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Golden Son (Red Rising Saga #2) by Pierce Brown

"Golden Son picks up where Red Rising left off and it grabs the reader tight and never lets go; especially with the gut wrenching, jaw dropping twist of an ending."

5 Stars

Pros: More background on the characters of Fitchner/Sevro et al/The constant internal struggle that Darrow faces and the choices he must make/The Jackal is a delightfully evil character.  
Cons: There are a lot of characters and some are lost in the background, so you're not sure if you should miss them when they're gone. 

Full Review: 
Picking up two years after the surprising conclusion of Red Rising, Darrow is now a Lancer to House Augustus, training at the Academy on the ways to leading his own interstellar fleet. He hasn't heard a word from the Sons of Areas since he was placed into Gold Society and he isn't sure if he is still a part of their plans. It isn't until an incident at the Academy desecrates his reputation and Augustus sells his contract to the highest bidder that he fins the Sons of Ares again. 

Everything has changed and they use the footage of Eos' hanging to reveal the second secret that Darrow never learned. That secret renews the rage that Darrow feels towards the Golds and so he works with the Sons and plans. The mission is to destroy Golden Society on the last night of the Summit where all the powerful families will be gathered. When push comes to shove though and Darrow sees Mustang enter on Cassius' arm, he realizes that he can't do what he told the Sons he would. 

Instead, he challenges Cassius to a duel, the one that Cassius has so long been waiting for. And he does this as a way to pit the Houses against one another. There is no love lost between House Augustus and House Bellona (Cassius family) and when the Sovereign (Octavia Au Lune, leader of Society) intervenes in order to save Cassius' life, it's obvious which house she favors. So Darrow has used his rage at the Golds and has promptly started a bloody war between the two Houses. 

With his actions, he has put into motion something that is fueled by centuries of hatred and it soon spirals out of control. Darrow finds himself in the middle of it all, and of course, through everything, his true identity as a Red is always lurking. It is absolute and utter chaos and it doesn't stop for a single second. Alliances are made and broken, friendships are supposedly mended and then crushed, love is found but complicated as always and suffice it to say, everything is so complex and intricately woven together that it would be impossible to explain it and not give everything away. It is an excellent sequel to Red Rising and I would recommend it to anyone who has read Red Rising, who is a fan of stories where the those oppressed fight to break their chains and basically anyone who can appreciate a really well thought out, fast paced Science Fiction novel. 

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