Red Sister

Great Story supported by great narration

An excellent offering from Mark Lawrence, one in which he departs from the brooding grimdark tone of the broken empire setting in favor of a lighter (though still dark) coming-of-age story about a young girl, Nona, with extraordinary abilities that she doesn't understand. The writing is consistently excellent, capturing the world of Abeth with wit and often colorful strokes of language.
The middle section of the book drags slightly, but is punctuated with spurts of action to support the emotional character development that goes on between the girls. If anything, I enjoyed the book even more because of the middle third's more relaxed pace and emphasis on the daily lives of the young novices contrasts nicely with quick beginning and dramatic ending of the story.
As for the narrator, don't listen to the people who say she ruined the book. The narration fits perfectly in tone and delivery. Each main character has a distinct voice and mannerisms. The narrator's performance of Nona deserved much praise, and I adored her Irish accent. As anyone who listens to a lot of fantasy audiobooks can tell you, the generic male British narrator gets old, and Heather O'Neil's colorful performance enhances the text and makes it vastly more memorable.

Overall, I would highly recommend this audiobook. Engaging and well-performed, the story of the Sweet Mercy Convent will stick with you long after the final line is delivered.
9/10

185 of 193 people found this review helpful

Awesome start to a new trilogy & a talented reader

Red Sister is a fun read, not too dark but certainly not PG either. The setting is rather unique, I'm definitely intrigued and can't wait to see where it goes. I don't like to give too much away about plot but I will mention one thing that I appreciated. Our hero is no Mary Sue. She is nonetheless deadly and rather awesome. Lawrence did a great job of finding that balance.

I was really impressed with Heather O'Neil as a narrator. Along with a nice reading voice she used distinct but believable voices for each character. I really hope to hear much more of her work!

89 of 95 people found this review helpful

Absolute Bliss

Ill start by saying Ive read a literal ton of books and I almost never leave reviews. I loved the hell out of this book! Well, I love all of his books, but still! I think this was by far the best writing he's done yet and I can't wait to see what unfolds in the next ones.

It's reminiscent of both Blood Song and Name of the Wind, but only in that it's a framed narrative and the warrior-monk coming of age bit. It's still very much it's own story with a very unique world whose people seem to have a rich history. Subtly post-apocalyptic, concise yet poetic prose, and an interesting yet mysterious (even to the reader who's in her head) main character; this book is a winner. 100%

41 of 45 people found this review helpful

Not As Great As His Others

It pains me to say that this book didn't grab me like Lawrence's others, but it's undeniably true, and I think it should be said because many other reviewers seem to think this is his best work. I'm not one to question a reviewer's opinion, and I'm glad they all loved the book, but my opinion is more lukewarm. Lawrence is a great writer, and as some have noted, this book suggests he continues to increase in skill, but to me, the story just wasn't particularly interesting, and it seemed awfully familiar. One reviewer called it Anthony Ryan's Blood Song, but with girls, and I have to say it's an apt comparison. I really hope my mediocre view isn't due to the main characters being female rather than male, but I did find some of the girlish dialogue tiring. Reminded me of the Wheel of Time and the hours of female-only interactions, which also wore thin. Ultimately I think I must prefer more of a mixed cast (all guy books are equally problematic), and I really missed Lawrence's bizarrely twisted writing found in the prior series. It would likely be inappropriate here, as the book focuses on young girls, but I guess that's the problem. Or my problem. Still, it's a solid book, and I could see the next in the series being better, as the protagonist is definitely interesting and super badass, so the next installments could be more like his other books. As for the narration, she seemed solid to me. Strong voice acting, and despite what one reviewer said about stilted pauses, I think her pauses were perfectly timed to represent the flow of the dialogue.

49 of 55 people found this review helpful

Hard to finish, but I made it!

This book had such good reviews that I picked it up during the Black Friday sale. Unfortunately, I found the majority of the book quite dull and hard to get through. The only part of the book that I really got into was maybe the last two hours. Even still, the death of characters didn’t resonate with me at all. I wasn’t sad, just ready to move on.

Some reviews I read put this on par with the Kingkiller Chronicles. Having completed the book, I find the comparison to be offensive. This isn’t even in the same arena.

Other reviews said that the all female cast might have made men a bit out of touch with the characters, but I disagree. I’m a woman and I felt out of touch with the characters. I think it is just the writing.

I’m looking forward to getting to a new book that will, hopefully, leave me feeling much more satisfied with my experience. Finishing a book should never feel like a chore, but this one was for me. I’m glad other enjoyed it; however, that love does not transcend to all readers. If you buy it, I hope you enjoy it. I won’t be terribly surprised if you don’t though.

44 of 50 people found this review helpful

Couldn't stay with the narration

Any additional comments?

I'm going to go back and read this one in print. I think the story is good, but I could barely follow the narrator. She has a lovely voice and accent, but strange pacing to her sentences and some of the main character voices were very similar to each other. The timeline jumps around too, and explores a lot of different characters, which didn't help - I don't think this is the best story to listen to.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Doesn't live up to the hype

A lot of people raved about Red Sister, but honestly I wasn't that impressed with it. The opening, middle, and end are one story arc, with the rest of the book a second arc that was supposed to catch you up. While the idea was neat, the diller story couldn't match it. The intro of the book far outweighed the rest, to the point where I almost quit reading.

The main issue I had with Red Sister was the jumps in the timeline. Maybe a physical copy doesn't have this problem, but with the way Red Sister was read I had a hard time discerning when Nona was reflecting or if the story was continuing on. Furthermore I found the character development jarring and inconsistent. A lot of time was devoted to inconsequential characters while the protagonists were often ignored.

I wish I hadn't gotten my hopes up reading other reviews because I believe it left me more disappointed in the end. As of now I don't think I would invest in the second book.

16 of 19 people found this review helpful

Entertaining, but no Prince of Thorns

As this was Mark Lawrence, I had very high expectations. And this was an entertaining read.

I probably would have rated it higher if it were someone else. But I so loved the depth and quality of both the Prince of Thorns and the Prince of Fools series, that I can't help but feel disappointed.

Ok, let me try to be a bit more objective. If you are looking for a martial and magic, coming of age story (trained by nuns...in a rougher religious Hogwarts), that is entertaining, then look no further.

It reminded me so much of Blood Song (by Anthony Ryan) that I kept wondering if Lawrence used that as his model (and wove in some Harry Potter into the training/schooling, in a way that disappointed me). Yes, I'd say 4 parts Blood Song and 1 part Goblet of Fire (not in a good way).

But even so, I think I will likely listen to the sequel, so I have to admit I'm interested in the story and I was entertained.

11 of 13 people found this review helpful

Another Mark Lawrence Work of AMAZEMENT

I loved this book. It was definitely a different flavor of Empire from the Broken Empire series, but it had the same combination of elegance and edginess. I'm only disappointed in the fact that I've finished it and the next installment isn't available yet.

19 of 23 people found this review helpful

So Much Love for Mark Lawrence!!!

I raced through this book. Raced. I didn't want to stop. There was such an awesome mix of action, character building (& development), and... just... storytelling! I was there, with all Nona's novice sisters as she told and retold her story. I felt like I was just another character in the background watching her.

I found the pacing was just right. I was never bored or left waiting for something to happen. I do, however, often accept and even look for authors to spend time developing characters through dialogue or ... less adventurous moments. These are not boring or dull in Red Sister.

Heather O'Neil's narration was wonderful. I delighted in listening to her give voice to Nona's thoughts and actions. I look forward to listening in the rest of the series!

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10 of 12 people found this review helpful