Holy Sister
by Mark Lawrence.
Book 3 of the Book of the Ancestor Trilogy
THEY CAME AGAINST HER AS A CHILD. NOW THEY FACE THE WOMAN.
The ice is advancing, the Corridor narrowing, and the empire is under siege. Everywhere, the emperor’s armies are in retreat.
Nona faces the final challenges that must be overcome if she is to become a full sister. But it seems unlikely that Nona and her friends will have time to earn a nun’s habit before war is on their doorstep.
Even a warrior like Nona cannot hope to turn the tide of war. The shiphearts offer strength that she might use to protect those she loves, but it’s a power that corrupts. A final battle is coming in which she will be torn between friends, unable to save them all. A battle in which her own demons will try to unmake her.
A battle in which hearts will be broken, lovers lost, thrones burned.
Addictive actions scenes, but has the prose slipped?
Story
Book 3 of the Ancestor is split across 2 timelines - one that wraps up the series and the other that links it with book 2. This was a clever way to bridge the books, and Mr. Lawrence cleverly played the time jumps against each other to build intrigue and tension.
As invading hordes close in on the capital, Nona's squad of ninja-nuns must figure out how to unlock ancient technology to save not only the empire, but the world itself. Overall hot, but not all the conclusions were as satisfying as the build up.
I've often been impressed with Mr. Lawrence's ability to escalate scenes. I think he's one of the best at creating obstacles for his characters. When you don't think something can get worse, it will, and it will get solved in a satisfying way.
Characters
The main characters are great, complex and deep. They have conflicting ideas and multiple sides, they don't learn from their mistakes straight away, and they encounter everyday humanness like awkward conversations and uncertainty. Relatable and real.
I normally find Mr. Lawrence's entire casts standout and memorable. This time however, many B and C characters seemed to blend into obscurity, their actions moving the story along but they didn't stand out as characters.
Despite character depth creating a well from which to draw action and development, some characters seemed to lean on the same traits with little subtlety. Nona's anger for example, or her loyalty to her friends.
Worldbuilding
I love Mr. Lawrence's worlds, which often seem to have some influence of an elder race or ancient technology. The concept of this world's habitable corridor, carved from the encroaching ice by an orbiting mirror, was so cool that it originally made me doubt that my own worldbuilding wasn't cutting-edge enough.
The magic is also exceptionally cool, well-thought out, with two different kinds of magic systems that interact. This creates multiple ways for characters to solve problems and overcome challenges, which always seems like an ingenious 'big reveal' to the reader.
While I loved the interactions with ancient technology in Prince of Thorns, when it was revealed in Holy Sister it didn't create the same sense of excitement. I think it seemed too recognisable in such a well crafted and unique world.
Prose
Mark Lawrence is one of my favourite contemporary authors because he brings a certain standard of prose to a genre that sometimes seems to run on 'rule of cool' alone.
Some lines in Grey Sister and Red Sister made me stop to reflect and appreciate the skill, especially when expressing abstract ideas such as the use of magic. Unfortunately, that didn't happen once in Holy Sister. Beyond this, there were some lines that I thought were bad, which hasn't happened before with his work.
Action scenes are off their head. They just keep going and opening up and getting more intense and the stakes keep rising.
And also
The movements of a huge city-wide siege were clear - this is hard to pull off, and rarely is it done so. In Holy Sister, I was never confused by action or battle sequences, and got a feel of the atmosphere.
