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notesurfer 's review for:
Red Sister
by Mark Lawrence
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Red Sister is a power fantasy set in a dark and tormented world. The setting is a fascinating mashup of science fiction and fantasy with a richness that hints at depths beyond what this story reveals. The only quibble I have is that the diction of inherited magic smacks of eugenics. Thankfully as the story progresses it becomes clear that this is not the case.
Like the setting, each character feels complex and unknowable. Although the important elements are properly foreshadowed, I was constantly in suspense over how events would play out. At times the magical-school vignettes dragged a bit, but they never felt unnecessary. There were a lot of satisfying arcs built into this book which made it well worth its length.
My main reservation has to do with the combination of tone and prose. While the vast majority is excellent, there are a handful of moments where Lawrence expands into a kind of quasi-poetry. The story and setting already strained my suspension of disbelief, and the awkward pseudo-literary prose would push me over the edge into actual cringing. It's not that these moments are bad, but that they are delivered with an earnest indulgence I just couldn't match. Red Sister is peak genre fiction, well-executed, but with all that that entails.
Like the setting, each character feels complex and unknowable. Although the important elements are properly foreshadowed, I was constantly in suspense over how events would play out. At times the magical-school vignettes dragged a bit, but they never felt unnecessary. There were a lot of satisfying arcs built into this book which made it well worth its length.
My main reservation has to do with the combination of tone and prose. While the vast majority is excellent, there are a handful of moments where Lawrence expands into a kind of quasi-poetry. The story and setting already strained my suspension of disbelief, and the awkward pseudo-literary prose would push me over the edge into actual cringing. It's not that these moments are bad, but that they are delivered with an earnest indulgence I just couldn't match. Red Sister is peak genre fiction, well-executed, but with all that that entails.