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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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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Book Review: Red Rising Book 3 - 'Morning Star' by Pierce Brown

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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Book Review: Red Rising Book 2 - 'Golden Son' by Pierce Brown

'Golden Son' is the next instalment in Pierce Brown's 'Red Rising' saga, and as with the first book, I bloodydamn liked this one too.

Fresh from his victory in the war games at the Institute, Darrow is now in the employ of Nero au Augustus, the ArchGovernor of Mars. But when Darrow is defeated by a rival House at the Academy, the ArchGovernor decides to castoff his recent acquisition. But Darrow is afraid that this will throw a big spanner into his infiltration-and-sabotage-from-within mission, so at a special function, he instigates a civil war, throwing the society of Golds into disarray and chaos.

As much as I thought 'Red Rising' was pretty good, and it is, 'Golden Son' is even better! Definitely no sophomore syndrome here! It takes the first book and builds on it by raising the stakes in what is a great sequel. As I progressed through the story, I also got a sense of familiarity to what was going on. And two other series popped into my head - the Sci-Fi classic 'Dune', and 'Game Of Thrones' - if it was a space opera. Those comparisons seemed to ring very true for me. There's the bitter rivalries between House Augustus, Bellona (Atreides and Harkonnen / Starks and Lannisters?) and Lune, and the brutality of war, politics and betrayal. The familiarity of these didn't take the story away from me at all. If anything, it added to the depth of world building, which was fantastic and definitely one of the plus points of this series so far.

The character development is another plus. In the two short years that have passed since their days in the Institute, the main group have grown somewhat, adding complexities to their personalities; some becoming darker, some archaic, some twisted, some softer, and by the end showing their true colours, but all the while making them very much grounded, very human, and so very believable that it's gut-wrenching at times seeing what they get put through!

'Golden Son' is an enthralling roller-coaster of a book, with plenty of twists and turns that will surprise and make you say "WTF!" out loud! Especially that ending! So gorydamn brutal and heart-wrenching! What a way to finish! It was like all plain sailing, but as the breadcrumbs were laid down  and when all was revealed, the rug was completely pulled from under you! I'm so glad I didn't have wait for the next book - 'Morning Star' - I don't think I could have waited as I NEEDED to know what happens next after that cliffhanger. So it's straight onto the next book! 

A great read in what has been so far a great series. Recommended.

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Book Review: Red Rising Book 1 - 'Red Rising' by Pierce Brown

I'd heard some very good things about this series, so with the latest book in series about to be released, it was about time I dived into the first book in Pierce Brown's 'Red Rising' series, and I really enjoyed it!

Set on a future Mars where a rigid caste system based on a colour coded society - from red at the bottom, to gold at the top - is in place, keeping the population in check. The main protagonist of 'Red Rising' is Darrow, a young Red working in the mines, a 'Helldiver' extolling his blood and sweat in the belief that he and his caste are making the world a more habitable place by terraforming Mars. But after a heartbreaking catastrophic event changes his life forever, he soon discovers that all is not what it seems, they have been lied to and Mars has been liveable on the surface for generations. Fuelled by this sense of injustice, hatred of the ruling Gold caste and by the dream of a lost love, Darrow falls in with some Red rebels and is literally carved into a Gold - his body and mind are completely restructured and physically and mentally enhanced - so he can blend into Gold society, and exact the rebel's plan to take them down from within.

The first part of the story focuses on Darrow's life as a Red, working in the mines, the close knit community and you got a good feel as to who Darrow is. He's a hard worker who's content at where he is in life, despite being poor and with not a lot going for him, except his beautiful and strong willed wife, Eo. He is a likeable character in this part of the book, with very human flaws and characteristics. I did get a sense of '1984' with life as Red, the subliminal brainwashing keeping the lower masses subdued, the totalitarian authorities, all seemed reminiscent. The book even gets a namecheck too! 

After Darrow becomes a Gold and is accepted into the Institute, the story takes a turn into 'Hunger Games' / 'Lord Of The Flies' / 'Ender's Game' territory with students divided up into teams named after the Greek pantheon and then pitted against each other to learn the techniques and strategies of survival and warfare in order to rise and become the overall leader of the class. I really liked the development of the main cast of characters here as we see the fresh faced students change over the course of their time in the Institute, and for some - the ones that made it out alive anyway, it isn't pretty at all. The swing in Darrow's personality and mentality, as well as some of the main cast - Cassius, Mustang, Roque, Sevro and the Jackal - is quite drastic but still quite believable. The horrors of war and all that! 

It's a very dark and brutal book, but one that is a very engrossing read with compelling and interesting characters that push you through the story, wanting to see how they cope with the war games and who actually survives! A roller-coaster of a read with shades of '1984', 'Hunger Games', 'Ender's Game' and a bit of 'Game Of Thrones' style politicking, all set on a dystopian and authoritarian Mars, so if you like any of those, you'll enjoy 'Red Rising'. I can't wait to delve into the next book in the series!

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