Red Sister cover art

Red Sister

Book of the Ancestor, Book 1

Preview

Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Red Sister

By: Mark Lawrence
Narrated by: Helen Duff
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $31.99

Buy Now for $31.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.
Cancel

About this listen

It's not until you're broken that you find your sharpest edge.

"I was born for killing – the gods made me to ruin."

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist.

But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder: guilty of worse.

©2017 Mark Lawrence (P)2017 HarperCollins Publisher Limited
Dark Fantasy Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Historical Fiction

Critic Reviews

"Dark, passionate, tense, with a female hero anyone could relate to - I was utterly fascinated! This is no pretty, flowery tale, but one of vastly different people struggling to survive when a hostile government comes to power." ( New York Times best-selling author Tamora Pierce)
"This is a book very distinct from everything that came before; what it has in common though is a narrative that pulls no punches, and characters that are beautifully, brokenly, repellently, cleverly human." ( Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews)
"I had never thought it was possible to find a greater character than the Emperor Jorg Ancrath. I had never even slightly considered that there might be a fantasy world out there toppling that of Τhe Final Empire, and most definitely, I had never thought that I could love a book more than The Night Angel. But here we are." ( BookNest)
"Any other author is going to have to smack the ball way, way out of the park to top this read." ( Parmenion Books)

What listeners say about Red Sister

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    617
  • 4 Stars
    189
  • 3 Stars
    64
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    12
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    617
  • 4 Stars
    135
  • 3 Stars
    53
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    11
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    573
  • 4 Stars
    168
  • 3 Stars
    66
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    12

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating main character

I really enjoyed the main character and her development throughout the story. The weaving in of past and present throughout was cleverly done. The narrator was brilliant and faultless in her portrayal of the different characters and her use of different accents. I found I did have to speed up the narration otherwise it was as a bit slow.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great book, difficult to binge.

I enjoyed the book, and the narrator. however I did find my mind wandering away quite frequently. I'm not sure if it's the narrator's almost soothing voice or that the narration between action happening vs what was the protagonist was thinking wasn't any different.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating

I found this story an interesting one, it’s not fast paced, nor is it a thriller. Closer to the beginning of the story it often goes off on tangents which can be difficult to follow but the narrator does a fantastic job creating a captivating tale and one I do recommend even though it is quite different to my usual action packed stories.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome!

This was a fantastic story. The narrator was excellent, giving clear expression to so many character voices.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

I hadn't read any other books by Mark Lawrence; started this on Kindle and then bought the audiobook to listen to at the gym. While Nona's story starts slow, it gains momentum and I really enjoyed the whole trilogy. The world-building is fantastic, with hints at something far greater at play. Helen Duff's narration is absolutely fantastic as well and really helped me stay in the story, as she captured Nona's voice, and those of the other characters, so clearly.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

one of my favourites

one of my favourites, Helen Duff is FANTASTIC
her vpices and delivery had me sitting the the car not wanting to stop listening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Draws you in..

Loved learning about the many leading ladies, with the story having twists and turns to keep me interested in what happens next. So looking forward to the next one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not Sure About This Book

I most likely will get the next in the series but I found this story to go around and around. Perhaps I fell asleep too often and I did listen to a couple of chapters more than once. I'll reserve judgement until I've listened to the next one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I loved it

I really liked this book and now I have to finish the series it was so different and good all in one

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

There is no mercy at the Sweet Mercy Convent

The story follows Nona, a young girl cast out by her family and village because there is something not quite right about her. Sold, then captured, she is enslaved to fight in the ring until she kills an important and brutal man and sentenced by the guild to death row. Rescued by the sisters of the Sweet Mercy convent, an order that trains fighters and mystics and develops their innate magical powers, Nona stands out from the other girls.

This book introduces a new world situated in a harsh and shrinking environment with a number of memorable and interesting characters, mostly Nona's class mates but also some of the sisters. It starts and ends with a brutal and deadly fight, one sister against a hoard of soldiers and the story in between covers Nona's first two years at the convent.

An enjoyable and engaging fantasy read but the ending seemed a little flat.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.