Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
When Frodo doesn't like the new Lord of the Rings book covers: youtu.be/LRzNNx5ESW8
#lotr #fantasy
When Frodo doesn't like the new Lord of the Rings book covers: youtu.be/LRzNNx5ESW8
#lotr #fantasy
![ASSASSIN NUNS + MAGIC! | Red Sister by Mark Lawrence | [Spoiler-Free Book Review]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AqYjdVyXfB4/mqdefault.jpg "ASSASSIN NUNS + MAGIC! | Red Sister by Mark Lawrence | [Spoiler-Free Book Review]
This is a spoiler-free review of Red Sister (First Book of the Ancestor) by Mark Lawrence.
This is an Adult Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, borderline Grimdark Fantasy novel. It has a 3.08 rating on the Mark Lawrence unofficial grimdark rating list on his blog, where readers go and vote in an attempt to nail down what it means to be grimdark.
What this book is not is an adventure story. The Prince of Thorns and The Prince of Fools are stories where the protagonist goes on an adventure. In Red Sister, Nona goes to school. Sure there is violent action at times, but do understand that most of this story takes places at a nuns convent where they train assassin nuns.
This feels much more like the first story in a trilogy than the previous two series did.
The pace feels a little slower and thats going to lose some readers. The best advice I could give is to push through it because its worth it.
Mark Lawrence is the kind of author that will only give you what you need to know to move forward in the story. That is a style I prefer. I know when it comes to Fantasy some people really spending time detailing all the intricacies of a magic system or the world at large. He does not do that. You know what you need to know. The story is focused on Nona and the obstacles she faces in life.
Also there is violence. Its a story about assassins so yeah. The fight scenes are well painted and filled with tension.
Mark Lawrence is an established author that will always pass the prose check. His style is very literal and transparent, his prose will not get in the way of the story, but he also knows when to turn the dial and slow the pace for the important moments and in those important moments he turns into Anna Spark Smith all of a sudden and gets a little poetic, and I love that.
Nona is a child who was given away and I couldnt help, but root for her. Shes young and shes a hunska, which means she can be incredibly fast for short periods of time. She has no problem killing and it always feels justified to me. Shes a little badass and some rich and powerful people want her dead real bad.
The antagonists are easy to root against and theres a bunch. Theres a moment where Lawrence does an amazing job of making you hate one of the minor antagonists, but I cant really talk about that here. I will talk about it in my spoiler-filled review, but anyways...even the main antagonist does a thing, where you can totally see why young Nona wants to end this person.
In Abeth, some people are born with one of four special abilities.
Hunska: Fast. Like quicksilver fast.
Gerant: Big, like Rike big.
Marjal: Lesser magic.
Quantal: Greater magic.
The extra long final chapter + The Epilogue + The teaser for the next book all back to back to back is just unfair. Its so good. Three heavy hitters in a row. There are some slow moments, but the fight scenes, the emotional bits, and the end more than make up for it.
5/5 Im really looking forward to the next book in the series.
If you are interested in picking up Red Sister (First Book of the Ancestor) by Mark Lawrence, you can find it here: https://amzn.to/3r2sP0v
Video Chapters:
00:00 What This Book is About
01:28 What You Should Know Before Reading Red Sister
03:19 Prose
05:22 Is The Protagonist Easy To Root For?
06:01 Are The Antagonists Easy To Root Against?
06:53 What Is The Magic Like?
09:04 Worldbuilding
10:19 Friendships
10:50 Does It Stick The Landing?
12:23 Rating
Heres where you can find me on all the stuff:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidDecero
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daviddecero/
Facebook page: https://bit.ly/2X5lDRz
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2XLJg58
Website: Daviddecero.com
Shop: https://teespring.com/stores/probably-a-haunted-forest
*Disclaimer: Some of the links in this description and pinned comment are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
#Redsister #Fantasy #booktube")
![Paranormal Mystery | Out of Body by Jeffrey Ford | [Book Review]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/B0OOFArnkJ0/mqdefault.jpg "Paranormal Mystery | Out of Body by Jeffrey Ford | [Book Review]
Synopsis
A small-town librarian witnesses a murder at his local deli, and what had been routine sleep paralysis begins to transform into something far more disturbing. The trauma of holding a dying girl in his arms drives him out of his own body. The town he knows so well is suddenly revealed to him from a whole new perspective. Secrets are everywhere and demons fester behind closed doors.
Worst of all, he discovers a serial killer who has been preying on the area for over a century, one capable of traveling with him through his dreams.
Purchase Out of Body by Jeffrey Ford here: https://amzn.to/2EnfzjH
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Review:
I finished the last page with tears welled in my eyes and goosebumps on my arms. Can a solid ending save a bad novella? No, probably not, but luckily that isnt the case here. Can a good second half save a slow first half? Yes. Yes it can.
This was the first story of Jeffrey Fords that Ive read and I have read a lot of great things about this writer. Someone wrote hes a literary genius. So naturally I had unfairly high expectations going into this story.
Genre
This novella could fall under the following categories:
- Paranormal Mystery (Is that a category? Well, it is now.)
- Urban Fantasy
- Horror
Pacing
The first chapter is exciting, and definitely makes a promise, after that the entire first half of this novella, up until chapter 10 is slow, but you can tell it was a lot of setup. I wanted to dnf it, but I noticed the author putting all these set pieces in place and I wanted to see where it went.
Heres a bad analogy, its like if youre hungry and you go to this chef to make you a meal. Youre really hungry, and you see this chef take his time and pull out all of the ingredients and start cooking, which is great, but youre hungry now. You ask for appetizer and the chef says no. You could leave and get something thats ready now, but youve already waited a while and the food is almost ready so you stick around because if youve waited this long and you might as well enjoy the meal. This novella is like that. If you wait patiently through the setup, youll get to enjoy the meal and its a satisfying meal. Its not that long of a wait anyways because this is a novella.
Is the main character easy to root for?
Yes. Owen the librarian is just a good dude. The man has a good heart. Hes a loner whos passionate about books so hes relatable.
Is there a worthy Antagonist?
Yes. The antagonist is strong and significantly more violent than Owen. Youre definitely concerned for Owen here.
Does it stick the landing?
Yes. All the set pieces come together in a neatly made meal.
Reasons to pick up this novella.
- If youre looking for a short paranormal mystery or horror novella.
- If you have a fascination with stories that have to do with sleep paralysis.
- If youre into small towns with dark secrets (Who isnt?).
Reasons not to pick up this novella.
- The entire first half (Excluding the first chapter). If youre an impatient reader, you might give up on the first half.
- If youre averse to blood and gore, theres a little, very little, but present amount of that here.
Rating
The first half was 2.5 stars, the second half was 4.5 stars, so overall, Id have to give this book 3.5 stars.
Shop: https://teespring.com/stores/probably-a-haunted-forest
Heres where you can find me on social media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidDecero
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daviddecero/
YouTube: Youtube.com/c/Daviddecero
Facebook page: https://bit.ly/2X5lDRz
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2XLJg58
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:58 Genre
02:12 Pacing
03:59 Is the protagonist easy to root for?
04:21 Is there a worthy antagonist?
04:44 Does it stick the landing?
05:25 Reasons to read this novella:
06:11 Reasons not to read this novella:
07:07 Rating")
![[2021 TBR] Based on Recommendations from Booktubers and Horrortubers | [+Channel Goals!]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Bl1WIAaYE4E/mqdefault.jpg "[2021 TBR] Based on Recommendations from Booktubers and Horrortubers | [+Channel Goals!]
This is year my TBR has been heavily influenced by some of my favorite booktube and Horrotube channels. Im going to be reading a bunch of Fantasy books such as The Wheel of Time, The Way of Kings, The Black Company, and Malazan, Book of the Fallen. In between those massive Fantasy books Ill be reading some Horror Novellas and shorter Grimdark novels.
As far as Television and Movies, I will definitely be covering Wandavision, Dune, Spider-Man 3, the Lord of the Rings show on Amazon, The Wheel of Time show on Amazon, and of course the second season of the Witcher on Netflix.
I will be coming out with some Anime content this year, starting out with Demon Slayer and The Promised Neverland.
Channel goals
1.) Create better content.
2.) Publish two novellas.
3.) More buddy reads.
4.) Reach my wildly unrealistic subscriber goal.
Philip Chases Video that has a list of other Booktubers reading Malazan this year: https://youtu.be/QIu16OEyt3k
Other Channels Mentioned:
Daniel Greene: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw xPGVVxYzRsWyV1nFqgg
Slowly Red: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChrfl_dAGsoIXA3xUYnKE1g
Donnie Goodman: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-kmvcqtOYuFTS00GA1rPUg
Uptown Horror Reviews: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-9EiDna-pBNuDpXnWkNhXg
Jed Herne: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjB-qFoNxNbQq0S3boWxIA
Pablo Saurez: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXF8S rBo7_5fKusqQBxTg
Heres where you can find the books mentioned in this video...
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson: https://amzn.to/39PwGX6
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan: https://amzn.to/395Bmcb
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson: https://amzn.to/3p6QPyc
The Black Company by Glen Cook: https://amzn.to/2LJLZsl
Beyond Redemption by Michael Fletcher: https://amzn.to/2Y2XdKY
Black Stone Heart by Michael Fletcher: https://amzn.to/39RyIWx
Along the Razors Edge by Rob J. Hayes: https://amzn.to/363P5y9
Rise of the Gods by Dyrk Ashton: https://amzn.to/39VlIiv
The Thunder Heist by Jed Herne: https://amzn.to/3qKI0dB
Video Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:55 Malazan - Philip Chase
01:50 The Black Company - Slowly Red
02:19 Wheel of Time - Daniel Greene
03:05 The Way of Kings
03:33 Horror Reading Plan - Donnie Goodman and Uptown Horror Reviews
04:18 Grimdark Reading Plan - Jed Hernes Podcast
06:11 The Blade Itself Buddy Read with Pablo Saurez
07:09 Anime
08:24 TV Shows
09:05 Movies...Dune
09:20 Resolutions and Goals?
Heres where you can find me on all the stuff:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidDecero
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@daviddecero?lang=en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daviddecero/
Facebook page: https://bit.ly/2X5lDRz
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2XLJg58
Website: Daviddecero.com
Shop: https://teespring.com/stores/probably-a-haunted-forest
*Disclaimer: Some of the links in this description and pinned comment are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
#booktube #tbr #tbr2021")
![The Mandalorian Season 2 Was Fun | Disney+ | [Review]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BpHTlG5gWj0/mqdefault.jpg "The Mandalorian Season 2 Was Fun | Disney+ | [Review]
The Mandalorian Season 2 recently finished and I have to say it was a lot of fun. Its one of the best shows on Disney+ so far and a promising addition to the Star Wars Franchise. In Todays video I review the second season.
If youre interested in picking up the Baby Yoda bluetooth speaker from my thumbnail, you can find it here: https://amzn.to/2XPDPRH
Video Chapters:
00:00 Review - Spoiler Free
05:58 Rating
07:00 Spoilers!
08:22 Spoilers! - That One Scene
11:16 Spoilers! - More Spoilers!
Heres where you can find me on all the stuff:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidDecero
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daviddecero/
Facebook page: https://bit.ly/2X5lDRz
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2XLJg58
Website: Daviddecero.com
Shop: https://teespring.com/stores/probably-a-haunted-forest
*Disclaimer: Some of the links in this description and pinned comment are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
#Disney+ #themandalorian #themandalorians2 #starwars")
