This review has been a long time coming as I finished reading Red Sister approximately a year ago so apologies for the delay in getting this out, especially to Mark Lawrence as he very generously sent me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I first started reading Red Sister shortly after I finished reading Nevernight so upon picking up Red Sister I noticed they had certain similarities, however after delving into the book further I realised they were very different books and the similarities were only superficial. It was at this time I feel in love with the characters and world in the Book of the Ancestor series.

One of the strongest and most interesting aspects of Red Sister was the strong and varied roster of different characters and Mark Lawrence’s method of developing each individual character was astounding. For me the sign of a good book is when the author can give the villains a good purpose, however what makes a great book is when that purpose is given depth and the author delves into that person so you can rationalise and understand their purpose on a whole other level. Mark Lawrence not only does this with his villains but ever single he primary character in Red Sister.

Not only is there a strong character development but I feel each character was given the perfect amount of time to learn more about them and allow the reader to forge an emotional bond with them.

Through out the book there wasn’t a single character I disliked as I always wanting to learn more about them and I found each of them very interest and I would have a hard time deciding who I liked the most but it would certainly have to be between Nona, Zole and Arabella.

The only aspect of the book I struggled with slightly was at the start of the book when the story jumped between the past and present but as the book progressed I quickly got used to it and understood why it was happening. This in no way detracted from how much I enjoyed Red Sister as it was only a small blip on the fascinating and awesome story Mark Lawrence has crafted. As I progressed through the book I found myself getting increasingly gripped by the story, characters and world that have been so lovingly created.

One very cool and interesting concept in the book was how certain characters in the world have specialised traits which was generally based upon their family and where they were from. This might just be me but in a way I thought the use of this seemed like a nod towards the racial traits and abilities in D&D.

I have been a fan of Mark Lawrences work for a while now and I still remember when he announced the release of Red Sister. I was very excited by the news but also cautious due to having read his work in the same world for so long. Having read Red Sister I can say that there was never anything to be cautious about as Mark Lawrence is a fantastic author and each book he writes is truly amazing.

Whether you are only just discovering Mark Lawrence or have only ever read his previous work then I would highly recommend you pick up Red Sister as it is a fantastic, well paced and gripping fantasy book. Also at the time of writing this review the three books  in the “Book of the Ancestor” trilogy (“Red Sister”, “Grey Sister” and “Holy Sister”) have all been released so its the perfect time to start the trilogy.