An interesting fantasy read. It’s not really my preferred genre, but enjoyed the characters development and being lost in a fantasy world for a change.

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The start of a new series from the author of the excellent Broken Empire series (and more).
RED SISTER packs quite a punch for a first book. We're given an excellent introduction to this new setting, we quickly learn about the dynamics in its society, and get to know the main characters easily and quickly.
The novel has all of the hallmarks of a great Lawrence novel: excellent prose, engaging characters, some gritty action/violence, and a gripping story.
Definitely recommended. All fantasy fans who like their novels with a sharp edge should read Mark Lawrence.

I was craving epic fantasy and wow did this deliver! I absolutely loved this book. Nona Grey is everything you want in a strong female protagonist and I love her.

Young girls that go and become nuns that train to be assassins.. How could you no be interested in that? As soon as I read the blurb for this book I knew I had to read it and I was lucky enough to get an ARC through Netgalley and I had bought the rest of the series before I had even finished this one. I cannot wait to sink my teeth into the second book. I hope and am sure that I will love the rest of the series as much as this one if not more. This is the first of Lawrence's books that I have read and I cannot wait to try some of his other books/series.

I also love the Sisters and Nona's friends they all make such great characters which lead to a very strong and solid epic fantasy book. I 100% recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy. You won't regret picking this one up.

Red Sister is the first book in Mark Lawrence’s Book of the Ancestor series, and it’s one that has me conflicted. On the one hand, I was curious throughout. On the other hand, there were points where this one felt so slow.

The book introduces us to a world that had me curious throughout, a cast that had me eager to find out more. There were plenty of elements to this story, and I was eager to see how each of them came together. There were some elements that I saw coming in advance, but plenty that have left me with hopes of what is to come.

As the introduction to a series, it’s not the most powerful I’ve read, but it certainly left me wanting more.

Ahhhhhh this was SO GOOD!

The only problem I had with this was the pacing. At some points it was so SLOW I wanted to skip the long descriptions. But it was SO WORTH IT because by the end I was gasping after the cascade of plot twists that literally had my head spinning.

The characters were SO WELL-WRITTEN and the setting was so mesmerising! Nona is such a strong character, I loved how we slowly got to know her story.

She was both flawed and perfect and I really enjoyed reading from her perspective. The ending has me feeling all sorts of ways- I can't wait to read the next one soon!!

Okay...so I do not get the hype. Why is it so popular again? It was boring? No real chemistry between the characters?
It was like I am reading some boring textbook instead of a fantasy world, which shouldn't be the case, right? Because it is a fantasy! And the world meant to be interesting. But sadly it wasn't.

The writing style and magical system was a bit hard to get into. I prefer having good characters in my story but I couldn't relate to the main characters at all. There were some good moments for sure but overall they weren't enough to redeem this book for me :(

A brilliant start to what promises to be an exciting series, I was hooked from the opening line. This was my first Mark Lawrence book and I'll be eagerly checking out his previous work.

Although this novel felt a bit chaotic at times (there are lots of significant events that happen - and you only find out that they’re less significant when the next one tops it), I did enjoy this novel! It’s an intriguing concept, and although at the beginning I struggled with remembering which nun was who and what class meant what, I slowly became familiar with the characters and the jargon. I think that’s what makes this novel so good - there are loads of characters, but each one has a distinct personality. It’s like Harry Potter (kind of) but in a nunnery, and I absolutely loved it! I can’t wait to read Grey Sister.

My first Mark Lawrence book and he certainly didn’t disappoint. It felt very much like Harry Potter for adults, with added gore. Magic, boarding school, and four paths for students to take. This book has a fantastic plot, well developed characters, and I can’t wait to carry on reading this series.

One of the best books I've read this year. The world building is well done, the characters are relatable - but even more so, their actions are relatable and make sense given the information available to them. It's also refreshing to see so many different sorts of strong women. Women can be strong without going out and kicking ass - knowledge, loyalty.... just as important.

The little (HUGEEEEE) stabtastic book was epic and totally what I needed / wanted to read. Fantasy for the win people! Y’all know I’m a sucker for fantasy and this was just that with a hint of darnkess - not as much as Prince of Thorns but still amazing.

We follow young Nona Grey on her journey to and through her various stages of classes and life at Sweet Mercy Convent. Despite the circumstances being bloody af - HOLY SHIT - an 8 year old you guys, madness - it was epic. Nona Grey was and is not one to be underestimated - even if she’s smol! The plot was engaging, I did find it slow at times, but personally I feel the info given was necessary to set the foundation of the next book(s).

At times it did get hard to keep up with all the names but soon you find a balance and know who to keep an eye out for. I really really liked Nona, she was unapologetic in who she was and had hidden her past, not because she was embarrassed or afraid, but because she had to find herself - her true self, to accept all that happened in the past - also she loves food. Food over anything!

Ok things that where just epic beyond measure - let’s do this...

• Trained / killing nuns

•Majority female cast - like 2% males... ok maybe a littleeee more than that but still FEMALE POWER

• Friendships and infinite female supporting one another despite competitions - yass

• Mention of periods - hardly see this in fantasy books

• Poison, blades, mental arts, deception AKA AWESOMEEEE

All in all this was a stellar first book. I’m jumping straight into Grey Sister ( a reread). I found Nona being thrust into this path of life, she manages to grab hold of her own threads and weave a different path entirely her own. As a person with razor sharp knives and many many enemies, get ready to jump for the kill. But who are the enemies and who can you truly trust?

Action packed, gritty and thrilling. A dynamic book with a formidable heroine. Young Nona Grey joins the Convent of Sweet Mercy but these are no ordinary nuns - the Red Sisters are highly skilled killers and Nona is to become one of them. This is the first in a trilogy so be prepared to commit to reading the whole lot once they're all out.

Stunning start! (for the book and the subsequent parts)

"IT IS IMPORTANT, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size / skill / bravery."

I liked this one much more than the books from the Broken Empire, though I liked those a lot too. We get another post-apocalyptic setting, but, because of a dying sun, this world is threatened to be covered in ice, which is kept at bay only by an artificial moon that focuses a ray of heat on a not so wide land strip, named the corridor; nations competing for this corridor that is (almost) free from ice; nuns training in combat and assasination; different types of magic. It’s a bloody and alert coming of age story, still grim, but filled with good quality dark humour and very wise words.

I still have some complaints: First, one of my most generic and frequent ones, the lack of commas - if they are commonly omitted, the text may lose some of its meaning ot at least be harder to grasp.

Second, I couldn't seem to distinguish most of the nuns from each other: kept mixing up Kettle and Tallow and Flint, Rose with Mop, Pan with Wheel, though Wheel stood out eventually. I suppose the object names should have made the task easier, but I found some of the sisters to be much alike or their features /caracters too ambiguous to really differentiate them..

Apart from that, I totally loved this book, it was a great start for a series that promises to be one of my favorites.

Loved it! It took me a little while to get into it but once I got about 50 pages in I was hooked! I loved our fierce protagonist asks enjoyed seeing her grow up as the book progressed. I loved the school setting against the fantastical world. It was action packed, dark and delicious and I can't wait to read the next in the series!

Mark Lawrence is at it again with a fascinating new world and series. The setting is so unique and fantastic, this strip of shrinking land on a glacier covered planet in an aged universe of red stars. Red except for one. The characters are so vivid and brutal and the nuns are badasses. I loved this book and cannot wait for the rest of the series! Will definitely recommend to my customers!

DNF . Unfortunately, I could not get into this book and would prefer not to leave a negative review. Thank you for the opportunity.

I love a good world-building novel, and Red Sister is the start of something brilliant. I can't wait to see what happens next!

There are some books you’re genuinely excited to read and, for me, Red Sister was one such book. I wanted to read Mark Lawrence’s books in order (not that you need to!) and indulged in The Red Queen’s War at the end of last year, having read The Broken Empire a few years ago.

I fell in love with his writing and was expected strong things from this.

None is a ten-year-old girl thrust into a world of blade-work, poisons and – the trickiest of all – reading and writing. She is at home though, surrounded by girls with similar powers to hers.

Nona is different though. Her power is advanced and grows stronger, granting her more abilities than the other girls and even her tutors. To survive, Nona must embrace all of these skills.

Nona’s character is likeable. She isn’t afraid to stand up to herself, whether against her fellow classmates or her fierce tutors, regardless of the consequences. As her powers develop and Nona begins to understand what she is capable of – and how she differs from everyone else – the reader, too, learns abut the world Nona is now part of.

Nona is determined and head-strong, but also loyal and protective. You see her fear: she isn’t immune to knowing when she is in over her head, but you also see how she values friendship. Once you’re Nona’s friend, there is nothing she wouldn’t do for you. Nona grows throughout the book, in herself, in her skills and in her determination to protect what she holds dear.

The other girls and nuns are all strong characters in their own right. I particularly liked that Nona and Ara become friends, despite their initial animosity,– I thought it was going to be a cliché enemy-for-life situation. Hessa is Nona’s centre point and keeps her grounded, while Clera encourages her recklessness, although for her own agenda rather than helping Nona.

Red Sister reminded me of Nevernight, just with younger characters and less smut: the skills the girls are taught are similar. I initially believed this wasn’t going to be as violent as some of the other books I’ve read by Mark Lawrence, but there were still fight-scenes that left me holding my breath.

Perhaps it is worse because this time, it’s a ten-year-old girl orchestrating the violence and wanting more?

There was also a scene, quite near the beginning, that made me squirm, which is always interesting when sitting on a train. Without spoiling the reasons how this event came about, it involved a candle, a hand and a refusal to move away. The description was so powerful that I was clenching my hand and shuddering while reading it.

With in-depth characters, a good pace and increasing tension, Red Sister was just as enjoyable as I both hoped it would be and expect from the books by this author.

If you like Mark Lawrence’s other books and don’t mind a female protagonist instead of a male, then this is a definite must-read.

This had me gripped from the very beginning and I was so surprised! I am not usually one for coming of age tales but Lawrence's writing is wonderful, engaging and intense. This novel gallops along at such a pace I did not want to put it down as the characters were just so intriguing.

I need to read more...now!