The First Shall Be Last
I have never read a sequel that is better then the first. Ever.
Golden Son by Pierce Brown is the first. Obviously you need to read the first one. It is full of wonder, but after finishing this book it really feels like a giant set up.
Darrow and his host of characters go deeper into their own humanity while the stakes are high in the world that they live in—empires crumbling, Sons of Ares bombing cities, The Sovereign is no longer adhering to the laws of society, and so on. Each character feels familiar and wholly original, while new characters like RAGNAR just make you excited every time his name appears on the page.
Darrow lives in fear. But he never stops. He is a hero simply because he never stops moving forward. He has plenty of opportunities to back down to see that the path he has set out in is completely hopeless: a wife dead, friends betraying him, his family nearly wiped out by the system they live under, the fact he is an outsider in a world far bigger than he could possibly imagine. But he never stops trying. He never says enough. It’s an old story that we’ve all heard but how often do we actually see people continue to move forward when they have nothing left?
I've been trying to express to those that see me on a daily basis how good it is but the only thing I can compare it to is a mixture of Game of Thrones with the excitement of the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King with elements of Enders Game (the book) with worlds as vast as Star Wars. I could be fanboying too hard, but I really loved this second book. Pierce brown has taken Greek mythology and mixed it with a post-apocalyptic future that feels like a true extension of what humans could become, even in our greedy, prideful humanity.
The hierarchy of colors (classes of humanity) that Brown has created makes more sense in the second novel as well. You can see the parallels between fiction and our world without ever feeling like you're being preached at. The Golds, a ruling class, feel like gods, while the Reds, the lowest class, feel like slaves to systems far beyond their control.
The way Brown allows choice to dictate loyalties within characters and reflect true friendship makes me feel like there is hope for humanity, even when the world seems like it's falling apart.
I couldn't put the book down. The action in this second novel (the second novel this author has ever written!) is so fast-paced and exciting
The biggest thing I could relate to was Darrow's constant questioning of his own humanity. His own purposes behind the actions he deems necessary. He constantly questioned whether or not any of the good parts of him would still stand after the wars and the killing. He wondered how a person could change so much, and still be worth anything, whether or not his actions would still leave room for friendship, and if people could still love him after he has fallen so many times. The crazy thing is, Sevro and other characters constantly stood by his side, no matter what his decisions were. This is the true power of fiction (or art) imitating life. It reminds us that we have people that will be with us no matter what. It reminds us that we are lucky to live the lives we do and we should be grateful for any moment of joy. We never know what the next day will bring but we do know that we have friends to face that day—or at least I do, and I hope you do too.
