Golden Son: Don’t forget to breathe!

Author: Pierce Brown
Genre: Science-Fiction, Dystopia, Fantasy
Series: Red Rising Saga

If you have ever been on a roller-coaster, you’d know the feeling when the car slowly goes up, and you feel giddy in your stomach, and the excitement and tension build up until you reach the top. And when it eventually starts rolling down at a fast pace, you ventilate all your feelings without a care in the world. And you know it’s just one fall, and there are more to come. Golden Son is that roller coaster. I am not exaggerating, and it’s the most fun I had while reading a book this year.

The story picks up where it left off in Red Rising. Darrow is the new Arch Primus. He joins the house of ArchGovernor of Mars Nero au Augustus, the man who executed his wife Eo. He only has one goal, to destroy the house of cards on which the Golds have built their society. Darrow realizes the only way to rattle the establishment is to start a civil war. But it can cost him everything he cares for, his friends and the women he loves. 

Okay, so I want to come out clean. I didn’t enjoy Red Rising much. While reading this book, I kept thinking, why didn’t like the first book. And I don’t have the answer. I read the first book a year ago. I think it must have been the inconsistent pacing, and the book skimmed over a lot of crucial plot points, leaving you wanting for more. 

But Golden Son changed my opinion about the series. It’s a super-fast ride, a ride you never want to end. The book excelled in almost every department. But what impressed me most is the writing style. It’s different and modern. The two aspects of the writing style that stood out are:

• Pacing: If you have read Red Rising, and you thought that was fast, you are in for a surprise. This book has a ridiculous pace. It starts with a battle, and from there onward, it’s a relentless, action-packed drama. Just because it’s fast-paced, it doesn’t mean that it rushes over crucial plot points. The plot itself moves very quickly; it sets up a scene and then bam! It pays off immediately. What compliments the pacing is the non-stop action, space battles, bloodbaths, treason, dirty politics, and the characters themselves. Brown creates an astounding balance among all these elements without going overboard. There are too many shocking moments. There are a couple of chapters that might remind you of a certain episode of Game of Thrones. Also, I should warn you people, this book is going to put some grave pressure on your bladder, because you won’t have time to pee, and if you have a small bladder, you are doomed. And also, don’t forget to breathe.
• First-Person Narration: First-person narration is always very tricky. A third-person narration allows the author to explore multiple perspectives and settings, while with the first-person narrative, you have a minimal scope to explore. All you get is a very contrived view of one person, and to get around this, authors have to rely upon a lot of expositions. Which if not done right feels very bumpy and hampers the pace of the story. And it affected the first book as well. Because the book was told from Darrow’s point of view, a lot of action which was happening all over the Institute could not be included in the book. But this is where Golden Son shines. You get to look inside Darrow’s mind, how scared and vulnerable he’s. A guy who might seem tough to the world is afraid of losing, dying, or worse, not completing her dying wife’s dream. And because most of the action and story are set up around him, we don’t miss a lot. 

What impressed me most about the world of Red Rising is that it’s a sophisticated blend of medieval fantasy with futuristic science fiction. It’s a unique sub-genre in itself. It blurs the line between science-fiction and fantasy. Along with some excellent world-building, the book interweaves some great character moments. Friendship and loyalty are two vital themes throughout the book. Darrow’s friendships are put to the test time and again because he’s fighting against the very people who he considers friends. The bromance between Darrow and Servo is too endearing. 

Please don’t read any spoilers, there is a lot to spoil and I promise you don’t want to know any of that.

If you are looking for a heart-pounding, action-packed, edge-of-the-seat thriller, look no further. Golden Son will deliver all that and more.