Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence

Book Title: Holy Sister
Author: Mark Lawrence
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: Review Copy (but I own the entire trilogy in paperback as well as e-books.)

Goodreads, Amazon UK

Goodreads Summary of the FIRST book Red Sister: At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist.
But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder: guilty of worse.
Stolen from the shadow of the noose, Nona is sought by powerful enemies, and for good reason. Despite the security and isolation of the convent her secret and violent past will find her out. Beneath a dying sun that shines upon a crumbling empire, Nona Grey must come to terms with her demons and learn to become a deadly assassin if she is to survive…

This is the third book in a series, and as you know I don't like to talk about plot too much because of spoilers. I will review the series as a whole, and highlight what I liked and perhaps didn't like as much in the third book, careful not to spoil anything.

Red Sister Review can be found here.

Grey Sister Review can be found here.

What did I think?

"It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size. For Sister Thorn of the Sweet Mercy Convent Lano Tacsis brought two hundred men."

This is how Red Sister starts, and I fell in love almost immediately. Mark Lawrence's writing is beautiful, almost poetic. He writes the point of view of a lost, scared, hot-headed, stubborn nine year old that slowly grows with much care. Lawrence pays a lot of attention to detail, and you can tell he chooses each word meticulously. 

Let's talk about Lawrence for a moment. He wrote a grimdark trilogy called The Broken Empire which may as well be written by a different author. The tone is so very different, I wouldn't guess they're written by the same author if I didn't know. In fact, I'd ask, "Are you sure?" He's also brought out a science fiction novel which dabbles in time travel this year, called One Word Kill, and again, the tone is completely different. He's a bit of a chameleon and hence on my list of 'will always buy.'

Red, Grey and Holy sister form the Book of the Ancestor series. It's a dark story. It says it right there in the premise, of course: a convent where young girls are raised to be killers.

But it's a beautiful story. The themes are mostly loyalty, friendship, forgiveness and second chances. At no point is the violence excessive.

The protagonist is a young girl, Nona. She's a terrific character and not only feels real but is well developed and someone I could immediately connect with. She's damaged, but fiery and passionate and fights for what she believes in. She's filled with energy and witty. She's often unpredictable, but intelligent and one of my favourite fantasy protagonists despite her young age. She grows throughout and turns into a young lady I wouldn't mind being friends with. Especially while encountering a bandit late at night.

A very important aspect of the series is how to overcome your inner demons, and how your friends can support you while doing so.

The magic system and world building are both mesmerising and full of potential and possibilities. It's a captivating world. A dying world. Ice is closing in from all sides and not much more than a corridor is left.

Now, I will not lie: I wasn't as enamoured with the third book as I was with the other two. A character I loved and cherished died off-screen. Something, I don't think any character deserves. It's hard to end a great series in a way that every fan is happy, and for the most part I was happy.

I can't recommend this trilogy enough. This is well worth your time, especially because in today's world the message of friendship, loyalty, second chances and forgiveness is an important one. Finding the light in the darkness and being brave enough to give each other another chance.

One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence

Book Title: One Word Kill
Author: Mark Lawrence
Genre: Science Fiction / Time Travel
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: Paperback, signed by the author, plus a Kindle copy

Amazon UK, Goodreads

Plot Summary: In January 1986, fifteen-year-old boy-genius Nick Hayes discovers he’s dying. And it isn’t even the strangest thing to happen to him that week.
Nick and his Dungeons & Dragons-playing friends are used to living in their imaginations. But when a new girl, Mia, joins the group and reality becomes weirder than the fantasy world they visit in their weekly games, none of them are prepared for what comes next. A strange—yet curiously familiar—man is following Nick, with abilities that just shouldn’t exist. And this man bears a cryptic message: Mia’s in grave danger, though she doesn’t know it yet. She needs Nick’s help—now.
He finds himself in a race against time to unravel an impossible mystery and save the girl. And all that stands in his way is a probably terminal disease, a knife-wielding maniac and the laws of physics.
Challenge accepted.

What did I think?

This made me want to play Dungeons and Dragons, and after not playing Dungeons and Dragons for thirty-five years, I finally did. Partly because a friend kept nudging me, and partly because damn, now I had to.

Mark Lawrence has an amazing voice, and by the end of the first page it's clear One Word Kill can only turn into a great book, and there's nothing that can stop it.

"But as it turned out, I would die even before February got into its stride."

What a sentence. On the first page.

The story is told through Nick who is an incredibly likeable and compelling character. The rest of the cast is well developed, and I cared deeply about their relationships with each other.

Lawrence's writing is imaginative and hilarious. He's got the reader chuckling, then welling up three sentences later.

The biggest theme here is friendship, but the novel has a bit of everything: The kids from Stranger Things meet Donnie Darko's time travel, topped with a healthy dose of young adults growing up in England.

It's a short book, the pacing is impeccable, and it can be swallowed in one swift gulp. And the best part? This could be a standalone. It wraps up neatly, and I actually thought it wasn't part of a series. I am pleased to hear there will be more, but people who are afraid of cliffhangers: don't be.

I recommend this to all Mark Lawrence fans, of course, and beyond that anyone who enjoys time travel, the 80's, Dungeons & Dragons, Stranger Things and anything else I've mentioned. Basically: read this, and you will love it.

Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence

Book Title: Grey Sister
Author: Mark Lawrence
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: Review Copy from Netgalley

Goodreads, Amazon UK

Plot: In Mystic Class Nona Grey begins to learn the secrets of the universe. But so often even the deepest truths just make our choices harder. Before she leaves the Convent of Sweet Mercy Nona must choose her path and take the red of a Martial Sister, the grey of a Sister of Discretion, the blue of a Mystic Sister or the simple black of a Bride of the Ancestor and a life of prayer and service.
All that stands between her and these choices are the pride of a thwarted assassin, the ambition of a would-be empress wielding the Inquisition like a blade, and the vengeance of the empire’s richest lord.
As the world narrows around her, and her enemies attack her through the system she has sworn to, Nona must find her own path despite the competing pull of friendship, revenge, ambition, and loyalty.
And in all this only one thing is certain.
There will be blood.

I got a review copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

My Review of Red Sister can be found here. This is the sequel, and I will review without spoiling the first book.

What did I think?

"It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size. For Sister Thorn of the Sweet Mercy Convent Lano Tacsis brought two hundred men."

That is the first line in Red Sister and the line that made me fall in love with Mark Lawrence's book. Just like in Red Sister his writing is beautiful, almost poetic. Every word is chosen meticulously.

The story continues to be dark, but it's also beautiful and filled with themes of friendship and loyalty and how to battle and overcome your inner demons. Grey Sister starts roughly two years after the final chapters of Red Sister.

Nona is a terrific character, well developed, hot-headed, filled with energy and wit. She's damaged, but fiery and passionate, and she fights for what she believes in. She's often unpredictable, but intelligent and one of my favourite fantasy protagonists despite her young age.

Red Sister mainly focused on Nona, here we also get to see the story from the point of view of Abbess Glass, who is the leader of the convent, and through the point of view of Sister Kettle. Throughout the book, the side characters feel more fleshed out than they were in Red Sister.

The world is complex and intriguing and Mark Lawrence expands the story behind it quite a bit. It's a dying world, ice is closing in on the people living there, from all sides and there's not much more than a corridor left. There's a lot of political intrigue in this, something I always enjoy in fantasy books.

I highly recommend Red and Grey Sister to all fantasy fans.

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

Book Title: Red Sister
Author: Mark Lawrence
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: Review Copy (but I loved it so much, I'm buying that the moment I get a chance.)

Goodreads, Amazon UK

Goodreads Summary: At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist.
But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder: guilty of worse.
Stolen from the shadow of the noose, Nona is sought by powerful enemies, and for good reason. Despite the security and isolation of the convent her secret and violent past will find her out. Beneath a dying sun that shines upon a crumbling empire, Nona Grey must come to terms with her demons and learn to become a deadly assassin if she is to survive…

I got a review copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

What did I think?

"It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size. For Sister Thorn of the Sweet Mercy Convent Lano Tacsis brought two hundred men."

I fell in love with this one almost immediately. Mark Lawrence's writing is beautiful, almost poetic. You can tell he chose each word meticulously. If I was one to highlight, half this book would be highlighted by now.

I enjoyed Lawrence's Broken Empire but Red Sister may as well have been written by an entirely different author.

It's a dark story. It's right there in the premise, of course: a convent where young girls are raised to be killers. But it's oh so beautiful. At no point is the violent excessive and at no point do bad things happen just so the author can claim his work is grimdark or gritty.

The protagonist is a young girl, Nona. She's a terrific character and not only feels real but is well developed and someone I could immediately connect with. She's damaged, but fiery and passionate and fights for what she believes in.

The magic system and world building are both mesmerising and full of potential and possibilities. It's a captivating world. The main theme is friendship and a lot of what happens is heartbreaking.

I'm not usually a fan of the school trope and I found some of the time we spend following Nona through her training dragged a bit, but that's the only criticism I've got. Other than that I loved it and can't wait for the next instalment.

Highly recommended to any fantasy fans.

The Broken Empire Trilogy by Mark Lawrence

Book Title: Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns & Emperor of Thorns
Author: Mark Lawrence
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: Library
Goodreads, Amazon UK
I've linked to the first book in the series, so no one accidentally stumbles into spoilers. 

I blogged about the first book, Prince of Thorns here. 

Goodreads summary of the first book: From being a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg has the ability to master the living and the dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father's castle Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him.

What did I think of the series? It's a wonderful debut. It's brutal. Yes, there's rape. Lots of blood. Violence. It's grim. It's dark. And maybe for some it goes a bit too far. But I loved it!

The main character, Jorg, is an anti-hero, a broken child. He was once privileged and a prince until the day his mother and brother were brutally murdered before his eyes. Now, he must confront the horrors of his childhood to become a man and build a better future for himself. He's a fascinating character. I usually prefer the villain to the protagonist. Often in books and also on television. I particularly enjoy when an author dares to show us the villain as the hero. Jorg grows over the course of the series. He starts out with no redeeming qualities, but he's complex, layered and develops in interesting ways.

The ending seems to have caused some controversy among reviewers and not everyone is happy with how Lawrence decided to finish the series. I, however, thought it was brilliant.

Mark Lawrence's world is rich and beautifully crafted. It's a futuristic version of our modern world that has been destroyed. His prose is vivid and sort of poetic.

If you like villains, don't mind dark fantasy and some science fiction thrown into it, then give this one a try, it's worth your time, I promise.

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

Book Title: Prince of Thorns (Broken Empire #1)
Author: Mark Lawrence
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: Library
Goodreads, Amazon UK 

Goodreads summary: From being a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg has the ability to master the living and the dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father's castle Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him.
Mark Lawrence's debut novel tells a tale of blood and treachery, magic and brotherhood and paints a compelling and brutal, and sometimes beautiful, picture of an exceptional boy on his journey toward manhood and the throne.

What did I think? I loved Prince of Thorns just like I thought I would.

However I will start with a warning. A warning that I think is necessary: this book isn't for everyone. There's rape. And it's possibly unnecessary rape, maybe just there to show how dark the protagonist really is. Right at the beginning. Right in your face.

Then again... maybe rape is just what happens in a male dominated group that is ransacking and pillaging. And not talking about it would be looking at the world with rose tinted glasses. In which case, maybe it's necessary and leaving it out just wouldn't be believable.

But it's still there. In your face. And I know many people don't appreciate reading about it. And I think that's fair.

The main character, Jorg, is an anti-hero, a broken child and I appreciate a protagonist that isn't all white knight in shining armor. In fact I'm a sucker for a good villain. One I can emphasize with. One I can root for. Jorg is definitely far away from being likable, but he is compelling. The story is told from his point of view and it's fascinating to follow the thoughts of such a dark, intelligent but also insane character, who has given up all hope and humanity.

It's a violent book. Disturbing. Gritty. But at the same time it's beautiful. At its heart it is a tale of revenge. 

Prince of Thorns is a quick read and Mark Lawrence's writing is enticing, almost poetic in places. He's excellent at bringing the story to life and does not waste time with pointless descriptions. The world he created is interesting and complex, though not much about it has been revealed yet, but I'm intrigued and hope we'll find out more about in the sequel.

Two Books for October (and why it's important to read a series the moment the books are published)

I just acquired copies of Six of Crows and The Prince of Thorns. Both are the first book in a series and I really don't need to read more series, but I keep seeing people talk about both books and I'm intrigued. Once I'm intrigued I can't wait.

I often think of waiting until an author has finished a series, so I don't encounter another ASOIAF moment where I've forgotten everything that happened (not that it matters, that book is never coming, is it?) or a series like Outlander, which by now has so many books and words that I got lost somewhere along the journey and would have to restart.

I know a lot of people think like that. Wait until the series is done. Binge it. Read them all. At once. No waiting. Sounds like paradise, right?

But publishers watch sales. And if the first book doesn't take off, the second book might never be published. This is how sometimes authors have to announce to fans, that sadly the next installment will not be available... they have options these days, authors can self-publish. But it must suck quite a bit, when you're in the middle of telling your story and not enough people are listening.

Sometimes I'm late to the party. No, that's wrong... I'm mostly late to the party. There are so many books out there, I have no idea where to start, what to pick next and I just kind of stumble through Goodreads, sipping my coffee, and click on random books until I get excited about a particular cover or review and immediately have to buy the book and everything else can wait. Too many books. Not enough time.

What I know about Prince of Thorns: Jorg is the narrator, he endured tremendous trauma during his childhood and is now deeply damaged. He's willing to hurt and kill and possibly not a nice guy. It's fantasy and it's Grimdark. I love conflicting characters, I love anti-heroes, so I'm quite looking forward to this one.

What I know about Six of Crows: Young Adult. Fantasy. And a deadly heist. I honestly don't know much more, so I'm looking forward to it. I like being surprised by books.

What are you planning to read in October? Anything new? Or older books? Anything I'm missing out on and should read right this second?