55th Book of 2019
“There’s never a right call, just people who make hard ones.”
At this point in the series, our heroes are no longer heroic, nor do they get plot armor. Indeed, hero status is not sufficient to guarantee a heroic death, many die in vain or for no reason. Reading a few other reviews, I expected this to be a seriously dark book, but I found it instead to be two clicks more realistic than previous installments. The plastic coating of this universe has been taken off, and there’s grime underneath.
I got mind-hijacked by this book, and despite the parts that didn’t fit together well, it was a great ride. Darrow no longer has time to brood, instead he’s just weary, fighting with what he believes are his last breaths. Lysander is a fill in for what the reader could expect to do if they were in a similar situation, trapped by impossible circumstances. Nobody expects any less from our protagonists, and despite mistakes, they bring together enough tactical surprises (carefully revealed by Brown) to keep things interesting.
The universe of Red Rising continues to expand, though we spend less time than I expected with the Moon lords. This certainly isn’t the right place to start in the series, but if you’ve made it this far, it’s a must read.