Golden Son by Pierce Brown

Title: Golden Son
Author: Pierce Brown
Series: Red Rising Trilogy #2 
Publisher: Del Rey (Random House)
Release Date: January 6, 2015
Source: ARC borrowed from Katie @ Polished Page-Turners (thanks Katie!!)

Summary:
With shades of The Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, and Game of Thrones, debut author Pierce Brown’s genre-defying epic Red Rising hit the ground running and wasted no time becoming a sensation. Golden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom. 

 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.

Review

They say the best cure for a book hangover is falling in love with another series (at least I think that is what they say). Well, the Red Rising Trilogy has been that series for me as it helped curb the loss that came from having finished The Lotus War. The two series have a very similar feel to them and that is the feeling of “HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING”. I thought Red Rising was great but Golden Son is one of those books that is so freaking fantastic that EVERYTHING pales in comparison. It’s been weeks since I finished this book and I am still marveling at its perfection.

Golden Son picks up a couple years after Red Rising concludes, right in the middle of a battle, and doesn't slow down for a minute. Early into the story, Darrow does something that fractures society and leads to an all-out war among the powerful families. And with that, comes a series of battles during which Darrow must out-maneuver his enemies if he hopes to survive and see his revolution to the end. But it's not just the endless action from the war that makes this book so damn good. Or the endless surprises that Brown weaves into the story. Amidst all the fighting, friendships are tested, truths are revealed, the seeds of betrayal are sown... There is such depth and complexity to these characters and this story that it has to be one of the best I've ever read. Every page left me in awe and in need of more.

I will warn you that this book is GRIM. But call me a masochist, I love stories that are tragic because it makes you appreciate everything so much more. I will also warn you that this book is LONG. But I didn't mind it's length because I was so in love with the story. I am completely and utterly and Brown's mercy now and after that ending (THAT ENDING!!) I am both anxious for and terrified of the last book.

I honestly couldn't recommend this series and this sequel enough for all ages and genders. It is utterly brilliant and one of my most favorites ever. 

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Title: Red Rising
Author: Pierce Brown
Series: Red Rising Trilogy #1 
Publisher: Del Rey (Random House)
Release Date: January 28, 2014

Summary from Goodreads:
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.

Review

Let me start by saying I LOVE THIS SERIES. And had I not already read Golden Son by the time I wrote this review, I would have given this book 5 stars. But with Golden Son being UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLY AMAZING, I feel the need to distinguish between the two with a star differential, which in hindsight is probably fair. But folks, do not let that stop you from reading this series. 

I don't even know where to start professing my love, but I guess the world-building and premise are as good a place as any.  The world in Red Rising spans the solar system and consists of a hierarchical society distinguished by color, with Golds at the top, reds at the bottom, and 12 other colors in between - each with their respective role in society. The Golds rule like Gods, while the Reds naively toil away beneath the surface of Mars, their lives being expendable. Darrow is a Red and is seemingly content with his existence, but his wife is not. When she commits an innocent act punishable by death, she hopes to spur Darrow into leading a rebellion for their people. But rather than follow her wishes, Darrow, consumed by grief, follows her to the grave. Only a rebel force, with other plans for him, saves him from dying. They genetically modify Darrow to turn him into a Gold, so that he can bring them down from the inside. And to do so, Darrow must become the thing he hates most to save his people and honor his wife. HOW AWESOME IS THAT RIGHT THERE?

Well, it gets even better. The Golds have a Hunger Games-esque selection process for identifying their best and brightest and Darrow must win it if he wants his choice of apprenticeship. Darrow must outsmart several other ruthless, power-hungry Golds, only there are no rules and the Game overseers are playing favorites. This was the part of the story I enjoyed the most because I found it to be so damn exciting but I have to say that I am quite in awe/obsessed over the entirety of it. It was like this book was written with all of the things that I love in mind. The world, the characters, the plot were all deeply emotional, richly complex, and unfailingly unpredictable. It might have taken some time to build up to that, but my god, it just kept getting better and better.

Since I have already read Golden Son, I can say that Pierce Brown outdoes himself. This series is easily a new favorite and outshines the majority of books out there. It is no surprise that it won for Best Debut on Goodreads. I can't recommend it enough. It has everything.