Iron Gold (Red Rising Series)

2023-07-18I remember feeling trepidation when Iron Gold was first announced. Trepidation that, I now believe, Pierce Brown himself felt as well. A continuation of Red Rising... The trilogy felt like such a complete package that I was worried Pierce didn't have more story to tell, or that he was forcing a continuation due to the success of the first three books. Oh, how wrong I was.Iron Gold, especially on a reread, in many ways feels like a necessity. An inevitability, even. Something that the original trilogy was leading toward all along. The book begins with a ten year time jump, and it reinvigorates the series on almost every level. It changes the stakes, the circumstances, and the passage of time is believable, something Pierce has always excelled at. This change to our setting, along with our new POV characters, injects something into the series that I didn't even know it needed until it was there. It's hard to quantify, but it's in the pages.The tragedy of the first trilogy is that after everything that Darrow and his allies did, after all they sacrificed to break the chains of the Society, all it gained them was war. That is what Iron Gold shows us. A Republic that has been at war for ten long years, harried by remnants of the Society at every turn, knowing no peace, even for their victory. And it is how Darrow fits within the Republic he helped build (or rather, how he doesn't fit) that makes the continuation of the series so interesting. As I said, Darrow's path here feels like some tragic inevitability. Just, as I hope, his redemption will be...The character work remains excellent here, and Pierce has expanded the story from one first-person point-of-view to four. Not everyone was on board for this, but I find it brilliant. It felt natural to me, expanding the breadth of Pierce's storytelling and allowing him to showcase how his writing skill has evolved since he began. I think that a full trilogy of just Darrow was actually too much Darrow, in a way. Not because you got sick of him, but because he is so cool, such a great character, that depriving you of him, even if just for a handful of chapters, makes him that much more effective once he returns.Iron Gold is in many ways a herald of the Dark Age to come. Just as, one hopes, Light Bringer will be a tonal reprieve. It's just over the horizon now, and I can't wait to begin.“This is not the end. I loved you before I ever met you. I will love you until the sun dies. And when it does, I will love you in the darkness."2018-01-27A few years ago I bought a book called Red Rising by Pierce Brown for 99 cents. I'd heard good things, and what's a dollar for a book? It turned out to be one of the best dollars I ever spent as my fervor for the story led me to buying Golden Son. That book earned the series and its characters a spot among my favorites, and resulted in both my brother and father diving into the series. It led to a brutal wait for Morning Star for all of us, then to excitement over the possibility that Pierce would continue the story later in the timeline, which led to a brutal wait for the fourth book in the saga and thus, Iron Gold.I will not be posting any blatant spoilers for the book below, however if you've not ready any of the other books and would like to remain in the dark about who lives through the initial trilogy, I would skip this review.The Red Rising saga is like coming home for me. Its world and its characters hold a special place and sinking back into the story was easy and comfortable. Pierce Brown changes things up this time in that we no longer have a single narrator in Darrow. Instead he is joined by three other POV characters, making this one of the only first-person books I've ever read that has multiple points of view. I had some initial trepidation about this approach, but it was unwarranted. Pierce handled it extremely well, and each character had their own distinct voice.Seeing Darrow again was like hanging out with an old friend, and my heart breaks for him. To witness his efforts and sacrifices in the initial trilogy earn him nothing but war and strife was very hard, but I am impressed that even after four books Darrow is still growing, with room to grow further still. Lyria, our only truly brand new character, was a joy. And in a way she reminded me of Eo, the catalyst of the entire series. Amazing that a rebellion begun in her name could spawn so many more people just like her. Ephraim was a worthy POV character, offering the Gray perspective and tying in nicely with Lyria's story. He is another victim of the Rising, and lost much to Darrow's rise. You can't help but feel his nihilism and depression is justified. Finally, our last POV character (and the only one I knew we'd be reading before the book's release) was Lysander. Heir of Empire, grandson of Octavia au Lune and Lorn au Arcos, and godson of Magnus au Grimmus, the Ash Lord. I was most looking forward to reading Lysander's chapters, and they did not disappoint, easily taking the spot of my favorite. The story in the Rim is incredibly compelling, and House Raa with their code of Honor over vanity and excess (so atypical of Gold society) is admirable. Diomedes au Raa has the potential to become my favorite character of this series. Beyond our POV characters it was satisfying to reunite with other old friends like Sevro, Mustang, the Telemanuses, and many more.Characters aside (if you can't tell I think Pierce excels there) the pacing and story were true to form. Iron Gold is no different than the other Red Rising books in that it is damn hard to put down. Twists and turns abound, and by the end it's clear that this is just a new beginning. The Dark Age comes. Now we must see how our characters will meet it. I couldn't more pleased with this new installment, and with Pierce's progression as a writer. Luckily, I believe that the fifth book is due out this year as well, a welcome surprise. I cannot wait.LUX EX TENEBRISHail Libertas. Hail Reaper.

***“We didn’t prepare for this.” “How do you prepare for a kick in the balls?” I say. “You don’t. You suck it up.”***This is pretty much how I felt for the majority of this book. I wasn’t prepared to see our hero 10 years later still fighting a war that seems like it will have no end. I wasn’t ready for the sins of the past to come back and throw our hero into yet another war. I couldn’t have dreamed of the fate of the Reds of Mars brought up from the mines and saved from slavery only to be thrown into poverty. And I definitely would never have guessed that Grey who used to be part of the resistance would fall so low and end up on the wrong side of everything.Iron Gold is set Ten years after Morning star. All the players from the original trilogy are here and it is very interesting to see the roles they have decided to play in the new republic. Still in its infancy the republic is flagging, there has been war for the last ten years against the Ash Lord in an attempt to consolidate/liberate all of the Core before the Outer Rims rebuild and come for a war of their own. We come back to this world right before the shoot hits the fan.While the first three books are all from Darrow’s PoV Iron Gold flips the script and has four PoVs to really open up the scope of the story and the worldbuilding.It is interesting to see Darrow wrestle with the choices he has mad and the man he has become in this never ending war. Pierce Brown is great at the philosophical ponderings and making his characters really take a deep look at themselves. I think this is why I get so attached to them and can empathize with the pain they are feeling.***I feel the weight of the chaos I’ve unleashed: famines and genocide on Mars, Obsidian piracy in the Belt, terrorism, radiation sickness and disease spreading through the lower reaches of Luna, and the two hundred million lives lost in my war. ***The additional PoVs were from Lyria a Gamma Red from Mars who is suffering and angry after being displaced from the mines. Lysander, the former heir to the throne, gives us a view of what it is like in outer space as he roams with Cassius. And last by not least is Effriam a Grey former resistance fighter who lost his husband in Morning Star and lost his way not long after that.The thing this book did best was show us that perspective is everything. Darrow has been a hero to us for three books, but now we get to see what others think of the Reaper and his Lion mate. Pierce Brown still knows how to twist up my emotions and stomp on my heart in new and unexpected ways. I’m sure he feeds on the tears of his readers.The trilogy had a little more humor to it. I found that Servo and Victra were really our only comic relief for the most part and the tone of Iron Gold book is possibly more severe and downtrodden than the original trilogy. Its been a long bloody war and you feel that from all of the characters.Once I got used to the shifting PoVs and build a little rapport with the other characters the story really started to roll for me. I never grew to like Lysander as a character but his chapters were full of action and intrigue. I couldn’t put this down after I got to the 60% mark and needed to read until I found out everything that happened and which of the characters made it out alive.Iron Gold sets up nicely for the war(s) to come and I’m so excited to see where the next book in the series dares to go.Notable Quotables:The man says all I know is war. And he is right. In my heart, I know my enemy. I know his mettle. I know his cruelty. And I know this war will not end with politicians smiling at each other from across a table. It will only end as it began: with blood.- Darrow“Skipping supper. No wonder you’re a little twig,” Cassius says, pinching my arm. “I daresay you don’t even weigh a hundred ten kilos, my goodman.”“It’s usable weight,” I protest. “In any matter, I was reading.” He looks at me blankly. “You have your priorities. I have mine, muscly creature. So piss off.”“When I was your age…”“You despoiled half the women on Mars,” I say. “And probably thought it was their honor. Yes, I’m aware.- Lysander and Cassius“What’s the quickest way to a Peerless Scarred’s heart?” Pebble asks. “Ragnar’s fist.”- PebbleNarration Note: There are 4 narrators for this depending on the PoV. I love Tim Gerard Reynolds (TGR) he is great in everything. It took a little while to get used to the other narrators and only had issues when they overlapped characters that TGR had done in other books. The narrator for Lysander had a cadence to the narrative that I never got used to but over the audio is very well produces.

If you liked the first trilogy and are cool with extending the universe with new characters and more world building with a slower more grounded plot- you'll love this.I was a huge fan of the first trilogy and was admittedly excited to read Iron Gold so maybe I'm biased. But this book does so much to set up the rest of the saga and if you can walk into IG knowing Peirce Brown is going to slow down the pace to flesh out some world building and set up some plot lines, then you will enjoy this book.Without spoiling anything- you get some new character POVs, each with their own unique struggles and plots, with some of them eventually aligning. You get the beginning of a villain arch- WHICH IS NOT APPRECIATED ENOUGH. We get a character with Batman-esque villain attention who has complex motives, deep character lore, a unique persona, and a very entertaining story line in this book. Easily the best part and worth reading just for that.Get the book, read it, enjoy it, then move on to Dark Age and be blown away but also depressed (it's so bleak...)

Pierce Brown keeps on giving stories that don't miss. A very good continuation of the Red Rising trilogy. Just be ready for some pretty depressing story telling.

An amazing addition to the series with narratives from several characters. The audio book version has one voice that I don't care for but the book itself is written so well.

Melhor série de ficção científica que eu já li. Vale cada página

Książki dotarły z podniszczonymi okładkami, w jednowarstwowym papierze, który miał w sobie dziury;/

good quality paper, decent book

I'm only halfway through but this is probably my favorite book in the series yet, together with the first book (which starts really slow but I love the whole story at the insitute).