Golden Son

As a Red, Darrow grew up working the mines deep beneath the surface of Mars, enduring backbreaking labor while dreaming of the better future he was building for his descendants. But the Society he faithfully served was built on lies. Darrow’s kind have been betrayed and denied by their elitist masters, the Golds—and their only path to liberation is revolution. And so Darrow sacrifices himself in the name of the greater good for which Eo, his true love and inspiration, laid down her own life. He becomes a Gold, infiltrating their privileged realm so that he can destroy it from within.

A lamb among wolves in a cruel world, Darrow finds friendship, respect, and even love—but also the wrath of powerful rivals. To wage and win the war that will change humankind’s destiny, Darrow must confront the treachery arrayed against him, overcome his all-too-human desire for retribution—and strive not for violent revolt but a hopeful rebirth. Though the road ahead is fraught with danger and deceit, Darrow must choose to follow Eo’s principles of love and justice to free his people.

He must live for more.

Golden Son built on everything I loved about Red Rising and made it many times better. I was at the edge of my seat listening to the audiobook because I literally could not guess what would happen and if any of the characters were safe from the others.

This book solidified how much I respect Pierce Brown as an author. I don’t know if he listened to criticisms he got for Red Rising but he definitely improved his craft with this instalment of the saga. I absolutely love the level of internal conflicts and self-reflection in this book because it makes Darrow a more flawed and relatable character. I love that he makes mistakes and actually learns from them, no matter how hard of a pill they are to swallow. I also liked that the characters are older in this book because character development? Heck to the yeah.

I’m all about solid, A+ friendships and this book had them! It’s one of my favourite things about it and I felt all the feels. I shipped them, I was with them, and I have more to say but I can’t because spoilers so read the book! Gah.

I’m still not the biggest fan of the romance but it is so satisfying that while it’s there, Brown kept it realistic and I’m not left rolling my eyes and gagging in a corner. (Ok I may have rolled my eyes a bit but I’m generally allergic to romance so)

This book ends in a terrible cliffhanger so make sure you have Morning Star with you before you read it! I was in shock for about 18 seconds before I started the next one because I have no self-control.

Golden Son is full of action, surprises, confrontations, and questions on life, war, loyalty, friends, family, power, society and just EVERYTHING. Hands down one of the best sequels I’ve read in a long time.