Golden Son by Pierce Brown

This book is absolutely amazing. The world, the characters, the story, the writing... Everything about it is noteworthy. I thought the first book in the series was great, but somehow Golden Son was able to surpass it. In this sequel, the series heads for space and continues Darrow's mission to ultimately crumble the current society's hierarchy.

Now that the Institute is over, Darrow and his friends are thrown into real life situations and conflicts. The Institute may have been viewed as a "game" to some, but the characters soon realized that the Institute wasn't a game and enforced no rules. If the Institute taught them one thing is that life has no rules and only the resilient survive. Darrow may be fresh out of the Institute, but he's as intelligent and analytical as his superiors. He never imagined working under his arch nemesis's banner, but he figures it's probably the best way to play out his mission.

I'm not a big fan of violence in real life but I've gotten used to Pierce Brown's writing. It's brutally honest, and he while I'm sure he thinks twice about killing off important characters, no one's really safe. Death seems to follow Darrow, but his mission demands sacrifices, even if that means putting his friends and allies at risk. Darrow is a born leader. There's a quality in him that inspires people and makes them want to follow him, even if it's foolish. Eo saw this in him, even before everything started. She saw the potential he had, that he was born to be more than a Red miner, although I doubt she had this in mind for his future. In the end, she knew she had to sacrifice herself in order to motivate him, to inspire revenge and vengeance. Darrow's feelings for his murdered wife never seems to fade, and I find it very touching how much he still cares for her, despite the fact that she came from a very different world.

I love a good space novel for all the science and navigation details, but this series doesn't really need all the minor details of space travel and battles. The story is more about the characters and their own development. Darrow's inner dialogue is the root of the story and makes us understand his reason for persevering and suffering through the pain. I also really appreciate his continuously evolving relationship with Mustang. He definitely hesitates when it comes to Mustang, probably because he feels like he's cheating Eo's memory by getting close to someone else. Mustang has proven herself to him time and time again, and despite her family's reputation, would probably understand Darrow's situation. I kind of want the two of them to end up together, but then again, as a loner, Darrow could probably accomplish so much more.

Sevro is probably my favorite character. Darrow's most trusted advisor and ally, I consider them friends. Although, Sevro would probably hate the term friends. He leads the Howlers who are the unlikeliest but most cunning graduates of the Institute. It's Sevro's loyalty that I admire the most, and despite learning some of Darrow's most damaging secrets,  he still follows him. With Sevro, Darrow's goal to overturn society might just be possible. Darrow hopes to eliminate the coloured classes and free the bottom colours from slavery. I find it ironic how this coloured hierarchal society shuns demokracy despite being inspired by greek mythology and philosophy. As most of us know, ancient Greece is the birthplace of democracy which makes their system is so hypocritical and wrong.

Pierce Brown is a pure genius with words and storytelling. I'm sure the last book of the trilogy will be as thrilling and brutal as the first two. In a way, I'm glad it took me this long to discover this amazing series because this way, I've been able to read them back to back and avoid suffering the cliffhangers. If you want my opinion, this is the one series you have to read and finish this year. It's brilliant, brutally honest, and doesn't shy away from the truth.

Posted by Tynga at 04:01

 Del Rey, Dystopian, Epic, Pierce Brown, Purchased, Random House, Red Rising, Review, sci-fi, Science Fiction, Space  1 Person left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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