Grey Sister

As soon as I finished Red Sister, I had to grab this book. I listened to the Audiobook, and I was so tempted to just call in sick for a couple days to listen to the whole thing right away.

This book was fantastic. Red Sister was awesome and this book takes things up a notch. While still focusing on Nona, it was nice to get some first person perspectives from other characters like Glass and Kettle. The political machinations were expertly woven in with the action. The reader (or listener) is never bored. The story is nearly all substance with very little fluff.

Lawrence does a great job of getting you into the minds of the characters so that you care and get attached. As the main character, you know Nona isn’t going to die in the show more middle of the book, but you genuinely fear for her safety. You worry along with the characters as they find themselves in harrowing situations. And the villains aren’t ignored, either. They are well fleshed-out and you’ll find yourself despising them right along with our protagonists.

So if you were worried that Grey Sister wouldn’t live up to the levels of Red Sister, set those fears aside. Don’t hesitate to read this book if you liked the first one.

Ugh, I hate that I have to wait a year for the 3rd book to come out. show less

Grey Sister is the Second Book of the Ancestor by Mark Lawrence. The story brings us back to Sweet Mercy Convent two years after the spectacular events of Red Sister. Recently graduated to Mystic class, Nona Grey's life has resumed the relative normalcy of classes. Haunted by Hessa's death and her need to take revenge, Nona works to contain her emotions while she continues her education. Her plans to take the Red are interrupted with the Convent finds itself the target of the Inquisition and everyone's futures in question.

Firstly, big thanks to the author for including a short "what went on before" with the highlights from book one before the story. It was incredibly helpful and I learned something I didn't pick up on when I read Red show more Sister. I wish more authors would do this for their series.

The story follows a similar structure to the first book in that we get a sneak peek into Nona's future before continuing on her journey of how she gets there. Since we were already introduced to Nona's past in the previous book there are no more flashbacks which helps the story move along at a good pace. What's different this time around is we get a second point of view character with Abbess Glass. The Abbess is a master strategist and manipulator who, while not always knowing exactly how things will end, sees ways to set plans into motion that no one else expects. I liked this a lot as it provides nice counterbalance to Nona's more straightforward view of the world. The secondary characters are also given a chance to grow and the bonds of friendship tighten. As before, friendship is a big theme in the book.

I continue to be impressed at the world building. Abeth is such a unique idea and it's even more apparent the world is dying. As the sun continues to fail the ice inevitably creeps inward which causes the habitable parts of land to narrow. This is starting to strain the populace, the effects of which can be felt even at Sweet Mercy. Hinted at in the first book, it is fairly obvious that control over the moon and the ancient technology that was brought with the original settlers to this world will be important in the third installment if the planet and it's inhabitants are to survive. Combined with the abilities each of the four races brings and the magic of the Path I enjoy the touch of scifi with this mostly fantasy world. I am highly curious if we'll get to see anything that's under the ice or if the answers will all be found in the habitable regions.

Halfway through events take a surprising that turn that flips everything upside down. From this point on the book became very hard to put down! The action scenes are intense and so cinematic that I wish I could see them on the big screen some day. It all leads to one impossible climax that left me breathless and wanting more. Now the long wait for the final book starts. show less

The Book of the Ancestor series has to be one of my favorites, if not my number one favorite, to date. It really has everything I love about stories and writing in it and I cannot wait for the third book! Nona Grey is an amazing main character that is so simplistic in her want of friendship and of safe guarding that friendship. However, a true friend will cross all trials for another and Nona learns that time and again, throwing herself into the wake of any wrath, ire, and danger for those she loves.

In Grey Sister, Nona must also contend with a serious inner demon and be forced to look more closely at her own nature and the consequences her actions may wreak outside of any immediate gratification. Nona has had to struggle through being show more close to someone, only to loose them to horrific means she feels she should have been able to stop, on multiple occasions now. Her story becomes much about how to grieve, gain justice for those cruelly wrenched away, forgive friends and enemies, trust in others and herself, and ultimately survive in a structured environment in which she must constantly break boundaries to hang on to those people she lives for.

I really enjoyed seeing Nona’s relationship with Kettle, Clara, Glass, Regal, and Zole expand in this volume. Each of the characters are so unique and feel fleshed enough that I enjoy reading about each of them and seeing how Nona’s relationship continues to grow with them. Nona is also just so hardcore. I am always at the edge of the seat to see how she will manage the next situation in which she is backed into a corner. Luckily for her, This seems to be a predicament in which she thrives. show less

Mark Lawrence continues to get better and better with every new series. The Book of the Ancestor series may be his best yet. In book two, Grey Sister we return to Nona and the Convent of Sweet Mercy. Nona was sold into slavery and waiting for a hangman’s noose when she was rescued by Abbess Glass and sent to the Convent of Sweet Mercy to begin her training as a deadly nun in the first book, Red Sister. Now, several years later, Nona has continued to fill her potential as a “three blood” possessing skills of three of the tribes that came to this planet long ago. A planet covered in ice save for a narrow band around the middle that is warmed by an artificial moon that is slowly falling.

Nona has become even more deadly, but she has show more powerful enemies inside and outside the convent. Nona feels deeply. Her feelings sometimes pull her in opposite directions as she wants both to protect her friends and take vengeance on those who have hurt her and her friends in the past. Nona has to navigate this delicate tightrope as she is manipulated, driven to flee and pursued away from the convent. She must confront enemies from her past and fight her way to freedom. One thing is certain when Nona is involved; the path forward will be bloody.

Mark Lawrence has not only created another memorable character in Nona, but he has surrounded her with strong supporting characters, many of whom seem worthy of books of their own. Abbess Glass is a strong, fallible character who still manages to pull threads on a tapestry only she can see. We get to know Nona’s friend and classmate, Zole, a little better in this book. Nona’s enemies, including classmate Joeli, the powerful Raymel Tacsis, and the Emperor’s own sister, all have reasons to want Nona dead. These and many other characters are powerfully drawn and much more than two-dimensional characters.

The world-building in this series is incredibly vivid and interesting. Lawrence describes his world organically, revealing it through the way it affects his characters lives, their history, their motives and their actions. If the indelible characters and the fascinating world weren’t enough, Lawrence adds in great action and battles enough to satisfy the most blood-thirsty, particularly the battle at the end. The action is made all the more tense by the strong connection he invites to his characters, both those you love and those you hate.

Mark Lawrence is one of the top writers of fantasy in the business and Grey Sister displays all of his considerable talents. The series is a must-read for anyone who loves epic fantasy or just anyone who loves strong, character-driven stories. I can’t wait for the next volume in this series.

The audiobook is narrated by Heather O’Neill who was nominated for an Audie for her work on Red Sister and is equally outstanding narrating this book. The cast of characters, from young girls, nuns of various ages, courtly individuals and peasants are all captured with equal facility by O’Neill. Her narration easily helps you picture the distinct individuals speaking and her pacing reflects and enhances both the physical action and the emotional turmoil of each scene. An outstanding performance and one that makes audio my preferred method of reading this series.

Highly recommended.

I was provided a copy of this audiobook by the publisher. show less

Superb!

Despite being the middle book of a trilogy, Grey Sister does not come across as a filler. There's a proper story arc, and even someone who has not read the first book will enjoy it, albeit not as much as one who's read Red Sister. The plot takes on darker overtones than before: Keot, Joeli Namsis, the Tacsis family all hover like grey clouds, menacing and threatening to unleash themselves on the unsuspecting reader.

There were a lot of similarities to Harry Potter in this book though: Tallow aka McGonagall; the Abbess aka Dumbledore; Inquisitor Pelter aka Umbridge, and Sister Wheel aka Snape. There's even a scene where the Abbess is absent when Nona finally wants to confide in her, thus pushing Nona to take action (Philosopher's show more Stone, anyone?) Not that I'm complaining. If ever a book could've topped Harry Potter in my affection, it's this one. On a serious note, though, this feeling of deja vu leaves you somewhere midway as the story takes on a whole new level. The incredible description of the Noi-Guin stronghold was as terrifying as Shelob's lair in LOTR. When Nona and her friends are exploring some underground caves, they come across a creature of myth. This is how the author describes the fear it generates:
Nona felt it, like a squall racing across the flatness of open fields, something big, something vast that would carry her off. The walls seemed to pull away, the touch of her friends fade to nothing. Every fear she owned hurtled towards her out of the night at terrifying speed.

The rocks around her began to bleed. An awful rasping breath shuddered through the blackness. And out there a howling hate, condensing. A darker clot of night. The stench of decay surrounded her.
I read this thrice, so beautifully written did I find it. And truth be told, I was a bit afraid.

As for the characters:
Nona is no longer the same girl we left at the end of Red Sister. Her character has evolved with age, and though she is still a wildcat, the book portrays her as a slightly restrained one. The part where she showed mercy to Giljohn, who tried to shoot and re-capture her exhibits her maturity; she would not have done so in book 1. Ruli, Jula, Ara, Darla, Kettle, even taciturn Zole all tug at my heartstrings; Lawrence gives them enough scope and attention to prevent the book from hinging too much on the protagonist. There's more of Kettle and Apple, too. Yay!!

And now, for the best part of the book: its scintillating prose. Consider these:

Hers the storm’s wrath, thunder-shaken, sharp with lightning, blown on a wind that rips the oldest trees from the hardness of the ground. Hers the defiance of stone, raised in outrage against cold skies.

The fortress of you is built of such moments, they are stones dropped into the well of your tomorrow.

Spend too long watching the long game and the short game will kill you.

Smells will do that for you, reach out and pull you back across the years.

The emblems, resplendent in glowing colours beneath rain-beaded varnish, announced a gathered throng of unmatchable pedigree.

You may be rocks but humanity is the tide and you only have to stand upon the sand to see how that contest concludes.

Enough said! show less

Better than Red Sister! it picks up two years later, with a useful prologue filling in the missing details.

Nona has made it up a class along with Zole, who still doesn't speak much. However almost from the beginning Nona crosses swords with another novice who's political connections means she was always against Nona. Fortunately the author has greater plans than just the squabbling of another magic school story, and so Nona gets expelled and free from the confines of the convent she's able to start seeking her revenge against the powers that caused the death of her first friend. We also get greater insights into the political machinations of the Abbess Glass who has some storylines of her own, all converging on a magnificent epic show more showdown in the final third of the book. The ability of the various girls to survive ridiculous levels of damage and still keep fighting is somewhat unbelievable, but about the only drawback.

I am hopeful that threads left partially exposed will be detailed in the final book- there is minimal foreshadowing of the final battle this time which is appreciated, and I'm most intrigued by the division between the Missing, the planet's prior inhabitants, and the artifacts from the Ancestors arrival. There is plenty of walking the fine line of grey between right and proper, with no easy answers, friends prepared to be brave in defense of others but also succumbing to petty revenge. show less

Some really insightful and lovely prose in this one, along with a whole lot of action! I found the character depth sufficient, though not nearly as deep as we saw in book one, but loads more action, which I'm sure many people love. An excellent second installment!

Why only 4 stars you might ask? A note on bookends: they never work if the bookends are the present and the main chapters are the past. It takes away all the suspense to know that your protagonist is alive in the present. All those scenes you worked so hard to make us wonder if our hero would come out unscathed just fall flat when we start out with her in the present. Also, bookends should either add something significant to the story, or serve to frame it, and these do show more neither. Really a shame to take away everything at stake in the meat of your story.

Still, I love the book. The prose is so on point and I can't wait to read the final installment. Read it! show less