Pierce Brown

For a decade Darrow led a revolution against the corrupt color-coded Society. Now, outlawed by the very Republic he founded, he wages a rogue war on Mercury in hopes that he can still salvage the dream of Eo. But as he leaves death and destruction in his wake, is he still the hero who broke the chains? Or will another legend rise to take his place?

Dark Age

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The bestselling author of Morning Star returns to the Red Rising universe with the thrilling sequel to Iron Gold. “Brown’s plots are like a depth charge of nitromethane dropped in a bucket of gasoline. His pacing is 100% him standing over it all with a lit match and a smile, waiting for us to dare him to drop it.”—NPR (Best Books of the Year) He broke the chains. Then he broke the world…. A decade ago Darrow led a revolution, and laid the foundations for a new world. Now he’s an outlaw. Cast out of the very Republic he founded, with half his fleet destroyed, he wages a rogue war on Mercury. Outnumbered and outgunned, is he still the hero who broke the chains? Or will he become the very evil he fought to destroy? In his darkening shadow, a new hero rises. Lysander au Lune, the displaced heir to the old empire, has returned to bridge the divide between the Golds of the Rim and Core. If united, their combined might may prove fatal to the fledgling Republic. On Luna, the embattled Sovereign of the Republic, Virginia au Augustus, fights to preserve her precious demokracy and her exiled husband. But one may cost her the other, and her son is not yet returned. Abducted by enemy agents, Pax au Augustus must trust in a Gray thief, Ephraim, for his salvation. Far across the void, Lyria, a Red refugee accused of treason, makes a desperate bid for freedom with the help of two unlikely new allies. Fear dims the hopes of the Rising, and as power is seized, lost, and reclaimed, the worlds spin on and on toward a new Dark Age. Don’t miss any of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising Saga: RED RISING • GOLDEN SON • MORNING STAR • IRON GOLD • DARK AGE

I swear with each subsequent chapter of each Red Rising book my blood pressure goes up… by the time the series is over I am going to have blown a blood vessel in my eye… 

Apiecalypse Jen

Is a man a coward if he realizes that bravery is just a myth the old tell the young so they line up for the meatgrinder?

took a little while to get into it. ended up loving the lyria/volga/victra interactions. just about died when darrow didn’t recognize lysander. hate that kid! RIP Ephraim and alexandar. and Ulysses :( Not super hyped about the Volsung Fa storyline but we’ll see…

Delaney Vorwick

George

can't think of a funny one liner review but PB really shined through as an author this book and honestly got better with each book he dropped in this series, one of the most enjoyable books i've read

Nathan Robertson

This feels like a middle book again and ended like the last one with me saying “what, now?! It ends now?!” And I literally want to slap the shit out of one of the characters and I don’t know if we are supposed to like him or what so that was a ride… and it’s only 4.5/5 because I am frustrated. I am frustrated and upset. The writing is good. The story follows. But I am not happy. I am not happy at all. 

Savannah Winchell

** spoiler alert **
           DNF at 209
Continuing this series was a mistake 

It’s great that we had to wait 5 books for a Mustang PoV only to end up with her being brutalized and assaulted by a group before being publicly humiliated. #lovethatshit

Could have done without Darrow nearly being raped too but I guess I’m really asking too much at this point

That one specific plot twist was stupid and lazy. Bad storytelling I’m out

Also Lysander “the pro slavery golds are honorable” au Lune can eat my entire ass

80% pain, 20% tears, 100% Pierce Brown gold.

Brianna

elif sinem

After suffering to 83%, I read the summary on the wikia page. This is... a bad first draft where the editor fell asleep probably halfway through. PLEASE find a list of triggers if you ever get to this point.

The only way this trilogy can satisfy me in the end is if Mustang ends up lesbian and Cassius and Darrow have sex under communism. And if  comes back alive. Nothing else.

I feel like 4 stars is very generous. I read this through and was floating along on the high of these very beloved characters’ stories continuing. But I don’t think this was as good as the previous books — or even Iron Gold for that matter. There were too many POVs and I don’t think you would’ve needed more than Darrow, Lysander, and maybe Ephraim to tell this story in full. Got clunky. 

I will be looking forward to the next book though (I thought this would be the last but seems like a sixth is inevitable).

Aleena Korell

The tragedy of the gifted is the belief they are entitled to greatness, Lysander. As a human, you are entitled only to death.

Dark Age is definitely worth the weight. Er, I mean wait. (It really is a hefty book).

One thing Pierce does so, so well: a distinct, compelling voice for each perspective character. Not to mention for the more prominent secondary characters. Each perspective (five of them, all equally distinct, likable, and action-packed) keeps the story racing on, perfectly paced, storylines perfectly balanced. 

We don't have a monopoly on the truth just because our aims are pretty, young man.

I struggled a bit with Iron Gold-- Darrow was hard to sympathize with, and it took time to warm up to some of the new characters. It's clear that in this volume, we're past all that initial getting-to-know-you stuff for the new characters and get to see what each of them is really made of and how they're all interconnected.

In Dark Age, every perspective (with the addition of Virginia! Yay!) has subtleties and nuances of light and dark, each of them having to make hard decisions, each struggling with their own personal demons. Pierce is great at twists and at fast-paced plots, but shows off his skills with characterization more than ever with multiple perspectives. He establishes what the worst possible turn of events for each character would be, makes it happen, and forces them to fight their way out of it. Each is a pivotal character in the grand scheme of things, though some unexpectedly so. And the unique pairings are so fun.

Lyria plus (view spoiler)[ Victra and Volga (hide spoiler)] is genius. I want a spinoff. Ephraim and the kids getting thrown in with (view spoiler)[Obsidians (hide spoiler)] is unexpected and works so well. And the addition of the (view spoiler)[Ascomanni (hide spoiler)] is creepy and incredible. 

After all this time, Darrow is still just so darn satisfying to read about. Even when he fails, even with all his flaws. Because of them. He loves so deeply, and he is finally able to see that as a strength instead of a weakness as he did in Iron Gold. For better or for worse, I think we got our Reaper back in this one. And although there is isolation from some of our favorite characters for a good portion of the book, it's handled skillfully and there's still payoff and some sweet moments. 
After the way this one ends, the next installment will clearly be pretty epic.

Brb, gonna go re-read Red Rising.

Anđela

This book is extraordinary. If I could give it 10 stars I would. I can't wait for book 6!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Ashlee

Rowan Jones

4.5* 
This book is THICC and I loved every second of it

Jeremy Cote

A beast of a book, but so good. It took me a long time to read this story, but the investment was worth it. The book has multiple perspectives, and Brown juggles them all beautifully. Each is distinct, and I never worried about confusing whose mind I was in.

This is a fantastic addition to the series, and I can't wait to see what comes next in this story. It's going to be great.

drew mcarthur

Claudia

Jordan Chan 

Mary Gilpin 

Alex

chris

Noah Cross

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The bestselling author of Morning Star returns to the Red Rising universe with the thrilling sequel to Iron Gold. "Brown's plots are like a depth charge of nitromethane dropped in a bucket of gasoline. His pacing is 100% him standing over it all with a lit match and a smile, waiting for us to dare him to drop it."--NPR (Best Books of the Year) He broke the chains. Then he broke the world.... A decade ago Darrow led a revolution, and laid the foundations for a new world. Now he's an outlaw. Cast out of the very Republic he founded, with half his fleet destroyed, he wages a rogue war on Mercury. Outnumbered and outgunned, is he still the hero who broke the chains? Or will he become the very evil he fought to destroy? In his darkening shadow, a new hero rises. Lysander au Lune, the displaced heir to the old empire, has returned to bridge the divide between the Golds of the Rim and Core. If united, their combined might may prove fatal to the fledgling Republic. On Luna, the embattled Sovereign of the Republic, Virginia au Augustus, fights to preserve her precious demokracy and her exiled husband. But one may cost her the other, and her son is not yet returned. Abducted by enemy agents, Pax au Augustus must trust in a Gray thief, Ephraim, for his salvation. Far across the void, Lyria, a Red refugee accused of treason, makes a desperate bid for freedom with the help of two unlikely new allies. Fear dims the hopes of the Rising, and as power is seized, lost, and reclaimed, the worlds spin on and on toward a new Dark Age. Don't miss any of Pierce Brown's Red Rising Saga: RED RISING * GOLDEN SON * MORNING STAR * IRON GOLD * DARK AGE

Dark Age

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