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embers_pages's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
This book was an excellent follow-up to the first. I can't believe how quickly I fell in love with Pierce Brown's universe. It's intense, gritty and readers should be wary of it's graphic detail, however it was more manageable in this one than the first. I really enjoy listening to these books and can't wait to listen to the third.
Moderate: Violence
heyjaycee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A couple of years after the events of Red Rising, Darrow is embedded deep in his campaign to infiltrate Gold society and rise to the top so he can destroy it from within. Out of the Academy, there's bigger and badder foes to deal with, and consequences are more dire. Darrow must navigate politics and war to come out of the turmoil in a position of ultimate power if he's to turn the Golds against themselves, fracture society, and liberate the lowColours.
I mean, wow. Golden Son went hard. If I thought Red Rising was brutal, then damn, my eyes have been opened. Golden Son is the story of Darrow figuring out how to trust anyone when he's living a deadly lie, and how important trust in his Gold fellows is when he's putting his life on the line in the gambit of civil war.
Is this too vague? I honestly don't know how to talk about this book, and not just because everything is such a spoiler. So. Much. Happens! Twists and turns all over the place. Absolutely gripping, and very dark.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Torture and Cannibalism
Even more brutal than the first book.miak2's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
"For seven hundred years, my people have been enslaved without voice, without hope. Now I am their sword. And I do not forgive. I do not forget."
This series is SO hyped and I definitely see the appeal but something about it just isn't fully clicking with me.
As usual, I'll start with what I enjoyed. My god, not many authors can write plot twists like Brown. So many moments had me genuinely 'drop the kindle, hand over my mouth' in shock. And these twists weren't just included for the shock factor, but really helped to progress the story and challenge Darrow. Incredible. The last chapter alone was full of shocking and entertaining moments. I'm glad we got to see more of the society as well, that part was really interesting and Brown did some great worldbuilding.
Most of the characters are really fantastic as well. Sevro, although sometimes too much of character, is my little goblin son and I love every scene he's in. Darrow continues to be a compelling narrator, and much of the supporting cast were really strong too (Lorn, Roque, Mustang, Ragnar, etc.)
Here's where I get to my first criticism. While some characters were so strong, others fell short. Namely Victra, who had so much potential but I felt like she existed only to 1. be a romantic alternative to Mustang and 2. to give us someone whose loyalties we should question. Additionally, because there was a time jump between the end of Red Rising and the start of Golden Son, Darrow's forged and developed relationships with characters we've never met before, or met only briefly. In such an action-packed book with a huge set of characters, it's hard to build strong feelings for them when so much of the development took place off-screen.
I don't feel as strongly about this book as so many others do, but I am looking forward to reading the third book; I'm sure Brown will continue to shock and surprise me with it.
Graphic: Death and Violence
elfflame's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence
okays1331's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I do not know how to explain this book. I repeatedly had to walk away to process the magnitude of what was happening. But then run back because I HAD to know what was going to happen next. I don't know when Darrow, Sevro, and the rest of the Howlers stole my heart, but I love them so much. Their charisma, their horribleness, their desperation to be something better, and their love for each other.
The space battles, the war, the strategy, the politics are all so well written and nail biting. The author does not pull punches. Brown has no problem murdering anyone on the pages making the battles so much more terrifying to read. There are parts where I honestly thought we were going to get a new main character. Still unsure if that might not be the case...
But my favorite part and the part that is so unexpected to me every time is the poignancy of moments where the author takes apart the characters. What is good? What is an acceptable cost? What is redemption? These books are a mirror held up to us to see ourselves and humanity. Some of my favorite moments are moments where Darrow is talking to his friends or his enemies about themselves and the society.
The ending! I am so upset.
Darrow makes a choice in this book to put his trust into the people he cares about gambling that that trust can change people and make them more than they are. It works. It's so beautiful when Sevro embraces him as a Red and as a brother or when Tactus turns back to him in tears when given a second chance or Ragnar chooses his own destiny instead of a life of slavery. Brown sets it up, so I sit in dread every time Darrow chooses to act like a human instead of Gold. But it works again and again and again until I started to truly believe that because of who Darrow is, he can get through to each of them and build a trust so unshakable it can withstand anything. Even when Mustang runs away from his reveal of the truth, I still believed she would come around.
Then Roque betrays him, kills their friends, and tells him they are not brothers because Darrow is a Red. My heart shattered into tiny tiny pieces.
The space battles, the war, the strategy, the politics are all so well written and nail biting. The author does not pull punches. Brown has no problem murdering anyone on the pages making the battles so much more terrifying to read. There are parts where I honestly thought we were going to get a new main character. Still unsure if that might not be the case...
But my favorite part and the part that is so unexpected to me every time is the poignancy of moments where the author takes apart the characters. What is good? What is an acceptable cost? What is redemption? These books are a mirror held up to us to see ourselves and humanity. Some of my favorite moments are moments where Darrow is talking to his friends or his enemies about themselves and the society.
The ending! I am so upset.
Darrow makes a choice in this book to put his trust into the people he cares about gambling that that trust can change people and make them more than they are. It works. It's so beautiful when Sevro embraces him as a Red and as a brother or when Tactus turns back to him in tears when given a second chance or Ragnar chooses his own destiny instead of a life of slavery. Brown sets it up, so I sit in dread every time Darrow chooses to act like a human instead of Gold. But it works again and again and again until I started to truly believe that because of who Darrow is, he can get through to each of them and build a trust so unshakable it can withstand anything. Even when Mustang runs away from his reveal of the truth, I still believed she would come around.
Then Roque betrays him, kills their friends, and tells him they are not brothers because Darrow is a Red. My heart shattered into tiny tiny pieces.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, and Torture
Minor: Sexual content and Cannibalism
literarycavy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Grief
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