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shona_reads_in_devon 's review for:

Golden Son by Pierce Brown
5.0
adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
'𝑾𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝜀 π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’Žπ’‚π’ 𝑬𝒐 π’Œπ’π’†π’˜, 𝜀 π’˜π’π’–π’π’… 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝐳𝒆𝒏 π’Šπ’ 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’Žπ’‚π’ π’Šπ’” π’ˆπ’π’π’†. 𝜀 π’Žπ’π’–π’“π’ π’‰π’Šπ’” π’‘π’‚π’”π’”π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’†π’—π’†π’“π’š π’…π’‚π’š.'

 'πœ€π’•'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 π’—π’Šπ’„π’•π’π’“π’š 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’Žπ’‚π’Œπ’†π’” 𝒂 π’Žπ’‚π’. πœ€π’•'𝒔 π’‰π’Šπ’” 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒔.' (fuck you Roque)

'π‘»π’‰π’Šπ’” π’Šπ’”π’'𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 π’“π’†π’—π’†π’π’ˆπ’†! [...] πœ€π’•'𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 π’‹π’–π’”π’•π’Šπ’„π’†. πœ€π’•'𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 π’‚π’ˆπ’‚π’Šπ’π’”π’• 𝒂𝒏 π’†π’Žπ’‘π’Šπ’“π’† π’ƒπ’–π’Šπ’π’• 𝒐𝒏 π’ˆπ’“π’†π’†π’…, 𝒐𝒏 π’„π’“π’–π’†π’π’•π’š.'


'𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 π’ƒπ’†π’ˆπ’†π’•π’” 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 π’ƒπ’†π’ˆπ’†π’•π’” 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉.'

__________________________

This review isn't hugely clever because I screamed a scream at the end of this and I am shell shocked about the fate of some of these characters that I have grown so fond of.

Darrow continues his rise within the world of the Golds, remaining on his quest to undo the the system from within. But how much of himself will he lose along the way? Who can he trust and who will he need to betray?

I didn't read the first one of this series all that long ago but it took me a minute to get back into the lingo and remind myself of the complicated alliances and betrayals of the first novel. Some time has passed since Darrow emerged victorious from the Institute and took his place as Nero au Augustus's lancer. But the pace doesn't slow - and that slight dragging I felt in book one was completely absent here. Book two has cemented some favourite characters in my heart (πŸ’”) and has hardened my heart towards others (⚰️) 

Brown is great at building tension. I'm on alert at all times for foreshadowing and it's done really well here. The prose is a little simple for my tastes, but not enough that it affects my emotional response to the plot. Indeed, where the prose is pared back, it can have the effect of hitting that bit harder in the emotional periods. The hard nature of life in this world doesn't give a lot of space for softness, and the style of writing bears that out. Where moments of softness occur, the simplicity can still be painful.

I love these themes, of the nature of mankind, of pride, vengeance, the discussions of ethics and morality and justice.

I'm going straight onto the third book!