brandino's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
bloodravenlib's review against another edition
4.0
Quick impressions: This is a story of quests. It is Sister Evangeline's quest to prove herself worthy and to maintain her humility despite events thrusting leadership and attention on her. It is Inquisitor Ravara's quest to make right the wrongs of her past as well as follow her father's voice, the voice of a dead man.
The novel combines action with some suspense and intrigue. We get a bit of Ecclesiarchy politics, especially early in the novel. The novel also has pretty good pacing, and it keeps the reader engaged. This is one I wanted to keep on reading to see how it would turn out.
(full review on my blog later)
The novel combines action with some suspense and intrigue. We get a bit of Ecclesiarchy politics, especially early in the novel. The novel also has pretty good pacing, and it keeps the reader engaged. This is one I wanted to keep on reading to see how it would turn out.
(full review on my blog later)
trackofwords's review against another edition
5.0
After losing everything in defence of Ophelia VII, Sister Evangeline of the Order of Our Martyred Lady is sent on a divine quest to seek out the Shield of Saint Katherine in Imperium Nihilus. To Inquisitor Ravara of the Ordo Malleus, Evangeline’s mission offers the opportunity to serve her own ends and undo a terrible wrong. Haunted by ghosts of the past and wrestling with their duties, both find their faith tested and their paths profoundly challenged.
As with all the best Black Library books this uses great characters to reflect and explore their archetypes, digging beneath the surface of the 40k setting while telling a powerful, compelling story which cuts to the core of 40k and the eternal conflict between the Imperium and Chaos. Everything combines into a driving narrative which is cleverly paced using the intertwining viewpoints of the two characters, the intensity of the plot ebbing and flowing with some incredibly dark moments, particularly in amongst the breathless and high-impact action sequences. For all the bruising combat and Warp-infused cosmic horror (it is a Warhammer story, after all) however, Harrison never loses sight of her characters, putting them through hell but keeping the reader engaged with relatable, human stakes. All told it’s a powerful, brutally honest book, and something that should be at the top of the list for any 40k fan.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2019/11/16/mark-of-faith-rachel-harrison/
As with all the best Black Library books this uses great characters to reflect and explore their archetypes, digging beneath the surface of the 40k setting while telling a powerful, compelling story which cuts to the core of 40k and the eternal conflict between the Imperium and Chaos. Everything combines into a driving narrative which is cleverly paced using the intertwining viewpoints of the two characters, the intensity of the plot ebbing and flowing with some incredibly dark moments, particularly in amongst the breathless and high-impact action sequences. For all the bruising combat and Warp-infused cosmic horror (it is a Warhammer story, after all) however, Harrison never loses sight of her characters, putting them through hell but keeping the reader engaged with relatable, human stakes. All told it’s a powerful, brutally honest book, and something that should be at the top of the list for any 40k fan.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2019/11/16/mark-of-faith-rachel-harrison/
talian1201's review against another edition
5.0
Great book. Love how Blacklibrary has not shied away from using strong female MC's. This is no exception.
quirkycatsfatstacks's review against another edition
5.0
I received a copy of Mark of Faith in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Mark of Faith is one of the latest additions to the lore of Warhammer 40,000. Written by Rachel Harrison, this piece of work focuses specifically on the Adepta Sororitas and a new legend being born.
Sister Evangeline was there the day Ophelia VII was attacked. She watched her sisters, her mentors fall, that day. But she kept standing. Now she's about to embark on a journey like she never expected. One she never wanted.
The Shield of Saint Katherine has been missing for years until the path was illuminated to Sister Evangeline. Thus, she and her sisters are going to be sent through the Rift to find and retrieve it. No matter the cost.
“Before me, Ophelia VII burns. The grand, gothic buildings of the Convent Sanctorum and its surrounding city-state are fractured and aflame.”
Mark of Faith is such a chilling and beautiful read. The Adepta Sororitas are, to put it simply, to amazingly intense. Their quotes alone are enough to send chills down spines. That being said, this tale is arguably one of the most powerful and moving yet.
Sister Evangeline's story is...beautiful. It's also deeply sad. She lost everything on Ophelia VII, including the opportunity to become a martyr alongside her sisters. One can imagine how much that would hurt her heart. How it would leave her scarred, a perfect match to the wings now placed on her face.
This was a heavy tale, of that there is no doubt. But it was also a story of infinite complexity. There were multiple layers to what was actually happening here, and it took a while to work through it all. I love that added depth. It does justice to the Adepta Sororitas, and to Sister Evangeline herself.
“'Fight,' she says. 'Suffer. Strand, until you cannot.'”
Honestly, I really, truly loved every single part of this story. The plot, the characters, the action, the conflict. It was all there, and it was amazing. This is a story that made me fall in love with the Adepta Sororitas all over again. But really, can you blame me?
I'll confess that I have not been reading enough about the Adepta Sororitas as I should. I need to add all of their novels and novellas to my TBR list, because frankly, I've loved every single one of them. I also need to add Rachel Harrison to my watchlist as well, because I was supremely impressed with her writing style here. I cannot wait to see more.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Mark of Faith is one of the latest additions to the lore of Warhammer 40,000. Written by Rachel Harrison, this piece of work focuses specifically on the Adepta Sororitas and a new legend being born.
Sister Evangeline was there the day Ophelia VII was attacked. She watched her sisters, her mentors fall, that day. But she kept standing. Now she's about to embark on a journey like she never expected. One she never wanted.
The Shield of Saint Katherine has been missing for years until the path was illuminated to Sister Evangeline. Thus, she and her sisters are going to be sent through the Rift to find and retrieve it. No matter the cost.
“Before me, Ophelia VII burns. The grand, gothic buildings of the Convent Sanctorum and its surrounding city-state are fractured and aflame.”
Mark of Faith is such a chilling and beautiful read. The Adepta Sororitas are, to put it simply, to amazingly intense. Their quotes alone are enough to send chills down spines. That being said, this tale is arguably one of the most powerful and moving yet.
Sister Evangeline's story is...beautiful. It's also deeply sad. She lost everything on Ophelia VII, including the opportunity to become a martyr alongside her sisters. One can imagine how much that would hurt her heart. How it would leave her scarred, a perfect match to the wings now placed on her face.
This was a heavy tale, of that there is no doubt. But it was also a story of infinite complexity. There were multiple layers to what was actually happening here, and it took a while to work through it all. I love that added depth. It does justice to the Adepta Sororitas, and to Sister Evangeline herself.
“'Fight,' she says. 'Suffer. Strand, until you cannot.'”
Honestly, I really, truly loved every single part of this story. The plot, the characters, the action, the conflict. It was all there, and it was amazing. This is a story that made me fall in love with the Adepta Sororitas all over again. But really, can you blame me?
I'll confess that I have not been reading enough about the Adepta Sororitas as I should. I need to add all of their novels and novellas to my TBR list, because frankly, I've loved every single one of them. I also need to add Rachel Harrison to my watchlist as well, because I was supremely impressed with her writing style here. I cannot wait to see more.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
rtassicker's review against another edition
2.0
Review copy provided by the publisher.
This is the second novel by Rachel Harrison I have read published by Black Library, following Honorbound. Besides the common Warhammer 40,000 setting there are no links between that and this, at least that I picked up on, as the focus moves from the Antari Rifles - baseline human soldiers of the Imperial Guard - to the Sisters of Battle, elite warrior-nuns.
I struggled to make it though Mark of Faith, as neither of our perspective characters really clicked with me. The first is Evangeline, a sister of battle who is one of few survivors of her order following a terrible battle, who is physically marked out her by scars as under the special favour and protection of the Emperor. Evangeline struggles to understand why she has survived when her sisters have fallen, and privately wishes she had achieved a martyr's death alongside them. She is given new purpose -and further insecurity - by a quest for a holy MacGuffin, in which she is accompanied by our second perspective character.
Inquisitor Ravara is a member of the most feared institution in the Imperium, the Inquisition. Secret police with near-unlimited authority, in previous depicitions an Inquisitor's competence has only been exceeded by their ruthlessness. Ravara is neither competent nor ruthless. Broken by the loss of her subordinate and lover in a recent failed venture, Ravara is accompanying the Sisters' warship in search of the MacGuffin in the hopes that it will return her love to her. Why anyone listens to her I am sure I don't know, as she comes across as a rather pathetic character, following the directions of prophetic dreams that seem to lead her and her associates into disaster after disaster.
Evangeline has the beginnings of an interesting arc in her insecurities, but unfortunately it is not paid off in a satisfying way. Ravara, meanwhile, fails her way through the story and never suffers more than a stern word of rebuke in response. I noted in my Honorbound review that I would have liked the author to be more ruthless with her characters and that feeling continues here.
The antagonist of the piece is also unsatisfying, as they do not arrive until the third act and are not previously foreshadowed. They have no known relationship with our protagonists, and it feels rather as though a hand reached into a hat marked "Enemies of the Imperium" to pull out a villain for the climax.
I enjoyed Honorbound and the Sisters of Battle & Inqusition are potentially very interesting subjects for fiction, so I am disappointed not to have had a better time with this book. Unfortunately Mark of Faith is merely staid bolter porn. For an excellent book featuring Sisters of Battle, may I recommend Peter Fehervari's Requiem Infernal.
This is the second novel by Rachel Harrison I have read published by Black Library, following Honorbound. Besides the common Warhammer 40,000 setting there are no links between that and this, at least that I picked up on, as the focus moves from the Antari Rifles - baseline human soldiers of the Imperial Guard - to the Sisters of Battle, elite warrior-nuns.
I struggled to make it though Mark of Faith, as neither of our perspective characters really clicked with me. The first is Evangeline, a sister of battle who is one of few survivors of her order following a terrible battle, who is physically marked out her by scars as under the special favour and protection of the Emperor. Evangeline struggles to understand why she has survived when her sisters have fallen, and privately wishes she had achieved a martyr's death alongside them. She is given new purpose -and further insecurity - by a quest for a holy MacGuffin, in which she is accompanied by our second perspective character.
Inquisitor Ravara is a member of the most feared institution in the Imperium, the Inquisition. Secret police with near-unlimited authority, in previous depicitions an Inquisitor's competence has only been exceeded by their ruthlessness. Ravara is neither competent nor ruthless. Broken by the loss of her subordinate and lover in a recent failed venture, Ravara is accompanying the Sisters' warship in search of the MacGuffin in the hopes that it will return her love to her. Why anyone listens to her I am sure I don't know, as she comes across as a rather pathetic character, following the directions of prophetic dreams that seem to lead her and her associates into disaster after disaster.
Evangeline has the beginnings of an interesting arc in her insecurities, but unfortunately it is not paid off in a satisfying way.
Spoiler
When she becomes a shining avatar of the Emperor's will in the final battle, it doesn't seem to result from her renewed faith in herself, nor is it clearly a result of other people's faith in her. The question Evangeline has been asking is, "Why me?" and unfortunately it is not clearly answered. The Emperor needed Evangeline particularly to get to this location to defeat this enemy... because?The antagonist of the piece is also unsatisfying, as they do not arrive until the third act and are not previously foreshadowed. They have no known relationship with our protagonists, and it feels rather as though a hand reached into a hat marked "Enemies of the Imperium" to pull out a villain for the climax.
Spoiler
The MacGuffin was a lie, as well! So what was the point of any of this?I enjoyed Honorbound and the Sisters of Battle & Inqusition are potentially very interesting subjects for fiction, so I am disappointed not to have had a better time with this book. Unfortunately Mark of Faith is merely staid bolter porn. For an excellent book featuring Sisters of Battle, may I recommend Peter Fehervari's Requiem Infernal.
asbrightasthesol's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
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