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Title: Red Sister
Series: Book of the Ancestor #1
Author: Mark Lawrence
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 467
Words: 170K
Series: Book of the Ancestor #1
Author: Mark Lawrence
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 467
Words: 170K
Synopsis:
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From Wikipedia
The
planet Abeth was originally settled by four tribes with various
abilities. The hunska have superhuman speed; the gerant have
superhuman strength, the marjal can work elemental magic; the quantal
can work larger magics. Children born on Abeth may have access to one
(or rarely, multiple) bloodline powers. Abeth’s dying red giant sun
cannot generate sufficient heat to prevent a global ice age. Abeth’s
man-made moon refracts sunlight onto a narrow strip of land circling
the globe. This Corridor, only fifty miles wide, is the only unfrozen
land on the planet. It comprises several kingdoms fighting for
control of the planet’s resources.
Nona
Grey is a peasant girl living in a remote village in the Corridor.
She is purchased by a slave trader who recognizes that she has hunska
blood. She is brought the to capital of the Empire, where she attacks
a noble named Raymel Tacsis. She is saved from execution by Abbess
Glass of the Sweet Mercy Convent.
Nona
trains in the arts of combat and subterfuge at Sweet Mercy. Along the
way, she meets fellow novice Arabella (Ara). Various nobles believe
that Ara is the Argatha, a savior destined to save Abeth. Abbess
Glass convinces the nobility that Nona is the Shield, destined to
protect the Argatha. With her training, Nona recognizes that she also
has quantal and marjal talents. Nona also meets a mysterious student
named Zole and her bodyguard Yisht. Nona realizes that Yisht is
attempting to steal a valuable artifact from Sweet Mercy: the
shipheart, which was left by the original settlers of Abeth. With
four shiphearts, one can control the moon which is protecting Abeth
from a permanent ice age. Nona and the other students defeat Yisht
and save the shipheart.
In a
frame story, an adult Nona and Ara are attacked by members of the
Empire’s nobility. They are betrayed by Clera, a former student at
Sweet Mercy. Nona attempts to convince Clera to join them against the
Empire’s army.
My
Thoughts:
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Well, this book confirms that Lawrence is an author I cannot read.
Between nuns sleeping together, young almost prebuscent girls
flirting with each other, psychopathic killers (who aren't the bad
guys), a failing sun, a hopeless world being encased in ice, the
devolving of technology and failing technology, plus the absolute
soul destroying underlying philosophy, I got a soup that was pretty
as anti-me as you could get.
While Nona was more likeable than that hellbound Jorg, she wasn't
really fun to read about either. While I didn't hate my time reading
this, by the end I had to ask myself if I cared about anything in
this story enough to want to read another book's worth (and that's
not taking into account that this is a trilogy). I answered with a
resounding “NO!” If there had been even a hint that the “moon”
could have been repaired, or that someone had even entertained the
idea of repairing it, even that tiny, small shred of hope probably
would have been enough to keep me going.
But that was the whole problem I have with Lawrence. There is no
hope, anywhere. I looked high, I looked low, I even looked at
sub-minor-side characters. No where did I find any hope. All I did
find was an existential existence for 10 year old girls who had a
choice of being raped/tortured/killed or becoming merciless killers
themselves. On the killer side things, there was no justice. There
was no Justice because there was no Law. There was no Law because
there was no Law Giver.
As much as I despise Lawrence's philosophy, I do have to admit that
he is honest enough to take it to its logical end. It is just that
that end is a maelstrom of despair, death and destruction.
★★☆☆½