A review by kimdokjaa
Golden Son by Pierce Brown

4.0

now THIS is scifi!!!!!!! such a vast improvement from book 1 it doesn't even feel like the same series!! veryyy close to 5 star territory, just missing the emotional punch i wanted

i had such a good time with this book. i love the setting, i love the new characters we're meeting (victra and orion my beautiful wives), i love the roman aesthetics, i love the reveals, and, god, do i love the action

darrow has also kind of charmed me! calling for the bellona honor on top of the table was cold as hell. his obsession with the perfect victim is VERY tiring though, and his convictions remain all over the place. he immediately condemns the sons for using bombs, but in stopping them is consigning 100 times as many reds to that fate from augustus. mickey, the former slaver, get's instantly forgiven too. and then we have the bane of my fucking existance, tactus.
Spoilerthe way i cheered like i won the lottery when his bitch ass finally died.
he screws darrow over again and darrow's like lol no problem we all make mistakes here's a legion. this is the attempted rapist btw!! we should've taken him around back and shot him in the head last book why is he still here!

finally, insane ending!!!! picking up book 3 immediately!! the stakes are so real now i love it here!
Spoilerthe roque thing was crazy but darrow is a dumbass for not even slightly seeing that coming. i'm not seeing i saw it coming exactly how it played out i didn't but come on man. like you cannot think roque was just planning to continue on in this weird ass dynamic you guys had ended up with. also kissing darrow's cheek before the betrayal ok judas!
i ate that shit up like i did with cassius last book (the only other cassius i've ever heard of is the one that killed julius caesar they're two for two for roman betrayers)