When Fantasy-Faction started out it was just a tiny review site with a forum full of readers and writers with too much free time on their hands. One of the writers who would hang out and chat fantasy with us was Mark Lawrence. We watched as his career took off and followed him fondly from one amazing series of books to the next. From Jorg and the Prince of Thorns, to Jalan and the Prince of Fools.

But now the time of princes has passed and a new face will lead us into unfamiliar realms and unexpected adventures. Her name is Nona Grey and she heads Lawrence’s next series, Book of the Ancestor. Who is this mysterious woman that will carry the weight of the newest Mark Lawrence title, Red Sister?

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy, young girls are raised to be killers. In some few children the old bloods show, gifting rare talents that can be honed to deadly or mystic effect. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls.

A bloodstained child of eight falsely accused of murder, guilty of worse, Nona is stolen from the shadow of the noose. It takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist, but under Abbess Glass’s care there is much more to learn than the arts of death. Among her class Nona finds a new family—and new enemies.

Despite the security and isolation of the convent, Nona’s secret and violent past finds her out, drawing with it the tangled politics of a crumbling empire. Her arrival sparks old feuds to life, igniting vicious struggles within the church and even drawing the eye of the emperor himself.

Beneath a dying sun, Nona Grey must master her inner demons, then loose them on those who stand in her way.

So according to this, Nona is a badass worthy to stand alongside her creator’s other children and possibly even give them a run for their money. Such an impressive feat deserves an equally impressive cover. And that is exactly what it received!

The US cover for Red Sister has a spark of life that seems to burn off the page. Nona is fierce and proud, standing in a red mist that alludes both to the title of the book and the blood she will surely shed within it. This is no one to be trifled with. She is powerful and she knows it and she’s going to make sure we know it too!

Congratulations to Mark for the amazing cover, the new series, and his success in fantasy thus far! And a big thanks for thinking of us and letting us host this awesome reveal! Also a big congratulations to the cover artist, Bastien Lecouffe Deharme, for his beautiful work!

Red Sister is due out on April 4, 2017 in the US and April 6, 2017 in the UK. And if you are as excited about this as we are, you can pre-order it now (Amazon US/UK) and make sure it’s in your hands the day it’s released! For more information on the Book of the Ancestor series or Mark’s other works, you can check out his website or follow him on Twitter!