Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor, #1) in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Mar 02, 2017 Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs, my-library-catalogue

Red Sister surprised me in quite a few ways. I’d heard a lot about this author’s Broken Empire Trilogy, and much of the hearsay led me to believe I wouldn’t enjoy those books because of difficult subject-matter. However, when the author offered me a review copy of Red Sister, I decided to accept it… with reservations.

As it turns out, I didn’t need any. Red Sister was a really good first installment of The Ancestor series. What surprised me the most was how beautiful his writing and composition w ...more

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Aug 21, 2017 Bradley rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, 2017-shelf, worldbuilding-sf

I'm of two minds with this one.

The things it does well is very, very good... but when it came to my own preferences, I got bogged down in a good and nice long rut of boredom. If I was someone else, someone who really enjoyed a lot and a lot of YA school stuff, then I'd probably go ga-ga over this.

As it is, I enjoyed the writing and the developments, albeit slow developments, of the story.

Sure, it's awesome that it's a school of assassin nuns and the Ancestors and the hints of high-tech and movi ...more

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Apr 17, 2017 Emma rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

3.5 stars.
I received an ARC of this from the author and am offering an honest review in exchange.
Well, guys, my personal jury is out on this one! This is very different from Mark's previous 2 series. The new world is well crafted and unique (show-not-tell all the way with this author) and I'm keen to know more as the series progresses (anyone else wonder if the world has a slight sci fi feel to it?).
One of the main differences for me with Red Sister as compared to his other work, is the lack of ...more

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Sep 06, 2017 Chris Haught rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-buddy-reads, scifi-fan-group, read-owned-paperback, 2017-sffbc-challenge

I've been stewing on a review for this book for a couple of days now. I feel it definitely deserves one, but it's hard to put into words what it meant to read it. I don't want to just say "it's great" and leave it at that.

If Hogwarts was a convent for young novice nuns on a planet with a dying sun, located in an ice corridor, you might have an idea of the setting. Then imagine Arya Stark and a Chosen One prophesy, with some Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fight scenes and some Dark Tower mysticis ...more

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Jan 05, 2017 Lindsay rated it it was amazing

This is my first experience of this author's work and it was an overwhelmingly positive one.

The story follows Nona, a young girl sold as a child and about to be hung for murder, as she enters the Convent of Sweet Mercy. The Convent venerates the Ancestor trains nuns in a variety of skills including magic, spycraft and martial arts. But the world of Abeth is under pressure because its sun is dying and the ice is closing in, so political pressure and war for resources is very real. Amid all of tha This is my first experience of this author's work and it was an overwhelmingly positive one.

The story follows Nona, a young girl sold as a child and about to be hung for murder, as she enters the Convent of Sweet Mercy. The Convent venerates the Ancestor trains nuns in a variety of skills including magic, spycraft and martial arts. But the world of Abeth is under pressure because its sun is dying and the ice is closing in, so political pressure and war for resources is very real. Amid all of that Nona has picked up some very powerful enemies.

Nona's origins are mysterious and not revealed to the reader or other characters until very late in the piece. One thing that does come clear early though is that Nona considers herself a monster, and the abilities that the Convent helps her to hone do leave her with potential to be that. However, central to all of this is Nona's deep belief in and loyalty to people she considers to be friends.

This is a fantasy school book with a more older YA feel, akin to later Harry Potter books. For me I felt it had strong similarities in tone to Nevernight and like that book, promises some great things from the characters after they graduate. It's very long, and some parts feel unnecessary or unnecessarily labored, but Lawrence builds trust in his ability to pay off this stuff quickly and often. I'm happy to wait for the next book to get the payoff of some more of this background stuff later.

A careful reading does reward though. There are some stunningly powerful imagery that's inserted here in single lines that emerge in single lines later, particularly towards the end of the book.

I also have to applaud the world-building. While the roots of this book are clearly epic fantasy as are most of the tropes on show, this is clearly a science fictional world with some solid foundations, not all of which are yet clear. The story around the Corridor, and the Moon, and the arrival of humans to Abeth promise a much larger story. It's also very clever to put nearly all the action of this in the Convent itself with the greater picture of the world around them only slowly appearing. It drags out the exposition enough to make it very digestible while giving the impression that it's all there for the knowing once the main character emerges from the Convent. ...more

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Feb 13, 2019 Chris Haught rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audible-owned, read-owned-ebook

Even better the second time, this time on audiobook.

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Jul 18, 2018 Christina Pilkington rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites-of-all-time

One of the best books I have read in 2018. Utterly captivating and took me by complete surprise.

I don't pick up an epic fantasy because I want to read great writing. Maybe that's not fair, but the epic fantasies I have enjoyed in the past have had mind-blowing world building, an absorbing plot and fascinating characters, but the writing is usually just good enough to tell the story.

But...in this book there were times I was floored at how well written and often beautiful some passages were. And One of the best books I have read in 2018. Utterly captivating and took me by complete surprise.

I don't pick up an epic fantasy because I want to read great writing. Maybe that's not fair, but the epic fantasies I have enjoyed in the past have had mind-blowing world building, an absorbing plot and fascinating characters, but the writing is usually just good enough to tell the story.

But...in this book there were times I was floored at how well written and often beautiful some passages were. And this coming from one of the darkest, grittiest and raw epic fantasies I have ever read!

And the fight scenes! I could not believe how completely engrossed I became in the many fight scenes throughout this book. Only in a few of Sanderson's books have I felt the same way. Usually fight scenes are the ones I feel like skipping through the most. Not so in this book! I felt like I was there the entire time, like I was the character in those scenes. It was SO much fun to read!

The characters were SO well written! We get such a rich backstory for Nona, the main protagonist. We first get to know Nona when Abbess Glass saves her from an impending death sentence and brings her to be trained as an assassin nun at Sweet Mercy Convent. From there the story is mostly told in flashbacks where we can see the story events that have shaped Nona. Then the story will shift to the present day where we see Nona form bonds with the other girls, take classes and perfect her skills. The whole school setting is also in my wheelhouse, so that's probably another reason I loved this book so much!

There is also a complex magic system within in the book that still leaves me with questions. In a way, it reminded me a little of Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderling books. Not that the magic system is similar, but in the way Mark Lawrence is subtle yet sophisticated in describing it, holding just enough back to raise questions and leave you wanting to know more.

While the world outside the convent isn't described in great detail in this book, towards the end of the book you start to learn more of what is going on and how it will effect the convent. I am SO excited for that to be explored more in the rest of the series!

If you are a fantasy reader, you HAVE to go out and read this book. It's pretty amazing!
...more

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Aug 24, 2017 Helen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

"No child truly believes that they'll be hanged"

And with that I'm hooked. Nona, our lead, is an honest, decent character - yes, she is! But, I hear you say, Lawrence writes about rogues, well yes he does but Nona is really quite lovely. Admittedly, she has a temper and she's up for murder despite being about ten. But she was defending her weaker friend....

Set against a world covered in ice, metres thick, with a narrow corridor along the 'equator' that is barely habitable, life is tough, just sta ...more

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Aug 19, 2017 Denise rated it liked it

Close to 4 stars. I really loved the world building and hints of the underlying causes for the ice corridor, etc. I would have given a full 4 rating except the middle dragged and I thought the ending a bit rushed. However I'd likely read the sequel. ...more

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Apr 09, 2017 Suzanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

“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. Treat them with respect.”

Wow this book was totally absorbing. While I missed the humor I found in the Liar's Key, I loved this. The characters are strong, the magic system is interesting, and I have a lot of questions about the world.

It probably helps that I enjoy the whole training/school idea when it is well done. Some of the events were truly brutal, ...more

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Apr 06, 2018 Helen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Reread: just couldn't resist it.

I’m not adverse to rereading a book as a general principle but these days, earning money, there are generally too many other books needing my time so it rarely happens. However, this was so good and with the UK release of Grey Sister slowly approaching... (note Voyager, the rest of the world has the Grey!!)

Anyway, essentially I knew what was going to happen so it was more the minutiae that stood out in this read. So now I’m filled with questions beyond the obvious ...more

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Dec 13, 2019 Dawn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, series-finished

I have not stayed up past my bedtime due to getting lost in an awesome story in so long, I thought those days were long gone. But the right mood and the right book had me hooked until the wee hours of the morning this time.

The first half of this book flew by, it was fascinating and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. I did think the second part ended up too choppy and it lost my interest a little, but the concept of The Corridor is clever and some political intrigue with ...more

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Apr 22, 2017 Ctgt rated it really liked it

8/10

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Dec 15, 2017 Jen rated it did not like it

**SPOILERS** This was my first time reading Mark Lawrence, and it will likely be my last. I read a lot of fantasy and I know that violent scenes sometimes come with the territory. But several pages devoted to the torture and killing of a horse was just too much for me. So unnecessarily violent and irrelevant to the plot. I felt sick reading it. It's a shame; I was really enjoying the writing and the story line, but I stopped at about 30%. ...more

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