Reading Mark Lawrence’s Holy Sister is a bit like wandering around in a candy shop only to realize that what you gobbled up might just have been nutritious. The characters, politics, intricate plots, well-realized world mixing science fiction and fantasy elements are all so satisfying. It gives you what you want in terms of action, but still has the capacity to narratively surprise you. It’s the kind of literary meal that provides you enough substance to sustain you and enough sugar to keep you giddy.
This final installment of Book of the Ancestor returns many characters to the frozen corridors and convent. Each gets a curtain call and a chance to take a bow. Better, their history shapes the role that they play and no one’s entrance feels coincidental or like an author checking off boxes to satisfy his audience. Rather, they return with a purpose… sometimes benign and with evil intent. Because of this, the challenges, the stakes, and the toll that the narrative has on the characters has weight.
Holy Sister provides its readers a story of war and story of species’ survival. Of understanding technologies and outwitting greed, short sighted thinking, and what drives a person and a society. It also tells a story of the individual and the advantage of our flaws. It also examines how flawed a perfect character is.
I will say I missed Abbess Glass, but was glad that in some ways she became the true hero of the story even in her absence. Nona remains a powerful protagonist, a fearful fighter, and a catalyst of action. She is not a puppet guided by a Gandalf, but a person of will and determination.
I ought to admit that I struggled a bit with the first fifty pages, but that was mainly due to the split narrative. Also, the very last paragraph was a bit trite. In such a well-told rich story the bow tie at the end felt cheesy. Still, this has been one of my favorite series and if I had a catapult I would load it up with books to have it rain scattershot over the fields and castle walls.
