A review by samtherat17
Dark Age by Pierce Brown

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The fifth book in the Red Rising series, Dark Age aptly lived up to its name, featuring some of the most dark and gruesome moments of the whole series. It felt like whenever something started to go right for our characters, it all came crashing down and went horribly wrong. While the book might be difficult to get through for some people, I had read/watched some reviews and I was prepared for it.
After taking some time to get invested into a couple of POVs in Iron Gold, I felt like they really shined in this book. Also, the addition of Virginia/Mustang's POVs was a surprise, but a welcome one as it provided a great look at the workings of the Senate and what's going on behind the scenes. A great thing about the book was that even though it was a chonker, it felt like there was never a dull moment, except maybe some of the Mercury part dragging a little bit. Not gonna lie, I felt a bit weary after finishing the book, because Pierce Brown packs SO MUCH into these 750 pages.  The only complaints I had were that I felt like one plot twist came out of nowhere and felt a bit forced,
Spoiler(Dancer's sexuality)
and the battle in Part 1 dragged a little bit. There was also a plot twist which just felt a bit weird to me, even by Red Rising standards.
Spoiler (the Jackal's clone)
Apart from that, Dark Age was yet another solid entry into the Red Rising series, and leaves me itching to read Light Bringer, considering the point this book leaves off on.