NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In the epic next chapter of the Red Rising Saga, the #1 bestselling author of Morning Star pushes the boundaries of one of the boldest series in fiction.“Mature science fiction existing within the frame of blazing space opera . . . done in a style [that] borders on Shakespearean.”—NPR (One of the Best Books of the Year) They call him father, liberator, warlord, Slave … They call him father, liberator, warlord, Slave King, Reaper. But he feels a boy as he falls toward the war-torn planet, his armor red, his army vast, his heart heavy. It is the tenth year of war and the thirty-third 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 all 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. 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.
Don’t miss any of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising Saga:
RED RISING • GOLDEN SON • MORNING STAR • IRON GOLD • DARK AGE
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I feel like Pierce Brown’s signature is to alternate between painting scenes of buoyant, fraternal banter, and dropping bombs-of-lines that are shockingly raw and devoid of hope. Red Rising, Golden Son, and Morning Star were exceptionally memorable for me because of Brown’s mastery of this rhythm – and Iron Gold is yet another example of his prowess.
I was a little unsure of this one since this book is told from the perspective of four characters – two of whom had been virtually faceless in the story thus far. However, within the first hundred-or-so pages, I was fully captivated. The story is a thrill ride across the solar system: tightly-woven and paced at breakneck speed.
Definitely recommended. I’m already dreading the wait for book five.
It shouldn’t have taken me this long to read it. There was nothing wrong with this book, but I picked it up before I realised that I wasn’t in the right headspace for long books… and so I started it nearly a year ago, in September 2020 😐
It also possibly didn’t help that I started it right after having binge-read the original Red Rising trilogy. That’s a lot of pain and emotional torture in one go (although I found this one the least painful one so far, a few bits and moments that broke my heart aside)
I think what I struggled with the most were the new viewpoints. I love a book with multiple points of view, but after only having one throughout the trilogy, I found this change in Book 4 a bit… well, not confusing or jarring, just unexpected I guess. I kept wanting to get back to Darrow already, even if I did eventually appreciate the new insights. I think because I was so used to this story being told from Darrow’s perspective only, I never properly warmed to the new narrators, which is a shame because they were intriguing and actually added a lot of depth.
I don’t want that to sound negative though – if you love multiple POVs, you’ll appreciate what Brown has done from Iron Gold. You’ve been warned now, so you’ll know what to expect.
I’ll definitely pick up Dark Age at some point, just not right now. My heart needs a break. It’s already on my shelf for when I’m ready.
This was simply a very entertaining book to read. There are a lot of characters but the author did a fantastic job in incorporating them in a way that was entertaining and easy to follow. I look forward to reading the next book in this series when it comes out.
And this is where you lost me Pierce. Wow….just wow, you blew it on this new series. You took one of the greatest fictional characters I have ever read, the pillar of a masterwork of sci-fi (Darrow) and marginalized him – all so you could (I’m guess here) create something more in the multi point of view style of George RR Martin. I’m just guessing here, I have no idea why you would take the formula that made you one of the greats (1st person – all Darrow) and choke your new series with a bunch of points of view of boring, flat, uninteresting characters. Why Pierce? Just why?
“Jeeze Jason, tell us what you really think.” *snicker*
Seriously, Red Rising is brilliant. I read it and am jealous I did not write it. I could probably spend two years on a single book and it would not be as good as the first trilogy. That’s how good it is. I am just sad that Iron Gold completely threw away a great opportunity to be another trilogy with the formula that worked. And you guessed it, I will not be picking up Dark Ages.
I LOVED this book and the whole series!
So this book was a very long introduction to a new saga, but it was worth the time to read it.
The story of this book develops ten years after “morning star”. Darrow keeps fighting because even when there’s democracy and a new republic, there’s still injustice and rejection to the change… So Darrow must take high risks and abandon his family in order to do what he believes is the best for his people.
On the other hand, there’s the introduction of new characters, a red girl and a grey they are disappointed with the republic and their leaders because they lost too much for the war and have been given a lot of promises of a new life, that the government couldn’t keep, so this two are used like pawns in order to make the ultimate act of treason to the government.
Finally we get to read about Lysander and his whereabouts, we get his point of view and he makes questionable decisions, can he be the man his mentor Cassio prepared him to be? Or will he want to destroy the republic, unite the golds and create a new world???
Read this and find out.
As I have waited for each new book in the series to be released I have a typical memory lag between books….that noted this book was in my opinion “funner” then book #4 which was also good as have been all four books of the series……the first book sucks you into Darrow’s world and the rest are the story developing through time….good reads….