As published on "Intercoastals"
The following is a review of Dark Age, the fifth book in the Red Rising Saga. This review contains mild spoilers, but is intended for all readers. We will post a full spoiler discussion during the Great Red Rising Re-Read, which will commence at a later date in preparation for Book 6. Cover art courtesy of Howler Life.
RIDE, RIDE TO RUIN
Let’s just get this out of the way upfront: Dark Age - the fifth entry of the New York Times bestselling Red Rising Saga - is the Les Miserables of science fiction. With this latest entry, author Pierce Brown evolves his flagship series once and for all from a young adult story of revolution into a deeply mature science fantasy that mercilessly examines the reality of war, and the consequences of our most well-intentioned mistakes. Compelling, brutal, superbly written and populated as ever with some of the best characters this side of Westeros, Dark Age is the best science fantasy I have read since I first encountered Dan Simmons’ Hyperion in 2013. It also marks an irrevocable change to the DNA of the Red Rising saga, and whether that change is good or catastrophic will depend entirely on who you ask.
But before we get to that, let’s focus on the book. To describe Dark Age as an epic almost cheapens the truth of the matter. At its best, Dark Age feels almost mythological in its scope. For reference: Brown’s cast of characters going into this book (as dutifully presented in his Dramatis Personae) includes nearly 70 characters. Each of these characters is colorful, unique, and memorable - and somehow, they are all woven into a coherent narrative.
And what a narrative it is. After opening with a 150-page battle as told from two perspectives, Dark Age only ever gets faster, meaner, and darker. This one battle - known in the book as the Battle of the Ladon - commences with a nuclear holocaust. Being a science fiction, Dark Age presents this holocaust through a lens so intimate it teeters on nauseating. After the battle is over, we witness firsthand the reality of what war does to a city, reading nightmarish scenes straight out of historic battles such as Dunkirk, Thermopylae, and the battle of the Bulge.
None of this is by accident, of course. As brilliant, crafty, and precocious as ever, author Pierce Brown ransacks the shelves of history, literature, poetry and politics to thread the tapestry of his narrative with allusions, clues, and easter eggs. Some of these winks to the audience are heady: at one point, a character’s inner monologue on liberty echoes the treatises of Robespierre; at another point, a character’s true nature is foreshadowed by their Athenian namesake. Others take the form of easter eggs rooted in pop culture, such as nods to intergalactic graphic novel series Saga, and legendary British comedy troupe Monty Python. All of this, and more, Brown presents in his usual kinetic prose that manages to be somehow simultaneously readable and pyrotechnic. It is, in a word, a marvel.
STATE OF THE SAGA
Simply put, however, all of this violence, darkness, and brutality comes at a cost. I can point at a specific moment, late in the novel, where Dark Age lost a lot of its readers. When I read this sequence for the first time (and for those of you who have finished the book, I’m referring to the part with the tree) I had to put the book down and take a break for the evening, despite the fact that I’d only read for an hour - and still had two more hours available to me.
For the uninitiated, that’s like setting down a Harry Potter book when you’ve still got two more hours to read it. For a moment, I was genuinely frustrated with the author - and not in a shallow, “you hurt my favorite character, I’m mad at you” kind of way, but rather because it felt like he’d blundered in a book where he’d hit nothing but net, and the narrative was cheapened because of it. I slept on it, and finished the book, ultimately having a change of heart.
Yet others, I’m sad to see, never had that change of heart - and the book certainly didn’t get kinder after that point. The chief complaints I’ve heard from the book’s detractors circle around the words “excess,” “gratuitous,” and “cheap”. One reviewer went so far as to call the book’s violence masturbatory. Another reader had this to say (represented here with his permission):
"Bad guys [in this book] have cheat codes . . . This is my least favorite book. The least compelling. The lamest. The worst. I hope [Pierce] can save it all with the next one. If he’d written four of these before this, no one would read them."
...woof.
What’s worse is, Reader B was not rooting for Dark Age to fail. He wanted to love Dark Age - and not only did he not love it, he felt like the Saga was losing its way because of it. Were he the only person to voice such emotions, I would not have brought it up. Having read through the Red Rising subreddits and Goodreads review boards, however, I’m noticing a trend. Most people either loved this book (like I did) or they hated it. I haven’t really seen many people who were indifferent to it, which was a problem that plagued Iron Gold. Regardless of what I feel about Dark Age’s parade of villains and violence - and we’ll get back to my thoughts again in a minute - this dichotomy of reactions is bad for the health of the series.
ROMANS, LEND ME YOUR EARS
I remember quitting A Song of Ice and Fire in 2015 because it felt like author George Martin had written himself into a corner, and trapped thusly by the Gordian knot of his own narrative, chose to torture characters because he had nothing better to do. (I would return to Westeros years later, but it took a while.)
I don’t think this is the case with the Red Rising Saga. The suffering we endure here was thoroughly foreshadowed as far back as Morning Star (hell, maybe even Golden Son), and effectively builds the groundwork for a firecracker of a finale. Characters behave exactly as expected, and the stakes are never too low. In short: everything is going exactly as it should. So what gives?
My diagnosis of the issue is that rather than writing one cohesive saga, Pierce Brown has written two very different trilogies. Just because you love one, doesn’t mean you’ll like the other. I feel lucky to be a fan of both.
With Dark Age, Red Rising becomes the saga I always wanted it to be. From what I’ve gathered about Brown - by reading his posts and listening to interviews with him - I think it’s safe to say that with Dark Age he finally got to tell the story he’s always wanted to tell. It’s a shame, therefore, that it’s not the kind of story some of his most devoted fans wanted to hear.
Speaking on behalf of those who survived Dark Age (a book so lethal it apparently murdered a third of its audience) - I couldn’t be happier with this book, and with what Brown is trying to build. I liked Iron Gold very much, but Dark Age reminded me what a book can be at its finest: absolute in its vision; stunning in its narrative twists and turns; soul-shaking in its violence; and deeply cathartic in its oh-so-rare instances of hope. Dark Age is the first stroke of a master coming at last into the fullest expression of his craft. I could not be prouder, or more inspired. To author Pierce Brown, thank you. I look forward to Book 6 with enormous excitement. Until then:
Hail libertas.
Hail Reaper.
Verdict
A legendary contribution to the science fantasy canon that will prove controversial.
10/10
Dark Age
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars | 15,411 ratings
Price: 26.33
Last update: 06-06-2024
About this item
For a decade, Darrow led a revolution against the corrupt color-coded Society. Now, outlawed by the very Republic he founded, he wages a rogue war on Mercury in hopes that he can still salvage the dream of Eo. But as he leaves death and destruction in his wake, is he still the hero who broke the chains? Or will another legend rise to take his place?
Lysander au Lune, the heir in exile, has returned to the Core. Determined to bring peace back to mankind at the edge of his sword, he must overcome or unite the treacherous Gold families of the Core and face down Darrow over the skies of war-torn Mercury.
But theirs are not the only fates hanging in the balance.
On Luna, Mustang, Sovereign of the Republic, campaigns to unite the Republic behind her husband. Beset by political and criminal enemies, can she outwit her opponents in time to save him?
Once a Red refugee, young Lyria now stands accused of treason, and her only hope is a desperate escape with unlikely new allies.
Abducted by a new threat to the Republic, Pax and Electra, the children of Darrow and Sevro, must trust in Ephraim, a thief, for their salvation - and Ephraim must look to them for his chance at redemption.
As alliances shift, break, and re-form - and power is seized, lost, and reclaimed - every player is at risk in a game of conquest that could turn the Rising into a new Dark Age.
Top reviews from the United States
Ries Murphy5.0 out of 5 stars
A Tale of Two Sagas
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2019
Bryan Desmond5.0 out of 5 stars
Hail Reaper.
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2019
2023-08-09:
Dark Age
A book that lives up to its name in every sense. A long-heralded nightmare of violence, tragedy, and hopelessness, this fifth book in the series is home to a tonal shift that feels inevitable in hindsight, and can, one hopes, only leave room for light. In a series full of unforgettable moments, this book surely holds some of its most grim. But even so… It stands as one of Pierce’s best.
As good as Iron Gold was, looking back it feels very much like a lead-in to Dark Age. Golden Son may still stand apart as my favorite of the series for now, but Pierce’s storytelling has done nothing but improve with each release. He is a masterful plotter; layers upon layers upon layers. Decisions that are logical, that matter, and that explode into webs of potential and what-ifs? The risks he takes, the breadcrumbs he scatters, the story behind the story… it’s just phenomenal.
Part One of this book is, I think, Pierce’s strongest work in the series thus far. In seventeen chapters that flip back and forth between Darrow and Lysander POVs, we are shown the Darrow we never got to see in the ten years between Morning Star and Iron Gold. In the throes of war, the Sword of the Republic, where the Reaper is at his most comfortable, his most effective, and his most frightening. And Lysander is his perfect foil, presenting a conflict that is more ambiguous than I think many want to admit. At the very least, getting inside of both of their heads is a good way to see how people convince themselves of the righteousness of their own actions, and is a good reminder that when you know the whole of someone, it becomes much more difficult to support them entirely, and just as difficult to dismiss them entirely. To know someone is to understand them, and understanding requires no agreement.
This book spreads us out more than we have been before, with the addition of Virginia as a POV character, and thus an eye on Luna. Each plot line is captivating, and each holds its own and proves itself worthy of the time spent. We get more screen time here with characters that have previously only been mentioned; like Atlas, or Ajax. And even more well-known characters shine brighter here, like Alexandar. Pierce is expert at showing us more of his world. Revealing to us what was there all along. That which we did not get to see for reasons of locale, or point of view.
With the dark age coming to a close—or perhaps that is a fool’s hope—we say goodbye to many characters. Those we cared for, those we hated, and those we were just getting to know. And though death comes swiftly, it does not come lightly. These were characters with futures. Characters that mattered. Characters with destinies, snuffed out. Dust and shadow. Now we look toward the light.
“You asked me a question long ago. It was on Mars before we lost her. You asked, what do I fear? I fear a man who believes in good. For he can excuse any evil.” He holds up a hand to feel the wind. “What have you done?”
2019-08-17:
Zero stars. Not enough Diomedes.
I kid, I kid. I'll give the same warning here as I did at the beginning of Iron Gold. If you would like to remain completely blind as to which characters live through the original trilogy simply ignore this review. 'Spoilers' of that nature will be included. Spoilers for this book however will be either hidden or absent completely.
Now then. WOW! Wow. Mr. Brown you've done it again. Red Rising is one of my favorite series. My brother, father, and I await the releases eagerly and tear through them as soon as we are able, all the while discussing, mourning, and asking many times 'What chapter are you on??' A new installment is a big deal, and Dark Age proved to be among the best. Having just finished, and absolutely loving it, I am eager to proclaim it the very best of the bunch. But I don't want to be hasty as this series is full of phenomenal moments across all five books. It just may be that Dark Age sets itself apart from the rest.
I will say this. In sheer horror, in dread, in unbelievable, jaw-dropping moments of brutality and punch-you-in-the-face level shocks, it reigns supreme. In every sense of the phrase, this book lives up to the title. The original trilogy was a struggle of will, violence, and righteousness to topple a dictatorship. The fourth book, after a gap of about ten years, was Pierce pulling back the veil and making us say, 'Hmm, maybe things are going to get worse before they get better.' Here in the fifth we ask, 'Will they get better at all?' This one is dark. I don't think I've witnessed a kill count like this since I was in the middle of the Malazan series. I literally started a list of the fallen in my phone notes to keep track. I may even post that below under a spoiler tag in remembrance. So be warned all ye Howlers; all is not well in the Republic. Not by a long shot.
It is important to note however that while this book is unceasingly bleak at times, it contains all of those things that catalyzed my love affair with the series, and then some. An absolutely breakneck pace. Tight plotting. Incredibly well-written and complex characters; new and old. The feeling of it. You just feel it. There's something about spending time in this world, in Pierce Brown's head, that makes me feel a certain way. It's just how he writes. He infects you with an enthusiasm for a world that might otherwise seem ridiculous. A science-fiction book full of larger than life characters who fancy themselves Roman gods? And their eyes are different colors? Huh? But damn it. It's just too good. And the crazy thing is it's just going to keep going. After the insane ride that was Dark Age, the stage is set for even further craziness in the future. So much so that one wonders if Pierce will just continue to up the ante with each installment and keep putting out better and better work. It didn't seem possible but hell, here we are.
I realize that I've given no specifics about the book. I'm not necessarily sure I want to at this point. I've said enough to get my point across all without mentioning anyone by name even, but I guess I'll dive into it a little.
Lysander's chapters stood head and shoulders above the others in Iron Gold as my favorites of the bunch. Not so here. And not because they weren't phenomenal; they were. It's just that Lysander is no longer so removed from the other characters that I was forced to view his piece of the story as a separate entity. He's in the mix now, and it's every bit as satisfying as one would hope. Darrow remains a force of nature. It is quite something to have witnessed the creation of a legend. But that is just what he is. We watched it happen. And now Darrow is given the same respect, the same fear, that legends before him like Lorn au Arcos, the Ash Lord, Nero au Augustus, Aja au Grimmus, etc were given. It's satisfying to watch. Lyria and Ephraim both pull their weight in this one as much as anyone, and we are even treated to some Virginia chapters, so as to get a look at what our beloved Sovereign is up to while her husband makes war on Mercury (speaking of which, Part One in its entirety was just phenomenal, some real Abercrombie's 'Heroes' vibes there).
My feelings about Lysander are much more conflicted now that he's entered the fold. But that's the name of the game with this book, and maybe the series at large. We are no longer witnessing a story for which it is easy to take sides. Now, given several points of view, we are forced to realize that characters we deemed utter monsters are people too. Shocking, I know. Seriously though, we now face, on a regular basis, the ugly truth that the characters we love are the ones who have to make the hard decisions. Darrow has to make hard decisions. Lysander has to make hard decisions. We may not agree with them. We may rail against them with everything we have. But Pierce has the hooks in deep. We watch in horror as the characters we love.. kill each other. Kill others. Kill lots of others, indirectly or no. And what do we get? Well, conflicted emotions in my case. But that is where true magic lies in a story. Make me regret loving someone. Make me love hating someone. Pierce does it like it's second nature. Maybe it is.
I mentioned a list of the fallen above. I'm going to post that now. Be warned. I repeat, be warned! What lies beneath this spoiler tag is, well, a huge spoiler! Huge! Don't open it if you haven't read the book! So here it is. We remember the fallen: (view spoiler)
The tragedy of the gifted is the belief they are entitled to greatness, Lysander. As a human, you are entitled only to death.
Dark Age
A book that lives up to its name in every sense. A long-heralded nightmare of violence, tragedy, and hopelessness, this fifth book in the series is home to a tonal shift that feels inevitable in hindsight, and can, one hopes, only leave room for light. In a series full of unforgettable moments, this book surely holds some of its most grim. But even so… It stands as one of Pierce’s best.
As good as Iron Gold was, looking back it feels very much like a lead-in to Dark Age. Golden Son may still stand apart as my favorite of the series for now, but Pierce’s storytelling has done nothing but improve with each release. He is a masterful plotter; layers upon layers upon layers. Decisions that are logical, that matter, and that explode into webs of potential and what-ifs? The risks he takes, the breadcrumbs he scatters, the story behind the story… it’s just phenomenal.
Part One of this book is, I think, Pierce’s strongest work in the series thus far. In seventeen chapters that flip back and forth between Darrow and Lysander POVs, we are shown the Darrow we never got to see in the ten years between Morning Star and Iron Gold. In the throes of war, the Sword of the Republic, where the Reaper is at his most comfortable, his most effective, and his most frightening. And Lysander is his perfect foil, presenting a conflict that is more ambiguous than I think many want to admit. At the very least, getting inside of both of their heads is a good way to see how people convince themselves of the righteousness of their own actions, and is a good reminder that when you know the whole of someone, it becomes much more difficult to support them entirely, and just as difficult to dismiss them entirely. To know someone is to understand them, and understanding requires no agreement.
This book spreads us out more than we have been before, with the addition of Virginia as a POV character, and thus an eye on Luna. Each plot line is captivating, and each holds its own and proves itself worthy of the time spent. We get more screen time here with characters that have previously only been mentioned; like Atlas, or Ajax. And even more well-known characters shine brighter here, like Alexandar. Pierce is expert at showing us more of his world. Revealing to us what was there all along. That which we did not get to see for reasons of locale, or point of view.
With the dark age coming to a close—or perhaps that is a fool’s hope—we say goodbye to many characters. Those we cared for, those we hated, and those we were just getting to know. And though death comes swiftly, it does not come lightly. These were characters with futures. Characters that mattered. Characters with destinies, snuffed out. Dust and shadow. Now we look toward the light.
“You asked me a question long ago. It was on Mars before we lost her. You asked, what do I fear? I fear a man who believes in good. For he can excuse any evil.” He holds up a hand to feel the wind. “What have you done?”
2019-08-17:
Zero stars. Not enough Diomedes.
I kid, I kid. I'll give the same warning here as I did at the beginning of Iron Gold. If you would like to remain completely blind as to which characters live through the original trilogy simply ignore this review. 'Spoilers' of that nature will be included. Spoilers for this book however will be either hidden or absent completely.
Now then. WOW! Wow. Mr. Brown you've done it again. Red Rising is one of my favorite series. My brother, father, and I await the releases eagerly and tear through them as soon as we are able, all the while discussing, mourning, and asking many times 'What chapter are you on??' A new installment is a big deal, and Dark Age proved to be among the best. Having just finished, and absolutely loving it, I am eager to proclaim it the very best of the bunch. But I don't want to be hasty as this series is full of phenomenal moments across all five books. It just may be that Dark Age sets itself apart from the rest.
I will say this. In sheer horror, in dread, in unbelievable, jaw-dropping moments of brutality and punch-you-in-the-face level shocks, it reigns supreme. In every sense of the phrase, this book lives up to the title. The original trilogy was a struggle of will, violence, and righteousness to topple a dictatorship. The fourth book, after a gap of about ten years, was Pierce pulling back the veil and making us say, 'Hmm, maybe things are going to get worse before they get better.' Here in the fifth we ask, 'Will they get better at all?' This one is dark. I don't think I've witnessed a kill count like this since I was in the middle of the Malazan series. I literally started a list of the fallen in my phone notes to keep track. I may even post that below under a spoiler tag in remembrance. So be warned all ye Howlers; all is not well in the Republic. Not by a long shot.
It is important to note however that while this book is unceasingly bleak at times, it contains all of those things that catalyzed my love affair with the series, and then some. An absolutely breakneck pace. Tight plotting. Incredibly well-written and complex characters; new and old. The feeling of it. You just feel it. There's something about spending time in this world, in Pierce Brown's head, that makes me feel a certain way. It's just how he writes. He infects you with an enthusiasm for a world that might otherwise seem ridiculous. A science-fiction book full of larger than life characters who fancy themselves Roman gods? And their eyes are different colors? Huh? But damn it. It's just too good. And the crazy thing is it's just going to keep going. After the insane ride that was Dark Age, the stage is set for even further craziness in the future. So much so that one wonders if Pierce will just continue to up the ante with each installment and keep putting out better and better work. It didn't seem possible but hell, here we are.
I realize that I've given no specifics about the book. I'm not necessarily sure I want to at this point. I've said enough to get my point across all without mentioning anyone by name even, but I guess I'll dive into it a little.
Lysander's chapters stood head and shoulders above the others in Iron Gold as my favorites of the bunch. Not so here. And not because they weren't phenomenal; they were. It's just that Lysander is no longer so removed from the other characters that I was forced to view his piece of the story as a separate entity. He's in the mix now, and it's every bit as satisfying as one would hope. Darrow remains a force of nature. It is quite something to have witnessed the creation of a legend. But that is just what he is. We watched it happen. And now Darrow is given the same respect, the same fear, that legends before him like Lorn au Arcos, the Ash Lord, Nero au Augustus, Aja au Grimmus, etc were given. It's satisfying to watch. Lyria and Ephraim both pull their weight in this one as much as anyone, and we are even treated to some Virginia chapters, so as to get a look at what our beloved Sovereign is up to while her husband makes war on Mercury (speaking of which, Part One in its entirety was just phenomenal, some real Abercrombie's 'Heroes' vibes there).
My feelings about Lysander are much more conflicted now that he's entered the fold. But that's the name of the game with this book, and maybe the series at large. We are no longer witnessing a story for which it is easy to take sides. Now, given several points of view, we are forced to realize that characters we deemed utter monsters are people too. Shocking, I know. Seriously though, we now face, on a regular basis, the ugly truth that the characters we love are the ones who have to make the hard decisions. Darrow has to make hard decisions. Lysander has to make hard decisions. We may not agree with them. We may rail against them with everything we have. But Pierce has the hooks in deep. We watch in horror as the characters we love.. kill each other. Kill others. Kill lots of others, indirectly or no. And what do we get? Well, conflicted emotions in my case. But that is where true magic lies in a story. Make me regret loving someone. Make me love hating someone. Pierce does it like it's second nature. Maybe it is.
I mentioned a list of the fallen above. I'm going to post that now. Be warned. I repeat, be warned! What lies beneath this spoiler tag is, well, a huge spoiler! Huge! Don't open it if you haven't read the book! So here it is. We remember the fallen: (view spoiler)
The tragedy of the gifted is the belief they are entitled to greatness, Lysander. As a human, you are entitled only to death.
Kelly J Nick4.0 out of 5 stars
Brutal…
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2024
It was very well written. The plot moved forward. There was a lot of action and a lot of information revealed but this was as ruthless as Game of Thrones. I mean holy crap did it feel like he was killing off characters just for fun. I lost count of how many times I had to put the book down and walk away over characters that were killed off. Good book and probably deserved five stars but by far the most violent book in the series (so far) and the character losses hurt. (Testament to good writing - I cared about the characters that were lost)