I read the series as it was released, and the wait was killer between Golden Son and Morning Star. I have to agree that Golden Sons ending was one of the best cliff hangers ever.
So I am going to continue on to the sequels. I just have to say, thank you so much for introducing me to this series which at least through these first three books have possibly become my favorite series of all time. I didn’t enter this expecting to find that but that is exactly what I found.
Man I love this series so much. It's become my favorite series of all time as I've continued to reflect on it over the years. Some of my favorite, non spoiler Morning Star quotes: “You and I keep looking for light in the darkness, expecting it to appear. But it already has.” I touch his shoulder. “We’re it, boyo. Broken and cracked and stupid as we are, we’re the light, and we’re spreading.” “If your heart beats like a drum, and your legs a little wet, it’s because the Reaper’s come to collect a little debt.” “And I wonder, in my last moments, if the planet does not mind that we wound her surface or pillage her bounty, because she knows we silly warm things are not even a breath in her cosmic life. We have grown and spread, and will rage and die. And when all that remains of us is our steel monuments and plastic idols, her winds will whisper, her sands will shift, and she will spin on and on, forgetting about the bold, hairless apes who thought they deserved immortality.”
100% progressing through and will be reading Dark Age for the first time so I'll get the second trilogy experience. I had full tears rolling down my cheeks on two occasions reading Morning Star, and a lot of those more emotional moments for me actually centered around Victra - then there was the ending because man, what a way to close
Between you and Daniel Greene I was convinced to take a chance on this trilogy. Last year I decided I needed to get some "recent" books into my collection; most of my books are going on thirty years old or more. Red Rising wasn't really my thing, but the prolog and ending and a few good moments were enough to get me to pick up Golden Son. Now I've finished Morning Star this weekend. It has been one of the best reading experiences I can remember having. Just wanted to thank you for the time you took on these reviews; I watched each one after I finished each book.
I’m glad I finally read this trilogy. I always love uncovering the mystery of popular books that seemingly everyone but me has read. I’m not stopping here but I’m going to take a break for a long while. My TBR is a large pile
That ending was fabulous. I sight read it, and ended up re-reading the first three books via audio in case I decide to do an audio read for Iron Gold in April.
It is a great series. This readalong is my first time reading this and loved all three books. Tomorrow Iron gold will arrive. I've tried to reread the first person perspective problem and I think Brown just entered the grey area. I think he describes behaviour and not thoughts, unless I've missed something. Please discuss this with the howler pod. They probably know by heart ;)
MY GOD. I feel like this book is just unobtainable amazing and anything after won't feel right. The rage reading I felt from 453-489 was just insane I was actually so pissed off lol. If you know you know but holy shit I BUSTED AT THE REVEAL THE "Fuuuuuuuuck" was just incredible he knew what he was doing. INSANE.
Finished the trilogy, absolutely fantastic. One of my all time favourites. Fun action, politically in depth (it doesn't skip over the details) and some great emotional moments. Morning Star is my favourite for the quiet moments, I was coming into Morning Star a little sick of the twist reveal chapter ends that are scattered throughout the books. (To great effect, but I read the trilogy over a fortnight so it began to feel a little contrived every now and again.) Those peaceful moments where Darrow and someone else sits and watches the depths of space and just talk I think will stick with me much, much longer than anything else. Something about them relatable despite being set in the far far future. Excited to move onto the sequels, hopefully Brown capitalises on those moments and balances them with the break neck pacing and action the books are known for.
Almost done with my reread of Morning Star. I like it even more on a reread. Looking forward to pick upp Iron Gold for the first time together with all of you in April!
It wasn't until the ending of Golden Son that Pierce Brown had me fully convinced. Morning Star Kept that momentum going. I loved it. Iron Gold is excellent as well so far.
Just finished morning star after picking up the series on your recommendation Mike. Thank you! I enjoyed it thoroughly, going straight into book 4. Kinda want a hail reaper coffee mug too now 😅
I agree this was a great conclusion that felt final. It didn’t feel like sequels were necessary and I wasn’t motivated to read them. Are they worth reading?
I was reading the ending on my lunch break and I was about to put the book down and BAM you know what happened. I was in disbelief so I kept reading but my break was over. So i had to go back to class and my teacher could see the anguish on my face and asked if I was alright and I had to say I was fine but i was NOT
Red Rising is a wonderful experience. Filled with twists and emotions. I loved it so much. Can’t believe I waited this long to read them. I don’t read much sci-fi so I slept on it. Big mistake.
Had to put this book down at least twice to gather myself with what was going on. This book tugged on my emotions more than the 2nd one but I feel the 2nd one was slightly better but barely. Ready for the spoiler talk!
I just finished Morningstar and uh I still don't know how to feel. How is Pierce so talented at writing characters I went from hating one character all the way up till his end scene where I actually had allergies acting up I was so moved. Pierce is one author I'll pick up anything he writes idc if I don't like the genre.
I’m on red rising and abit confused what exactly is the school are they trying to find which is strong enough to become Gold they just seem to be fighting amongst themselves and other houses I don’t understand what the actual goal is?
Do you have a video coming on whether it's worth reading the sequels? I loved the trilogy (especially golden son), but started to lose interest in the intergalactic warfare in the third book..
I think he's reading one book in the series per month and reviewing them leading up to the new one releasing later this year. Personally, I think the sequels are fantastic, but if you're not into the intergalactic warfare then you probably won't like them as much
Of the first trilogy I think GS just edges out MS for me. To paraphrase Brown "the hat thing is to show the capricious nature of war." I cannot wait for the video about the sequels, because I firmly believe they are just as good, if not better. Again to paraphrase Brown "Morningstar's ending is like the Lord of the Rings when the ring is destroyed and everything is happy, The sequels are the scouring of the shire to show you the consequences and cost of war."
In a series filled with wonderful, rich and engaging characters, Mustang stands out as being the least interesting. As is often the case with the love interest (A flaw I find often in young adult books), we aren't shown why she is worthy of the protagonist's attention, but are simply expected to like her because he does. With the exception of that first time that she saved his life in Red Rising, I have never seen any qualities other than her beauty that make her desirable to Darrow. She isn't as loyal as Sevro, Ragnar... nor even Victra. She hasn't ever been responsible for any victories. Her morals are still firmly placed in society values until the last moment (and even then what choice did she have after she has already burnt her bridges with the opposition). She isn't even as reliable in her support as a friend as the rest of the cast, as she always has her own agenda. So being as she is neither loyal, helpful to the cause, morally strong in character or a good friend, why the hell should she get to constantly be in charge of armies, be given the benefit of the doubt time and again, and worst of all, get to act as though Darrow must prove himself to her rather than the other way around. To make all this worse, this series ends with her being crowned as the new ruler. Why? What has she possibly done or shown over the course of the previous 3 novels that has proved that she is leadership material? She hasn't even proved to be competent in most cases. So then we get to the final reveal that she has been testing Darrow through this book to see if he is worthy to learn that he has a son. Not only that, when she does reveal it, it is by having their friends and Darrow's family present the boy to him, making it clear that she told literally every other person in this novel before she told Darrow. What the hell had Darrow ever done to make that the right choice? I know the author wants us to believe that she was afraid that he was a warmonger, but at no point in the entire series are any of the characters ever left unclear as to why he has acted as he has. It has all been for a better life for his people. I could go on about Mustang for whole pages, so I will stop here before I have an aneurysm and leave with one last scathing damnation of her character. At no point does she express any sympathy or regret for what Darrow has had to go through. She doesn't apologise that her family was responsible for the suffering of his people or the death of his wife and unborn child, other than to ask him why he doesn't hate her for it at the end of the last book while she was holding a gun to his head. She never says that she is sorry for entering into a loving relationship with Casseus, a man who was actively seeking Darrow's death, other than for the fact that the relationship ended up hurting her, not caring how it probably hurt Darrow. She never once shows sympathy or asks him about the fact that he spent a year of his life going through unspeakable torture. She never once shows regret for the way that she acted when he risked everything, including the freedom of his people, to tell her the truth of his life. Even Victra showed more moral character, telling Darrow how she would never have judged him for being a Red.
Agree with all of this. Its implied that her feelings for Darrow are restrained in some way, that they take a back seat to everything going on, which makes sense but i just didnt buy the connection between them. Theres also a lot of reference to her being smart but i never really saw too much of that in her actions. And keeping the fact that she had given birth to their child a secret through the whole book for some weird convoluted reason just made me angry, and once again didnt buy it. It just felt off and made me dislike her more.
Just finished the book… SPOILERS AHEAD. Overall a great series. 3.5/5. Golden sun definitely had the best pacing and story imo. I really started to hate the number of plot twists came out of nowhere. The side story with the obsidians and the gods I thought missed. I had more of a connection with Lorn then Ragnar. Also Darrow forgiving and trying to befriend and forgive Roque and Cassius was annoying. Even if it makes sense for his character it was unrealistic in the real world. Didn’t like it.
To be honest I kind of got annoyed during the climax because I realized I was being scammed by the author. It's a forst person narrative but it's written as if Darrow doesn't know what's going to happen. Every moment of his inner mo ologue is hopeless and terrified until the reveal and then he's suddenly completely composed and in control. That would all make sense from a 3rd party perspective but doing it from his perspective is just narrator manipulation. Why would his own thoughts be so mournful about a death or a betrayal when he knows it isn't real? The only reason to do that is for the author to trick the reader. When I stopped foe a second and put the pieces together it was clear at least 1 of 2 things would have to happen. And knowing that just made me annoyed at the false narration and emotional manipulation that does not fit the perspective of the story at all.
I loved this series Red rising i love everything battke royale Golden sun amazing scifi Morning star great conclhsion And then the nightmare came Book 4 garbage book 5 i put down after darrowes arc in mercury and i hate the book so much.
Mike, as good as the action sequences are, an author named Jasper T. Scott writes better sci-fi action sequences. You should try The Kyron Invasion trilogy and then the Ascension Wars 4 book set. This guy is not well known for some reason. But both series are complete. You should give them a try. Excellent sci-fi writing.
People should stop comparing everything to Dune or Star Wars ..since star wars is so bad in the last years disney took over... Red Rising is so much better.. compare it to GOT or other great books ... ( and not to Dune... also does not feel like dune... in anyway .. )
I liked the book quite a lot, but the climax is lackluster imo. Not because it was bad or anything, but it's just that doesn't reach the same highs as the earlier parts of this book. The conclusion itself felt a little bit rushed and the scale was a bit too small because of it. The resolution was a bit too simplistic. Thankfully, I think this issue isn't a big of a deal because the sequel series addresses that fact, but I would've want more on the first trilogy. It didn't feel like Darrow's revolution was as big as it should've been. Regardless, it is a damn great trilogy with some really awesome battles and characters, not to mention the whole aesthetics evoked by the narrative, just cool stuff all around.
That final act was a roller coaster of emotions. Still think about it quite often after reading it.
It was WILD
Cassius' arc is sooooo good! This reread Morning Star became my favorite!
I read the series as it was released, and the wait was killer between Golden Son and Morning Star. I have to agree that Golden Sons ending was one of the best cliff hangers ever.
I can't imagine waiting for that🙈
Man, that wait had to be excruciating.
It made my week feel empty, so I kinda hate that ending personally.
So I am going to continue on to the sequels. I just have to say, thank you so much for introducing me to this series which at least through these first three books have possibly become my favorite series of all time. I didn’t enter this expecting to find that but that is exactly what I found.
So glad they've clicked for you!
Man I love this series so much. It's become my favorite series of all time as I've continued to reflect on it over the years.
Some of my favorite, non spoiler Morning Star quotes:
“You and I keep looking for light in the darkness, expecting it to appear. But it already has.” I touch his shoulder. “We’re it, boyo. Broken and cracked and stupid as we are, we’re the light, and we’re spreading.”
“If your heart beats like a drum, and your legs a little wet, it’s because the Reaper’s come to collect a little debt.”
“And I wonder, in my last moments, if the planet does not mind that we wound her surface or pillage her bounty, because she knows we silly warm things are not even a breath in her cosmic life. We have grown and spread, and will rage and die. And when all that remains of us is our steel monuments and plastic idols, her winds will whisper, her sands will shift, and she will spin on and on, forgetting about the bold, hairless apes who thought they deserved immortality.”
So many great quotes.
Thank you for pushing this series! Love hearing people talk about it!
I loved Golden Son but Morning Star was one of the best books I have ever read. I actually never wanted it to end.
That seems to be the popular opinion.
100% progressing through and will be reading Dark Age for the first time so I'll get the second trilogy experience. I had full tears rolling down my cheeks on two occasions reading Morning Star, and a lot of those more emotional moments for me actually centered around Victra - then there was the ending because man, what a way to close
Yeah, this book is a heartpunch more than once.
Between you and Daniel Greene I was convinced to take a chance on this trilogy. Last year I decided I needed to get some "recent" books into my collection; most of my books are going on thirty years old or more. Red Rising wasn't really my thing, but the prolog and ending and a few good moments were enough to get me to pick up Golden Son. Now I've finished Morning Star this weekend. It has been one of the best reading experiences I can remember having. Just wanted to thank you for the time you took on these reviews; I watched each one after I finished each book.
you got me to pick up this series back in 2020 & i had a great time!
Love it!
I’m glad I finally read this trilogy. I always love uncovering the mystery of popular books that seemingly everyone but me has read. I’m not stopping here but I’m going to take a break for a long while. My TBR is a large pile
I get that.
That ending was fabulous. I sight read it, and ended up re-reading the first three books via audio in case I decide to do an audio read for Iron Gold in April.
Just finished this book with tears in my eyes. Thank you so much for recommending this series Mike. Loved it so much!
I love love love this third book. Its probably my favorite red rising hook
It is a great series. This readalong is my first time reading this and loved all three books. Tomorrow Iron gold will arrive.
I've tried to reread the first person perspective problem and I think Brown just entered the grey area. I think he describes behaviour and not thoughts, unless I've missed something. Please discuss this with the howler pod. They probably know by heart ;)
Hope you enjoy Iron Gold!
I haven't read this series and now I'm intrigued.
boy are you in for a ride!
Hope you do!
MY GOD. I feel like this book is just unobtainable amazing and anything after won't feel right. The rage reading I felt from 453-489 was just insane I was actually so pissed off lol. If you know you know but holy shit I BUSTED AT THE REVEAL THE "Fuuuuuuuuck" was just incredible he knew what he was doing. INSANE.
Mike, I promise I’ll watch these videos after I read the books 🙏
Loved Darrow & Roque part! Soo good.
Finished the trilogy, absolutely fantastic. One of my all time favourites. Fun action, politically in depth (it doesn't skip over the details) and some great emotional moments. Morning Star is my favourite for the quiet moments, I was coming into Morning Star a little sick of the twist reveal chapter ends that are scattered throughout the books. (To great effect, but I read the trilogy over a fortnight so it began to feel a little contrived every now and again.) Those peaceful moments where Darrow and someone else sits and watches the depths of space and just talk I think will stick with me much, much longer than anything else. Something about them relatable despite being set in the far far future. Excited to move onto the sequels, hopefully Brown capitalises on those moments and balances them with the break neck pacing and action the books are known for.
Red Rising is one of my favorite series'. I still haven't started the sequel series but I'd like to this year.
Hope so!
Almost done with my reread of Morning Star. I like it even more on a reread. Looking forward to pick upp Iron Gold for the first time together with all of you in April!
Great book,
don't skip the sequels!
Cant wait for the next one!
The sequels are so underrated.
Agreed, I like the way Pierce took the series and concluded the trilogy.
Hard to be upset about the ending.
It wasn't until the ending of Golden Son that Pierce Brown had me fully convinced. Morning Star Kept that momentum going. I loved it. Iron Gold is excellent as well so far.
Excellent trilogy. But after these three I am taking a break before moving to volume 4. I am not sure if grimdark is for me.
Makes sense. Hope you'll give it a try one day.
Just finished morning star after picking up the series on your recommendation Mike. Thank you! I enjoyed it thoroughly, going straight into book 4. Kinda want a hail reaper coffee mug too now 😅
I agree this was a great conclusion that felt final. It didn’t feel like sequels were necessary and I wasn’t motivated to read them. Are they worth reading?
I just started Red Rising, coming off Fonda Lee's, "Green Bone Saga".. and am just excited to explore a new author.
I was reading the ending on my lunch break and I was about to put the book down and BAM you know what happened. I was in disbelief so I kept reading but my break was over. So i had to go back to class and my teacher could see the anguish on my face and asked if I was alright and I had to say I was fine but i was NOT
This video reminds me how great this series is. Now I want to star Iron Gold a day early 😂
Red Rising is a wonderful experience. Filled with twists and emotions. I loved it so much. Can’t believe I waited this long to read them. I don’t read much sci-fi so I slept on it. Big mistake.
Had to put this book down at least twice to gather myself with what was going on. This book tugged on my emotions more than the 2nd one but I feel the 2nd one was slightly better but barely. Ready for the spoiler talk!
Just finished it....wow!
Great review of a great book. I can't wait to revisit Iron Gold
Hi 👋 great book review! Happy reading to you! 😊
I just finished Morningstar and uh I still don't know how to feel.
How is Pierce so talented at writing characters I went from hating one character all the way up till his end scene where I actually had allergies acting up I was so moved.
Pierce is one author I'll pick up anything he writes idc if I don't like the genre.
Just imagine the Howlers interacting with Ewoks.
I’m on red rising and abit confused what exactly is the school are they trying to find which is strong enough to become Gold they just seem to be fighting amongst themselves and other houses I don’t understand what the actual goal is?
Just finished. I agree with the title.
Sounds interesting Mike, I love prison break. Will consider reading the series 😁
Please do!
Do you have a video coming on whether it's worth reading the sequels? I loved the trilogy (especially golden son), but started to lose interest in the intergalactic warfare in the third book..
I think he's reading one book in the series per month and reviewing them leading up to the new one releasing later this year. Personally, I think the sequels are fantastic, but if you're not into the intergalactic warfare then you probably won't like them as much
I'll be talking about the sequels and if they'd be a good fit for those curious very soon.
Of the first trilogy I think GS just edges out MS for me. To paraphrase Brown "the hat thing is to show the capricious nature of war." I cannot wait for the video about the sequels, because I firmly believe they are just as good, if not better. Again to paraphrase Brown "Morningstar's ending is like the Lord of the Rings when the ring is destroyed and everything is happy, The sequels are the scouring of the shire to show you the consequences and cost of war."
In a series filled with wonderful, rich and engaging characters, Mustang stands out as being the least interesting. As is often the case with the love interest (A flaw I find often in young adult books), we aren't shown why she is worthy of the protagonist's attention, but are simply expected to like her because he does. With the exception of that first time that she saved his life in Red Rising, I have never seen any qualities other than her beauty that make her desirable to Darrow. She isn't as loyal as Sevro, Ragnar... nor even Victra. She hasn't ever been responsible for any victories. Her morals are still firmly placed in society values until the last moment (and even then what choice did she have after she has already burnt her bridges with the opposition). She isn't even as reliable in her support as a friend as the rest of the cast, as she always has her own agenda.
So being as she is neither loyal, helpful to the cause, morally strong in character or a good friend, why the hell should she get to constantly be in charge of armies, be given the benefit of the doubt time and again, and worst of all, get to act as though Darrow must prove himself to her rather than the other way around.
To make all this worse, this series ends with her being crowned as the new ruler. Why? What has she possibly done or shown over the course of the previous 3 novels that has proved that she is leadership material? She hasn't even proved to be competent in most cases.
So then we get to the final reveal that she has been testing Darrow through this book to see if he is worthy to learn that he has a son. Not only that, when she does reveal it, it is by having their friends and Darrow's family present the boy to him, making it clear that she told literally every other person in this novel before she told Darrow. What the hell had Darrow ever done to make that the right choice? I know the author wants us to believe that she was afraid that he was a warmonger, but at no point in the entire series are any of the characters ever left unclear as to why he has acted as he has. It has all been for a better life for his people.
I could go on about Mustang for whole pages, so I will stop here before I have an aneurysm and leave with one last scathing damnation of her character. At no point does she express any sympathy or regret for what Darrow has had to go through. She doesn't apologise that her family was responsible for the suffering of his people or the death of his wife and unborn child, other than to ask him why he doesn't hate her for it at the end of the last book while she was holding a gun to his head. She never says that she is sorry for entering into a loving relationship with Casseus, a man who was actively seeking Darrow's death, other than for the fact that the relationship ended up hurting her, not caring how it probably hurt Darrow. She never once shows sympathy or asks him about the fact that he spent a year of his life going through unspeakable torture. She never once shows regret for the way that she acted when he risked everything, including the freedom of his people, to tell her the truth of his life. Even Victra showed more moral character, telling Darrow how she would never have judged him for being a Red.
Agree with all of this. Its implied that her feelings for Darrow are restrained in some way, that they take a back seat to everything going on, which makes sense but i just didnt buy the connection between them. Theres also a lot of reference to her being smart but i never really saw too much of that in her actions. And keeping the fact that she had given birth to their child a secret through the whole book for some weird convoluted reason just made me angry, and once again didnt buy it. It just felt off and made me dislike her more.
Just finished the book… SPOILERS AHEAD.
Overall a great series. 3.5/5. Golden sun definitely had the best pacing and story imo.
I really started to hate the number of plot twists came out of nowhere. The side story with the obsidians and the gods I thought missed. I had more of a connection with Lorn then Ragnar.
Also Darrow forgiving and trying to befriend and forgive Roque and Cassius was annoying. Even if it makes sense for his character it was unrealistic in the real world. Didn’t like it.
To be honest I kind of got annoyed during the climax because I realized I was being scammed by the author. It's a forst person narrative but it's written as if Darrow doesn't know what's going to happen. Every moment of his inner mo ologue is hopeless and terrified until the reveal and then he's suddenly completely composed and in control. That would all make sense from a 3rd party perspective but doing it from his perspective is just narrator manipulation. Why would his own thoughts be so mournful about a death or a betrayal when he knows it isn't real? The only reason to do that is for the author to trick the reader. When I stopped foe a second and put the pieces together it was clear at least 1 of 2 things would have to happen. And knowing that just made me annoyed at the false narration and emotional manipulation that does not fit the perspective of the story at all.
Opening Day Mike, and that means war! May the evil forces of the Houston Empire be routed by our heroes the 2023 Seattle Mariners!
May the odds be ever in your favor.
I loved this series
Red rising i love everything battke royale
Golden sun amazing scifi
Morning star great conclhsion
And then the nightmare came
Book 4 garbage book 5 i put down after darrowes arc in mercury and i hate the book so much.
Sorry to hear that.
Oh right! I’m starting Iron Gold as soon as I’ve finished “Until the Last” #MikeShackle
Ending wasn’t as good as Licanius but it’s up there with as satisfying an ending as I’ve ever read
Mike, as good as the action sequences are, an author named Jasper T. Scott writes better sci-fi action sequences. You should try The Kyron Invasion trilogy and then the Ascension Wars 4 book set. This guy is not well known for some reason. But both series are complete. You should give them a try. Excellent sci-fi writing.
I'll look him up!
@@mikesbookreviews I don't think you will be disappointed.
Hallo. Can some one pleace tell me if it is rape or domestic violence against women in this book?
Not in the third book, no
And in book 1 and 2? Thanks
Too bad books 3-6 are not translated into my native language. I can read them in english, but it is just not the same for me.
I still didn't like Virgina that much in this book. I mean I don't hate her. But I still wasn't on board with her. She's fine. I don't love her.
People should stop comparing everything to Dune or Star Wars ..since star wars is so bad in the last years disney took over... Red Rising is so much better.. compare it to GOT or other great books ... ( and not to Dune... also does not feel like dune... in anyway .. )
I liked the book quite a lot, but the climax is lackluster imo. Not because it was bad or anything, but it's just that doesn't reach the same highs as the earlier parts of this book.
The conclusion itself felt a little bit rushed and the scale was a bit too small because of it. The resolution was a bit too simplistic. Thankfully, I think this issue isn't a big of a deal because the sequel series addresses that fact, but I would've want more on the first trilogy. It didn't feel like Darrow's revolution was as big as it should've been.
Regardless, it is a damn great trilogy with some really awesome battles and characters, not to mention the whole aesthetics evoked by the narrative, just cool stuff all around.
I think these are fair criticisms.
@@mikesbookreviews Thank you for the recommendation. I loved these characters almost as much as the loved the ones in The Dresden Files.