Book Review: Red Rising Book 5 - 'Dark Age' by Pierce Brown

The 'Red Rising' saga continues with 'Dark Age', and boy oh boy is it brutal! It's to science fiction, what 'Game Of Thrones' is to fantasy!

The red mist of war descends once again, bringing chaos to the republic, as a new threat tries to usurp the Sovereign and wrest control back to the Gold society that Darrow tried to crush, and an exiled heir tries to unite treacherous Gold families in an attempt to seek revenge against the hero that broke the chains.

You've got the same POV chapters as the last book; Darrow, Lysander, Lyria and Ephraim, and this time with the addition of the Sovereign herself, Virginia / Mustang, bringing a sense of the political chess games of the senate. Each viewpoint is really well done and it was great to see the different sides each of the characters took, sometimes crossing over with other characters as well. Witnessing the battles, the alliances, the treachery, the heartbreak and survival as well as a return of old foes, as the shift in power creates total chaos and carnage.

The title of the book is very apt and certainly gives you a hint of the tone of what's to come. It is a Dark Age indeed! With shades of 'Game Of Thrones' and perhaps a drop of 'The Handmaid's Tale' too, this isn't exactly a lighthearted romp, that's for sure! But it is storytelling and world building of the highest order! Pierce Brown takes us through the highs, and definitely lows, of familiar characters in a familiar universe, on a fast paced roller-coaster full of emotion and intrigue leaving us crushed when it's time to get off. But when almost everything seems lost in amongst all the carnage and mayhem, there is perhaps a promise of hope that will blossom into something more. Something tantalising that is enough to make me want the next book all the more and to see how this second trilogy in the 'Red Rising' saga wraps up! 

A great addition to one of my favourite space opera series. Recommended!

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