Red Sister

I've become a fan of Mark Lawrence. Obviously, he has the pedigree to be one of the best ever, but that doesn't mean he's flawless. RED SISTER, while a great book, definitely has its flaws, but the high spots and the character work go well to cover the bumps.

In RED SISTER, we meet the Sisters of Sweet Mercy convent. The Sisters are no mere religious nuns. Instead, the Sisters are basically a cross between assassins, fighters, and wizards. Depending on their bloodline, they might be gifted with a form of shadow magic, or a form of destructive magic, or perhaps unnatural speed or strength. In the convent, the young novices learn to harness their gifts and become what they were meant to be.

Nona is the main character. She runs of the Hunska blood giving her the ability to harness speed (sort of like The Flash, but not as fast). Nona is on trial for murder, but Sister Glass, the abbess of the convent, steals her from the hangman's noose and takes her to train at the convent.

The novel covers Nona's training and the friends (and enemies) she makes at the convent. It is a solid opening novel for a trilogy, but it suffers from some predictability that I'm not used to from Lawrence, and it also feels like it's about 100 pages too long. Some of the scenes and descriptions plod along, rather than hustling to their conclusion to keep the pace brisk. Toward the end, when the big final climactic battle was happening, I found myself skimming pages and passages because the action began to drag. Some might say I'm incorrect in thinking that, but it's just how I felt it drag.

RED SISTER'S strengths lie in the characterizations of Nona, Ara, Clera, and the other girls, and their interactions and bonding. In some ways, it reminded me of the friendships between Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and I found myself wanting more of that, rather than the labored action passages and the explanations and world-building.

The sequel comes out next year and I will definitely be checking it out.