Reviews

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

sarahkaitlinsmith's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

horoxv's review against another edition

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5.0


“I was born for killing—the gods made me to ruin.”


Mark Lawrence's Broken Empire trilogy is one of my favorite series of all time.

And the Red Sister is better than all of them.

This book played with so many emotions in so many ways. This book was a work of art.

If you're seeing these words, "GO BUY RED SISTER NOW AND READ IT!"

***There may be minor spoilers. I will try my best to keep them minimum.***

Red Sister is the first novel of the Book of the Ancestory series. I've been a reader of Mark Lawrence since his first book reached shelves and I thought I wouldn't be able to love any of his books more than that original Broken Empire trilogy.

I was wrong.

Red sister has not only become my favorite Mark Lawrence book (thus far), but one of my favorite books ever!

Coming of age stories are a weakness for me as well, my childhood being filled with Harry Potter and other various tales of young nobodies fulfilling their destiny or becoming something great. It must reach out to the boring life my soul desperately wishes it could escape.

I was born in the wrong era, but I digress.

One of Mark Lawrence's biggest strengths is turning darker characters into someone you can relate to. He causes empathy and support to happen naturally, not forcing it upon us but showing us the character through multiple levels of depth. I still have not read an author who does it quite like Mark Lawrence does.

Damnit why did I wait so long to read this book!
“I hope he comes back full of devils and they eat his heart.”

All of the sisters were unique and exciting to learn about. I constantly kept asking myself, "Who did Sister "This" used to be? How did she get to this point? Was she like Nona once?
What is the focus moon?
What are the Shiphearts?
What is the Ark?
Who is Nona really?
What, who, why, how, where when.... Mark is a master of laying pieces and subtle clues to make you pull your hair out in desperate attempt to finish the book to receive the answers he has been titillating you with for 400-something pages. Every piece is interesting and feels sooo important. Nothing feels like useless information.

And that's also how I felt about the story.
The pace was fantastic. Every chapter felt useful and exciting. Everything kept moving you forward. There were slight hints and previews of the future and what was to come, but they only fueled my eager fire of avoiding sleep and reading long into the night.

“The hardest lesson I ever learned was that every bad thing you see a friend do to someone else they will some day do to you.
Nona is a god damn GENIUS character. She is such a deep character and I get lots of kudos to Mark Lawrence for making such a powerful female cast. As a man, I know I struggle to understand the female mind but Mark does it in a such a way that you don't doubt any of it for a second.

I've been rambling for a while. But all I really want to say is go buy this book now. You will not regret it for a second. It's the type of book that makes me forget all the other books on my plate. It's the type of book that makes me put down everything else I'm in the middle of because I need my fucking answers!

I love you Mark Lawrence. You've taken me to worlds that have become a part of me. Your prose is elegant yet easy to ready. Your characters feel like I've known them outside of the pages. I will read anything you write. Anything!

The shortest lives can cast the longest shadows.”
5/5 Steps on the path.

aurelia2's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

"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."
Bonus points for such a knockout opening. I really enjoyed Lawrence's style, the worldbuilding is intricate and revealed slowly, and together with the slow pace you do have to trust the journey. It's worth it, the convent gives a wide variety of enjoyable characters and there's enough of the thread of mystery to keep you engaged. 

imperfectedness's review

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adventurous dark tense

4.0

Dark and brutal. A great time.

readtheblurb's review

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5.0

HOLY SISTER!

“It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size.” How about that for an intro line to grasp the reader?!

This was a wild thrill ride of a book. The sheer level of badass and sporadic violence throughout the book was so exhilarating. I mean warrior nuns - what could go wrong? This really did feel like a refreshing new taste of fantasy and I loved the all female cast. Also one of the rare times I actually liked the protagonist; one without the usual main character arrogance and stupidity. The last parts of this book was definitely some of the best action I have ever read! Read this if you’re a fantasy fan!

ella_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

beuniqueghoul's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lthintz's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

osmxn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

in_dee_d's review

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3.0

This novel was gripping at times and utterly confusing at other times. However, I really enjoyed the world-building, so I will continue the series.