History Literature / BookOfTheAncestor

* XanathosGambit: [[spoiler: Abbess Glass]] is the undisputed master of this, especially during [[spoiler: the trial at Sherzal's palace]].

The ''Ancestor'' trilogy is a series of ScienceFantasy novels by Creator/MarkLawrence which are based around the adventures of battle nun Nona Grey. The first novel ''Red Sister'' came out on April 4th, 2017, with ''Grey Sister'' and ''Holy Sister'' following in 2018 and 2019; an e-book short story, "Bound," takes place between the second and third books. ''The Book of the Ice'', a prequel trilogy set in the same world but decades earlier and focusing on the ice rather than the Corridor, has been finished in 2022.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: The epilogue of ''Holy Sister'' takes place some time after the book's events, and establishes what happened to the remaining nuns. [[spoiler:Nona has become Mistress Blade, Jula has been named Sister Page and become Mistress Spirit, Clera has started several business ventures in close contact with Sweet Mercy, Ruli went back to her father's ships, and Ara became Lord Jotsis for several years before returning to the convent [[TheyDo and Nona.]]]]

* OutOfTheFryingPan: The original four tribes came to Abeth to flee their own dying star. It's not clear if they crashed accidentally or settled without realizing what Abeth would become, but either way they're now stuck on another dying planet with no way off.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: [[spoiler: At the climax of ''Grey Sister'' Nona subjects Thuran Tacsis to the Harm, his own torture device; the experience leaves him so weakened and debilitated that, though he's still alive by ''Holy Sister'' he's surrendered all the running of House Tacsis to his son Lano. Nona, for her part, is ashamed by what she did and, even though she knows Thuran probably deserved it, still considers the act a stain on her honor. Not helped by the act that using the flesh-bind to do it meant that she [[NiceJobBreakingItHero didn't have it on hand later to save Darla]].]].

* LostTechnology: Arksteel, shiphearts, and many other devices are the scavenged remnants of the ships that first brought humanity to Abeth, since most of the knowledge and resources to maintain their technology were lost under the advancing ice.

* LoopholeAbuse: Nuns are Brides of the Ancestor, and thus expected to retain a vow of celibacy. However, this vow only applies to heterosexual pairings (since they're the only ones that can conceive children for the Tree), so even [[TheFundamentalist Sister Wheel]] turns a blind eye to Sisters [[AgentsDating Apple and Kettle]]. In ''Holy Sister'', [[spoiler:this also applies to Nona and Ara, with Nona even lampshading it to Regol.]]

* OneManArmy: What the Shields of the Chosen One, Sisters Thorn and Cage, become and several nuns before them in history.

* SerialKiller: Nona critically injures one of these, unfortunately he's the son of the richest man in TheEmpire.

** While all of the Sisters superior must be aces in their field, Sister Pan stands out as possibly the strongest Path-Mage in the world. Most people can only walk the path for a few steps, with the greatest being able to do fifty or so. [[spoiler:Sister Pan has been walking the Path for ''twenty years'', and when she lets loose annihilates the competing mages and a good chunk of the army in the greatest example of Path magic in the series and possibly in the history of Abeth.]]

* ManipulativeBitch: Joeli Namsis likes to trick people into doing her work for her, especially when it comes to winding Nona so she can play victim later.

--> '''Glass''': [[spoiler:I am here to investigate Sherezal for theft and treason]].
** ''Holy Sister'': When Nona is confirmed as Sister Cage.

*** And then in the vault.
---> '''Nona''': [[spoiler:The book wasn't important]].

* RazorFloss: One of the tools of a Grey Sister are absurdly sharp wires, which gets particular focus in ''Holy Sister'' since the final exam of Shade is setting one up and then navigating it in complete darkness. [[spoiler:Sherezal is eventually done in when she evades one trap in the Ark, only to run into Ara's wire trap and be gruesomely eviscerated.]]

* LoopholeAbuse: Nuns are Brides of the Ancestor, and thus expected to retain a vow of celibacy. However, this vow only applies to heterosexual pairings (since they're the only ones that can conceive children for the tree), so even [[TheFundamentalist Sister Wheel]] turns a blind eye to Sisters [[AgentsDating Apple and Kettle]]. In ''Holy Sister'', [[spoiler:this also applies to Nona and Ara, with Nona even lampshading it to Regol.]]

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The leader of the Noi-Guin is known only as the Singular; if he ever had more name, it's been long obscured.

* TheFundamentalist: Sister [[spoiler: later Abbess]] Wheel is the strictest in her faith of the major nuns at Sweet Mercy and the most standoffish and judgmental towards anyone who doesn't meet her standards, including Nona.

* RazorWire: One of the tools of a Grey Sister, which gets particular focus in ''Holy Sister'' since the final exam of Shade is setting one up and then navigating it in complete darkness. [[spoiler:Sherezal is eventually done in when she evades one trap in the Ark, only to run into Ara's wire trap and be gruesomely eviscerated.]]

** [[spoiler: Sister Cage the Shadowless]]

* SerialKiller: Nona critically engineers one of these, unfortunately he's the son of the richest man in TheEmpire.

* HateSink: Sherzal, Joeli Namsis, and the entire Tacsis family.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: [[spoiler: At the climax of ''Grey Sister'' Nona subjects Thuran Tacsis to the Harm, his own torture device; the experience leaves him so weakened and debilitated that, though he's still alive by ''Holy Sister'' he's surrendered all the running of House Tacsis to his son Lano. Nona, for her part, is ashamed by what she did and, even though she knows Thuran probably deserved it, still considers the act a stain on her honor]].

The ''Ancestor'' trilogy is a series of ScienceFantasy novels by Mark Lawrence which are based around the adventures of battle nun Nona Grey. The first novel ''Red Sister'' came out on April 4th, 2017, with ''Grey Sister'' and ''Holy Sister'' following in 2018 and 2019; an e-book short story, "Bound," takes place between the second and third books. The Book of the Ice, a prequel trilogy set in the same world but decades earlier and focusing on the ice rather than the Corridor, is currently in progress.

* WitchSpecies: Marjals and Quantals. Marjals have 'lesser magics' which can include ElementalPowers, [[CastingAShadow shadow powers]] and healing, among other tricks; Quantals can access [[BackgroundMagicField the Path]], which is more difficult and dangerous but can produce some massively spectacular effects when channeled properly. Of course, because everyone on Abeth is of mixed blood from the four original tribes, it's entirely possible (albeit rare) to have both sets of abilities.

* SchoolgirlLesbians: A quality which is a fact of life in the convent due to SituationalSexuality. Most obviously, Nona's and Ara's slow-burning mutual crush is a running subplot across the series [[spoiler: and they end up an item by the end of it]].

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: One theory as to the ultimate fate of the Missing, the [[ThePrecursors precursors]] that inhabited Abeth before humanity.

* ThePrecursors: The Missing, a race who inhabited Abeth before humanity arrived and whose ruins can still be found under the ice that covers most of the planet. Very little is known of them, but they're implied to have [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascended to a higher plane of existence]].