Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher
Time has passed since the ending of Red Rising, two years to be precise, and Darrow is now fully embedded in to the society of the Golds. But when Pliny conspires to get him released from Augustus's service, Darrow is reminded of what he's fighting for, and he kicks back harder than ever. Darrow ignites a civil war among the Golds, one that could bring down the Sovereign and put Augustus on the throne, but first there's a war to fight, and not everyone will survive, truths will come out, and sides will change.
Dammit. I am 50 shades of hell no right now. I can't even. Like, I KNEW he was going to betray Darrow, I knew it, I saw it coming a mile off with him being all pissy all the time, but then at the end I still couldn't believe it, I'm SO over all the betrayals, I can't take it anymore! Poor Darrow! Waaa! I am so heartbroken and emotionally fragile right now from this book.
It's safe to say with that ending, the next book is needed right now, and it's been set up perfectly. I'm most intrigued to see what Mustang is going to do, especially after these events. This book is like crack, I'm not even joking, it's impossible to put it down once you've started reading, and when it's over you need the next one ASAP. I'm still thinking about the book now....and I'll probably be thinking about it for weeks.
I loved the little "Previously on Red Rising.." page at the beginning that refreshed your memory concisely, while getting you pumped for the next instalment and then you turn the page and it's straight in at the action, and it's pretty much non stop from there, there's always something going on to keep you hooked, keep you engaged, keep you reading. I love that about these books, and I love how you don't know what's going to happen next, and even when you do, you're still shocked when it happens because you here hoping you where wrong! The twists and turns are always shocking, and always add to the story.
The thing I love about this series, is that it's set in the future, and there's loads of cool tech, but there's this balance achieved by the author so that while there's tech, it's still pretty archaic at times, and there's still plenty of savagery. It's a perfect blend and balance so you don't get too much of one or the other, and you really get taken out of time.
Like in Red Rising, in Golden Son we cover a lot of ground, we see a lot of new locations, we go on another epic quest of sorts, friends are made and broken, and I feel so bad for Darrow that he keeps losing friends, it's not his fault he's kind of useless and keeps pushing them away! Okay it is but still. We find out who Ares is and I honestly did not see that coming, I hadn't even guessed to be honest, I didn't want to touch that aspect because I knew I'd be wrong whoever I said!
I continue to totally, 100% love Sevro and his Howlers, is it reaaally wrong for me to say they make the book for me? I mean, Sevro makes me chuckle all the time, especially his quips and the little ditties he comes up with! I like to thing he's the humour and the badassness all in one. I just love how he's pretty much like "I am who I am" and doesn't really give a shit or apologise for it. Love it.
I also mentioned in my Red Rising review, I believe, that I loved Pax, and I really was going to miss him reading this book, at least I thought, but it turned out to be okay because we get Pax's brother and his Dad, and I can't wait to see more of them. I mean Papa Pax has a pet fox that he feeds jelly beans....LOVE.
Victra turned out to be a pleasant surprise for me, I was wary of her at first, but I think like Darrow and the others, I came to trust her more as the book went on, she was a total badass, and ridiculously loyal and I didn't expect that. She came to be a favourite of mine and it near broke my heart at the end when she's all "I didn't know" because she wanted Darrow to know she didn't betray him and omg. Damn you Brown.
As for Darrow? Right now, I think he's a bit of a mug, because he didn't really listen to a word Mustang said about who to trust, and who to mend things with, and I thought he'd learned a lesson about pushing people away, or keeping them in the dark, but he did it again this book and look where it got him, silly sod. At the same time, while I want to smack him one, I also feel for him, and the connection to him is still there, especially when he remembered what he was fighting for and when he got to go back home, and how upset he gets whenever he loses people, because it's what sets him apart from the other Golds. I'm interested to see who he becomes in the next book and what the conclusion will be to everything going on.
It's safe to say shit hits the fan in this book, it's truly the climax, whatever happens in the next book is going to be awesome. We have a world in uproar, everyone's running about, and there's power up for grabs and it's going to be interesting to see who it goes to and how the trilogy continues. I love how the plot for the book is one thing, but then there's bits woven in to keep the overarching plot of the series going in the right direction, and there is always more going on than what appears. It's an expertly written, complex plot made up of many components, without being incredibly confusing or you having to take notes.
The world continued to be engrossing and vivid, with a fantastic atmosphere. I loved getting a glimpse at different parts of the world, and having a trip back to Darrows home. I'm loving how the world building hasn't been forgotten in favour of the plot or so on. There's an equal spread to make sure everything gets the right amount of attention, and it's a world I love and found so easy to slip back in to thanks to Browns world building!
I'd also like to note that the jump in time was done incredibly well. Sometimes I've seen it done, and it's been confusing and characters haven't quite caught up with the time, but the characters were all where you would have expected them to be mentally and so on, for the time that's passed, and you knew what had gone on in the two years thanks to the concise little tidbits thrown out here and there.
Romance continues to be subtle and secondary to the plot, not overshadowing it, and it continues to be an interesting one. I can't really say what happens without spoiling it but i'm SO dying to know what Mustang is going to do, I don't think she's going to be horrible to him, but I don't know. We'll see. I'm really hoping certain characters get what's coming to them, which is unusual for me to say, this trilogy is bringing out the side of me that usually only shows itself during Game of Thrones!
Golden Son truly takes you out of the world for the hours it takes to read it, fully immersing you in to the world of the book, so you're right there with the characters. Characters, old and new, primary and secondary, who jump off the page and come alive. With a plot that always has more going on than meets the eye and twists and turns everywhere, you won't be able to put the book down, nor will you actually want to, you'll be kept guessing, because even if you do have an inkling, you will second guess yourself, and who to trust, like the characters sometimes.
Golden Son is the sequel us fans where hoping for! It's just as good as, if not better than Red Rising, there's no formula from the first book, used for the second but with different circumstances, kinda like Hunger Games did (don't get me wrong, I love that trilogy but that did make me go uhh). This is one hell of an explosive trilogy, and one that has fast become a favourite of mine, and hopefully loads of other people. This series is going to be big, and I'm waiting patiently for a movie to be made, because this book series deserves movie adaptions!
Thank you Pierce for writing such an awesome first two books, that have made me delve back in to a genre I was falling out of love with! But at the same tine DAMN YOU FOR THAT ENDING, YOU CAN'T KEEP DOING THIS TO MEEEEE! YOU'VE BROKEN MY FEELS. I have a book hangover that can't be healed.
