Began reading: 27.9.2017
Completed reading: 8.10.2017
Overall rating: 4 stars
'I was born for killing
- the gods made me to ruin'
At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are being raised to be killers. Some have inherited old bloods, which bestow upon them special talents. Sweet Mercy hones its novices' skills with great care: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the deadly arts of blade and fist.
But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don't fully understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a child of eight, falsely accused of murder, but guilty of worse.
In her short life, Nona has made many powerful enemies, and despite the security and isolation of the convent her secret, violent past will one day find her out. Nona must come to terms with her demons and learn to become a deadly assassin if she is to survive...
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence is a fictional novel that contains fantasy themes. This book caught my eye but I was hesitant about starting a new series (life has been really hectic lately, so I only want stand-alones). I was pleasantly surprised by this book, but there were some issues with it. Let’s get into this review!
Nona, sentenced to hang, is saved at the last minute by Abbess Glass – head of the Convent of Sweet Mercy. Girls are trained to develop extraordinary skills, including poisons, fighting and connecting with the spiritual world. Nona demonstrates an eager determination to learn, while fearing that her secret past will be revealed. Nona was convicted of murdering the son of a prominent lord, but why she was taken from her village remains hidden from her teachers and classmates. When she faces the worst of her enemies, Nona is forced to re-live her terrifying past to make her classmates understand the truth behind why the enemy is always targeting her. Nona must learn to trust her friends and hope that they won’t run away in fear.
The book was well-written, especially in regard to eloquence and intricacy. The tone was dramatic but smooth at the same time. As well as tone, Lawrence employed a variety of literary techniques to add to the narrative’s overall depth, including foreshadowing, structure and flashbacks. The most notable of these was how Lawrence structured the book – adding the author’s note at the beginning, rather than at the end. I found this very helpful, as I had already read it and had a basic understanding of the various terms in the story. There were also some great quotes throughout the novel, including:
‘Men love to talk about themselves and their achievements’ (p. 16).
‘To call something a lie, child, is an unhelpful characterisation. […]Words are steps along a path: the important thing is to get there quicker if you pick the most certain route’ (p. 17).
‘No real fight is bound by four walls. No real fight ends at a particular doorway or when we wash off the sweat and the blood. Fights end with defeat. And death is the only defeat a warrior understands. While we draw breath we are at war with our enemies and they with us’ (p. 77).
‘The truth is a weapon and lies are a necessary shield’ (p. 340).
‘There is a thread that runs through all things, that binds each story to every other, a thread that runs though the veins and the marrow and the memory of every creature’ (p. 345).
‘[…]a book is as dangerous as any journey you might take. The person who closes the back cover may not be the same one that opened the front one’ (p. 352).
There are some things that must be done quickly or not at all. If someone asks you if you love them, you cannot hesitate. There are some paths that must be taken at speed (p. 421).
[…]when a true fear takes hold of you it drives out the others, the ones people try to give you, try to put into the heart of you with stories and dark looks. A true fear grows in the bones of you (p. 461).
More quotes from the book can be found here.
The over-arching plot is really important when I’m deciding on whether or not to read a book. In this case, the blurb was dramatic enough to leave me wondering what Nona’s secret was and how successful of an assassin she could become. I loved the idea of nuns training girls to become assassins, while also discovering the protagonist’s mysterious past. It was oozing with suspense and promised action, so I had no choice but to give in to temptation and read it. There were a couple of sub-plots thrown in, which kept the book interesting. I’m excited for the sequel!
One of the biggest struggles that I encounter when reading about badass female characters is that their character development makes them transform into a softy/mushy individual, who decides that they no longer want to be fierce. This is really off-putting because it’s not what I signed up for. Luckily, this doesn’t apply to this novel! The characters remained consistent throughout the narrative, even when they underwent some development. For example, Nona was afraid to make friends but eventually learned to trust her classmates. At the same time, she still wanted to be an assassin and remained vengeful. Each of the characters had their own back stories, fears and so on, which made them interesting and unique.
Plot twists are important for keeping the narrative spontaneous and flowing. For some reason, I wasn’t expecting as many twists as there were in this book. I found the surprises to be fascinating, unpredictable and dramatic, which is a good thing. I expected the plot to be predictable, but the unforeseen deaths, revelations and fights had me on the edge of my seat. I’m looking forward to seeing more of these plot twists in the sequel!
Now, let’s move on to what could have been improved. In the convent, Nona was introduced to Ara and Darla, who she didn’t get along with immediately. There was tension and loathing between them, but this quickly dissipated. I would have liked to have seen more of the tension between Nona and these two characters – mainly because their friendships felt a little rushed. It would have been better to read more about how they came to overlook their differences.
I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, as well as the epilogue, because it provided readers with a flash-forward to what might happen in the sequel or future books in the series. I found particular sections of the middle part of the book to be interesting, but overall it was bland. I don’t really know why, but I found myself tuning out or considering not finishing. Like I said, I enjoyed certain parts, but it was dull in general. Maybe a bit more action or tension (which I suggested above) would have made it more interesting.
My favourite character was Nona because she was a badass, complex, brave and a smartass. I can’t wait to read more about her in the sequel! Sister Apple is a notable character.
I’m looking forward to reading about how Nona is going to deal with Yisht and Clera, primarily because their betrayals were so shocking. I’m so sad about Hessa though. She deserved better!
My favourite parts of the book were Shade class because it was intriguing and I enjoyed reading about how Sister Apple poisons the students in different ways. I also enjoyed the epilogue because it was a clever use of foreshadowing.
Recommendation time! If you like The Sin Eater’s Daughter series by Melinda Salisbury, Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, and the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes the Harry Potter series, 13 Assassins, Nikita, Hanna, and the Game of Thrones tv series.
I will also b reviewing the rest of the Book of the Ancestor series, including Grey Sister, when the books become available. Keep an eye out for those!
Happy reading!
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