Book Review | Golden Son
Introduction
In my previous book review, I gave Red Rising, the first book in the Red Rising Trilogy, two stars. I found the book to be below average in some areas and above average in others, with it all-around being generally disappointing. However, I’d already been led to expect that the first book is the weakest in the trilogy, so I kept moving and started reading the second book. I’m glad I did, because--as you’ll find in this spoiler-free review--I found it to be a marked improvement on the first book in the trilogy. However, just how much of an improvement was it?
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Summary
Golden Son picks up a year after the events of Red Rising. Darrow is at the end of his final test for the next phase of his education. That’s a lot more exciting than it sounds because we open with an incredible space battle that really sets the tone for Golden Son: violent. Red Rising was violent, too, but Golden Son takes that violence to an entirely new level. Most of this book is an all-out war and Darrow is right at the heart of it. There is plotting and scheming, but there is also just complete, devastating, even horrifying war.
In this story, we get to see the characters Darrow interacted with in the Institute. The dynamics of their relationships have changed now that they are no longer confined to the barbaric, archaic Institute. They’ve also grown up a bit since it’s been a year since the events of Red Rising. Relationships have changed, some for better, some for worse.
Darrow is still seeking to bring an end to the reign of the golds in this book, hoping to bring their classist empire to its knees, and in this book, he takes a few strides closer to that.
The Review
Presentation
I don’t have much to say about Golden Son’s presentation that I didn’t already say about Red Rising’s. It’s a well-presented book and the cover is quite nice. I still like the wing from the first book more, but this is a solid presentation just like that book. Again, I’m giving it four stars.
The Plot
Golden Son has a much broader and more interesting plot than the first book in the trilogy. In this book, we see the beginning of an intense war and learn more about the different factions that are at play. We also see some further humanization of the people group that Darrow has spent much of his life demonizing: the golds. Darrow had already started to see that the golds are people just like him, and this is more prevalent in this book.
However, this book is far less character-driven even than the first book. This book is extremely plot-heavy and that is perfectly fine for this book. It accomplished exactly what it set out to do and it did well.
It’s hard to talk about the plot of this book without spoiling it, but I’ll try to summarize my thoughts on it with this: Pierce Brown’s storytelling has drastically improved with this book in comparison to Red Rising. With Golden Son, this story has shed any remaining comparisons to stories like Hunger Games, if you are in the crowd that thinks Red Rising is a Hunger Games knockoff (I don’t think that, but some people do). It is now entirely its own in all its violent, interplanetary glory.
I don’t have many issues with the plot of this book. There were definitely some conveniences in it that I had to suspend my disbelief for, but this was nowhere near as constant and unbearable as it was in Red Rising. I’m going to give the plot for Golden Son four stars.
The World
I mentioned in my previous review that the world was my favorite part of the book. I still love the world and I am glad that we got to explore more of it in this book. Now that Darrow isn’t confined to the Institute, we get to see many new locations in the world of this trilogy. I got a better understanding of this setting through Darrow’s eyes.
The technology at everyone’s disposal, the usage of the tools present in the world, and the history of this world are all excellent and fascinating. I am really enjoying the depth that we’re getting here and I like the setting of this trilogy considerably. I am hoping to spend more time within the society in a context that isn’t war, but I’m not sure we’re going to get that opportunity. It would be good to see this society from another angle, though.
I’m going to give the world four stars again, just as I did last time--we’ve got some more insight into the world, but I’d really like to get a broader perspective on this setting, hopefully, before the trilogy ends.
The World-Building
We don’t quite get the same poor world-building that we experienced in Red Rising, but there is some of that still present. World-building isn’t being exposited to us through broadcasts, but it is still being exposited through walls of dialogue that feel somewhat clunky at times. Still, it was never so bad that I slogged through it and all of the information we were given was necessary. This was especially true for information about family histories, which we likely couldn’t have gotten outside of dialogue.
I don’t have a lot of criticism or praise for the world-building of this book. It was definitely quite a bit better than it was in Red Rising, that’s for sure. There was some exposition here and there, but overall it wasn’t bad. I’ll give it an average rating of three stars.
The Characters
I mentioned already that Golden Son is more plot-driven than character-driven. It focuses largely on moving the plot forward and the characters are swept along by that plot. However, while this book is plot-driven, the characters do still shine. Their relationships and personalities have more depth to them than they did in Red Rising and I found them to be unique, entertaining, and lovable in many instances--even the weird or potentially awful ones.
There has been a substantial improvement in the way that the women are written in Golden Son compared to Red Rising, which is definitely improved. That are still some quips and such at their expense that feel a little outdated, but they also made sense for the characters who said them, at the time. I’m glad to see that all of the characters, including the women, have become more developed and well-rounded.
That said, while the characters have been improved upon, we didn’t get a lot of time to explore those relationships and the emotions associated with them. We got it from time to time, but this book is focused more on the plot than on the characters, so the development of the characters and their relationships with one another was cut somewhat short.
Overall, I’m going to give the characters three stars. I’m personally leaning a little more toward four stars for it, but I’m going to hold off on that until I get some more time with these characters and see how they really grow. I will say that my favorites are easily Sevro and Ragnar.
The Writing
Pierce Brown’s writing has greatly improved between books. I didn’t see a considerable amount of repetition as I did in Red Rising. What I did see is a punchy and powerful writing style. In Darrow’s mind, we often read in sentence fragments or very short sentences, which helps to sell the intense action scenes and the incoherent manner in which Darrow thinks, just as many of us think.
Those actions scenes are also where the writing shines most in this book. In particular, the huge, epic battles that Pierce Brown drafts in this book are remarkable. The last third or so of this book alone is beyond incredible for that reason. He creates these vast, high-stakes combat scenes that are tense and visually stunning… without any actual visuals beyond what he paints in our imagination.
I’m going to give the writing here four stars. There are a few weak points here and there, but overall this is a significant improvement on what was present in Red Rising. I was swept through this tale with ease and I loved every minute of it. If the third book improves on this writing even further, I can easily see it receiving a five-star rating.
The Pacing
Now we come to the pacing of Golden Son. It was excellent in this book. Nothing ever felt slow and I was always given the time to rest that I needed. The pacing also made sense, particularly compared to Red Rising. It slowed down during times of rest that were earned and sensible, it sped up when it needed to speed up, even if Darrow wasn’t ready for things to take off right then.
I don’t have much to say about the pacing beyond this, it was just well done. I’m actually going to give it five stars for this book. This book was paced excellently.
Overall
In the end, Golden Son is a substantial improvement on Red Rising. It was a book featuring strong characters and even stronger action. The battles were epic and memorable, the story is really taking off, and the overall plot is exciting. There were some hiccups along the way, but overall this book was a fun read and I’m going to give it four stars.
Conclusion
I cannot wait to get into the final book of this trilogy, so much so that I’m already reading it at the time of this writing. I’m really eager to see where this story goes from the events of Golden Son, which set up some awesome plot threads and character dynamics that I expect to see come to fruition in the third book. Stay tuned for my review of Morning Star next week! I also have plans to read the second trilogy shortly after I've finished Morning Star, but I'm probably going to take a break from this series for at least a week or so before I dive into Iron Gold.
What do you think of my review of Golden Son? If you’ve read it, do you agree with my thoughts or have any thoughts that counter it? If you’re someone who hasn’t gotten through Red Rising and stopped with that book unfinished, which is something I’ve heard from many people, does my more positive review of this book make you reconsider that? Personally, I’m glad I powered through Red Rising to get to the awesomeness that is contained in Golden Son. It was worth it!
Thank you again for checking this out. I appreciate your time! If you’d like to support me, the best way to do so would be to subscribe to my YouTube channel where you can find video versions of the content I put on my website. You can also follow me on social media; I’m @tlbainter on most social media platforms, and I’ll link all of those down below. Instagram is where I’m most active.
My next book review is going to be for Morning Star, the final book in this trilogy, so stay prepared for that! I’m eager to wrap up this trilogy and see how it all ties together and comes to an end. Until next time, bye!