An article from Collider argues that Mark Lawrence's 2017 science-fantasy novel Red Sister, the opening book of the Book of the Ancestor trilogy, has the best opening line of any fantasy novel published in the last decade. The piece contends the book remains under-recognised despite its quality, and suggests its striking, witty first sentence is emblematic of the strong writing that follows throughout the novel.

Red Sister is set on the dying planet Abeth, where a narrow habitable strip called the Corridor is fought over by rival kingdoms and populated by people with distinct magical or physical gifts. The story follows Nona Grey, a peasant sold into slavery who is taken in by a convent after a violent incident, where she trains as a novice while becoming entangled in plots involving a stolen artefact and a noble family's revenge. The article praises Lawrence, also known for The Broken Empire trilogy, for subverting typical "Chosen One" fantasy tropes through an unreliable narrator and a plot built on deception and misdirection.