Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Morning Star

This book was immediately well-paced. From the firat page I was pretty much sucked back into this universe. It was very heavy on the politics at times but it worked. Compared the Red Rising and Golden Son, there wasn't a page that wasn't relevant to the story. For sure a couple of paragraphs could have been edited out here and there, but generally speaking, the whole story flowed well chapter to chapter. This book hurt me with some of the character deaths, redemptions, and betrayals, but that makes for a great story.

Where this book loses marks is the battle scenes. Sometimes they are just too...wordy, or like they're trying to achieve too much. I cannot conceptualise half of the scenes in my head, which maybe is a me-problem, but sometimes I just can't picture it and it brings me out of the story a bit. (There was also that "Bye Felicia" moment and I actually took damage from cringing.)

HIS NAME IS PAX 🥹😭

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praaliine's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As a reader, there’s always that one book (or more than one) that you come across once in while that completely alters your perception of literature and storytelling. Morning star was it for me, the whirlwind of strong emotions aside, Pierce Brown continues to outdo himself and master his craft. There’s a big cast of characters and yet I can tell he’s given ample attention to each one, making them so complex and so real that I laughed and mourned with them. The character development (for Darrow, his friends and his enemies) is remarkable, it was so refreshing reading about these characters breaking out of the tired worn-out mentality that drove the corrupt Society. Sadly, there will always be those characters that are just unable to think beyond their status in the hierarchy and cannot move on, and there were. It was also interesting to read about certain eerie and deranged antagonists (oh and Pierce KNOWS how to write a psychologically sinister character), how they played the long game and their malevolent plans fell into place as they willed it, and how they were met with their due penalty.

He’s done such an excellent job of capturing our own society, its so easy to read some of these characters and fell repulsed by them claiming we’re morally better than them, but this brilliant story forces you to reckon with the fact that all humans have these innate selfish ambitions and desires, and must seek to do better. This book has an abundance of found family like I’ve never seen before, it was fast paced, it was heavy and at some stages, thrilling and exciting. Plus the battle scenes were epic—as usual.This was beautiful and the ending was satisfying, but I’m definitely not stopping here, I intend to finish this saga and I have high expectations because bar has been set by Pierce himself.

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lemonwrlds's review

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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laguerrelewis's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is my favorite installment in the Red Rising series so far. A lot of my previous complaints are less glaring here—the female characters are treated less like sexual objects (though, ultimately, almost every one invariably finds themselves smitten with a man and swayed by whatever he wants), the core of the book felt a lot stronger, and the stylized narration didn’t grate on me this time around. Pierce Brown’s strength certainly lies in his ability to create a sweeping, epic battlefield, with twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. I felt myself caring for the characters and their fates more than I had before, though I will admit some of the “twists” were unfortunately over-telegraphed. If you liked the last two installments, I see no reason why you wouldn’t enjoy this one!

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heyjaycee's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

After the end of Golden Son, everything is different. It's one of those 'where can we even go from here?' moments. But there is somewhere to go, and the only way is up.

Kept captive and tortured by the Jackal, Darrow must escape and return to his struggling rebellion. But when he does, he must contend with the clashing personalities of everyone he has brought together.

I appreciated how Morning Star became less about Darrow—though of course he is centre stage—and more about the people around him. Brown really shines at creating memorable characters, and they were all given their moment in the spotlight in this final book of the series.

Of course, the exceptionally grimdark tone continued, and I began to find the endless setbacks and awful surprises hard to bear. There was a moment, three quarters from the end, where yet another terrible thing happened and I immediately put the book down and didn't come back to it for three weeks. Eventually I returned to it, and was glad I did. But still—the neverending tension was wearisome.

Oh, and the ending? Allow me to sigh heavily. The political conclusion made sense, but the interpersonal wrap-up for Darrow felt agonisingly hackneyed. But there will be those who like that kind of thing, I guess.

It's been a rollercoaster of a series. Pierce Brown is a master of emotional intensity, conflict, and sci-fi coolness. I'm glad I experienced it.

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