Oh. My. God. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, Netgalley for allowing me an advanced copy of this book so I could review it.
I read the Red Rising series as it came out, waiting a year between each book. To say I devoured them would be fairly accurate.
With Iron Gold, I wanted to take my time, read slowly, and absorb what was happening. I tried. I tried so hard. I would stop between chapters and take a break for a few minutes. I even made myself stop reading for the day at a decent time so I could get sleep. But I dreamed of Darrow and Sevro and Victra and Mustang and Lysander and Ephraim and Lyria, especially of Lyria. And then I couldn’t take it anymore. I finally finished it in one fell swoop. And now I have to wait a whole bloodydamn year for the next one. Slag!
For the the actual review part, here you go:
Iron Gold picks up ten years after Morning Star ends. Pax, Darrow and Mustang’s son, is ten. Sevro and Victra have three daughters and Victra is pregnant with the 4th. Mustang is Sovereign and these best of friends are surrounded by the Telemanuses. Since so many of Darrow’s friends died in the first three books, there aren’t a ton of carryover characters, but the new characters definitely keep the same feel that we have come to know and love. The Howlers are still crazy, no matter who wears the cloaks. The Telemanuses are still larger than life. The 14th reiteration of Sophocles still loves candy. The backstabbing and treachery are still just as prominent. But the devotion and love play an even bigger role than in the first three books,
Iron Gold is told from the point of view of Darrow, Lysander au Lune, who has been raised by Cassius after being saved after Octavia was killed, Lyria, a girl “freed” from the Martian mines, and by Ephraim, an insurance investigator turned thief. All are flawed in their own way and all have a weird part to play in the bigger picture. It’s a grim book in a grim time. And it’s a fabulous restart to the series.
Mr. Brown, if you need someone to read the next two books well before they are released, it would be my privilege and honor to do so. The Red Rising series is the gauge I use to rate science fiction books.