Review of Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

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Synopsis: ""I was born for killing – the gods made me to ruin"

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…"

My Review: I had heard a lot about this book when it was released last year and knew I wanted to read it. I am glad that I held off until now and can pick up the next book right away. It was a little slow to build and it had a few lulls in the middle that were a little difficult to push through but all in all a really captivating book. I enjoyed all of the characters and the way they have developed. It does seem to have a bit of a chosen one story line which I am not a fan of but it has been well handled and you aren't entirely sure who the chosen one is, and the twists keep you changing your mind. I also like how there is a lot of grey area, everyone has a bit of good and evil in them and human nature figures into the decisions that are made. I was thrown a bit by the glimpses of the future that pop up throughout the story, it pulled me out of the rhythm and it took a while to get back into the current events taking place in the story. I am really looking forward to reading Grey Sister and finding out what happens next.

My Rating: This is the first book I have read by Mark Lawrence but I had heard great things and I was not disappointed.  There were some lulls and a bit of a slow build but that is to be expected in an adult high fantasy series.  I give it a rating of Four Paws!