Review: Morning Star

Morning Star

Rating: 5/5

Buy or Borrow: Buy 

Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton. 

Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society's mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within.

Finally, the time has come.

But devotion to honor and hunger for vengeance run deep on both sides. Darrow and his comrades-in-arms face powerful enemies without scruple or mercy. Among them are some Darrow once considered friends. To win, Darrow will need to inspire those shackled in darkness to break their chains, unmake the world their cruel masters have built, and claim a destiny too long denied - and too glorious to surrender.

"Shit escalates"

It's over. You guys, it's actually over. Don't get me wrong, I loved the book but I was sad the entire time, like not just from some of the events of the book but because it's the last book. I kinda wish the series would carry on forever, it's like I'm a glutton for punishment because it's not like the books have been heartbreak free, and haven't had some shocking betrayals. Everything was wrapped up so perfectly, and the book just ended perfectly, but it was so bittersweet because ya know...it's finally over. No more Severo...or Darrow....or Mustang or anyone. Gutted! 

Like I've said before Sci-Fi isn't usually my thing so I found myself pleasantly surprised at how much I loved Red Rising, then Golden Son was even better...and Morning Star blew both away. I eagerly dove in to the book, yeah it's pretty hefty, but it's the final book in a trilogy that I feel has been too short! Although, I think it actually works that Brown hasn't dragged this out in to a million books...even though in direct contradiction to that, I'm gutted there aren't a million books. I've waited a year for this book, and after the cliffhanger Golden Son left us on...I couldn't not dive in. 

The opening was spine tingling swiftly segueing in to the horrifying first chapters. Well I was horrified, but then ya know...being desensitised to all this thanks to Game of Thrones, I swiftly started to feel some rage on behalf of my characters! I was immediately thrown back in to events, and back in to the vividly original world of the book. One of the things I loved most, and that hooked me on Red Rising was the world and how original it was and all the different aspects to it, it's political intricacies and the richness of the history to the world, and all of that has been carried on throughout all of the books and is still present in this book, along with the tactics. I love reading the tactics in these books because they're not complicated, they're written so you can understand them and come away feeling like a tactical genius from understanding them and feeling some grim satisfaction at how awesome they are! 

I love Brown's writing style and his descriptions, I can't get over how much I love it all. The writing grips me, and has me glued to the page. It has me feeling a range of different emotions. It sucks me in to the world of the book and brings the world and the characters to life perfectly without an overdose of writing. The descriptions, like the world building is vivid and imaginative and just completely enchants you, as well as being ridiculously cinematic without reading like it's been written specifically for that purpose. What do I mean? I once read a book written by a screen writer, and it was cinematic yeah, but it also lacked a lot of detail because it was written specifically with the thought of it being adapted to a screen play, which means a lot of descriptions and world building where lost. This is perfectly cinematic, because it's just the writing and how Brown makes you feel when you read certain lines. You can picture everything up on a big screen, picture how a scene would be set and played out. But then it might be my filming oriented brain! I'm so sad to leave the world of the book, even though everything is wrapped up satisfyingly I still want to know what happens NEXT.

It's not long before we're straight back in with the action, and what action it is. There's lots of action in the book, and each battle sequence, each fight has you on the edge of your seat. They're described in such vivid detail that you're right there in the midst of it. I really do think the battles work because when you read the book, like I said, you get a lot of talk of tactics, and rather than being boring, you're fascinated, especially when they come in to play, and you start to think tactically as you read. It adds a whole new dimension to the fights and battles. 

The book did have some draggy bits, don't get me wrong, but overall it had a nice pace to it. There was a lot going on, lots of different threads came in to play, some that came in the form of plot twists, that then twisted even more and shocked you. You wouldn't believe the plot twists in this, they where shocking, heartbreaking, horrifying and each one damn made you want to shout and scream at the book. The plot was fantastic, full of action, something was always happening, there where lots of intricacies to it, and like I said, everything was wrapped up nicely. There was humour to counter the heartbreak and heavy action, like a Howler initiation ritual that was like some jacked up version of a busktucker trial in I'm a Celebrity! 

"We're here to blow shit up. Any questions?"

We've watched our characters come a hell of a long way and develop and change and grow and they've all made us feel a lot of feels. I've loved watching each and every one of them change and become the characters we see in this book, even the ones who betrayed Darrow and I kinda hate. Darrow is just brilliant, who he's become, learning from his mistakes, everything he's been through. Sevro is forever my favourite character, yes it should probably be Darrow, but sorry, Sevro is the best. His relationship with Darrow is just mind blowing, I love the interactions between the two, like they had a full on punch up in this book then it's all good a few minutes later. The two of them together and Sevro on his own are a large source of humour in the book. He cracked me up right from the first, the eye thing and his reaction to it and the offer cracked me up! Mustang is another character I love, purely because half the time I'm kind of wary of her like Sevro is, and she blew my mind at the end of the book. 

There's a whole host of characters in this book to make you feel things, make you want to throw the book and scream and rage. Our old pal Cassius is back, he nearly had me going for a minute or two at the end, very nearly and I wanted to annihilate him, but he surprised me and had me fist pumping and cheering even though in the context it was kind of harsh of me. Roque is also back and as much as I disliked him my heart broke. Victra, I loved her and Darrow together and Victra sharing some of the burden in giving orders at one point of the book. Ragnar was another character that I loved and who broke my heart in this book. Darrows family are back, and there's MORE heartbreak from a family member. The Jackal is just...purely, brilliantly evil, he's kind of the perfect villain, I can't really lie. Everyone got what was coming to them as far as the Jackal and his cohorts are concerned, I have to say. OOOHH and Orion and the crew of the Pax are back! 

There's also new characters, we get Valkyries, Sefi, Holiday and more along with all the old characters we love or hate. Like I said, some of these characters blew my mind because they shocked and surprised me in equal measure. I've already mentioned the twists of the book, so if it's not obvious, this book is unpredictable. I couldn't guess what was coming next, I was on edge and wary the whole time because I was never sure if everything was what it seemed, and was kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop in some situations. With new characters came the whole...who is actually trustworthy thing. There's a lot of betrayal and backstabbing in these books and this one is no exception. 

I also thought the moment Darrow and Cassius shared, with the moments from the first book....it was such a nice touch, and it fitted perfectly in with the story. It wasn't just dumped there, it really belonged in that scene and I can't imagine the scene without it. It made me tear up and smile and it was perfect. I loved how that scene was done and it genuinely fit nicely in to the narrative and plot. 

Morning Star is the conclusion that we all hope for when we go in to the final book in a trilogy or series, and I've loved the journey we've been on with the characters. I've loved watching them grow and change, I've learned learning about the world and getting to see more and more of it. I've loved being surprised at every turn, left wanting more, I've even loved feeling like throwing the book and screaming at certain plot twists and characters. I'm so sad the story is over and we won't hear from the characters again, but I'm excited to see what Brown will do next, and I'll read pretty much anything the guy writes, it has to be said! This trilogy has completely blown my mind, and if you haven't read it you should, because now you can avoid all the tense waiting I had to do....and just read them in one go! I cannot wait to see Red Rising on the big screen!