Before I read Golden Son, I knew it was going to be a cliffhanger. I knew it from the tweets of those who had already read it. And it’s the sequel, the middle child of a trilogy. The middle is often where the gauntlet is thrown down and all bets are off. That’s by design, of course. You were hooked in by the first installment; now the second one has to grab you by the throat and force you to stay invested in the series, whether you like it or not. So yes, I knew what was coming.
In all honesty, though, there are two things I wasn’t expecting: how much what was coming was actually going to hurt, and how the brilliance of Pierce Brown’s writing style was going to shine.
Pierce Brown is relatively new to the writing business. He’s in his mid-twenties, and only just got his first book, Red Rising, published in 2014. One year later, he has thousands of fans and another book, Golden Son, under his belt. Two published books only. And yet, the quality of his writing dictates that he should have four or five books published already. In truth, he has written about that many manuscripts since the age of eighteen, but Red Rising was the ticket to getting published. And if its sequel is anything to judge by, Brown is going to be writing and getting books published for a long time to come.
With regards to his writing style, the tool of Brown’s that I admire him most for being able to implement successfully is that of pacing. The story of Golden Son, much like its predecessor, is constantly being propelled forward. There are quiet moments, yes, but they are few; the action is almost always present, the stakes perpetually being forced higher and higher as the plot progresses. And yet, despite the cacophony of battle and gore, plotting and betrayal, there is never a moment when the development of the characters are lost in the din. Rather, they make the whole a riotous symphony as they act and react to the twists that Brown thrusts into their paths, sometimes achieving triumph and sometimes sinking into utter failure.
Which brings me to the plot twists themselves. One thing that can annoy me in storytelling is when the game board is abruptly and rudely changed simply for shock or variety, and then nothing crucial or truly game-changing happens as a result. The board in Golden Son, however, is changed multiple times at the most unexpected, yet exciting junctures. Players of the game are added and then taken away, then brought back again. The variables, the setting, everything alters when you least expect it,and often in surprising (if not always gasp-inducing) ways. And yet, these changes are not without purpose. They succeed in making you turn the page, in upping the ante, in pushing the plot and the protagonist, Darrow, and his friends to the limits of their sanity and resourcefulness. Just when you think that all is calm and quiet, the clang of conflict will ring out again, and Darrow has to find a way to drown it out and cling to his mission, his values, and the memory of what he loves. He has to find a way to rise above everything around him, and he often does.
But there are many instances in which he falls to get up right away. Instead, he’s pushed further down into the mud and grime of subterfuge and the horrors and loss of war. That, I think, is a prime success in Brown’s portrayal of human characters. So many times, human beings rise up only to be knocked down by forces that seemingly seek to wreck their dreams and ruin their happiness. Most people have or will experience this crushing feeling. And yet, we rise again. We rise over and over and over again. To me, that is part of the message that Brown is trying to convey, or at the very least, it is the inevitable result of the story he has wrought.
But despite numerous antagonists and forces constantly wavering in and out of his favor, Darrow’s quest remains the same. He never forgets the dream of his dead wife, the dream that has carried him through his trials from being a son of Red to being a son of Gold. Red must rise.
But will it?
The third and final novel in the Red Rising trilogy, Morning Star, will likely debut sometime in 2016. Then, we will find out just who will be rising in the end.
In the meantime, however: can you handle the heart-twisting, Razor-in-the-gut-wrenching ending that is the summit of Brown’s brutal, brilliant tale? Find out by purchasing Golden Son from your local bookstore or Amazon.com.
Sabers & Sensibility 