softstarrynights's review against another edition
5.0
Damn it, Pierce Brown, you've done it again. I have no doubts that Brown is my favorite sci-fi author working today, and I really don't see that changing. He is a true storyteller, and this story had me screaming out loud in the best way possible. Brown has grown as an author since the original trilogy of books so that now this is not a four hundred page book about war, but so much more human in its immense scope. Really, the plot can only be described in one word: epic. I tend to prefer short books, something which has really become apparent the last year or so, but Dark Age does not apply here. Could the book be shorter? Of course, it could. But, Brown isn't just telling us a story here, he's bringing us into his universe of space Romans and cannibal Vikings. Should the book be shorter? Definitely not. Dark Age is as fascinating as it is violent, and Brown pulls no punches, which is one of the reasons I love his books so much. If you have yet to read Red Rising then please do so immediately, and don't worry, the books do start off a lot shorter and less intimidating. He is an author I would love to meet, so let's hope for a UK tour for the next book.
anninx's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not gonna lie... This one definitely was not as good as the all the books leading up to this. I'm not sure what it was. It was still good, but it really took me quite a long time to be invested. For reference, I've listened to the audio book format for all of this series. They changed the narrator for Lysander between Iron Gold and Dark Age. The Iron Gold Lysander was absolutely PERFECT and did an excellent job. The Dark Age narrator though was, in my opinion, far too gruff and husky for Lysander. He's 21 in this book and the narrator they had for him definitely sounded FAR older and just wasn't as fitting.
But I digress, that obviously isn't important to the story itself. I dunno, the build up was just much slower than the rest and wasn't as consuming for me. Still good once it got there, but I literally had to listen to it at 1.75x versus the 1.15x I usually do lol.
But I digress, that obviously isn't important to the story itself. I dunno, the build up was just much slower than the rest and wasn't as consuming for me. Still good once it got there, but I literally had to listen to it at 1.75x versus the 1.15x I usually do lol.
seasonedreadings's review against another edition
4.0
Listen, if you're reading this review you're already in pretty deep so I don't have to tell you that Pierce Brown is doing some good stuff here. The speeches are dramatic, the body count is high, the war crimes are aplenty. I don't want to say too much more because I don't want to spoil BUT just know that everything you've come to know and love (and loathe?) about his writing is still here in his latest book.
However, I do think Dark Age suffers execution-wise. When you go into a Pierce Brown Production you know there’s going to be drama, chaos, confusion, and madness, but I think the plot/scope of Dark Age got away from him. The world expands even more in this book and it’s a chunker so there’s a lot of plot going on, but looking back on it I think that the book was…..bloated? overextended? There was SO much going on and it was all interesting but I can't help feeling like maybe the story could've been told with four plot arcs instead of seven, you know? I like multiple POVs because they keep me interested and I like seeing multiple arcs come together, but in Dark Age, I feel like very few things came together. It was just three different planets blowing up simultaneously but independent of one another. This is one of the reasons I actually really liked Iron Gold (a hot take, I know) because PB managed to expand the world and follow different people/plans without it feeling discordant – everything came together for a tight overall story. I can't say the same for Dark Age, I fear.
Also, for the record, there's a lot of sexual violence/the threat of sexual violence in here at levels that we haven't seen since the OG Red Rising. Yes, we get it, male authors like to use sexual violence to exemplify how depraved/ruthless somebody is but I feel like we've progressed past the need for that particular trope.
All that being said, obviously, I'll be reading the final installment and PB set up a lot of things in the last 80 or so pages that should make for a very compelling next book. I just hope he uses a plot chart next time!
However, I do think Dark Age suffers execution-wise. When you go into a Pierce Brown Production you know there’s going to be drama, chaos, confusion, and madness, but I think the plot/scope of Dark Age got away from him. The world expands even more in this book and it’s a chunker so there’s a lot of plot going on, but looking back on it I think that the book was…..bloated? overextended? There was SO much going on and it was all interesting but I can't help feeling like maybe the story could've been told with four plot arcs instead of seven, you know? I like multiple POVs because they keep me interested and I like seeing multiple arcs come together, but in Dark Age, I feel like very few things came together. It was just three different planets blowing up simultaneously but independent of one another. This is one of the reasons I actually really liked Iron Gold (a hot take, I know) because PB managed to expand the world and follow different people/plans without it feeling discordant – everything came together for a tight overall story. I can't say the same for Dark Age, I fear.
Also, for the record, there's a lot of sexual violence/the threat of sexual violence in here at levels that we haven't seen since the OG Red Rising. Yes, we get it, male authors like to use sexual violence to exemplify how depraved/ruthless somebody is but I feel like we've progressed past the need for that particular trope.
All that being said, obviously, I'll be reading the final installment and PB set up a lot of things in the last 80 or so pages that should make for a very compelling next book. I just hope he uses a plot chart next time!
deannamorley22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
cavegirl's review against another edition
5.0
A literary sledgehammer to the face.
Just accept you won't have time for a life whilst you're reading this book. This book manages to enduce every emotional response continuously for 800 pages. I wanted it to go on for 800 more!
Just accept you won't have time for a life whilst you're reading this book. This book manages to enduce every emotional response continuously for 800 pages. I wanted it to go on for 800 more!
lilyrooke's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoyed the final battle, and the chapters with Lyria and the childwives. There were also some hard-hitting moments (Ulysses, the Howlers in the wolf, the mob attack). Sevro has fast become my favourite character, and it was a shame we saw so little of him. I'm hopeful that he'll finally get the POV chapters he deserves in the final book.
Before I go off on one, these are obviously simply my own opinions. But. As with Iron Gold, I felt that Dark Age suffered from trying to do far too much, and lost its focus. If you asked me what the major plotline was, I wouldn't be able to tell you.
It baffles me that Darrow, Virginia, Sevro and Victra were kept isolated from one another's narratives essentially for the entirety of the novel. When you have characters who work so well together, why would you separate them for multiple tomes? Lyria is a great new-gen character, and part of me wishes she had just got her own, tightly-plotted trilogy, like Darrow had in the first three Red Rising books. I think I'm frustrated with Iron Gold and Dark Age because the original trilogy is so good. RR, GS and MS did so much, so well, so I KNOW the author can do it. But so many of the narrative choices made little or no sense to me.
Something I found extremely frustrating was how often the Bury Your Gays trope showed up. A character comes out? You can guarantee they'll be dead soon enough. Obviously plenty of people die in the series, but it did get under my skin how their sexuality was thrown in just before they were conveniently killed off, to avoid any need to do anything narratively with that information.
Considering how many people die, the plot armour certain characters have is off the charts, and for me drained all the tension away from certain major reveals. X is dead. No, X is alive! Y is dead. Oh, they're back now, and at the perfect time too! Z is all burnt to a crisp. Lol they survived! I feel like twists like that only work when used sparingly.
As always, the fights and action sequences are like nothing else. But I kept finding myself coming back to the fact that if I'm not invested in the characters, I just don't care as much who's killing who in such a cool, mindblowing way.
Before I go off on one, these are obviously simply my own opinions. But. As with Iron Gold, I felt that Dark Age suffered from trying to do far too much, and lost its focus. If you asked me what the major plotline was, I wouldn't be able to tell you.
It baffles me that Darrow, Virginia, Sevro and Victra were kept isolated from one another's narratives essentially for the entirety of the novel. When you have characters who work so well together, why would you separate them for multiple tomes? Lyria is a great new-gen character, and part of me wishes she had just got her own, tightly-plotted trilogy, like Darrow had in the first three Red Rising books. I think I'm frustrated with Iron Gold and Dark Age because the original trilogy is so good. RR, GS and MS did so much, so well, so I KNOW the author can do it. But so many of the narrative choices made little or no sense to me.
Something I found extremely frustrating was how often the Bury Your Gays trope showed up. A character comes out? You can guarantee they'll be dead soon enough. Obviously plenty of people die in the series, but it did get under my skin how their sexuality was thrown in just before they were conveniently killed off, to avoid any need to do anything narratively with that information.
Considering how many people die, the plot armour certain characters have is off the charts, and for me drained all the tension away from certain major reveals. X is dead. No, X is alive! Y is dead. Oh, they're back now, and at the perfect time too! Z is all burnt to a crisp. Lol they survived! I feel like twists like that only work when used sparingly.
As always, the fights and action sequences are like nothing else. But I kept finding myself coming back to the fact that if I'm not invested in the characters, I just don't care as much who's killing who in such a cool, mindblowing way.
joeydell4's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
benp18's review against another edition
5.0
Possibly my favourite book in the series so far, at least as good as Golden Son. I particularly loved the opening section of the book with alternating chapters between Darrow and Lysander depicting the battle on Mercury. Characters like Lyria and Ephraim who I found a bit dull in Iron Gold were much more interesting in this novel. I am very excited to find out how the saga ends when the final novel is released (hopefully soon!).
purplesaber's review against another edition
3.0
Better than #4, but not that great. Military action, superhuman dueling, betrayals, captures, torture, escapes - repeat with variations but not a lot of character development.
jeristotle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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