It has been a long time since Dark Age has come out. Which was rough, since Dark Age brought me down to the bottomless bit of hell with it's brutalness. So waiting for Light Bringer was rough, since Dark Age came out before my daughter was born and Light Bringer came out 2 months before her 4th Birthday.

But we are back into the world of Red Rising. Darrow is at his lowest, maybe ever, with no army, broken, and with old friends who feel just as broken as him. The start is trying to pick up the pieces of their lives while set on a new journey.

The first half is really more focused on Lysander attacking Mars and Mustangs defense. There is a battle in here that might be my favorite of the entire series, which is saying a lot, since Dark Age had a opening you wouldn't believe. But this one felt even bigger in scale, the rush of it, and the fights were amazing.

The second half smartly focuses on Darrow and his crew while sprinkling in Lysander to help build up the villains side. And if you hated Lysander before, I promise, he's only scratch the surface of how much you can hate this fucking prick. Saying that, he's an amazing character in terms of wanting me to hate him and his growth into this monster is wonderfully done. I need a good villain to help boost the greatness of the good guys.

The focus on Darrow trying to help his friends through internal struggles but also himself is really well done. I really loved how Sevro was treated here, letting him grow in ways I didn't expect. Not feeling like Darrow's main commander next to him but a friend who is tired, wounded, and misses his family more than anything. It let's him become a man, a leader, and still contain the savage part of him when needed. It's wonderfully done and really helps build such a great character whom I loved since book 1.

Cassius get's the same amazing treatment in a different way. A character who's been through the ringer, one who I didn't love but was always intrigued by, luckily gets much needed character development that helped him cross into my top 10 characters of the series. His charm is at its best here, his eagerness to be a good man has never been displayed better than here, and his heart finally accepting friendship really helped me understand the man.

Darrow gets the maturity he needed and it all makes sense. His new Zen like lifestyle, his way of forgiveness for the greater good, not letting his anger always get the best of him, is on full displayed and shown well. I also really love the fact his spirit of never giving up, even in the last few pages of this book, never stops. It's that type of hope, that light within him that helps excel this storyline.

Lyria gets a great amount of character development and always a favorite of mine but even more so now. Her and Volga relationship is wonderful. Atlas is a great surprise for me, becoming as sinister as I expected. Fa is great, truly a vicious bastard but in a different way than I expected. Oh and let me tell you, Mustang and Victra? Made me tear up a few times. Excellent.

Honestly the whole series is a rollercoaster but this book man, it is relentless like Dark Age but not as dower. I think a big part is because of Mustang and Darrow's mindset to push forward, Lyria eagerness to be brave and help others, and Lysander's sick fucking self being a cocksucking little shit, helps make the balance work real well.

This is easily one of the best books in the series, and might be my second favorite right behind Dark Age.