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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Red Rising thrilled readers and announced the presence of a talented new author. Golden Son changed the game and took the story of Darrow to the next level. Now comes the exhilarating next chapter in the Red Rising Saga: Morning Star. ITW THRILLER AWARD FINALIST • “[Brown’s] achievement is in creating an uncomfortably familiar world of flaw, fear, and promise.”— Entertainment Weekly 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. Praise for Morning Star “There is no one writing today who does shameless, Michael Bay–style action set pieces the way Brown does. The battle scenes are kinetic, bloody, breathless, crazy. Everything is on fire all the time.” —NPR “ Morning Star is this trilogy’s Return of the Jedi . . . . The impactful battles that make up most of Morning Star are damn near operatic. . . . It absolutely satisfies.” — Tordotcom “Excellent . . . Brown’s vivid, first-person prose puts the reader right at the forefront of impassioned speeches, broken families, and engaging battle scenes . . . as this interstellar civil war comes to a most satisfying conclusion.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A page-turning epic filled with twists and turns . . . The conclusion to Brown’s saga is simply stellar.” — Booklist (starred review) Don’t miss any of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising Saga: RED RISING • GOLDEN SON • MORNING STAR • IRON GOLD • DARK AGE • LIGHT BRINGER Review: This book is all gas and no breaks - Pierce Brown, you are an evil, evil man. I will be sending you an invoice for my therapy bill because I had a full on crash out while reading this This book is all gas and no breaks. I thought Golden Son was a wild ride, but this book had me feeling every emotion known to man The plot twists in this book are absolutely insane. I officially have trust issues & I am genuinely concerned for the rest of this series is this is how we’re playing halfway through 😭😭 I cannot say enough good things about this series. What an incredible ride. The character development & found family in this book is one of my absolute favorites. I hold so much love for these characters and everything they’ve gone through to tear down a system of oppression. If you want a series full of rage, incredible political intrigue, amazing character development, and absolutely diabolical plot twists, please please please pick this one up & do yourself a favor and listen to the graphic audio Review: Possibly my new favorite series, flat out amazing! - This is a fantastic finish to an amazing book trilogy. I won't give away any spoilers but will rather speak to the merit of the book. For his first series, the Red Rising Trilogy went so far above and beyond my expectations that I am truly amazed. So many new series and trilogies start strong but face and fizzle as you progress from start to finish. If anything, I would say this series gets stronger as it progresses rather than weaker and by the climax, I find myself wondering if he could have finished it any better. Brown beautifully builds up to the conclusion and leaves his readers satisfied and fulfilled. This series is everything you want the Hunger Games to be but its just so much better. As I worked my way through Morning Star I found myself sharing the book with anyone that would listen. I ended up getting my wife, brother, sister, and sister-in-law to all read the series and not a one of them was disappointed. If you are looking for an amazing new series, this is the trilogy you should be reading. I am a certified English teacher and I have read several reviews of his work that criticize his writing which is just asinine. I love fantasy and science fiction, but I also have a great appreciation for classic literature. I have read everything from Dickens to Melville to Dostoevsky, so I know what beautiful writing looks like. I am not saying that Brown is on the same level as the aforementioned authors, but he is nothing to scoff at. His writing flows well and he also has a knack for developing enthralling characters and intertwining plot lines. There is nothing not to like about this book and if you see people leaving negative comments then just disregard them, fools and less talented people will always find reasons to complain or nitpick the genius of others. Red Rising was great, Golden Son was a worthy successor, and Morning Star is the perfect conclusion. My prediction is that this series will blow up in the next year or two once we get closer to seeing a Red Rising movie. Do yourself a favor and read this book.




| Best Sellers Rank | #609 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #6 in Dystopian Fiction (Books) #8 in Science Fiction Crime & Mystery #10 in Science Fiction Adventures |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 57,213 Reviews |
S**H
This book is all gas and no breaks
Pierce Brown, you are an evil, evil man. I will be sending you an invoice for my therapy bill because I had a full on crash out while reading this This book is all gas and no breaks. I thought Golden Son was a wild ride, but this book had me feeling every emotion known to man The plot twists in this book are absolutely insane. I officially have trust issues & I am genuinely concerned for the rest of this series is this is how we’re playing halfway through 😭😭 I cannot say enough good things about this series. What an incredible ride. The character development & found family in this book is one of my absolute favorites. I hold so much love for these characters and everything they’ve gone through to tear down a system of oppression. If you want a series full of rage, incredible political intrigue, amazing character development, and absolutely diabolical plot twists, please please please pick this one up & do yourself a favor and listen to the graphic audio
C**E
Possibly my new favorite series, flat out amazing!
This is a fantastic finish to an amazing book trilogy. I won't give away any spoilers but will rather speak to the merit of the book. For his first series, the Red Rising Trilogy went so far above and beyond my expectations that I am truly amazed. So many new series and trilogies start strong but face and fizzle as you progress from start to finish. If anything, I would say this series gets stronger as it progresses rather than weaker and by the climax, I find myself wondering if he could have finished it any better. Brown beautifully builds up to the conclusion and leaves his readers satisfied and fulfilled. This series is everything you want the Hunger Games to be but its just so much better. As I worked my way through Morning Star I found myself sharing the book with anyone that would listen. I ended up getting my wife, brother, sister, and sister-in-law to all read the series and not a one of them was disappointed. If you are looking for an amazing new series, this is the trilogy you should be reading. I am a certified English teacher and I have read several reviews of his work that criticize his writing which is just asinine. I love fantasy and science fiction, but I also have a great appreciation for classic literature. I have read everything from Dickens to Melville to Dostoevsky, so I know what beautiful writing looks like. I am not saying that Brown is on the same level as the aforementioned authors, but he is nothing to scoff at. His writing flows well and he also has a knack for developing enthralling characters and intertwining plot lines. There is nothing not to like about this book and if you see people leaving negative comments then just disregard them, fools and less talented people will always find reasons to complain or nitpick the genius of others. Red Rising was great, Golden Son was a worthy successor, and Morning Star is the perfect conclusion. My prediction is that this series will blow up in the next year or two once we get closer to seeing a Red Rising movie. Do yourself a favor and read this book.
C**Y
Farewell Howlers, you will be missed!!
MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS This is it. The final book in the “Red Rising” trilogy. As such, it’ll be my shortest review (which is never that short) because honestly, if you’ve read my review for the others and are bothering with this one… I don’t know why you are reading this if you HAVEN’T at least started the series yet. Either way, this is the final chapter, final straw, final act for Darrow as he goes about completing his mission of bringing equality and freedom to a society that feels both in the future and also back in time with its views. A bit like Star Wars really, but you know, without Jedi’s and the like. This book starts up where we left off, with Darrow captured. We finally really see the depravity the Gold’s are capable of. It had always been implied before, you saw it through members of the Sons of Ares as they retold their own subjugation but mainly we saw it through how Golds treated other Golds in the academy which was never all that good to begin with. Now, they have broken Darrow and he has to be rebuilt, again, in order to finish the job he set out to do. The story gets a bit repetitive in this. While Brown is amazing when it comes to putting a twist on the Roman culture and military tactics he’s borrowed so heavily from (and which this mythology geek always appreciated), he does tend to have the same instances repeat themselves. In every one of his books, Darrow goes through the hero’s journey each and every time. While his story is compelling and I adore Sevro as a character, it does make each book following the first a little slower for me to get through. They are fantastic, don’t get me wrong, but with each book, it becomes just a bit less of a page turner. Some of that comes with the “easy outs” Brown tends to give Darrow and how “soft” he makes Darrow at times. In the last book, Darrow forgets to tell us that he’s been training secretly with the best Gold warrior of their time. I understand why he did it, to illicit a feeling of surprise, but it still comes off as a bit of an unwelcome twist because it felt too convenient. That happens again in “Morning Star”. There is a moment where you believe so fully someone dies only to have it be all part of a plot twist. Which is fine except our narrator never hints that he has this plan, never even subtly shows us that this betrayal was all part of an act. Again, I know why he did it, but some hints about it would make the twist feel satisfying rather than overly convenient. Honestly, this is the most troublesome thing because it happens so often, even in the epilogue! I won’t lie, the epilogue made me roll my eyes a bit… Also, Darrow also really, really loves his people. Which is awesome because a leader should love his people. But he loves them to the point in this last book where I am wondering if Darrow is bisexual or something. Which kudos if he is but I don’t really think he is. Which is why it felt a bit weird when he went on and on about how beautiful both the male and female Golds are. In addition, Darrow is broken so much mentally and generally does not feel as strong mentally as he once was. It shows that Darrow is changing and evolving which is great, but it does feel a bit as if he is mentally incapable of doing what’s necessary. He does them anyway so no big deal, but it felt a bit whiny at times. My only other real “complaint”, if you can call it that, is with the villain. He always seems to be two steps ahead like he’s psychic into all of Darrow’s plans. No matter how clever Darrow and friends are, the jackal and crew are expecting exactly what they do. You can only chalk that up to spies so much to where it just feels unbelievable. The Jackal is formidable on his own but he felt too smart, too clever because he just seemed to know what Darrow and team planned for every mission save one or two. The Jackal is a scary bad guy all on his own, this seemed to lessen that in its mild un-believability. All in all though, I am a big fan of this series and Brown as a writer. His research and the “colorful” characters he’s created are marvelous. I recommend this series to anyone who likes a sci-fi fantasy steeped in old Roman culture and who also enjoy a good YA series. Like the rest of his books, I’m giving it a solid 4 out of 5 stars and the series as a whole a 4.5. Definitely worth a read!
A**Y
An Amazing Conclusion!
This story was incredible. It was a nail-biting emotional roller coaster that brings the entire trilogy to an insanely dramatic, swift, brutal, and tumultuous close. If I could give this story 6 out of 5 stars, I would. While I came into the trilogy with a less than favorable opinion (I gave Red Rising only 4 stars), this series has only gotten better and better. Without question, collectively this is my all-time favorite trilogy. When last we left Darrow, his Triumph on Mars following the routing of the Sovereigns forces was sabotaged. Nero, Lorn, and Fitchner (Ares) were killed, along with many others, due to Roque's surprise betrayal (along with Adrius [ Jackal ], but we knew he was going to betray Darrow at some point). And right before the book closes, it's made clear that Darrow's secret is known, at least by those in power: he's actually a Red in disguise. Morning Star picks up right at the end of Golden Son ... and things are not pretty. One thing I have to give to Pierce Brown is that he does not shy away from killing characters and bringing harm to the protagonists, and while this is nothing but stressful for the reader, it's ultimately better than creating a sense of invulnerability that would otherwise make things drag along with no real suspense. So, without spoilers ... the opening to Morning Star does not find Darrow in a good place. And the rest of the book proceeds with the same sense of dread and doom hanging over most scenes, this sense that, at this point, 3 books in, anyone could turn out to be a spy or a turncoat, that a given plan could go disastrously, that a favorite character could die horribly. And, again without spoilers, that is sometimes the case. Morning Star is nothing short of an emotional roller coaster. In the final 10% of the book, I found myself so caught up in a sudden turn of events that I all but speed-read through the rest to find out what the conclusion would be, because I couldn't just stop reading in the middle of such drama! And without a doubt, the final 10% is intense. Before you get to this point, make sure you have 30 minutes to an hour to finish without interruption. Yet despite all this, Pierce manages to somehow find little moments here and there in the narrative to slip in some levity. Most of the time these are interactions between Darrow, Sevro and Ragnar, and occasionally a few other characters. He manages to perfectly pace this story so that it is an even and changing mix of drama, tension, suspense, levity, genuine emotional explorations, and action. He also manages to slip in a few sly and kind of funny pop-culture references without breaking stride. And of course, 3 books in, there is a lot of deep character exploration and soul-searching, not only for Darrow, but for those around him. Whereas in Red Rising, Darrow was the star, and the story was all about him doing the impossible on a quest that was ostensibly about vengeance, Morning Star steps back and looks at all of the OTHER characters around him to show that we've now reached a scale that involves more than just petty revenge. Among all this, there's a few minor gripes I have, nothing that breaks anything. Pierce continues to falter on occasion with adequately explaining a scene, or occasionally adopts a skimming pace that just hits you with bullet points rather than actual narrative. But this is few and far between, and mostly happens between major scenes to help with time dilation or to keep the overall pace from getting dragged down. And while Pierce actually gave, to date, the most description regarding what EXACTLY the Razor is (it has a toggle switch and a thumbstick or pad or something! THAT'S how they make the shapes of the weapon, you guys!), he still fails to really adequately describe some weapons or devices (I still have no idea what a pulseFist is. At times I imagined it like the weaponized thruster on the hand of the Ironman suit, but then another scene would indicate it had a barrel and a trigger, so then I thought it was wrist mounted). Additionally, a lot of characters in this book take a lot of damage and injuries, and at times this really stretches the bounds of believability. Yes, I know Golds are super-humans compared to us modern day apes, but there were some things I was just left thinking "Really? All that happens, and he's walking around like nothing?" And finally, during the epilogue, there is a final little twist thrown in that, while really poignant, seemed a bit out of left field. It's not anything like a deus ex machina, but the chances it would happen seem PRETTY STEEP. Overall, an amazing book. I'm still reeling from the final 10% of this novel. As with Red Rising and Golden Son, this book is full of twists and turns, political intrigue, suspense, action, emotion, brutality, intelligence, and humor, and by the end of it you'll be drained.
D**O
Philosophical, cathartic, mind-blowing my amazing! Not enough words to describe it all!
Hello readers, I am excited to bring this review to you. I finished this book two days ago, and I just could not write a review outright. I know that sounds funny, but the overwhelming variety of emotions I felt after completing this book was just too much to bare. So please bare with me, as I do my best to describe why this book is so amazing, because I know for a fact there's no way anything I can say will do it justice. The Red Rising trilogy is a rare trilogy that has been solid all the way through. Most authors burst onto the scene with vengeance, some gain momentum as they go, and yet others hit their peak midway through. Pierce Brown is a rare author who has written solid gold all the way through. Sadly, my blogging hiatus happened during the time I read Red Rising and Golden Son, so I never got to review it. I will say a bit about each before I move on to the glorious Morning Star. Red Rising is a book that takes place in space, where everyone is part of a caste system. Golds are depicted as God like figures, and rule over the Greys, Obsidians, Pinks, and on the lowest level, Reds. (I'm sure I'm missing a color or two, but you get my point. Our protagonist Darrow is a lowly red, and like all his people, suffer because he's not part of the ruling class. Golds act like tyrants, and like all tyrants, they believe they rule for the better of everyone. Now, I won't give out spoilers, but a catalytic event takes place that sends Darrow on a road of revenge, glory, love, and most of all, betrayal. Darrow becomes a shining beacon for his people, and Red Rising is a book that shows us that Darrow is a character not to be taken lightly. Golden Son, also known as book two, continues the journey Darrow and his band of misfit supporters have embarked on. Their goal: justice and freedom for all. An uprising has begun to happen, and Golden Son is smack dab in the middle of things. It was very political in the sense that, it reminded me of a Presidential Campaign. Who has who's vote? Who will fight for whom? What resources can you provide? Are you willing to double cross the opponent for the right price? And so on and so forth. The biggest theme for me is betrayal. Golden Son ends with the biggest cliffhanger I've ever read, and the fact that we had to wait a whole year for Morning Star was not easy. Darrow learns an important lesson and I'll just say he's never truly the same. Heart-breaking really. Now, for the best book yet, Morning Star. Where to begin I ask myself... Pierce Brown has created such a wide variety and swoon-worthy characters and he makes it feel effortless. Darrow is the hero we all want, deeply flawed but we love him viscously. Mustang is a fierce woman character that modern literature gravitated to, and with good reason. Dear old Sevro is by far one of my favorite characters in literature. He's hilariously blunt, a fierce fighter, deeply loyal to Darrow, yet we all can see he has daddy issues. On character I loved to hate was Aja. She was fierce, cruel, and entitled in her Gold status. She was definitely a female version of Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones. There's plenty of other characters to discuss, but these four stand out the most to me.The dialogue and fluid banter between characters is superb, and I'm sure I laughed out loud more times than I could count. The. Damn. Plot. Oh! My! God! Never in my entire book-reading life have I ever been so on edge with a book. This book gave me twists and turns, perouettes, literally everything Pierce Brown could throw at you---he did! The battles are phenomenally described, and Brown doesn't bog down his book with murky and boring details, despite the massive length of his book that might make you think otherwise. I don't think I can say anything else except me sharing some important quotes that are near and dear to me. These quotes come from some of the best moments in the book, and pretty much the trilogy. Many are empowering dialogues, philosophical cathartic moments, and some are just down-right heart breaking in the grand spectrum of things. Read them and weep :) When I looked up at my father as a boy, I thought being a man was having control. Being the master and commander of your own destiny. How could any boy know that freedom is the lost the moment you become a man. Things start to count. To press in. Constricting slowly, inevitably, creating a cage of inconveniences and duties and deadlines and failed plans and lost friends. Pierce Brown hit home with this quote. It spoke to my adult self, mourning the death of my youth. We can only dream now of our youthful glory days. Touché Brown, touché! We were just an idea. But Roque has made them think the thought that unites all masters who have ever been: what if the slaves take my property for their own? So insightful. I would have totally used this in my African American slave narratives class if I could have had the chance. I'm sure all tyrants fear this, as they should. Battles are won months before they are fought This gave me Sun Tzu Art of War REALNESS! It's a brilliant deductions, and so true. It reminded me of one of my favorite book trilogies The Shattered Sea by Joe Abercrombie, particularly book three Half a War. I can't find the quote but it was something like half a war is fought on the battle field, while the other half is fought politically. Horrible paraphrasing, but that is the sentiment behind it. Planning is everything! And....that's it readers. I literally can go on for days about this book. It took me there and back again. I haven't felt so emotionally invested in a book in such a long time. It was refreshing to do so again. If you haven't read this trilogy, I urge you, PLEASE DO! Even if it isn't your type of genre, I promise you there's a little something for every kind of reader. And of course, if your are a YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction fan, this is a definite must-read for you.
J**E
A near-perfect finale 🎖️👍
(I’m aware that Morning Star isn’t the final book in the series, but at the time I read it, it was. So, this review reflects my thoughts as I experienced them back then.) After the explosive and emotionally devastating ending of Golden Son, my expectations for Morning Star were sky high, and somehow, Pierce Brown still managed to exceed them. This book is a masterclass in payoff, delivering a story that is both thrilling and highly satisfying, filled with the same political intrigue, action, and heartbreak that made the first two books so compelling. The entire series is an emotional roller coaster, but nearly every aspect of the plot is extremely well thought-out. Brown isn't just throwing twists at you for shock value, every reveal, betrayal, turning point, sacrifice, and loss is either earned or makes sense within the wider story. The unpredictability of the story only adds to that impressiveness 🤔. The narrative shifts in directions that are completely unexpected, but at the same time feel completely right. Pierce Brown seems like he's mastered the art of the build-up. As Darrow rises from the ashes, builds his army, discovers what is precious to him, and copes with the weight of losing it, you can just feel that something is coming throughout the book. It has an intensity about it. And the final showdown is one of the best: epic in its implications but deeply personal in its execution. We’d heard for so long how dangerous Aja was, and when we finally got to see what she was capable of, it was every bit as intense and jaw-dropping as expected 💪😲. “You do not fight a river. You do not fight Aja” - Lorn au Arcos. It’s rare for a trilogy to deliver a conclusion that not only meets expectations but surpasses them. So many series stumble at the finish line, but Red Rising sticks the landing and is without a doubt my favorite series. ❤️
I**T
Great conclusion!
Hands down my favorite book of the series so far (I have yet to read past the first trilogy) and one of my favorite books I read in 2024. Conclusions aren't often my favorite of a series, but this one was perfect for me. Where to begin my gushing? Let's start with characters. I loved Darrow's character arc in this book. I liked him in the first two books, but I prefer him here. A few of the side characters also get really good arcs, something I'd been hoping for. The worldbuilding and politics continued to expand throughout as well, and I loved getting to see parts of the solar system we hadn't explored before. The pacing was a good balance of pulse-pounding action and quieter relationship moments between the characters. The conclusion and the execution of the themes we were building towards in this first trilogy really worked for me. And now because I loved Morning Star and its ending so much, I'm scared to read Iron Gold... But this book does fully conclude this story arc, and if you choose to stop here, you won't feel like you're missing anything. I highly recommend this series to readers looking for a space opera with awesome action, sci-fi that feels a little fantasy, and characters you will love. Content: Romance - kissing; heavy innuendo; allusions to intimacy Foul Language - heavy swearing and crude language throughout Violence - high levels of violence, gore, and death, including suicide; torture; cannibalism (mostly off-page)
B**E
strong close to a highly recommended series
Pierce Brown’s RED RISING TRILOGY comes to a satisfying close with the just-released Morning Star, which despite a few missteps ultimately delivers on the series’ great promise, so evidently clear from the very beginning. A few spoilers will follow for books one and two, so if you haven’t read those books, this is where you’ll want to stop reading this review and go order read those first two books, because the series is well worth your time. Book two, Golden Son, ended with a major cliffhanger, with the series’ protagonist, Darrow, brought low at what seemed to be his highest point. It was a devastating close for our hero, and the beginning of Morning Star makes it clear things have only gone downhill for Darrow since, what with the months of torture (mental and physical), the reversal of the “carving” that made him a superhuman, and the whole being kept in a tiny, tiny box thing. In fact, Darrow is on the verge of committing suicide when his torturer, the Jackal, decides to unbox him for some gloating and then transport to more torture. And if you’re reading this and thinking to yourself, “Hmm, this sounds a bit like Han Solo getting frozen in carbonite at the end of Empire Strikes Back, being gloated over by Jabba, and . . . “ now’s about the time you’ll wonder about the daring rescue attempt in the villain’s stronghold. And that’s just what we get, and soon, though not without cost, Darrow is back with the Rising and plotting against the Gold’s Empire. And when I say, “plotting” I mean plotting. As with the prior two novels, but especially Golden Sun, Morning Star is intricately, deeply plotted with nested schemes, red herrings, betrayals, re-betrayals, secrets, etc. I’m not going to delve into the plot, both due to its complexity and so as to avoid spoilers, but I’ll say that we see a wider spectrum of the trilogy’s universe than in the past, visit several new settings, are treated to the same operatic space battles, Dumas-like razor duels, and wrenching losses and realizations as in the earlier books. Thus the satisfying close. The positives are many. While some might wish for maybe one or two fewer set fight/battle scenes, there’s not doubt that Brown is a master at them, whether he’s dealing with large-scale space fleet battles or one on one hand-to-hand combat. They are epic in scope, vivid in detail, operatic in spectacle and language. One could use that same word — operatic — to describe the many relationships in the text and the language, which whether in dialog or internal monologue often rises to a lyrical grandiloquence. As with the battle scenes, some might wish for the language to be a little less elevated, or at least less frequently so; at times one gets a sense the characters are reading/thinking from a refined script rather than simply talking or thinking, but for the most part I’d say it works quite well given the canvas. And given that the Gold’s society is built upon an idealization of the ancient Greeks and Romans, who weren’t always known for their humble nature. And it doesn’t hurt that the elevated language is paired with a lot of, well, less elevated language (so less elevated that there’s no way I’m quoting any of it here), especially from the mouth of Sevro, who just may be my favorite character in the series. In fact, for all that Darrow obviously remains our protagonist, and it’s his narration that drives the book, it seems to me that in Morning Star his friends steps forward a bit more than in the past (though they’ve always been major elements) and Darrow steps back a bit. Part of that is due to that long imprisonment, which Brown nicely refuses to simply gloss over as a speed bump in the Chosen One’s progression toward success. On the one hand, it forced the other players, particularly Sevro, but others as well, to take on a bigger role in the rebellion. It also slows Darrow’s progression down purely logistically, as he has to be recarved, has to get back to “game speed,” has to find his place in a rebellion that had thought him dead. This last part adds a nice bit of tension between him and the rebellion’s current leaders, including his friend Sevro. Finally, while this has always percolated beneath the surface of this story, and it really was the question of the last book, the idea of “what comes next” seems to take on a more urgent, more central role in Darrow’s thinking, at least in part due to his experience being capture and then his learning of what has gone in in his absence. The idea that there needs to be something to take the place of the Golds, that it can’t just be destruction and death, is driven home by a phrase repeated throughout the latter half of the novel: “death begets death.” That repetition is, along with perhaps a few of the aforementioned too much/too many aspects, is another of those missteps. Once would have been fine, and certainly appropriate in the context of the novel’s events, but the repetition becomes a little too ham-handed, and this isn’t the only example of such overkill. While I’m mostly a fan of Darrow’s narration, at times he’s a bit too on the nose with things; I would have preferred to have come to certain realizations, certain emotional responses on my own as a reader rather than be guided so directly by the narrative voice/author. And I do think the narration is a bit problematic at the ending, though I won’t say anything more for spoiler-avoidance. The missteps though are relatively few and relatively minor, and the ending brings us to a welcome point, one that is both somewhat surprising (the degree may vary) and also somewhat inevitable if you’ve been paying attention. As a whole, the trilogy is a page-turning mix of spectacle and space opera that takes its time with its characters and isn’t afraid to take a pause from all the pulse explosions and light saber (er, razor) duels to let the wrought emotionality of scenes, both present and past (and the way the past haunts the present and perhaps the future is handled in excellent fashion throughout) linger over the reader. Morning Star is a strong close to an excellent trilogy and one I highly recommend.
R**S
Great book
Great
E**A
Packender Abschluss der Red-Rising-Trilogie
Inhalt Darrow hätte in Frieden gelebt, doch seine Feinde brachten ihm den Krieg. Als Roter war Darrow dazu bestimmt, sein Leben in den Minen von Mars zu verbringen. Doch die Hinrichtung seiner große Liebe führte dazu, das Darrow als Goldener wiedergeboren wurde. Erfolgreich infiltrierte er die goldene Gesellschaft und gewann schließlich die Schlacht um Mars. Doch der Moment, der Darrows größter Triumph sein sollte, wurde zu seiner schrecklichsten Niederlage: Verraten von ehemaligen Freunden, befindet er sich in der Gefangenschaft seines grausamsten Feindes. Doch trotz des vernichtenden Schlages, der Darrow und den Söhnen von Ares zugefügt wurde, lebt die Revolution noch immer. Als Darrow endlich frei ist, findet er die Revolution im Zerfall vor, während seine mächtigen Feinde gnadenlos und ohne Skrupel handeln. Um zu gewinnen muss Darrow einmal mehr die im Dunkeln Gefesselten dazu bringen, ihre Ketten zu sprengen und die Welt umzustürzen, die ihre grausamen Meister geschaffen haben. Kann Darrow die Revolution hinter sich vereinen und zum Sieg führen? Meinung Was ich schon an den vorherigen Bänden mochte, wird hier nun ganz deutlich: Es gibt keine strahlenden Helden, an ihrer aller Händen klebt das Blut. Zudem ist der Grat zwischen Revolution und Terrorismus ein nur zu schmaler. Darrow beweist sich im dritten Band als Realpolitiker und schreckt nicht davor zurück, seine eigenen Leute zu opfern oder „false flag“-Operationen durchzuführen. Es gibt Führungskrisen und Meutreien, die ungewöhnliche Lösungen erforderlich machen. Und natürlich immer wieder wunderbar ausgebuffte Pläne, die für einen Plottwist nach den nächsten sorgen. Im Vergleich zu den vorherigen Bänden werden hier verhältnismäßig wenig neue Charaktere eingeführt, dennoch hat Pierce Brown auch dieses Mal einige faszinierende Figuren geschaffen. Während Darrow in den ersten beiden Bänden die Verbündeten scheinbar nur zu zuströmten, muss er zudem in diesem abschließenden Teil hart dafür arbeiten, Neue für sich zu gewinnen und Alte an seiner Seite zu halten. Denn je größer die Revolution wird, desto fragiler wird das Gleichgewicht zwischen den Lagern. Insgesamt gibt es auch im finalen Band wieder all die geschätzten Zutaten, die schon die beiden Vorgänger so groß machten, genannt seien halsbrecherische Aktionen, wagemutige Diplomatie und epische Weltraumschlachten. Was ich besonders an der Trilogie liebe, ist der Realismus: Statt eines einsamen Helden ist die Zusammenarbeit vieler nötig, um das Imperium zu stürzen – und mehr als einmal scheint Darrow alles um die Ohren zu fliegen, bevor es zur finalen Schlacht kommt. Auch der Schluss gefiel mir gut: Es herrscht nicht eitel Sonnenschein, sondern es ist allen bewusst, dass dies nur ein Etappensieg war. Ich verbeuge mich an dieser Stelle vor Pierce Brown, denn mit dieser Trilogie hat er aus meiner Sicht ein Meisterwerk geschaffen. Ein Meisterwerk, dass Krieg in all seiner Grausamkeit zeigt und was der Kampf für eine gerechte Sache kostet. Diese Trilogie ist am Puls der Zeit. In einem Satz Der epische Abschluss einer fantastischen Trilogie, die selbst auf den letzten Metern noch immer wieder Plottwists vollführt. 5 Sterne
A**Z
Tremendo libro
Sin dua una de las mejores sagas de siencia ficccion, una historia epica espacial, recomendadisimo.
J**C
Better then Book 1
This series was recommended by a friend. Book one was great but I felt the story drag a bit. Not a problem with book 2! The pace of progression keeps you on your toes and easily gets you lost within the pages of the book. Great character development and an exciting ending that leaves you yearning to know what will happen next! This is a great page-turning series, and one that will easily leaves you saying "just one more chapter"
A**S
Un final de saga a la altura de las expectativas
Un final de trilogía absolutamente explosivo que no decepciona. Pierce Brown cierra la saga Red Rising con una historia llena de acción, emociones y giros inesperados que mantienen enganchado hasta la última página. Lectura obligatoria para los fans de la ciencia ficción distopíca.
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