Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Book Review: Red Rising Book 4 - 'Iron Gold' by Pierce Brown

Pierce Brown's 'Red Rising' trilogy continues with a new entry in the saga, 'Iron Gold'.

Where the previous trilogy was all about breaking the chains of the Gold society with the aim of creating the dream of liberty for all, 'Iron Gold' is about the struggle to uphold that liberty in a ruthless world, set 10 years later after the conclusion of 'Morning Star', where the politics and social structure of the new society and the Sovereign and the Senate are all balanced precariously on a knife edge.

It was good to see familiar faces return, despite the time jump, and amongst the handful of new characters we get, three new POV characters join the cast, Lyria of Lagalos; a refugee Red from Mars, Ephraim Ti Thorn; a freelancer and husband to Trigg Ti Takamura, and Lysander au Lune; grandson of former Sovereign Octavia and heir to House Lune, adding more depth to the world by bringing their own very human flaws, personalities, motivations and voices to compliment Darrow's. It's a welcome addition that breathes new life to the once again excellent world building, and the first person POV perspectives, and their very different scenarios, give us more of a glimpse of the larger world than Darrow's one sided view we had in the first three books, as well as a look at the consequences of a solar system that has been ravaged by war and teetering on the edge of another.

'Iron Gold' is just as brutal and graphic with the descriptions of the violence as the other books in the series, but as before, it's not for the sake of shock value, more for the purpose of describing the ravages of war and violence in a society that was fuelled by it. And it does this very well. 

It's another winner of a novel in one of my favourite space opera series. As with the previous books in the saga, I found it well written and engaging with some superbly compelling characters, enriching world building, and perfectly paced. Not once did I feel a lull, even with four different POVs weaving through a more complex plot that builds and and builds and sets things up for things to come! And I can't wait to see what things are to come in this saga! Recommended.

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