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A review by cheshirevixen
Golden Son by Pierce Brown
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love these books so much, to the point where I struggle to find substantial flaws. The characters are so loveable and interesting, the plot is intense and fast-paced, and the themes explored are framed in a nuanced way. Darrow's journey is one of if not the most compelling and emotional stories I've read and he's one of my favourite protagonists.
Overview
Characters: 7/7
- Personal Enjoyment: 5/5
- Interesting: 5/5
- Consistent: 5/5
- Development: 5/5
- Flaws: 5/5
- Relationships: 5/5
- Conflict: 5/5
Setting: 3/3
- Personal Enjoyment: 5/5
- Interesting: 5/5
- Internal Consistency: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
- Personal Enjoyment: 5/5
- Setup: 5/5
- Payoff: 5/5
- Logical: 5/5
- Pacing: 5/5
Characters:
Both the main character and side characters in this book are complex and interesting to read about, and their relationships and interactions are wonderful. The main character experiences a lot of internal conflict about the morality of his actions and how he may affect those he has come to call friends. He struggles to keep people at a distance, and the way in which he acts causes rifts and conflict between him and the other characters which drives the plot forward. Because this book is written in first person we don't get to see what the other characters are thinking, which leads the audience to feel how Darrow does, not knowing if anyone can be trusted. There are also many strong friendships and relationships in this story that are heartwarming and beautiful. There are so many amazing characters in this book, but my personal favourites would be Darrow, Sevro & Ragnar :)
Setting:
This book like the last kind of throws you head first into the action and the setting without explaining much of what's going on. I find that with the first book I also felt a little disorientated at the beginning, with little idea of what some things were. While I'm not sure of how everything works in this world, I get the sense that the main character and author do. I'm not a huge fan of info-dumps, but I like to have a firm grasp on everything in the world. That being said, I know that these things may be held back from the audience as a reveal later on, and the parts of the world that are in the spotlight are really interesting and make a lot of sense.
Plot:
The plot of this book is fast-paced with tons of twists and turns. The story is told in first perspective, but the main character is somewhat unreliable, so the audience will often find out his plans as they are unfolding. I find this is kind of similar to Six of Crows in this sense, which I also adore. The payoffs are setup up really well in my opinion, and there is a sense of tension throughout which makes it hard to put down.
Themes:
I really enjoy the way that this story explores the reality of rebellion and overthrowing regimes, and the sheer scale and number of people it takes to do something like this successfully. Particularly, I think that there's a lot of nuance when discussing what might happen after. I also think that it allows people from the 'evil side' to be good and moral, and people from the 'good side' to be consumed by rage and immoral. They all choose their own path, and the main character worries numerous times how he might have acted were he to have a slightly or drastically different past.
As I've made abundantly clear, I love this book and everyone should read this series ;)
Both the main character and side characters in this book are complex and interesting to read about, and their relationships and interactions are wonderful. The main character experiences a lot of internal conflict about the morality of his actions and how he may affect those he has come to call friends. He struggles to keep people at a distance, and the way in which he acts causes rifts and conflict between him and the other characters which drives the plot forward. Because this book is written in first person we don't get to see what the other characters are thinking, which leads the audience to feel how Darrow does, not knowing if anyone can be trusted. There are also many strong friendships and relationships in this story that are heartwarming and beautiful. There are so many amazing characters in this book, but my personal favourites would be Darrow, Sevro & Ragnar :)
Setting:
This book like the last kind of throws you head first into the action and the setting without explaining much of what's going on. I find that with the first book I also felt a little disorientated at the beginning, with little idea of what some things were. While I'm not sure of how everything works in this world, I get the sense that the main character and author do. I'm not a huge fan of info-dumps, but I like to have a firm grasp on everything in the world. That being said, I know that these things may be held back from the audience as a reveal later on, and the parts of the world that are in the spotlight are really interesting and make a lot of sense.
Plot:
The plot of this book is fast-paced with tons of twists and turns. The story is told in first perspective, but the main character is somewhat unreliable, so the audience will often find out his plans as they are unfolding. I find this is kind of similar to Six of Crows in this sense, which I also adore. The payoffs are setup up really well in my opinion, and there is a sense of tension throughout which makes it hard to put down.
Themes:
I really enjoy the way that this story explores the reality of rebellion and overthrowing regimes, and the sheer scale and number of people it takes to do something like this successfully. Particularly, I think that there's a lot of nuance when discussing what might happen after. I also think that it allows people from the 'evil side' to be good and moral, and people from the 'good side' to be consumed by rage and immoral. They all choose their own path, and the main character worries numerous times how he might have acted were he to have a slightly or drastically different past.
As I've made abundantly clear, I love this book and everyone should read this series ;)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Grief