Iron Gold AUTOGRAPHED by Pierce Brown (SIGNED EDITION) Available January 16

This book was a disappointment. I enjoyed the first three quite a bit. The protagonist's story was compelling and the author is talented. But this one changes Darrow's first-person narrative to multiple points of view from new characters that should not have been introduced so late in the series. It's still good writing, but the author should have started a new series or spin-off rather than leading us to believe this fourth installment would be similar to the first three. I am reluctant to order the final book in the series.

Lots of death yet to come in this series! Great book, focusing on four main characters, instead of only the Reaper. Great action and storytelling, as is expected from this series. Hell hath no furry, as a Reaper scorned. I’m expecting big things from book 5.

Mr. Brown’s first three books were incredible. However, this book takes on the cookie cutter multiple (four) first person point of view that is way too common. Lysander and Darrow’s arc’s were interesting but the other two just weren’t worth reading. I think he had something special with the prior books in the series and then lost it as he broadened the point of view with “different” and “contrasting” characters to hit a larger market of readers, similar to what Mr. Ryan did after Bloodsong.

Darrow carries on with all the expected storytelling of the first trilogy. I was apprehensive of reading from multiple characters perspectives but I am happy to report Pierce slipped from persona to persona easily. Great read, great ending

Least favorite book of the saga so far! I had such high hopes for this book after falling in love with the first 3. Unfortunately this book let me down in every way possible.

First, the 4 different first person points of view. I learned to love Lysanders story and am looking forward to him in the next book, but Lyria and Ephraim I could not get into. I really tried to love their stories and character, but just couldn't get it. Ephraim especially I did not like. With the different points of view always switching you got very, very little of Darrow, Sevro, Mustang, and even Victra. Those are the characters I fell in love with and the ones I wanted to read more about, and I got nothing! Especially Mustang, she was hardly ever in the book and she is one of the greatest characters! WHY? Pierce Brown why would you tell so little about our favorite characters and instead try and introduce us to new characters that aren't even close to being as amazing as Darrow, Sevro, and Mustang? I would of much preferred a first person point of view from them over Ephraim and Lyria.

Second, the increase in foul language and inappropriate innuendos, mainly the increase of the sexual ones. They were completely inappropriate and took away from the story completely. It's pretty bad when such a great writer as Pierce Brown lowers his standards and writing to include them. Not a good move at all. It's not a good move when you blatantly include such horrible filth in a book.

I will say the only thing it had going for it was the last 100 pages when it got really exciting and felt more like a book that belongs in the Red Rising saga. Instead of some book that I honestly wish I didn't start reading.

Pierce Brown I plead with you to bring back Darrow, Sevro, and Mustang and make them the main characters again. Bring back to us those characters we fell in love with and wanted all of us to become a Howler!

Just finished the book and its great! However the binding on my copy has already ripped, the back cover is almost completely separated after a month and a day of owning this, and I treat my books very well.

*not reviewing content*

I have not yet read this book. I was so excited to get to read this book. I have only read the first chapter at this point because last night when I opened it up I noticed the binding is already coming apart and the glue is bubbling on the back of the front cover. I would expect better quality control on this product. Right now I’m trying to decide if returning it for a better copy that will survive more than one read through.

Read the first three books which I enjoyed both audio and kindle. Waited a year for this to come out. Cliff hanger at the end. This just didn't do it for me. Too many characters to keep track of on audio. Disappointed that it took a year to come out and not as good as the first 3 books, plus don't like cliff hangers. Maybe this is the End for me

3.5 stars

Darrow and company return 10 years after the fall of Society and the rise of the Republic. Life is not the utopia Darrow envisioned. He's been fighting the Ash Lord for 10 years and maintaining a precarious alliance with the Rim lords, while the dream of equality and freedom die among the lowColors of Mars. After a million men die liberating Mercury, Darrow returns to Lune to face retribution...and then embarks on a trip to assassinate the Ash Lord once and for all. Meanwhile, outside forces conspire to bring the Republic down from both inside and outside its worlds.

I wanted to like this book a whole lot more than I did, particularly because I loved the Red Rising trilogy. But this one felt like a gorydamn mess the entire time. I did like the depiction of how endless war and parenthood have changed certain characters, and that new characters were introduced, complete with their own motivations and backstories that eventually wound themselves into a main plot/subplot. However, there were so many twisting plots and subplots, with plot holes and questions, that I was left at the end with a host of questions that I am certain will be resolved in the next book...or quite possibly the book after that. The entire thing felt like a placeholder and set-up for book 5.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

I loved the prior trilogy, but unfortunately I didn't really like this book. It starts a little slow, but that is somewhat acceptable since you have to get introduced to what is going on 10 years later. A big reason I didn't like it is that it is very bleak. It feels to me like all the successes and the sacrifices from the prior books were all for nothing. He may turn that around by the end of the series, but that is how I feel now. Probably my biggest reason is Darrow in this book. Everything he does makes no sense me. It all seems really dumb, and like it obviously won't work out. Also Darrow has always been pretty ruthless, but I almost feel like he has turned into a straight up villain in this book. The book still has great writing and interesting characters. Toward the end it was hard to put down. Maybe I will feel differently after it is all said and done.

The number of books I start and don't finish are few indeed, but about halfway though this one I realized that (a) enough time had past since I read the Red Rising Trilogy (which I enjoyed) that I no longer remembered who most of these characters were and (b) I didn't care about any of them. In a war between such despicable combatants about all you can do is root for casualties, and there weren't enough of those to make it any fun. Although it seemed likely that something positive would happen eventually, I just couldn't force myself to stay around to see it. It's a long slog through the middle in which you have the Society on Venus which is evil and oppressive, the golds on the Rim who are almost as bad, and the Republic which appears to be corrupt and incompetent. So who cares? I only wish that I had quit sooner.

This is a huge comedown from the first 3. The first 80% of the book was filler, clever filler as a talented wordsmith like Brown can do, but nevertheless irrelevant verbiage. My suspicion is he did not have another layered and complex plot like the first so he and his publisher decided he would just dial in the first 80% and then deliver a passable novella. The book finally comes to life after that and the last 5th is at least reminiscent of the previous trilogy but trilogies cannot be made out of novellas.
But perhaps the most annoying thing about the book is how disconnected it is. chapters introduce so many new or at least previously insignificant characters that I was often goig back to remind myself (or simply find out) who this character was. (I would have been lost without kindle). It’s OK to jump around between story threads but I felt it was done without any sense by the author of where the right shifts were.
Something was definitely missing from this book and, in my mind, it was chemistry. I did not feel that the main characters, the main protagonists whom we cared so much about in the trilogy, felt that chemistry between themselves anymore. On that note, that to me was the one flaw in the trilogy in that I felt absolutely no chemistry between Darryl and Virginia (Mustang) whose love interest logically should have played a significant role. It seemed Darryl spent as little time with Mustang as he could and I facetiously questioned whether Pax may have been conceived by immaculate conception. But with such otherwise enchanting characters and relationships, I just overlooked this. This sense of nothing really going on between them carried over into “Iron Gold” but by then was swamped with all the other problems mentioned above.
So, in summation, I would recommend “RED Rising” to anyone as a tour de force and to overcome temptation and stay away from the next trilogy (or 3?) if you don’t want to find yourself frustrated, disappointed and confused.

First off, I want to thank the awesome people over at Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC, even though I ended up finishing this one off via Audible because, umm, Tim Gerard Reynolds is the MAN.

It is nice being able to get back into a series without any sort of expectations. Unlike a lot of people who loved the first three (3) books in the Red Rising series, I didn't get to them until December 2017. I binged each novel via audiobook in anticipation for Iron Gold's release because of the hype that surrounded it. Let me go ahead and tell you: the hype is legitimate. Iron Gold is in the early running for my top read of 2018.

A decade after the events of Morningstar, Mustang is now Sovereign and her husband, Darrow, continues to fight for peace amongst the stars. As made famous by the game franchise "Fallout", War Never Changes. While the Republic stands to keep order in the galaxy, the Senate is quickly rising in power and leading all in a direction that Darrow is unwilling to take. Darrow takes matters into his own hands and leads the Howlers on a mission with unforeseen consequences.
Meanwhile, a Red girl escapes her refugee camp in hopes of a fresh start but becomes entangled in a feud that will change her life forever.
An ex-Son of Ares, along with his motley crew of Colors, is contracted by a mysterious Duke to steal the most invaluable thing in the galaxy, but what he comes back to he never suspected.
Lysander au Lune, grandson of the late Octavia and heir to the Sovereign, travels with Cassius au Bellona, his mentor and guide. The two become embroiled with those of the outer rim and ponder what their futures hold at the hands of their captors.

As you can already tell, Iron Gold is a bit different from the original trilogy. It is told from four (4) different POVs that seemingly intertwine with one another as the story progresses. Also, with it taking place a decade into the future, it feels more like an adult story than a (which, IMO, you can't call the original trilogy this) YA one. The action is grittier, the conversation more brutal, and the lives of those entangled within beyond redemption. Having said that, Brown injects everything you came to love in the first three (3) books, and then some. New characters, more plot twists, and an overarching sense of dread throughout the galaxy.

I would recommend the audiobook because, well, Tim Gerard Reynolds. He narrated the originally trilogy superbly and does so again here. But, he is not alone. Julian Elfer, Aedin Moloney, and John Curless also lend their voices to this performance and, TBH, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Though pacing from a couple of the narrators could've been sharper, having a fresh voice for each unique POV works wonders for audiobooks and helps the narratives become clearer.

All in all, go pick up a copy of Iron Gold and read it as soon as you can (if you read the original trilogy). I can't, in all honesty, recommend it to those who have not experienced the awesomeness that is Red Rising. There are quite a few spoilers that, I believe, would taint the reading experience.

No spoilers in this review of Iron Gold. (There will, however, be spoilers for the first three books in the Red Rising Saga. So stop reading this review now if you haven’t read these books. And then go pick book one up immediately because this series is amazing!!!) ? I give Iron Gold a solid 5 stars! It was wonderful to be immersed in this world once again!

I loved the original trilogy. It was one of those rare series in which each book was better than the one before. I wondered if Brown could top book three in this saga, his original finale and my favorite. I should have never doubted him. While I rated also rated Morning Star five stars, I honestly think Iron Gold is even better.

It picks up ten years after Morning Star. Mustang is the Sovereign, and Darrow leads her military forces. Ruling is harder than the pair ever imagined, and in their own way they both still fight for the ideal society of which they have always dreamed. Yet they seem to have just traded old problems for new ones. Now Darrow and his team must embark on an impossible mission to attempt to conclude the endless war and finally begin to establish peace.

Unlike the first trilogy, which is told entirely from Darrow’s perspective, Iron Gold is told from the point of view of three additional people: Lysander, Ephraim, and Lyria.

Lysander has been flying around the universe with Cassius after Darrow allowed them to flee at the end of Morning Star. He has two sets of ideals warring within him: those his grandmother (the former Sovereign) taught him as a child and those his new mentor Cassius has taught him these past ten years.

Ephraim is a former soldier turned career thief. His team has pulled off a number of big heists. And now they’ve been asked to undertake the biggest, most dangerous, and most lucrative heist yet.

Finally, Lyria is a Red living in the new world Mustang and Darrow have built. But things aren’t going as planned, and the conditions in which Lyria lives are even worse than those in which Darrow grew up. Lyria is soon given an opportunity to escape her home and see how those in other parts of the universe live.

Each of the four characters’ perspectives weave together to form the tapestry that is their kingdom. Their universe. It was enlightening to see how the other three perceive Darrow’s actions and motives from afar. Since we also get to hear Darrow’s thoughts, it was an interesting case study on how leaders are often misunderstood by those they lead.

What else can I say about Iron Gold? It was epic. Powerful. Action-packed. Emotional. Twisty. Both the hand-on-hand combat scenes and the big battles were incredible. So many passages resonated with me, with powerful, insightful proclamations that gave me pause. The characters hit every emotional button, both the old favorites and the new characters alike. And the plot surprised me again and again, yet every twist was logical when I looked back on it.

Pierce Brown’s writing was magnificent in the first trilogy, and I could immediately tell that he has grown even more as a writer. He’s very descriptive about how the world he built and the characters he created look and act. But the immersive descriptions were never overbearing. They hit exactly the right note each time to build a perfect picture of each scene in my mind. And as I read, I kept wondering: How does Brown have this much wisdom about human nature at 29?

I doubt any book I read this year will top Iron Gold. It is a treasure, and Brown is the best of the best of current writers. So I definitely recommend it! One caution: It is not for young readers. While the Red Rising Saga is not YA, it has been embraced by many YA readers because Darrow started out as a teenager in Red Rising. But the heavy subject matter, violence, and language are absolutely not meant for the younger end of the YA audience.

This book definitely felt like part one of two, and I have MANY questions that need answered in the Red Rising Saga finale, Dark Age. Do we really get it on September 11th of this year?! That seems too good to be true!

One last thing…I want to put a plug for the audiobook here, too. I LOVE Tim Gerard Reynolds, the man who read the original three books. He continues to narrate Darrow’s chapters in Iron Gold, but there are three additional readers for the other points of view. While Reynolds is my favorite of the four, the others do a great job as well!

Search for 'Book Series Recaps' to read our other reviews as well as our full book recaps!

Red Rising was a thrilling saga, with great memorable characters that you cared about and rooted for or hated, an original thought-provoking social justice premise, exciting storylines, sudden unexpected reversals of fortune, all taking place in a fascinating neo-Roman futuristic colonial world. It was right up there with The Hunger Games and Enders Game. And the ending of Morning Star seemed hopeful and right.

But almost all the qualities that made me love the Red Rising books are missing in Iron Gold. The four separate plot lines seem labored and hard to keep track of, there are so many different characters that it's hard to feel attached to any of them, and it all seems like a misbegotten attempt to continue Darrow's story beyond its natural conclusion. I don't really like the new main characters (other than Lyria) or that the Republic seems like a failed experiment and its leaders older but not wiser.

If a sequel was necessary maybe the author should have focused the plot solely on Pax, starting the story when he was the same age as his father at the start of Red Rising, and telling the story from his point of view, perhaps showing his experience at military school and then having him travel to Mars after graduation and meeting Lyria, with the same back story as she has in Iron Gold, but the same age as Pax. Lyria could teach him what it means to be a red, and he then becomes the leader that his father no longer was and achieves the peace that his parents failed to achieve.

I absolutely loved the first 3 books, they were master peices, but with Iron Gold I'm disappointed, it's a great foundation for the next books in the series, but on it's own it's nothing but set up, it's all rising action with no climax, it's not just a cliff hanger, it's an iron wall.
It's wonderfully written and I devoured it as soon as it down loaded, it pulled me into the world just as the rest of the saga has, but it didn't leave me with the same lasting impression. It left me hollow, granted I think that was the point, and I still want more, but it feels incomplete.
It will be a fantastic foundation for the next book, but it isn't a stand alone marvel as the previous books have been.
Not disappointed, but not what I expected or hoped for.

This is Brown’s best writing to-date, and I was wrong to doubt him in my previous review of book three. He went hard with this one. Brown shows he’s capable of maintaining and writing a series. He can go rounds with senior authors who published multiple works and renowned series. He gives us a wealth of information, movement and energy.

Definitely renewed my trust in the series to continue another book or two. Book three is an absolute downer, where Darrow is just consumed with internal strife over his choices, and suffers a deep identity crisis. Not here! Book four revved it up, with RPMs spinning in harmony like my beloved second Dodge Charger Hemi V-8, 2014 R/T, after receiving fresh synthetic oil and an alignment. It moves smooth, fast and gets the heart rate going. I easily hit 0 to 60 in under 10 seconds and smile when there’s no pull or lag in torque. That’s how I compare book four, to my car that I love and enjoy pushing to high speeds on the highways on summer nights with the music blasting, sunroof and windows opened, and I’m enjoying the clean scents of greenery that flow with the wind. The story is like a breath of fresh air with all the elements of books one and two. Exciting and unpredictable! Exceptionally well-done, the #Audible version is amazingly smart.

I honestly didn't think it could get any better than the previous three books, but Iron Gold is incredible. I've burned through hundreds of novels in the last few years, and it's very rare that I come across a series that provides edge-of-my-seat entertainment while maintaining emotional poignancy and I honestly didn't think it could get any better than the previous three books, but Iron Gold is incredible. I've burned through hundreds of novels in the last few years, and it's very rare that I come across a series that provides edge-of-your-seat entertainment while maintaining emotional poignancy and consistently high quality prose, not to mention some of the additional facts that makes Red Rising unique.

I see a lot comparisons between the Hunger Games and Red Rising, and it always makes me cringe. The Hunger Games is just a generic teenage love story + battle royal + a relatively uninteresting (and, depending how you swing, relatively shallow) dystopian setting. But Red Rising is an entirely different beast. Don't let the superficial similarities to a number of other popular series fool you.

Often when I decide what to read, I resign myself to the fact that if I want to read an action novel, I'm ultimately just not going to care very much about the characters. I plan to be entertained, but I have no expectation of being moved emotionally in any real way by the characters in the action novel. Why do I have this expectation? When I'm in the mood for an action novel, I check out various sites, and select high rated action novels I havent read (I prefer science fiction and fantasy, but will read any genre), but while I'm often entertained, I'm very rarely moved emotionally by these stories.

On the other hand, when I think of the best of emotional poignancy in the sci-fi / fantasy genres, Guy Gavriel Kay always comes to mind. His most recent books have been nothing but beautiful and powerful. However, the action is lacking. Sometimes you want a nice balance between emotional poignancy and action. And I think Pierce Brown has provided exactly that.

The elements of the Greek drama seem to have gone out of fashion in popular American Literature. Particularly in action / adventure centric novels. The power of pathos has been largely forgotten, and this is one of the main reasons why many of the best-selling action novels fail to engage their readers on more than a superficial emotional level.

Red Rising is not the Hunger Games meets Star Wars. Red Rising is The Lions of Al'Rassan (Guy Gavriel Kay) meets Assassin's Fate (Robin Hobb) meets The Crystal Shard (R.A. Salvatore).

This is for the Audiobook. I REALLY wanted to listen to it. I was giddy with excitement when this popped up, as I had no idea more books were coming, and I had come to terms with the end of the series :) Unfortunately, this book has 4 narrators, and the first 2 are great, but the third narrator is just super quiet, with an annoying monotone voice, that sounds like he is just trying to read it as fast as possible to be done and over with. The issue is that I can't HEAR the guy at all, so while the start of the book was great, I had to stop listening after several chapters in. I would love it if they re-narrated this with only Tim Gerard, or both Gerard and Aedin Malloney. Hopefully another version will be available on SCRIBD or Audible will remaster it. This seems to be a VERY COMMON COMPLAINT

Twenty hours of tearing down what Pierce Brown accomplished in the first three books. This is all modern book marketing now. Take characters that people care about and torture them. This book is all about trying to sell another series of three. Make Reaper a criminal. Separate him and everybody he cares about from those that love them. Absolutely stupid and I refuse to manipulated in this manner. Refund city from Audible,. Unless you want to go down the same road as those series like Outlander, Destroyerman, and others, avoid this book at all costs.

After starting this story I was quickly reminded how the first trilogy effected my emotional well being. I felt for Darrow's plight and his battle to make a better life for himself and family. But, most of all I remember how it played on my emotions with all the behind the scenes back-stabbing. Just when you thought things couldn't get worse, a secret deal would present itself and the day would be saved. This book seems to be following the same path, with surprises throughout as expected, but the day is still looking gloomy.
My main problem was seeing the fall of Darrow after 10 years of war. His character is tired, the war has him drained, he's lost perspective. I kept wondering if after getting into this second trilogy if I'd done the right thing by starting it. I liked the ending of the Red Rising trilogy, and perhaps should have left this new dilemma alone, showing all the disillusionment of the enduring war.
That being said, I have to give it 5 stars, because it's that good, revealing the realistic side of this war from several different perspectives. Survivors all, but not better off for it and maybe not surviving much longer.
Meh, to the four narrators....I just don't care for multiple narrators in an audible listen. Tim Gerard Reynolds is a master of his craft, so let him shine.

WELL. This book has given me quite a number of confusing feelings. MORNING STAR was my favorite book of the Red Rising original trilogy and I’m not ashamed to admit that part of the reason was all of the stunning punches that Pierce Brown packs into those pages. I wouldn’t say I was let down because that’s silly and harsh but the twists of the first three books did really set up for IRON GOLD to follow suit and I just didn’t feel as floored by the plot. I guess it makes sense with IRON GOLD really being the new start and taking place ten years after MORNING STAR, that it restarts the three-act process and reestablishes stories from the beginning, setting a new series arc into motion. I’m back at square one where I was with RED RISING where I enjoyed it quite a bit but there was still that smidge of something that I was missing where I didn’t QUITE love it.

That being said, Pierce Brown is an amazing, AMAZING character creator. These characters are some of the most in-depth fictional characters that I’ve ever met. There are things that I hadn’t even though about, running through so many emotions, turmoils, and logical thoughts, that really just don’t make it into the pages of books. These characters carry grief and love and purpose well beyond the pages that we witness. One thing that I love is that for example, as Darrow grows, his grief grows with him. His heartache changes based on the things he’s learned in life. His view of people like Eo and his father and Mustang and Pax constantly change based on his experiences and that’s something that really hit me in the gut reading this book. So often we see characters who carry their grief along but it’s just this empty hole that can be all-consuming… and that’s absolutely true, but Darrow and Ephraim and Lyria and Lysander — they all experience these things so deeply and go through so much that their lives change perspectives and change the way they look at their past. It just feels like Pierce Brown is able to take this to a layer that I’ve experienced very few times and I’m wholly impressed with the emotion that it leaves behind.

For some reason I just wasn’t connected it IRON GOLD like I had hoped, even after binge reading the first three books. I still felt taken out of this world because of the character shift (Darrow’s first-person to four different first-person narratives) as well as the shift in purpose, maturity, family focus, and so much more. It was an adjustment for a while and I did enjoy the other POVs but there was still something that wasn’t quite cohesive for me. It picked up with POVs started merging and things really got interesting and then it seemed like everyone started to fall back apart again and things lost momentum.

Also like RED RISING, there were a lot of new characters who weren’t necessarily BRAND new but who we started to see take on more prominent roles. I’m not sure if it’s an audiobook thing but sometimes I have a hard time keeping track of all of the names and families (though that did seem to be a RED RISING issue and I read that in print) so there were times I forgot who was related and why they were important. I don’t think I would have changed anything because obviously their stories are so very important, but it was something that took me out of that experience enough to be noticeable.

Overall, the writing is just brilliant but I think IRON GOLD may be my least favorite book so far. That may change as the series progresses and I get more of a grip on this new story arc but I don’t feel as invested as I did with the previous story arc… but this same exact thing happened with my reading experience with the Red Rising books. It took until GOLDEN SON to really start to connect with everyone and everything and then MORNING STAR blew my mind, so there’s still the overall series experience to look forward to. This is only part one (or part four… I feel like Star Wars here) of much more to come and there’s a lot left to experience, that much I know!

3.5 stars

In Pierce Brown's 'Red Rising Trilogy' which precedes this book, humans - who had colonized the entire Solar System - were separated into caste-like Color categories. The ruling "Golds" were on top and the low-level "Reds" were on the bottom. The Reds were essentially slaves, who had short brutal lives in the underground mines of Mars. Other Color groups worked as medical personnel, soldiers, police, artists, sex workers, bureaucrats, household help, and so on.

The original trilogy revolves around Darrow, who was born a Red. After being surgically transformed to look like a Gold, Darrow infiltrated Gold society and - after rising through the ranks - became known as Darrow au Andromedus of Lykos.

Darrow eventually led a revolution that overthrew Gold rule. This led to the establishment of a democracy that would (theoretically) allow all Color groups to have equal rights. Thus, at the end of the trilogy I thought things in the Solar System were running down the right track.

NOT SO FAST!!

In 'Iron Gold' - the first book of Pierce Brown's new series -it's ten years after the revolution. A Solar Republic has been established, with an 'all Color' Senate on Luna (Earth's moon). The Senate debates and enacts legislation, with input from all sides. The head of the Senate, and elected Sovereign of the Republic, is Virginia au Augustus - a Gold who happens to be Darrow's wife. Darrow is the military leader of the Republic, and he's in big trouble.

After the revolution, Gold factions retained control of Mercury, Venus, and the Outer Rim. The Golds hate Darrow, whom they consider a Red usurper, and call him the 'Slave King.'

To wrest control of Mercury from the Golds, Darrow unleashed a massive bombing attack on the small planet - called an 'Iron Rain.' This was successful, but resulted in immeasurable damage and cost hundreds of millions of lives. The Senate didn't give permission for the Iron Rain and plans to put Darrow on trial. However, Darrow has no intention of allowing this to happen.

To further peace in the Solar System, Darrow feels compelled to free Venus, which is under the thumb of Gold leader Magnus au Grimmus, also known as the Ash Lord. Darrow plans to kill the Ash Lord, a feat that's almost impossible since Magnus never leaves his impregnable fortress home.

Darrow devises a complex plan to slay the Ash Lord, but he must first escape from Luna with his most loyal supporters.....leaving his wife and their son Pax behind. Darrow is torn between his duties as a warrior and his responsibilities as a husband and father, and this haunts him throughout the novel.

Though Darrow is an important protagonist in this new series, other characters also take center stage. These include:

Ephraim ti Horn, a Gray who fought for the revolution, but became disillusioned after his husband was brutally murdered. Grief-stricken and angry, Ephraim left the military to become a professional thief. Ephraim recruited a small group of helpers, and now accepts commissions to steal specific items such as artworks, weapons, and so on. When a vicious crime lord hires Ephraim to steal some very valuable commodities, big trouble ensues.

*****

Lyria of Lagalos, an 18-year-old Red girl who was liberated from the Martian mines after the rebellion. Lyria and her extended family were placed in a refugee camp on the surface of the planet, and promised assistance from the Republic. The administration didn't come through, however, and Lyria lost most of her family to a terrorist attack.

When the government finally sends troops to Mars, Lyria rescues an injured Gold warrior named Kavax au Telemanus from drowning. The wealthy man repays Lyria by taking her into his household on Luna, where she works as a servant. Uneducated, naïve, and lonely, Lyria falls under the influence of a dapper, charming older man. Once again, this leads to trouble.

*****

Lysander au Lune, a 20-year-old Gold who's the grandson of Octavia au Lune - the Sovereign who ruled the Empire before the rebellion. After his grandmother was killed, Lysander was taken under the wing of Cassius au Bellona - a Gold who was once Darrow's friend....but is now his mortal enemy.

As Lysander and Cassius are wandering around the Solar System in their armored craft they come upon a stranded ship in deep space. This leads to the rescue of a young Gold woman named Seraphina au Raa, who's the daughter of Romulus au Raa - leader of the Outer Rim. As a result, Lysander and Cassius - instead of being thanked - are made prisoners of Seraphina's mother, the merciless Dido au Raa.

Lysander and Cassius learn that Dido is planning a massive attack on the inner planets, to try to re-establish Gold rule. The newcomers can either assist with the assault.....or face the consequences. Tough call!

*****

The book is chock full of clever tactics, stealthy maneuvers, and deadly battles, and the characters have all manner of futuristic weapons and protective armor - which I picture as flexible 'Iron Man' suits. Pierce Brown populates the book with a large array of characters, including several favorites from the Red Rising Trilogy, such as: Sevro au Barca (Darrow's best friend); Victra au Barca (Sevro's wife); Dancer (Darrow's former mentor, now a powerful Senator); Kieran (Darrow's brother); Rhonna (Darrow's niece); and more.

The author wisely includes a list of characters at the beginning of the book, with thumbnail descriptions, which I found very useful. Pierce Brown also provides a map of the Solar System, with the location of the various factions, which helped me orient myself in the Solar Republic.

For me, 'Iron Gold' didn't stir the same positive emotions as the original trilogy. In the first three books I cheered on the abused Reds who were struggling for freedom and equality. In this new trilogy, the narcissistic, entitled Golds are scheming to re-take (what they think is ) their rightful place in society.....and I'm not on board for that.

I almost wish Pierce Brown had just started a new series that takes place in a different world with new characters.

Nevertheless, the story is well-written, exciting, and suspenseful, and I recommend it to fans of science fiction/adventure tales. The book could be read as a standalone, but for maximum pleasure it's best to read the Red Rising Trilogy first.

I have been anticipating IRON GOLD ever since I read the last book in the series. But after the book was delayed for a year, I forgot about the release completely. Since I enjoyed the other books in the series a lot, I did have some pretty high expectations for this book. The longer wait added to those expectations.

Firstly, I still think Pierce Brown writes well. Mature and poetic, the narration definitely has a whimsical feel to it despite the genre its written in. I think if you’re unfamiliar with the genre, you might have some issues getting into it. But I do think it fits the genre well enough that it can pass for Sci Fi. For me, however, the book has mature enough that I don’t even see it as Young Adult fiction any longer. So seeing this growth was also nice to see.

My major complaint about this book is that it feels slightly different than the others. I don’t know if that was because the book had undergone some major revisions (hence the delay in its release) or if the author’s voice has just matured but it definitely has a different tone. Darrow, our main hero, has also aged and now at 33, his voice and ideals has changed as well.

I felt like the book took a very long time to get started. It’s very slow in the beginning, which was a little surprising since the previous books had a lot of action and suspense in it. But this one really took its time, making me feel a little bored sometimes. Also, this is not a series that you can read out of order. There’s little to no recap of past events and if they are mentioned, they aren’t detailed enough. Even though I have read all the books up to now, I felt like I forgot some details because of the long wait between series. As a result, I felt some momentary confusion until I remembered the past events.

Nevertheless, I do think this is a series worth checking out. And even though IRON GOLD is not my favorite in the series, it’s worth reading for Brown’s unique writing style.

A thrilling return to the Red Rising series, set ten years after the conclusion of the original trilogy. This time author Pierce Brown is juggling three new character perspectives in addition to his returning hero Darrow, the slave who rose up to topple an empire and must now face ruling in a tentative peace amid the remnants of his enemies. The new characters are equally engaging, and I love how they continue to expand the scope of this universe, taking us places that Darrow can't see. The chapters set in the outer rim of the solar system in particular offer some excellent worldbuilding to contrast with the familiar society of Mars and Luna where we've previously spent most of our time.

My one criticism is that these four narratives don't intersect much (although two become more closely linked halfway through), and there's no apparent rhyme or reason for which chapters fall where. That's by no means a trait unique to this story, but it results in the novel sometimes feeling like the middle seasons of Game of Thrones, where nothing truly connects the disparate storylines beyond their nominally happening in the same fictional world. I hope that as this series continues, Brown finds more ways to have these characters interact with one another. Overall, though, this is an outstanding continuation of a great sci-fi saga.

Iron Gold picks up the story ten years on from the end of Morning Star, the Rising was successful but there has been a decade of war and although Mars is now free the Republic are still fighting the Ash Lord for control of the planets on the edge of the solar system. Previously the entire story has been told from Darrow's point of view but here Pierce Brown opens up the world even further by introducing three new POV characters too. I have to admit I was a little nervous about having so many new narrators to the story but it actually worked really well and allowed us to see so much more of the bigger picture. Trust me, there is SO MUCH going on in the wider world that we'd have really missed out if the story wasn't written this way.

Of course Darrow's story was the one I was most excited about but I have to admit it was kind of hard to see how far he's fallen here. Darrow has given his all to the war effort and it's cost him in his personal relationships with Mustang and in particular his young son. As much as I know Darrow always does things for the right reasons (as he sees it) he does make some very questionable choices here that make life increasingly difficult for anyone who has been by his side for all these years. I honestly have no idea how he's going to turn things around at this point but the next book is going to be interesting for sure!

Alongside Darrow's POV we also get to see Lysander's side of the story, he's spent the last 10 years in exile with Cassius. It's hard to say much about what they get up to because it would be too easy to spoil things but I have to say Lysander isn't my favourite character in the series right now. Another POV character is Ephraim, he's not someone we've met before but he does have a link to people we're familiar with. At first he didn't seem like an obvious choice for a narrator, he's a disillusioned Rising fighter who has pretty much given up on life and now puts all his effort into criminal activities, but as you get to know him you'll understand why he has an important tale to tell.

By far my favourite new POV character was Lyria, she's a young red who was rescued from one of the mines on Mars by the Rising. She was promised freedom but the Sovereign has failed her and along with hundreds of thousands of other reds she has been living in abject poverty in refugee camps on the surface. It was actually pretty heartbreaking to see that 10 years on life for the majority of reds hasn't actually improved, in fact in a lot of cases it's worse than ever because they now have no sense of purpose. Lyria is a fab character, she's been through so much but she's a fighter and she's looking for a better life for herself and whats left of her family.

As well as meeting so many new characters we also get the chance to catch up with favourites from the previous books: Sevro (always my favourite!) and Victra, the Howlers, the Telemanus family and so many others. It was great to see what everyone is up to but also pretty terrifying, we already know Pierce Brown doesn't pull his punches and none of his characters are ever safe so this book is sure to raise your blood pressure! There is far too much going on for me to detail the plot but the story had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through and jumping to different POVs with almost every chapter just raised the tension even further. This is a very worthy follow up to one of my favourite series, it definitely doesn't work as a standalone so whatever you do don't skip the original trilogy but if you loved those books you won't want to miss this one.

I’ll admit it: I truly didn’t believe that it could get much better than the original Red Rising trilogy – and yet, with Iron Gold, author Pierce Brown broke the chains mold.

*This Iron Gold review is spoiler-free*

Do you remember when you were reading everything through Darrow’s point of view, how difficult it was to put down Red Rising, Golden Son, and Morning Star? Welcome to a new age, my goodmen…one in which it’s even harder to set a Pierce Brown book aside, because this time you get not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR scintillating points of view.

So yes, Darrow is back (in all of his maddening glory), but more often than not it was the new point of view characters – a Red named Lyria, a Gray named Ephraim, and Lysander au Lune, grandson of the late Sovereign – who stole the show. (Or should I say story?)

It’s been ten years since the success of the Rising, but [not surprisingly] that success isn’t all it was cracked up to be. While it’s easy for authors to wrap up a series about a rebellion and move on to other things, often leaving readers to believe that nothing much of note happened once the heroes won the day, we all know that’s not how the world really works. And yet there are so many examples of worlds torn apart by war – worlds that we are led to believe were put back together again without much fuss at all: the original Star Wars trilogy, the Hunger Games trilogy, even Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, are just a few such tales. Of course, personally I would rather have that than a sub-par follow-up book or series. (Have we forgotten how rough some of those Star Wars EU novels were?)

Thankfully, Iron Gold is nothing of the sort. Brown delves right back into the vivid world he created without missing a beat, and if you had any worries about his ability to voice more than one POV character, please dispel them now. While I can’t say too much – it would be the absolute opposite of prime for me to spoil Iron Gold for you – I will admit that by giving us more than a few really amazing new characters, the author had to push some of my old favorites aside. Which is to be expected, but hey, I’m still going to be sad about it!

Also, despite the fact that Brown did quite a bit of world-building in the first three books (particularly in Golden Son and Morning Star), I’ll be the first to admit that I was left wanting more. And let me tell you, Iron Gold absolutely delivers in that respect!

Original full review for The Geekiary can be read at http://thegeekiary.com/iron-gold-pierce-brown-review/48637

It breaks my heart to leave less than 5 stars on this series, but Iron Gold just didn't deliver for me. I recommend Red Rising to anyone who will listen (and even to those who don't). Unfortunately Iron Gold just didn't hold up on the same level as the original three. There are too many narratives that I was never made to care about. I imagine that a lot of this is build up for the next book but this is a long book for me to have to struggle to the end and still never feel like I was ever hooked. Essentially I got to the end because I'm emotionally invested in these characters from the first three, but absolutely nothing in this book made me care about this continuation of their story.

I agree with another reviewer who said Brown kept telling us how the characters feel about things but never really showing it. There are also too many plot lines & villains/antagonists in this single book with various POVs. You aren't with any single character long enough to care about their respective narrative's development, which honestly was also minimal and could have been shortened.

I really hope that the next book pushes the story forward and tightens all of the different plot lines together.

Wow. I'd forgotten how much I missed this series. Talk about being worth the wait! The story was just as gripping as its predecessors and brought in new, engaging characters I couldn't help but love, even when I knew I wasn't supposed to. I was really surprised at the dark turn Darrow's story took, and while I still adore him, there were a few choices he made that made me want to shake him. That said, it made him an even more complex character and has me hoping for more depth into this new Reaper. Lysander also had an excellent side story which makes him engaging, and makes me eager to see where his story goes. Lyria is one of my new heroes, a relatable character who you can't hope but root for. Ephraim is also an engaging tormented soul and I want to see more from him. The action was heart-pounding and visceral. The world building is stellar and every sentence is beautifully crafted. I've been waiting for this book ever since I heard it would be written, and it surpassed its hype. I cannot recommend it enough!

Audible book review:
I thought this was an excellent continuation but boy did it get dark! It wraps up in a way that leaves you hanging, wanting more so also keep that in mind. With that said, I enjoyed jumping back into the world of Red Rising and it was over way too fast.

Multiple narrators was a change but I feel like they fit well with the style of Tim Gerard Reynolds' performance. My only complaint here is that the new narrator performances seemed to have a wider volume range leading to either missing out on quiet dialog or constantly adjusting the volume (I don't recall having this issue with the Darrow sections). With that nitpick aside, the performance by all narrators was superb! Great style/delivery and I was not disappointed.

I feel like if you enjoyed the previous trilogy you'll love this book. If you want to have a satisfying ending I'd wait until this series is complete before jumping in.

Now to find a distraction until the next book is released!

I absolutely love the world that Pierce Brown has created. It’s hard to deny the magnetism of how relatable the characters are and how even in such a massive space opera, they all strive and struggle with the same things we do. Incredible character development and no mercy for readers who always need a happy ending. Iron Gold is an incredibly important beginning to the next series. It gives painful and harsh reality to the wars of the first three books, the casualties become even more personal and the horror in the wake of the Rising is gripping and honest. I love that we get to see not just a victorious rebellion but also the price that war costs. “Death begets death begets death.” Don’t miss the Red Rising series and don’t miss the next series beginning with this story of Iron Gold.

It’s not the same as the red rising trilogy so doesn’t deserve to be judged in that context. For a majority of the book, I would rank it four stars, but its final third is powerful. The multiple POV choice slows the pacing of the novel in that Brown covers four stories from four perspectives in same number of pages he used to tell the story of just Darrow. Every protagonist is interesting in their own way and each have a moment of intensity. The magical world that Brown developed in the first trilogy is still there. Brown shows off his control of pacing in having the characters all hit the climaxes in quick succession so that from the 60% point in the book, there is a relentless momentum that makes it hard to put down the book.

Typically in a multiPOV book, you expect the plot lines to eventually intersect. Three do but Darrow’s only tangentially. Lysander’s POV is great but more of a set up for the rest of the trilogy. That being said, some of the most moving scenes of the book come from Lysander’s POV. I think that Brown approach toward the Moonlords is what Dune by Frank Herbert should actually have been.

I listened to the audiobook which is a quality experience. They have an resemble cast with I think was ultimately the appropriate choice. Tim Gerard Reynolds reprises his role as Darrow to great effect. John Curless lends a consistent and believable characterization of Ephrem. Aedin Maloney reads Lyria with a brogue that evocative of Red Darrow from the beginning of Red Rising. Julian Effler reads Lysander as an aloof, posh, near sociopath which I found flat and disengaging at times. I understand the character choice because Lysander is a product of his Lunat environment, however in the affective moments of Lysander’s character development, I did not believe the character felt that way based on the reader’s performance.

I understand what the author was trying to do: stories from different perspectives, different characters, even different writing styles. Unfortunately, for me as a reader it didn't work. I lacked any connection with the new characters, in fact, a few irritated me similarly to Harry Potter (book five) or Anakin Skywalker (Episode 3). I felt the writing style was long winded and I can see what he was trying to do, but it made parts of the book a grind for me to get through. Finally, I appreciated the tactics and subterfuge from the first three books (like Ocean's 11), but this book seemed to lack any such elements. Other than the heist sections, everything felt pretty straightforward and reactionary rather than proactively aggressive. In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the Red Rising trilogy and understand that the author was trying to do something different as a follow up, unfortunately it just didn't work for me.

Good sequel to the Red Rising trilogy though not as emotionally impactful. I liked the themes explored in this continuation, but felt more emotionally removed from all the characters. I liked the character Ephraim but the characters of Lysander and Lyria are not that interesting. However, I'm willing to wait and see how their characters evolve in the next installment. Also, this novel felt a bit slow at times and didn't always hold my attention. In fact, it took me 2 whole weeks to get through this novel whereas I read each of the original trilogy in 2 or 3 days.

I am so happy the author decided to continue the story! This one started out a bit slow for me, but after a few chapters it was great. I really enjoyed the narration by Tim Gerard Reynolds in the first series. Not sure why the author decided to go with a cast this time but it was good for the most part. John Curless had a tendency to be a little in the quiet side at times and I had to constantly adjust my volume. The story itself is great! It picks up 10 years after the last series. Darrow and Sevro have taken on the role of parents until duty calls once again! I am excited to hear the rest of this series!!!

Such a great and intriguing story with equally as intriguing characters. One of my favorite arcs included my least favorite perspective. Lysander is a hard character to connect with . It is unfortunate, because all the characters that surround him swallow the scene. Maybe his character will become stronger as the story continues.
As a whole the story is strong, and the ground work is laid for some great conflict. My favorite characters were Darrow, Lyria, Victra, and the entire Au Raa family. I am in eager anticipation for the next story.

Loved this book! Pierce Brown wrote a novel that really made you question who you're rooting for the whole way through! You come to love and understand each of the 4 characters and even though you will always cheer for Darrow, you also come to understand the people opposing him or just stuck in the turmoil his war created.

Can't wait for the next book.

World building in science fiction literature isn't easy to do, and Pierce Brown proved himself to be more than capable. The impact of this story with the weight of the rest of the series behind it is enough to sustain my love of this work. Brown, clearly a man of his generation, created a universe so remiscent of other great science fiction work but avoided being derivative or relying on tropes. Just outstanding-- highly dramatic in tone, ultra-violent in content, and a truly cinematic experience.

Pierce Brown continues to deliver another spectacular chapter in this series, this time providing us with 3 new POV characters that gave us totally different perspectives on the 10 years that have transpired since the events of the original trilogy. His world building is spectacular and keeps the reader engaged with very deep, complex characters (you won't like them all, but you are guaranteed to find redeeming qualities in each). Darrow is still the heart and soul of the story, but the universe has been broadened and the book very much focuses on the cost of change and even darker ages that appear to be on the horizon. Can't wait for the next installment!

This book deserves five stars...but it wasn't quite the same as the original trilogy. I understand why Pierce Brown went for a story with multiple viewpoints, but that jarred me at the start - I really wanted a story with my beloved Darrow as the only protagonist. But! This was made up for as the book progressed and more kick ass war scenes came forth. All the characters were cool and enjoyable except Lyria for me. She just wasn't as interesting and was unlikeable. I did struggle to get into the story in the beginning, but once I made it past the initial 25%, I was enraptured just like I was in Red Rising, Golden Sons, and Morning Star.

Another great installment - not as good but almost! This is told from 4 perspectives, which to me was a let down at first because I love a story that is told from one person's point of view only. As the story continues, I grew to care about each character and what their part added to the overall narrative. A lot of action! Be prepared or cliffhangers - good thing book 5 comes out only a few months after this was released.

I liked the story quite a bit probably not as much and the original trilogy but it holds up just fine. The different povs were good, maybe there is one more than would be ideal. I really didn’t care for the multiple narrators. Tim and one other gave good performances but the other two detracted from the quality of the performance. Really they should have just had Tim narrate the whole thing. I do look forward to the next book however if there are multiple narrators again I might have to go with the ebook instead.

The book felt short and incomplete but i enjoyed all the characters and their stories. GRRM can take note of how to introduce a limited character set and keep a story going.The ending was a little disappointing because of its predictability and how amazing the other 3 books ended.

I appreciate the speed in which these books are written and published and ill be a reader for life.

Yet another amazing installment with my favorite Martian! The writing just gets better and better as the series continues. Brown and his genius have done it yet again, delivering an out of your seat adventure from start to finish.

Well written, action SF book. Only critique I have is the author's multiple switching of writing from the perspective of several characters and switching between multiple story lines (4). Understand why he did so but thought it was difficult to follow and ended up reading non-consecutive chapters/parts of the book to better follow specific events rather than reading the book by consecutive chapters. (Thought that the first 3 books flowed better and did not have this problem.) Otherwise, enjoyed the book and as stated in the headline, looking forward to book 5.

As far as I am concerned this was the strongest of Brown's books to date. Broadening the cast of characters outside of the more archetypal hero has significant benefits. New characters are introduced who more adroitly occupy the murky moral middle ground who are easy to latch onto and root for despite their flaws of character. Strongly recommended.

Outstanding! Pierce Brown has done it again! Five Stars for Iron Gold— the much anticipated first book of a new trilogy which continues the story of his Red Rising series. Iron Gold picks up ten years after the events of Morning Star, with Darrow “The Reaper” of Lykos and Virginia “Mustang” au Augustus leading the new Solar Republic.

I was one of the lucky fans who received an ARC of his latest novel and I couldn’t be more thrilled at the opportunity to be one of the first readers to set eyes on these pages.

For those us who are still reeling from the high octane, action packed rollercoaster ride of Morning Star, the start of Iron Gold will feel like a much needed relief from all the adrenaline. While for fans it has only been a couple of years since the conclusion of Morning Star, for our heroes it has been ten years since their victory over the Society. A lot has happened, and the author is patient in reintroducing us to this world and the events that transpired.

In addition to reacquainting us with some of our favorite Howlers, Peirce presents us with a whole new slew of characters to love … and others you will love to hate. We are also now seeing this world through three more set of eyes—those of Lyria, Ephraim, and Lysander. It’s a fresh perspective to this universe that until now we’ve only experienced through the eyes of Darrow.

The added point of views allows us to appreciate the Red Rising world in a way that expands our view of both the Society and the Republic. They say history is written by the victors, so what if you could see the world through the eyes of those who lost? Even more, what if you could see the world through those who were part of the collateral damage? I found myself conflicted at times, wondering if I had been too caught up in the Reaper’s glory to see the flaws and potential repercussions of his actions. Too enamored by my favorite character (Yes…Sevro) and too high on my personal vendetta against the villains in the story to think back on all the other lives that were also lost but never mentioned.

Then I wondered, aren’t the best heroes those who are flawed, those who have to battle their demons and make the sacrifices that many of us wouldn’t be ready to make? And, shouldn’t that be enough for redemption? Or should the heroes be held accountable for their mistakes, regardless of the price they’ve already paid? Regardless of our love for them?

Walking in Lyria’s, Ephraim’s, and Lysander’s shoes made me contemplate the reality of war. It is not just about destroying a villain and tearing down a corrupt institution, it’s about healing and rebuilding. It’s about leaving a place better than we found it. But what if that’s not enough for someone who lost everything in the name of the greater good? What if your ghosts literally come back to haunt you?

*Potential spoiler-esque comments below.

Well, don’t get too comfortable in your chair because before you are done philosophizing about this incredible universe, in the words of Sevro au Barca, “S*it escalates” and very quickly. Core to Rim, you’ll fall in an Iron Rain, experience genocide, get captured, take part in an Ocean’s Eleven type heist, participate in a nerve wracking prison break, and go on a potential suicide mission that will leave you breathless. Darrow’s motley crew of Howlers will have you jumping into a StarShell, diving into oceans, and traveling to different planets, and pretty much partaking in their usual death defying antics before you can finish your burner.

Everything you’ve loved about Pierce Brown and his masterful storytelling comes together in a novel that will have you sitting at the edge of your seat, reading until the late hours of the night and into the dawn. Your gut will wrench, your heart will break, and your mind will be blown.

Get your razors ready, Howlers! This ride is just beginning.

Loved this book, enjoyed it every bit as much as the previous three. Pierce Brown has my money for anything he writes.

Small quibble, I thought the narrator who voiced Lyria gave an incredibly over-the-top performance which really grated on me by the end. Just about every word spoken dripped with maxed out emotion. I think would have liked the character a lot better if I had read it rather than listened to it.

The first 3 were great. This one was written to make more money. There wasn't a great story behind it.
Definitely check out the first 3. Just stop there. When they make this series into a movie (which they will), I guarantee the movie skips this book.

I'm left reeling from this book. If you've found this book yet haven't read the first 3 go back to the beginning of the Red Rising Series. It'll be worth it. This book builds and builds upon an already set foundation and characters built to perfection with their flaws. Out of the ashes comes new tribulation fraught with new dangers and enemies.

As of right now, I'm giving the audio book version a 1 star. Once I've read the physical copy, I'll come back and update.

I returned the audio book because the sound quality was awful. It was way too quiet to the point that I had my car speakers to almost full blast and I couldn't hear a damn thing. Then the new narrators were terrible. One of them sounded like he was dead inside and had never felt a lick of emotion. The female had the most grating voice. I couldn't understand most of what she said and she was very harsh. The audio book company really dropped the ball on this one.

I can't read this book. I really loved the trilogy, reading it back to back last year and really looking forward to Iron Gold. I was five chapters into Iron Gold before realizing that each chapter is a first person narrative of different characters. There are new characters in here that I have no interest in. There are so many characters from the trilogy that it was hard enough to remember who they were (good guy, bad guy?) let alone throw in new characters with indirectly related storylines. I suppose that at some point in this volume it will come together, but I will not be reading it. Really very disappointed. This form of storytelling is a really bad idea. There are literally thousands of other good books out there and I wil be moving on. I'd kind of like to get my money back.

When Netgalley sent me this ARC I hadn't read the first three books in this series. In 10 days I read the four of them and I still wake up dreaming of military strategy and space battles. It has been so long since a series that I loved so much. I seriously recommend it and I'm looking forward to the next books!

Quando Netgalley mi ha mandato questo libro, non avevo nemmeno letto i primi tre, poi in 10 giorni li ho letti tutti e quattro e ancora mi sveglio dopo aver sognato strategie militari e battaglie nello spazio. Era tanto che una serie non mi prendeva in questo modo e spero davvero che i prossimi libri escano presto!

What I like most about this book is that there is a sequel to The Red Rising trilogy. What I hate is the $14 price tag for the e-version of this book. It's outrageous pricing considering the lack of paper, binding, distribution, etc.

To be honest, the announcement of this new trilogy did not initially fill me with churro-level glee. The first Red Rising trilogy was pitch perfect to me, with Morning Star (Book 3) sticking the landing so exquisitely, I had trepidations about returning so soon.

I'm thrilled to say that I loved reading this book. I'm a relatively sloth-speed reader compared to the bibliophiles I admire in my life, but Pierce's books slow me down even more. He has an other-worldly gift to carve words into unexpected passages of beauty even amidst scenes of violence and mayhem. Like its three predecessors, I look forward to revisiting this one just to savor the artistry of his writing.

The addition of three new POV's also turns up the notch on plot complexity as Pierce weaves more threads into his diabolical web. I don't know how Pierce houses all of these characters' subterfuges and machinations in his (presumably) normal-sized human brain. It baffles and thrills me, and makes me never want to face him in Settlers of Catan.

This multi-POV setup also lets us discover new non-Darrow narrators, which Pierce establishes effortlessly from the start. His ability to breathe vibrancy into these new character's disparate voices makes me even more excited for The Dark Age (Book 5) and all the future worlds and characters he's constantly dreaming up.

I just read "Iron Gold".
Pierce Brown is a very talented writer. He can carve mental images with the best of them... and his action sequences are very compelling.
This book is obviously the beginning of a new series... it has a muddle of previously introduced characters who may or may not have captured the reader's interest in the trilogy. The book builds from a nebulous history and eclipses ten years from the end of the trilogy to start in on a new
"end of all wars" conflict. It has a hopelessness built into it from the start... and it never escapes it. I began to regret starting to read this book in the first few chapters when I realized there would be "Peace? No peace!" coming in the ensuing chapters.
Pointless conflict. Lack of meaningful characters or character development. Violence against innocents without redress.
Overall rating... IMHO... Ehn (shoulder shrug with quizzical expression).

Wow. I'd forgotten how much I missed this series. Talk about being worth the wait! The story was just as gripping as its predecessors and brought in new, engaging characters I couldn't help but love, even when I knew I wasn't supposed to. I was really surprised at the dark turn Darrow's story took, and while I still adore him, there were a few choices he made that made me want to shake him. That said, it made him an even more complex character and has me hoping for more depth into this new Reaper. Lysander also had an excellent side story which makes him engaging, and makes me eager to see where his story goes. Lyria is one of my new heroes, a relatable character who you can't hope but root for. Ephraim is also an engaging tormented soul and I want to see more from him. The action was heart-pounding and visceral. The world building is stellar and every sentence is beautifully crafted. I've been waiting for this book ever since I heard it would be written, and it surpassed its hype. I cannot recommend it enough!

As of right now, I'm giving the audio book version a 1 star. Once I've read the physical copy, I'll come back and update.

I returned the audio book because the sound quality was awful. It was way too quiet to the point that I had my car speakers to almost full blast and I couldn't hear a damn thing. Then the new narrators were terrible. One of them sounded like he was dead inside and had never felt a lick of emotion. The female had the most grating voice. I couldn't understand most of what she said and she was very harsh. The audio book company really dropped the ball on this one.

I can't read this book. I really loved the trilogy, reading it back to back last year and really looking forward to Iron Gold. I was five chapters into Iron Gold before realizing that each chapter is a first person narrative of different characters. There are new characters in here that I have no interest in. There are so many characters from the trilogy that it was hard enough to remember who they were (good guy, bad guy?) let alone throw in new characters with indirectly related storylines. I suppose that at some point in this volume it will come together, but I will not be reading it. Really very disappointed. This form of storytelling is a really bad idea. There are literally thousands of other good books out there and I wil be moving on. I'd kind of like to get my money back.

At best, a "meh" read. At worst, you fell in love with the first three books and will weep with disappointment. The other 1 star reviews covered my feelings well so I'll leave it at that. I can't think of a single thing to praise here and that's most telling of all.

When Netgalley sent me this ARC I hadn't read the first three books in this series. In 10 days I read the four of them and I still wake up dreaming of military strategy and space battles. It has been so long since a series that I loved so much. I seriously recommend it and I'm looking forward to the next books!

Quando Netgalley mi ha mandato questo libro, non avevo nemmeno letto i primi tre, poi in 10 giorni li ho letti tutti e quattro e ancora mi sveglio dopo aver sognato strategie militari e battaglie nello spazio. Era tanto che una serie non mi prendeva in questo modo e spero davvero che i prossimi libri escano presto!

What I like most about this book is that there is a sequel to The Red Rising trilogy. What I hate is the $14 price tag for the e-version of this book. It's outrageous pricing considering the lack of paper, binding, distribution, etc.