The final book in Pierce Brown's 'Red Rising' trilogy, 'Morning Star' sticks the landing with a satisfying conclusion to Darrow's war against the Gold society.
With the devastating cliffhanger of an end for 'Golden Sun' (I'm so glad I didn't have to wait to pick up this book, I SO NEEDED to know what happened next!), we find Darrow being tortured both physically and mentally by the Jackal. But he's of course rescued and his rebellion against the Golds begins anew. But whilst he was detained, it gave Darrow time to think about his own mortality, and he comes out a broken man. But with his friends Mustang, Sevro, Victra, Ragnar, and family around him, the cracks that appeared when he was in captivity, are slowly healed and it's not long until The Reaper is back!
'Morning Star' is a very engaging book with plenty of complexity in its characters and a plot that keeps you gripped, with a few well written twists and turns for good measure, that take you one way but then violently jerk you in another direction. Even with all the action and violence, I did feel that there was also a bit more humour in this instalment, which added a bit of character to the story. Of course, mostly involving that loveable knuckle head Sevro!
The development of the cast throughout the book, and series on a whole, has been superb and a real highlight. Darrow, who has come a long way since his days as a Red Helldiver, as have the others in his retinue, have all grown and matured since we first meet them at the Institute in book one. Well, almost all of them have matured, not so much in Sevro's case! The slight changes over the course of the narrative brings out their emotions and we get to see how they handle themselves and others in certain situations, whether for better or for worse and dealing with whatever consequences that are thrown their way, fleshing out their personalities, and making them feel all the more three dimensional instead of being flat and boring.
By the time we reach the end of the thrilling showdown, and the end of the trilogy, with the chains broken and Eo's dream finally realised, it's been a long journey. An emotionally ruthless and violent journey that has seen us meet some iconic characters and brutal situations, in a vast well written and complex universe, that will stay with us long after the book closes, making the 'Red Rising' saga a firm favourite space opera series it's been a pleasure to read. Recommended.
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