luxxltyd's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, War, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Grief, Blood, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Child death and Sexual content
theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Cursing, Death, Murder, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Physical abuse, Torture, Child death, Classism, Grief, Medical content, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Abandonment, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Trafficking, War, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Rape, Hate crime, Mental illness, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Excrement, and Genocide
fierymoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Death, War, and Violence
Moderate: Slavery, Torture, and Blood
Minor: Sexual content and Cannibalism
josiah17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book just an insane step up from the first book, which was already a solid entry. Brown just took more time with the right scenes and so much happened. My only critique is the action sometimes feels lacking in setting description, but that's minor and does not hinder the reading experience for Golden Son whatsoever. Best read so far this year.
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cannibalism
amberier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Vomit
Minor: War and Rape
blueberry0531's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Classism, Murder, and War
Moderate: Slavery, Blood, and Torture
Minor: Sexual content
classical_learner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed all the strategizing and political maneuvering in this second book, and I appreciated how realistically unpredictable different characters and situations were. I think Darrow matured a ton and all the characters became more endearing.
The twists in this plot will give you whiplash (in a good way) and made me audibly gasp; not to mention the political and social dynamics are stitched together beautifully as the reader falls further into the question of, “what does it mean to live for more?”
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual content
laguerrelewis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, Slavery, and War
katiefronk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Blood, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Torture and Sexual content
okays1331's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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.
Spoiler
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: Blood, Cursing, Death, Murder, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, and Torture
Minor: Cannibalism and Sexual content