Grey Sister

So this is Book 2 of Book of the Ancestor, and after Book 1, Red Sister, I was left hungry for more. However, if I am being honest, the more I was left hungry for was about the world of Abeth and the universe Mark Lawrence had build and not so much about our protagonist, Nona Grey. That’s not to say that Nona’s story wasn’t gripping, because it was, but the lack of pacing in the last book stifled my interest in the characters a little but did give me time to really appreciate the world within which they lived. So, on to Book 2.

For starters, in this book we now get multiple character perspectives, which in my humble opinion was exactly what was needed to give the pacing the shot of adrenaline that it rightly deserved. We now get to see the story from a couple of the other most interesting characters that were introduced to in Red Sister, and the expansion of the perspectives allows for so much more to happen that the storyline was able to dig its claws into my attention to a far greater degree than Red Sister. We are no longer saturated with Nona Grey, and the third or so that is from other characters allows us to cut the chaff from Nona’s new storyline and breathe a little more life into it. And on that note, the quantity of action in Grey Sister is significantly increased compared to Red Sister. This still isn’t some Joe Abercrombie level of pacing and action, but there is a big enough jolt that I wasn’t left dragging my mental heels through quite so much of the nun’s day-to-day activities. We are introduced to some new characters, most of which a delightfully evil in their own ways, and Lawrence once again does a hell of a job writing characters you quickly come to despise with a burning passion. They aren’t over-the-top villains, but more the scheming, backstabbing, manipulative little shits that you just know are going to get away with whatever they have planned in a way that punches you right in the gut, and I loved it.

The story still largely takes place at Sweet Mercy Convent, though we are also treated to a decent amount of the book in other locations that allow us to get a broader look at the world of Abeth. We are also shown a lot more depth in the magic system that was only broadly thrown at us in Red Sister. The explanations of how things work and clever ways in which they are put to use becomes a lot more tangible with this explanation and was something that was sorely missing in Red Sister. There is a little less lore and world building in this book than the last, but what is in there is explained to a better degree and answers some burning questions whilst pinning you down with a bucket-full more.

This book seems to take every issue I had with Red Sister and addresses each to some degree or another. I never found myself wanting to skip ahead with Grey Sister as I did with Red Sister and knew from a few chapters in that I’d be downloading Book 3 as soon as I was finished. The story is far more engrossing, covers a lot more ground, is far more action-packed, and is extremely clever on multiple occasions. In all, this book is a solid improvement on the last for my personal preferences, though to those who really enjoyed Red Sister’s slow-burn, you still won’t feel swept away by the heightened pacing. It still wasn’t perfect for me personally, but it was a good improvement. Bring on Book 3.

As with Red Sister, Helen Duff’s narration was brilliant, and now that Nona is that little bit older in this book, the issue that I had with her voice not quite matching her age was neatly swept away. Fantastic narration.

Personal Score: 4.0 stars

Professional score: 4.25 stars