Iron Gold (Red Rising, # 4)
By: Pierce Brown
Publication: January 16th 2018 by Del Rey Books
480 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Source: Personal Kindle Library
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Goodreads description--They call him father, liberator, warlord, Reaper. But he feels a boy as he falls toward the pale blue planet, his armor red, his army vast, his heart heavy. It is the tenth year of war and the thirty-second of his life.
A decade ago, Darrow was the hero of the revolution he believed would break the chains of the Society. But the Rising has shattered everything: Instead of peace and freedom, it has brought endless war. Now he must risk everything he has fought for on one last desperate mission. Darrow still believes he can save everyone, but can he save himself?
And throughout the worlds, other destinies entwine with Darrow’s to change his fate forever:
A young Red girl flees tragedy in her refugee camp and achieves for herself a new life she could never have imagined.
An ex-soldier broken by grief is forced to steal the most valuable thing in the galaxy—or pay with his life.
And Lysander au Lune, the heir in exile to the sovereign, wanders the stars with his mentor, Cassius, haunted by the loss of the world that Darrow transformed, and dreaming of what will rise from its ashes.
Red Rising was the story of the end of one universe, and Iron Gold is the story of the creation of a new one. Witness the beginning of a stunning new saga of tragedy and triumph from masterly New York Times bestselling author Pierce Brown.
Oh man! You guys, I am plumb ashamed at how long I put off reading Iron Gold. I really and truly am. Pierce Brown's Red Rising series smashed its way into my all-time favorite series list with the conclusion of Morning Star, which was believed to be the series ender at the time it published. These books have been so, so good, but at the same time, they are weighty. They are deep, complex, beautiful, ugly, sad, hopeful, angry, forgiving, and while I love them, they bleed me dry of my emotions. So after every single release, I've needed time to recover from the previous book. Even while dying to know what was going to happen next, I still needed an emotional break from what I previously devoured. This is one of the only series I've ever needed the entire year (and then some) between releases. I might initially think that's a bad thing, but it really and truly isn't. And that is the only reason why I've put off reading Iron Gold for as long as I have.
Iron Gold is set 10 years into the future from when Morning Star ended. I wish it would have been possible for me to have re-read the first three books before starting Iron Gold because I felt a little lost for the first 25% or so. Names of side characters, events, chronology... All of that just wasn't as fresh in my memory as I would have liked. Getting reacquainted with some old characters took longer than I wanted and caused a little slower of a start than I wanted.
Anytime a series ends and I'm happy with where the characters stand at the end, I struggle with torn feelings over the author choosing to return to the series. On the one hand, I'm excited to return to a world and characters that I love, yet on the other hand, I'm nervous because more books mean more conflict and a new ending that might not leave me as satisfied as the original did. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't wonder about this exact thing in the early chapters of Iron Gold when Brown was establishing the conflict for this book and the rest of the series. But he's seen me through some pretty rough spots already, and I have faith he'll see me through the rest of the series.
I was thrown off to see that Iron Gold features multiple narrators. We have Darrow--as always--and now Lyria, Ephraim, and Lysander also. Each person added a perspective only they could reveal for the different parts of the story and world. I didn't want to read anyone but Darrow in the beginning. Lyria is angry at the republic for the promises that they've failed to keep. She blames them for the deaths of her family members. And really she represents the average Martian citizen. I grew to like her as she grew in her character. Ephraim was easy to hate. I know everyone handles grief differently, but we also all have a choice in how we feel and how we react to the things that happen in our lives. Ephraim plays the victim in a similar way to Lyria, except he has a lot more information and control over things than she does. And he chooses wrong over and over. His pain blinds him entirely and he allows it to be an excuse. I could do without him in future books. Lysander...oh Lysander. I want so badly to like him, to support him. He's actually fairly easy to like. It seems like he's trying to do right, but I believe his ideas on what is right are a bit skewed. But that's kind of a running theme through this series. Right versus wrong and all the gray areas in between. And Darrow...oh Darrow. All I'll say here is that Pierce Brown does a wonderful job placing doubt in the reader's mind. But it's not hard to do so when Darrow doubts himself as well. I have my fingers crossed for Darrow. He's never been the perfect hero, but I can tell you right now that if things go south through these additional books and screws up the ending I was satisfied within Morning Star when it comes to Darrow I'm going to be highly ticked.
Even though I forgot several characters and names, some are unforgettable. Mustang, Sevro, Victra, Pax, Kavax, Holliday, Cassius, and some of the more prominent Howlers were involved as you would expect. I can't say much about any of them without spoiling things that shouldn't be spoiled. I do want to mention that I love how Pierce Brown has some amazingly strong female characters amid his cast of amazingly strong male characters. The strength of one gender doesn't necessitate the weakness of the other. Both equally strong male and female character. Both feminine and masculine. Both emotional and logical. I love these characters. I need more. I'm insatiable.
I do have to say that there were no real surprises for me throughout the story. Every piece that felt like it should have been a twist...I saw coming in some form or other. This was a little disappointing to me because Brown has done such a great job in the past of letting me figure some things out while completely blowing me away with other things.
I also just wanted to say that Pierce Brown incorporates the lack of knowledge very well. Not all the characters are aware of the same information at the same time. Some are still missing crucial information when the book ends. This is something that I respect from George R R Martin's work that's really a great conflict creator.
Another slightly disappointing thing for me was the lack of quotable moments. If you go back to my reviews of the previous books you will see that I had a hard time restraining myself with all of the great quotes. But here are my favorites from Iron Gold:
-"Because when the law is not obeyed, the ground is fertile for tyrants."
-Sharing a life threads more than flesh and blood together. It weaves her memories in and around and through mine.
-My wife is not as fickle as a flame. She is an ocean. I knew from the first that I cannot own her, cannot take her, but I am the only storm that moves her depths and stirs her tides.
-"Do not let fear touch you. Fear is a torrent. The raging river. To fight it is to break and drown. But to stand astride it is to see it, feel it, and use its course for your own whims."
-"I know it may be impossible to believe now, when everything is dark and broken, but you will survive this pain, little one. Pain is a memory. You will live and you will struggle and you will find joy. And you will remember your family from this breath to your dying days, because love does not fade. Love is the stars, and its light carries on long after death."
-"A new wound can take a body. Opening an old one can claim a soul."
-The key to learning, to power, to having the final say in everything, is observation. By all means, be a storm inside, but save your movement and wind till you know your purpose.
Iron Gold was a good start to reopen this series. Yet I found it a little lacking compared to the previous books. I wasn't caught off guard by any twists. The story did hook me once I got past the first 25%. By 50% I was dying to read until I could finish. I truly hope that I can pick up Dark Age pretty soon. Iron Gold gets 4 Stars. Have you read Iron Gold? What did you think? Let me know!
This review is part of my All Things Halloween event--a month of fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, mystery/thriller, etc reviews and books.
Also, the publisher kindly gifted me a copy of Iron Gold to giveaway to a friend. It was always my intention to give it away here on my blog as I posted my review. Please enter the rafflecopter widget below. (US entries only please. I'm sorry, but I have to pay shipping myself.)
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