haley49's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
…I’m traumatized with that ending. What
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, War, Sexual violence, Death, Murder, Child death, Cursing, and Violence
Moderate: Slavery, Colonisation, Trafficking, Blood, Body horror, Vomit, Child abuse, Genocide, Torture, Classism, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Minor: Cannibalism and Rape
theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
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
rubyroses's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I’m screwed… I already rated the first book in the series 5 stars… After reading Golden Son I think I’m going to need more stars. This book truly captured my heart and broke it in two.
Unlike the first novel in the series (Red Rising) which focused on a Hunger Games inspired battle arena this novel expands into a galactic civil war. If you enjoyed Enders Game but would have liked more violence this is for you. Not to mention the amount of twist and turns you will never see coming is chefs kiss.
Pierce Brown does well to make even the characters who are evil seem compassionate. In return he also makes the characters you believe to be good grotesquely dark and twisted. In this book you’ll never know who is going to stab Darrow in the back or be his saviour.
Unlike the first novel in the series (Red Rising) which focused on a Hunger Games inspired battle arena this novel expands into a galactic civil war. If you enjoyed Enders Game but would have liked more violence this is for you. Not to mention the amount of twist and turns you will never see coming is chefs kiss.
Pierce Brown does well to make even the characters who are evil seem compassionate. In return he also makes the characters you believe to be good grotesquely dark and twisted. In this book you’ll never know who is going to stab Darrow in the back or be his saviour.
Spoiler
But… at least you can always put your faith in Darrow & Servo. Darrow is a man born Red & made Gold but Servo… Servo is a man of two colours. If anything bad happens to Servo in this series I will throw a fit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic friendship, War, Blood, Kidnapping, Racism, and Child death
chris_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Slavery, Murder, and War
Minor: Vomit, Blood, and Trafficking
shethereader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Reread 2/4/22
Still 5 stars. This series is brilliant. I thought I imagined it. I binged this first trilogy just over a year ago, and all throughout the last year, nothing else lived up to how I felt reading this series (though some came close).
This second time through forced me to slow down a bit. I savored the rich writing just a little more. I remembered some plot twists and forgot others, but I leaned into the anticipation of each. Pierce Brown has such a strong writing style that keeps me permanently engaged...yes, even through Darrow's long internal monologues. In fact, I think I appreciated Darrow's journey much more this time. It's very easy for me to love Sevro, Mustang, the Jackal, Ragnar, the Howlers, Victra, Roque, and everyone else. But there is something about Darrow that is ... complicated. It's magnified by the fact that this trilogy is written in 1st person and Darrow is the sole viewpoint. At times, it can be difficult to stay with him through every high and every low. The faults become so loud. The turmoil becomes too much to bear. We aren't granted any breaks from the pieces of him we cringe away from, but instead, we carry each burden alongside him. I think this may be one of the reasons this feels so much more vivid than any other story I've read and why I still think about each book for days, weeks, and years after I read it.
Anyway, I'm clearly still obsessed. This series might become an annual read for me.
-------
5 stars
Well this book gutted me. And then sewed me up and then gutted me about 6 more times.
After Red Rising, I was afraid to keep going. Red Rising was sooooo good and I knew this book would be heavier sci-fi. I was afraid I would lose interest. My plan was to take a break for awhile and come back, but just for fun I started the first chapter...and then I didn't stop for three days.
This world and system is insane and so detailed. Characters are really explored but not in a way that info dumps. I want to be Sevro's best friend. And Spoilerthe Jackal... wow... I'm a sucker for a well written villain. I was hoping he wasn't going to be this redeemed character that he acted like
I stumbled over some of the spaceship/weapons/war lingo, but I eventually just kind of ignored those things and focused my attention on the plot and characters. If I didn't understand the exactly type of ship they were on, it didn't detract from the story.
Pierce Brown really has a way of plot twists and climactic endings. After Red Rising, I expected him to throw a plot twist in here and there, but I still couldn't see them coming as they hit me in the face.
And just like that, I'm already well into the third book because these things are addictive.
▌5.0 —One of the best I've ever read. Will be burned into my brain. Couldn't care less about weaknesses (if any). Would recommend to everyone and their mother.
4.5 —Loved this read. Will remember it fondly. Few weaknesses. Would recommend to anyone.
4.0 —Enjoyed this read. Will remember it fondly. Minor weaknesses. Would recommend to fans of the genre.
3.5 —Somewhat enjoyed this read. Might be memorable. Notable weaknesses. Would recommend to fans of the genre.
3.0 —Somewhat enjoyed this read. Not very memorable. Notable weaknesses. Would recommend to people who like similar books.
2.5 —Neutral or Underwhelming read. Not very memorable. Significant weaknesses. Would recommend to people who like similar books.
2.0 —Underwhelming or unenjoyable read. Not very memorable or memorable for the wrong reasons. Significant weaknesses. Might recommend to people who like similar books.
1.5 —Unenjoyable read. Not very memorable or memorable for bad reasons. Major weaknesses. Probably wouldn't recommend.
1.0 —Awful read. Memorable for bad reasons. No significantly redeeming qualities. Would never recommend.
0.5 —I wish I never wasted minutes of my life on this trash. I would go out of my way to convince others not to read it.
Still 5 stars. This series is brilliant. I thought I imagined it. I binged this first trilogy just over a year ago, and all throughout the last year, nothing else lived up to how I felt reading this series (though some came close).
This second time through forced me to slow down a bit. I savored the rich writing just a little more. I remembered some plot twists and forgot others, but I leaned into the anticipation of each. Pierce Brown has such a strong writing style that keeps me permanently engaged...yes, even through Darrow's long internal monologues. In fact, I think I appreciated Darrow's journey much more this time. It's very easy for me to love Sevro, Mustang, the Jackal, Ragnar, the Howlers, Victra, Roque, and everyone else. But there is something about Darrow that is ... complicated. It's magnified by the fact that this trilogy is written in 1st person and Darrow is the sole viewpoint. At times, it can be difficult to stay with him through every high and every low. The faults become so loud. The turmoil becomes too much to bear. We aren't granted any breaks from the pieces of him we cringe away from, but instead, we carry each burden alongside him. I think this may be one of the reasons this feels so much more vivid than any other story I've read and why I still think about each book for days, weeks, and years after I read it.
Anyway, I'm clearly still obsessed. This series might become an annual read for me.
-------
5 stars
Well this book gutted me. And then sewed me up and then gutted me about 6 more times.
After Red Rising, I was afraid to keep going. Red Rising was sooooo good and I knew this book would be heavier sci-fi. I was afraid I would lose interest. My plan was to take a break for awhile and come back, but just for fun I started the first chapter...and then I didn't stop for three days.
This world and system is insane and so detailed. Characters are really explored but not in a way that info dumps. I want to be Sevro's best friend. And Spoilerthe Jackal... wow... I'm a sucker for a well written villain. I was hoping he wasn't going to be this redeemed character that he acted like
I stumbled over some of the spaceship/weapons/war lingo, but I eventually just kind of ignored those things and focused my attention on the plot and characters. If I didn't understand the exactly type of ship they were on, it didn't detract from the story.
Pierce Brown really has a way of plot twists and climactic endings. After Red Rising, I expected him to throw a plot twist in here and there, but I still couldn't see them coming as they hit me in the face.
And just like that, I'm already well into the third book because these things are addictive.
▌5.0 —One of the best I've ever read. Will be burned into my brain. Couldn't care less about weaknesses (if any). Would recommend to everyone and their mother.
4.5 —Loved this read. Will remember it fondly. Few weaknesses. Would recommend to anyone.
4.0 —Enjoyed this read. Will remember it fondly. Minor weaknesses. Would recommend to fans of the genre.
3.5 —Somewhat enjoyed this read. Might be memorable. Notable weaknesses. Would recommend to fans of the genre.
3.0 —Somewhat enjoyed this read. Not very memorable. Notable weaknesses. Would recommend to people who like similar books.
2.5 —Neutral or Underwhelming read. Not very memorable. Significant weaknesses. Would recommend to people who like similar books.
2.0 —Underwhelming or unenjoyable read. Not very memorable or memorable for the wrong reasons. Significant weaknesses. Might recommend to people who like similar books.
1.5 —Unenjoyable read. Not very memorable or memorable for bad reasons. Major weaknesses. Probably wouldn't recommend.
1.0 —Awful read. Memorable for bad reasons. No significantly redeeming qualities. Would never recommend.
0.5 —I wish I never wasted minutes of my life on this trash. I would go out of my way to convince others not to read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Torture, Murder, Gun violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Colonisation, and Blood
More...