Book Review: Golden Son; Pierce Brown.

What a difficult book to judge! I've been looking forward to reading this second book, though a little apprehensive because I remember very little from 'Red Rising' (it's been a long time since I read it). I was very worried that I would become confused or forget a lot of important information, especially as I held the first book in such high esteem! I can definitely argue that I 'took a trip' to read this book set in space, so I'm entering it into the 'Monthly Motif' challenge.

SOURCE: Bought
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: Golden Son
AUTHOR: Pierce Brown
SERIES: Red Rising (#2)
PUBLISHER: Del Rey
PAGES: 465
GENRE: Sci-Fi, Dystopia, Young Adult

RATING: 3/5 Stars

Blurb:
As a Red, Darrow grew up working the mines deep beneath the surface of Mars, enduring backbreaking labour 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.

What I Liked:

• As with 'Red Rising', the world-building is just insanely good. Brown has an entire Universe's political hierarchy, social and economic system and historical context mapped out. When building Fantasy or Sci-Fi worlds in particular, it's really important to do that and as a result, the whole book becomes more believable. Brown proves that Sci-Fi isn't just about spouting off technical terms and visiting a couple of planets. There is so much more to consider.
• The characters too were very complex. I remember really liking them all in 'Red Rising' (there is a huge cast so that could be problematic for some people) but Brown does a great job of connecting them all together and giving them each a distinct personality. As it has been a long time since I read this book's predecessor, I did have to remind myself about who a lot of the characters were and what motivated them. Tricky, but not impossible.
• The plot twists in this book were beyond impressive. I was on tenterhooks the entire time! It's a fast-paced book with plenty of actions to be seen along the way: tense conversation, a lie detector test that I held my breath for the entire way through, battles, betrayal and war! There were moments when I thought that the plot was running away with me a bit but it definitely never got boring.

What I Disliked:

• In my review for 'Red Rising' I mentioned that Pierce Brown was a fan of short sentences. He still is. But not only that, he has a flair for the overly dramatic and a tendency to let Darrow's inner monologue repeat itself and ramble on for just a teeny bit too long. Despite all the things I loved I actually found it really hard to get past this which is why I found rating this book so hard and I had to keep putting the book down.

Overall Conclusion:

This book was a little bit of a roller-coaster and though I liked so many aspects of it, I'll definitely admit I made a mistake in not reading them more closely together. There are so many characters to remember, so many rules to keep in mind and a lot of context that is essential to know. I felt quite confused at portions of the story because there were things that I couldn't remember that were not explained to me again. Not that I think Brown needs to spoon feed me information repeatedly, but when building a huge universe, remember that readers are human and need a few casual reminders here and there.

Book Review: Red Rising; Pierce Brown.

So I've been pretty busy and it took me a while to get through this one but oh my goodness, I am so glad I did and can't wait to share my thoughts! First though, I'm entering it into the Jumble Your Genres Challenge this month as a Sci-Fi book.

SOURCE: Netgalley
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: Red Rising
AUTHOR: Pierce Brown
SERIES: Red Rising (#1)
PUBLISHER: Del Rey
PAGES: 400
GENRE: Sci-Fi, Dystopia, Young Adult, Adventure

RATING: 3.5/5 Stars

Blurb:
The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope.

Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.


Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.

What I Liked:

• The characters in this story were just written so well! They were complex, likeable and each with their own story. Brown had clearly put a lot of thought into each and every one. Darrow in particular amazed me because he had so much character development. As I read, I saw him turn from a spontaneous, loving man willing to accept his lot in life to an intelligent and deep thinking leader wanting more. The characters that surrounded him were just as good and by the end of the book I wasn't sure who was the enemy and who was a friend.
• The world-building was just spectacular in this one. Brown had obviously put a whole heap of research and imagination into this one because I felt like what I was reading was real. It wasn't just the physical descriptions of the scenery. It went far deeper, into the political, social and historical context of the people of Mars, and how they came to be there. It was well worth the read for that alone!
• The plot just kept me gripped! It was full of dramatic twists that happened so frequently that I never left the edge of my seat. The story has a pretty huge change in direction about halfway through, but I found it interesting and loved every second. 

What I Disliked:

• I have one small issue with this book. Pierce Brown is very fond of using short sentences. One after the other. Over and over again. This happened especially in the latter half of the book, and because of it, I missed a few key moments. It just felt like some elements to the plot were a little brushed over. 

Overall Conclusion:

For anyone looking to read a masterpiece in the making, look no further than here. I haven't read too much Sci-Fi before, but this is one of those books that definitely makes me want to get into this genre! It was masterfully crafted and had only one minor niggle that I think will definitely be ironed out by the next book. I can't wait to see what young Darrow gets up to next!