Marking the first novel in a new series, Red Sister by Mark Lawrence blends action, mystery and spiritualism in a fantasy sure to gain fans from the first pages. Mark Lawrence has previously published two trilogies, Broken Empire and the Red Queen’s War, which both followed headstrong young men set in the same world. This time, he’s stepped into unfamiliar territory. Red Sister is set in a world nearing its end, capped by ice wastelands that have reduced the livable area on the planet to a narrow strip. There is vague talk of the people that came before, much like the Builders in the other series, though this is very much it’s own world with its own politics and beliefs. Much of the story takes place within the Convent of Sweet Mercy, where Nona Grey finds herself in training to be a nun. One cannot review a title like Red Sister, set in a convent of nuns, without mentioning the religious angle. It’s certainly not heavy handed. The religious focus is on the Ancestor (calling on vague memories of people long since gone beneath the ice). There is also the Path, a special connection and source of power for the nuns in the Convent of Sweet Mercy. The Path is incredibly interesting, a sort of otherworldly connection to the nuns higher power. Having said all that, it’s not just learning about the Ancestor that preoccupies the Sisters. They all find their talents in different studies, whether academic or in alchemy. They also train as warriors for their church. This naturally appeals to Nona. Nona is not like her fellow novices. She has come to them through a series of scarring events, including being sold to the child taker, her purchase by a fighting ring, Nona being slated for execution and then arriving at the convent. She comes to them having experienced few pleasures like consistent mealtimes and hot baths, needing to learn everything from the beginning. Things don’t happen the way you expect, and there are plenty of surprises. One of which (spoiler alert) is that the main character is not portrayed as the Chosen One. In addition to that is when a new girl enters the convent and appears to be the natural antagonist for Nona, only to have that turn on its head too. It could have easily fallen into school rivalry territory but this story strives higher than that easy target. Lawrence is very good at holding the cards close to his chest. Each one of his novel’s endings has a way of opening curtains, revealing something that was always there but hidden. Nona’s story is no different. Using a close 3rd person point of view and an unreliable narrator, Lawrence draws out Nona’s journey and makes it come full circle only at the very end. For example, there are key moments in Nona’s early childhood that are only fully told at the end, when Nona embraces who she is and taps into her destructive potential.