Nona Grey’s story reaches its shattering conclusion in the third instalment of Book of the Ancestor.
The ice is advancing, the Corridor narrowing, and the empire is under siege from the Scithrowl in the east and the Durns in the west. 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 in the order of her choice. 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.
HOLY SISTER completes the Book of the Ancestor trilogy that began with RED SISTER and GREY SISTER. A ground-breaking series, it has established Mark Lawrence as one of the most exciting new voices in modern speculative fiction.
The Review
I'm not going to lie to you, I did not want to read this book. Don't get me wrong, I've fallen in love with the characters, the dying world, the magic and the relationships (both the good and the bad.) I suppose that's the real tragedy in falling in love with a series; it can't go on forever and no matter how long you leave the book on your "Currently Reading" list, it won't magically multiply pages while you sleep. Here's a head's up: I'm probably going to gush over this book in much the same way that I have over the first two installments in the Book of the Ancestor's series. It isn't that they are without flaws, it's just that I become so absorbed that my critical reading goes splat. My one and only real complaint is the jumping from years in the future to years in the past could become confusing if I wasn't careful. It was especially dangerous in the flow of reading when everything going on outside of the book ceases to exist. You know what I'm talking about here.
Yep, that was it. My one problem and it isn't even much of one. That's because I love Nona, Ara, Abbess Glass, Kettle, Ruli, Jula and Mistress Blade...If I don't stop myself this will turn into more of a list of the characters than an actual review, so you get the picture. I love learning about this interesting world that has been dying for centuries and no one, despite having magic on their side, has managed to figure out how to save it. In fact, because the world is in such peril, the humans left on this planet are forced to fight amongst themselves just for space to exist in. I found it a bit haunting in that their reality could very well parallel our own world in a few centuries. For all of our technology, we can't seem to stop climate change, pollution, over-population, and for all their magic, they can't seem to either.
My heart broke for all of the people that live inside these two covers, even the Scithrowl. Their leader Adoma is perhaps a bit misguided, but survival really hasn't left them much choice. I especially love the cast of strong women. Lawrence doesn't try to force femininity or masculinity on his readers, despite the story being dominated by a cast of female characters. They aren't strong because they are women, and they aren't weak for not being men. I'm not sure that I'm making sense right now, but I'm hoping I am.
The plot itself could get frustrating, but again that is mainly due to the time-jumping. I knew it was going to be difficult to say goodbye to the characters in this series, and writing this doesn't make that any easier. My only consolation is that I am waiting for Mark Lawrence's most recent published book called The Girl and the Stars, which just so happens to be set in the same world as Nona's story.
I warned you that I was going to gush so it really shouldn't come as a surprise that I'm rating this five out of five and adding it to my "Most Favorite Books Ever" list.
