A review by rtassicker
Mark of Faith by Rachel Harrison
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.