Morning Star

Yeah, this was great.

It's been a long while since I left Darrow. Red Rising and Golden Son were both a blast to read but they were trials. They both put you through failure, love, betrayal, fear. They are stressful books. Which is why it took me five years to finally pick up Morning Star. Also because the speed that I have been reading has gone down considerably over the past few years, and with Morning Star's hefty page count, I knew it was going to take more than two renewals at the library. And then I realized that not only do audio books exist but they are perfect for my current circumstances. As it turns out, audio book is a wonderful way to enjoy the final installment to the Red Rising series. Tim Gerard Reynolds is like a cross between Anthony Hopkins and Liam Neeson and I loved it.

Darrow has been betrayed. To be fair, he was a spy. An operative, a man disguised as something he was not. And then he got found out. Morning Star takes Darrow of Lykos from his absolute lowest - shriveled and alone in a dark, cold box - to the path to rebuilding himself as a leader, and rebuilding his uprising. Morning Star doesn't quite have as many constant twists and turns as Golden Son, if I remember correctly, but it does have a somewhat episodic nature to it. The story moves between starkly different worlds - the brutal ice of the Obsidians, to the moons of the outer rim. Between villains and allies, victories and sacrifices. Its less frenetic than Golden Son, giving you time to catch your breath between the action.

In contrast to the brutality and unforgiving plot twists of Red Rising and Golden Son, Morning Star is almost....fanservicey? I know, I just said a bad word, but what I mean is that Pierce Brown here gives you what you deserve for hanging with him and Darrow through all of this. There are pop culture references, there's lots of drinking and reminiscing, there's even a wedding. This is a Darrow who has been through some shit, and he is both a young man still and an old one. He's tired of using people, and he's tired of losing people. He's a warrior, the Reaper, the best and the worst and bloodiest all at once, but he's also a sentimental teddy bear and that's what I love about him. There is a moment where you think that Darrow's tender heart has finally, finally taken things too far, but like I said, this book gives you what you deserve.

Morning Star is thrilling and fun. Hilarious and devastating (but not quite so much as previous books). It is deeply personal, and while there are huge battles, Brown rectifies some of the issues of Golden Son by keeping the most important moments intimate. Throughout the series, Darrow has built powerful relationships - in both friends and enemies - and each comes to satisfying (some tragic, some triumphant) conclusions. And Brown has a skill for applying his cinematic mind to the novel format - I had a feeling he was going to pull a fast one on me at the end, but he still managed to surprise. I'm so glad this whole series was worth every page.

Honestly? I'm disappointed. I predicted so many of the ‘twists' that it felt disappointing and a slog by the end of it. I thought this trilogy would be a spectacular read that would jump to my favourites list yet it falls so far behind it; astonishingly the first book was better than the subsequent ones, hopefully, the next two are better. So many things were pointless or could have been done better.

The third in a series : Red Rising, Golden Son, Morning Star. Overall, I enjoyed the story. The pacing was a little uneven, but still enough ups and downs to be interesting. This installment felt more battle heavy, and those are just not interesting to me. Between battles, drama and character development kept me engaged. Thankfully, Pierce Brown was able to end the story in a way that wasn't too neat and tidy to be unbelievable.

In the background of this series are huge philosophical questions about race, class, effective governance, loyalty, and honor. Some of it is superficial, and some is pretty deep.

The whole series is worth a read, especially for science fiction fans. I'd recommend this to readers in high school and up: be cautioned for gory violence, poor language, and some mature sexual content.

I'm looking forward to great things from this author.

The 3rd book in Browns Red Rising series doubles down on some of the grit that makes it different than other scifi books around while putting strategy in the forefront. The deceit and planning kept me on my toes – even when guessing I knew what was going to happen I was constantly second guessing myself. A great ending to one of the best series I've read since The Hunger Games.

I feel like I need to start by explaining this 4-star rating. Most of the people I know are giving this book 5 stars, I gave its predecessor 5 stars, so why am I giving it 4? Well, for two main reasons, mostly: First, I believe I liked Golden Son way better than Morning Star. Which isn't to say I didn't like MS, but I enjoyed GS a lot more. Second, I didn't quite like the ending—a child? Seriously? Mr. Brown, darling, you can do better than that. It was tacky; I didn't like it. The fact that it was almost 6 am when I was about that part and realized what Mustang was talking about is the only thing that kept me from going UGGHHHHHHH out loud.

Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable book; It wouldn't be fair of me to say it wasn't. I don't think I've ever liked Darrow, the protagonist, who I find to be a little bit too much of a Mary Sue for my taste, but it was nice to see him grow and change as a character, after all, and there were loads more to like—e.g. my husband, Cassius au Bellona, who did have his redemption arc after all, and nothing else matters right now. The setting was also spot on, with just one minor thing or another that I can't contest properly because I suck at Physics.

It took me forever to finish Moning Star, not because it wasn't a nice read, but because Gods know what got me that I spent weeks barely reading anything. It seems that I Am Back In The Game, though. As a consequence, I ended up devouring the second half of MS almost entirely in one night only, and had a lot to digest. Mea culpa, I guess.

This series was very excellent. I first heard about it on The Giant Beastcast podcast, I believe. I cannot put into words how much I appreciate the authors prose. Its not too verbose but not spartan enough not to conjure the scene in your mind. The story is fast past and fun. Some moments I nearly teared up.

I read through this series so fast I had to go back and change the date started and finished in Goodreads because I forgot to tell Goodreads I finished the previous book and started the next. I just could not put these books down.

If you enjoy space operas, this is one of the greats.