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A review by kimdokjaa
Morning Star by Pierce Brown
4.0
could not put this down for a second!!
the action, as with last book, was phenomenal, and the stakes here were EXCEPTIONALLY done. i genuinely felt scared for the lives of everyone besides darrow mustang & sevro. i loved that we lose characters, both that we've grown to love over the trilogy and new ones. this is something i struggle with in a lot of fantasy series- you obviously can't kill off every character from earlier books because you lose all your emotional investment, but having huge wars and battles and not losing anyone, or only minor side characters, is just so unrealistic and pulls me out of the story. i think brown really nailed the balance here and in golden son
the stakes were also so present from a higher level- everything felt so real and made the battle sequences, which were already great, so compelling
the only thing that lessened that, and this is a personal thing,
my one issue with this trilogy as a whole is the obsession with perfect victims. before i start yes this is a silly little sci-fi book but i think it’s a disservice to any media not to examine it critically. like it really pissed me off when darrow was saying he hates victra for not “understanding roques a good man and still their friend”…. he tortured you both and literally could walk away free if he agreed to stop enslaving the lower colors. and like let's think for a second his pink betrayed him why do you think that is?? and i don’t think darrow being soft on cassius and roque is poor writing- i think he’s a flawed character who found himself in an odd position between gold society that he lived in and his people. but it does make it tiring to read when it comes across so much like an endorsement. the continuous framing of the battles as both sides being soldiers making tough decisions for their families is just not accurate- it isn't two groups making tough decisions for their families, it is enslaved people trying to stay alive under their oppressors. and again, yes this is just a sci-fi book, and no i don't need, or even want, every character i come across to align perfectly with my morals. but it did stop me from getting as invested in the characters as i would have liked to when the main cast wants no consequences whatsoever for the former rapists murderers and enslavers but demands consistent and severe ones for anyone who rebels a bit too mean for them
the action, as with last book, was phenomenal, and the stakes here were EXCEPTIONALLY done. i genuinely felt scared for the lives of everyone besides darrow mustang & sevro. i loved that we lose characters, both that we've grown to love over the trilogy and new ones. this is something i struggle with in a lot of fantasy series- you obviously can't kill off every character from earlier books because you lose all your emotional investment, but having huge wars and battles and not losing anyone, or only minor side characters, is just so unrealistic and pulls me out of the story. i think brown really nailed the balance here and in golden son
the stakes were also so present from a higher level-
Spoiler
i loved that they crashed in the beginning and lost all the equipment for the greys, i love that darrow had to give up the sons in the outer rim, and i love that they lost millions of lives fighting the jackal at the end.the only thing that lessened that, and this is a personal thing,
Spoiler
was sevro's fakeout death. cassius' double betrayal felt fine for his character and i don't hate the ploy as a whole, but i hateee the delivery. it was so crazy seeing cassius kill sevro and then having darrow shoved into the box with sevro's corpse crushing down on him i was SCREAMING. and then 5 minutes later it just felt so cheap. idk. like i said this is a personal thing, but it is my absolute least favorite thing to happen in a book. if the fakeout never happened and sevro actually died i would've rated this slightly higher, because holy shit was that sequence so compellingmy one issue with this trilogy as a whole is the obsession with perfect victims. before i start yes this is a silly little sci-fi book but i think it’s a disservice to any media not to examine it critically. like it really pissed me off when darrow was saying he hates victra for not “understanding roques a good man and still their friend”…. he tortured you both and literally could walk away free if he agreed to stop enslaving the lower colors. and like let's think for a second his pink betrayed him why do you think that is?? and i don’t think darrow being soft on cassius and roque is poor writing- i think he’s a flawed character who found himself in an odd position between gold society that he lived in and his people. but it does make it tiring to read when it comes across so much like an endorsement. the continuous framing of the battles as both sides being soldiers making tough decisions for their families is just not accurate- it isn't two groups making tough decisions for their families, it is enslaved people trying to stay alive under their oppressors. and again, yes this is just a sci-fi book, and no i don't need, or even want, every character i come across to align perfectly with my morals. but it did stop me from getting as invested in the characters as i would have liked to when the main cast wants no consequences whatsoever for the former rapists murderers and enslavers but demands consistent and severe ones for anyone who rebels a bit too mean for them