Was it worth the four year wait after Dark Ages? Abso-freakin-loutely. While not as gut-wrenching and nail-biting as the Dark Ages, it delivered all that I hoped for, and more. Brown scaled the story down and focused on these two men who have journeyed so far. The world and the war Brown has created comes to life in vivid 3D. He hits home on the sacrifices, the greed, the sheep and the loss. His characters have a genuineness to them and consistently stay true to themselves as they evolve and grow. I feel as if I know them and share their experiences and emotions. I should mention that I also feel enraged by the actions of some, from self-serving greed to the hierarchy and trappings of the colors.

The worlds once needed the Reaper. But now they need Darrow. Because after the dark age will come a new age: of light, of victory, of hope. Marooned far from home after a devastating defeat on the battlefields of Mercury, Darrow longs to return to his wife and sovereign, Virginia, to defend Mars from its bloodthirsty would-be conqueror Lysander. Character-wise, we spend most of our time in Darrow’s head. Lysander is #2, and Lyria and Virginia come in more or less tied for #3. To give a mood spoiler: this book is *bleak*. *Iron Gold* and *Dark Age* were also plenty bleak, so it wasn’t exactly unexpected, but this still was painful to read. Red Rising Author Pierce Brown Shares Experiences That Shaped His Futuristic Society - The Surge™". The Surge™ . Retrieved 2016-01-27.And one last point that I want to mention. Years ago, someone asked Willem DeFoe about how he was so talented at playing villains. To paraphrase, he said that he never played them *as* villains, because no one is a villain to themselves. Everyone thinks they’re righteous. That idea was on my mind quite a lot as I read this. This is, somewhat ironically, a consequence of something Brown has done very well in the post-*Morning Star* portion of the series. The first three books were very tightly plotted, with the climax being exactly what it had been building towards: the death of the Sovereign and the toppling of the Society. Post-*Morning Star*, it’s been the explosion of chaos from the fallout of a centuries-old empire. Things certainly seem to be pointing towards a final climax, but I’m not going to make assumptions there because we’ve been here before. Snetiker, Marc (December 30, 2014). " Golden Son (2015)". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved January 30, 2015.

a b c Truitt, Brian (February 17, 2016). "Pierce Brown lands at No. 1 with Morning Star, plans new series". USA Today . Retrieved January 28, 2017. Cooke, Lacy (January 1, 2015). " Red Rising Author Pierce Brown Shares Experiences That Shaped His Futuristic Society". TheSurge.com . Retrieved January 27, 2016. The measure of a man is not the fear he sows in his enemies. It is the hope he gives his friends.”—Virginia au Augustus Yes, the war is waging on, there are moments of military campaigns that are well played out here that Pierce describes in breathtaking prose. Yet it’s the human moments, interludes with characters, glimpses of their hearts and souls that make Lighbringer sing. As Pierce does so damn well, there’s a knife twist at the end that sets the series hurtling toward its conclusion. This book reminded me why I loved this world, these characters, and that bloodydamn Pierce Brown in the first place.Snetiker, Marc (February 5, 2014). " Red Rising (2014)". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved January 29, 2015. Lysander longs to destroy the Rising and restore the supremacy of Gold, and will raze the worlds to realize his ambitions. a b c La Rosa, Erin (February 6, 2014). "Why Pierce Brown Might Be Fiction's Next Superstar". BuzzFeed . Retrieved January 28, 2017. Just as the title suggests it’s starting to get a bit silly. I love the characters and the writing is well done on the level of how it makes you feel as if you could be there. The descriptions used, the details, the dialogue all inspires emotion. Sarner, Lauren (February 4, 2016). "Pierce Brown Knows Mars the Planet and Mars the God". Inverse . Retrieved January 28, 2017.

A] thoughtful blend of action, intrigue, and prosaic human drama.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) Much like A Song of Ice and Fire’s George R. R. Martin, Brown is an author who is interested in exploring the consequences of his protagonist’s actions. Revolution doesn’t come without a price and no one can stay a hero forever.” — The Mary Sue In a word, Golden Son is stunning. Among science fiction fans, it should be a shoo-in for book of the year.” — Tordotcom Thank you so much to Del Rey Books and Penguin Random House for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Pierce stated that there's one particular death that he wrote in this book that he "bawled [his] eyes out." [4]Because Eo’s dream is still alive—and after the dark age will come a new age: of light, of victory, of hope. This book was good in the way that Brown is always good. It’s got the action and excitement you would expect, and the twists and turns you don’t (but also do, because they’re always there). So for those who are hungry for more Red Rising stories, don’t worry. You’ll get it. There is so much that Brown does right with this series, and so I’ll just touch on a few points of appreciation. By following those young characters into adulthood and the new world they managed to form in the first trilogy, we have a rare chance to explore the reality of the epic endings. Pierce Brown (Born January 28, 1988) is an American science fiction author who writes the Red Rising series, consisting of Red Rising (2014), Golden Son (2015), Morning Star (2016), Iron Gold (2018), Dark Age (2019), and Light Bringer (2023). He has also written a six-issue prequel comic book series, Red Rising: Sons of Ares, which was published in 2017.