A review by samtherat17
Light Bringer by Pierce Brown

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

Wow. What a book. I don't think I have the words to properly describe it, but here goes.
The characters and their relationships were shown in such an amazing way. You've been through hell with these characters and this book does a great job showing how that has affected them and how it has shaped them to be the way they are.
 
The action and the dialogue were top-tier as always which is to be expected from a Red Rising book. A certain thing I want to highlight is that how Pierce Brown writes inner monologues. If you've read the series till here, you know how good he is at it, but one inner monologue he wrote in this one was just so good.

Darrow and his party were the main focus in this book, and this was definitely the right decision considering his path in in the previous two books. Him and his group's journey was riveting and made me feel nostalgic for the original trilogy, even though I read it just a few months ago 😅. This isn't to say that the other POV's were bad, but Darrow definitely took the centerstage and the book was all the better for it.

This book also had many heartwarming and heartwrenching moments which hit so hard. And the ending...heartbreaking. Pierce Brown got everything right with this one. A great story which takes Red Rising back to its roots and sets up Red God to be an absolute banger. This is my new favourite in the Red Rising saga and one of the best books I've ever read. While I didn't have to wait for this book after Dark Age, I'm sure whoever did will be left satisfied (and emotionally wrecked) after reading it. It's just that good.

Spoiler What an arc Cassius had. The scene when Darrow calls him his brother almost brought me to tears. I was in denial about his death for a long time. I still can't believe he died. Fuck Lysander.