thuran Tacsis, who still seeks vengeance for the loss of his son to Nona’s blades. It is with treachery, ambush, and guile these classmates work to do what their families could not do with main force. That, however, is just a minor inconvenience as Nona soon learns. Surprisingly, it is Abbess Glass who entwines her in a more profound game that threatens the Convent, the Emperor, and the Empire itself With the Inquisition on her heels Nona must again run for her life.
In “Grey Sister” the author has given us a worthy sequel to his “Red Sister” fantasy. Rich in characters, haunting, vividly written, and filled with scenes that will sweep the reader from one page to the next like a category five storm, you will savor every word.
For aficionados of violent fantasy, I strongly recommend “Grey Sister.”
My thanks to Penguin Random House for providing the advance reader’s copy for this review.