Golden Son

How can I even attempt to describe or review this book? I have no words! Golden Son is an exhilarating blend of political intrigue, intense action, violence and emotional depth, wrapped in twists and surprises from the beginning until the end. Even when I know something

And the pace? I haven't read anything like this! Each chapter is masterfully crafted to make you want to keep going, I could hardly breathe. So here I am, trying to write something after not having slept a minute because I couldn't stand not knowing what was going to happen to the characters.

I bloodydamn love this books and I bloodydamn love your writing Pierce Brown!

Also, a huge appreciation for all the fantastic female characters you've written. Reading these books made me understand how much of a disservice fantasy and sci-fi writers have been to women because I keep expecting certain things to happen and they never do.

There are no mentions of breasts, their bodies are described as much as any male body, they are not sexual magic entities, they are not one-dimensional, they are smart, confident and not socially awkward, they can be smart and not evil, and we can even find call outs for sexist behavior 😮

Whether they are female or male, antagonist or protagonist, Pierce writes characters based on their virtues and role in the story, not their identity. I'm half in love!

This is a must read sci-fi series but please, do not start this book without having Morning Star ready, you'll need it. (less)

hands Pierce Brown my gory eviscerated heartOk, to be fair, I was not quite as gutted reading Golden Son as I was with [b:Red Rising 15839976 Red Rising (Red Rising Trilogy, #1) Pierce Brown https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369153188s/15839976.jpg 21580644]. Red Rising was like being smacked across the face repeatedly. Golden Son was more like a slow twisting of a knife. You know its coming. The stronger Darrow's heart grows, the more he loves the people at his side and yet holds them at arm's length in order to protect his mission, the clearer it becomes that some shit is gonna go down and its not going to be pretty.So to get my feels out of the way: Oh god, Roque. Again, you know its coming. Oddly enough, even through the first book I found myself inwardly poking fun at Roque and Darrow's bromance (I hate that word, but these boys remain stubbornly heterosexual, so it will suffice). There isn't a whole lot of in-text substance behind it, but they love each other dearly and aren't afraid to express it. The problem is Roque's very nature demands a level of intimacy in a relationship that Darrow cannot allow him. Every interaction of theirs they slip further and further down a hole, and I found myself rereading each of their scenes in a way to hold on to the beauty and sweetness of what they had. Because I knew it would be gone by the end of the book. I just didn't think Roque would do it with the Jackal at his side. Golden Son has the same beautiful writing, the strong characters and emotion that I've come to expect from the series. It also has a lot of military and political strategy. Like, a lot. I don't want to say that that stuff necessarily bores me, especially the way Brown does it, but....it's a lot. It's the majority of the book, in fact, which caused it to drag a bit for me. But that's a matter of taste and interest I think. Its a lot less personal than Red Rising as well. In the first book, Darrow pretty much knew everyone he was killing, and as such so did we as readers. In Golden Son, seas of people go to their deaths, soldiers and civilians and children. Brown makes an effort to make you acknowledge the gravity of war and death, and he does a very good job. But it doesn't have the same intimacy and brutality of the first book. Which in some ways is a good thing, if you want to be able to survive this series with your sanity in tact, like I hope to.And there are so many twists and turns. Plans change on a dime, especially throught the first act, when Darrow is trying to reclaim his place in Gold Society. Golden Son takes its time telling you what kind of book it plans to be, which is exhilirating and dizzying. It paints a world that is absolutely terrifying, not just through physical violence but through espionage and intrigue. The fact that Darrow keeps barrelling forward shows the quality and value of his character - there are not enough characters like this in fiction. But this kind of setting demands this kind of hero. And kudos to Brown for being to house all this in his pretty head.Also, on a technical note, would it kill them to put in a glossary? There are a couple pages listing each of the characters and the Colors, but those are the easiest things to remember for me. Maybe I'm an idiot, but I still only have the vaguest idea of what a razor or a slingBlade is. Also that capitalization nonsense is adorable and it makes me wonder if Pierce Brown randomly capitalizes combined words in real life.In short, Golden Son is a powerful follow up to Red Rising. As Darrow comes into his own as a warrior and a leader, the story trades his more intimate moral quandaries for grand scale battles and plans to conquer planets and overthrow tyrants. But these books will always be built on relationships and the love he has for the people around him, regardless of their Color or loyalty.

Absolutely amazing, potentially better than the first one. This one was completely action packed without the slow introduction and world building that Red Rising had. This trilogy is already one of my favorites. I cannot wait to read Morning Star and I need it know. This book ended in a cruel way that makes the wait even harder.

Although I liked Red Rising, I had some reservations about it and was surprised by just how much I enjoyed reading Golden Son. It's definitely got some flaws (sometimes the dramatically overwrought narrative made me roll my eyes a little), but I didn't care all that much because it was an intensely exciting book that kept me turning the pages.

4 1/2 stars

Full (But Still Brief) Review: http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2016/07/mini-reviews-monstress-1-kingfisher-and-golden-son/

Well, color me speechless.

Dear Mr. Pierce Brown, what is this? What even is this book, this ending? I knew part of what was going to happen, yes, I knew that Roque was going to betray Darrow because I ended up spoiling myself during the AMA on reddit, but I could never have imagined it would be like this. Whoa. WHOA. I see now why Sevro is such a fan-favorite—I didn't in Red Rising—, I see how BIG this trilogy is, I see why people were so eager for Morning Star. Dear Mr. Pierce Brown, you got me.

Now, I do have issues with some aspects of the story. I won't talk about them here, but I do. Ok? Ok. Having said that, I have, against my better judgement, to put all of them aside and give Golden Son a full five stars. This book was a bloodydamn fun ride.

I want to review each book in this series if only to recommend them to more people but its hard not to gush without spoilers. This book continues the trends of the first. It is well paced and efficiently written. I blew through this book so fast and started the third that I forgot to mark it completed in goodreads before I finished the last book.

Another great book in this trilogy. Just like the first book the pace was relentless and even when the action calmed down the intensity of the story telling never let up. If the third book mirrors the quality of the first two this trilogy will easily become one of the best books/series of books I've read.

2.5 stars. Okay that ending definitely stuck the landing. Wow. Where do things go from here? The plot is the only thing here that's making me read the series (when the plot ISN'T being repetitive or formulaic...)

In Pierce Brown's defence, he seems to have a pattern in the plot that works and so is deciding to stick to it. Nothing wrong with that. But it just... made me feel so bored at times, even when high stakes events were happening. It made me feel like the story was dragging even though everything is so fast paced. Contradictory as hell, but that really is how I felt. Everything was jumping around all over the place and while all the plot twists were super interesting, getting to them was arduous.

I still do not give a shit about any character here, even Darrow. Which is a big fucking problem since I'm a character driven reader. Being in Darrow's head in 1st person pov is exhausting. The writing from his pov is so grandiose and ostentatious that it makes me roll my eyes and I get tired of it really quickly. The man sure has been through a lot of trauma so I want to cut him some slack, but could he please stop giving off the vibes of being the obnoxious main character in a theatre production?

Actually, now that I sort of mention this theatre production comparison (odd, I know), I must say that part of why none of the characters have me feeling invested, including Darrow, is that everything feels so scripted. Like of course it's scripted, it's a story written by an author, but I don't want it to feel so deliberately like that, you know? It plays hand in hand with the over-the-top monologues and general grandiose nature of Darrow's narrative. Darrow just feels like a caricature of someone in his position. If you asked me to write down the stereotypical characteristics of a mass-appeal underdog uprising book where the main male character goes through a physical transformation and tries to infiltrate the system that harmed him... then 90% of the stuff I would have said would have actually applied to how Darrow really is. Insufferably self-righteous, self-obsessed, stuck between the random affection of two women who ooh and ahh over him because of-fucking-course, loves to dramatize his recollection of things as if he's putting on a stage performance... do you see where I get the caricature feeling from?

Pierce Brown also included this very weird feminist monologue from Mustang. As a feminist myself, I must say it felt very... strangely delivered. Perhaps he was facing criticism about some (I like to hope unintentional) sexist undertones in Red Rising, but Mustang's whole spiel was so out of pocket... it was just strange and didn't quite click. Brown is pretty bad at writing convincing characters who are women to begin with so that's not what I'm looking for; I appreciate the attempt but I'd rather it wasn't there I guess since it made me cringe? I don't even know anymore...

I will probably read the the third book for the plot, I want to know how things will unfold. But reading this felt like such a chore that maybe I'll just google spoilers. We have yet to see.

I'm officially obsessed with this series.

This is addictive! Probably the most addicting book I read in 2023. I wanted to keep reading this book every chance I got. Can't believe it took me this long to start the Red Rising series.

The twists and turns, the action scenes, the character work... it kept me on my toes and I LOVED it.