Fifth novel in the ‘Red Rising’ series of science fiction books. A story of conflict in the solar system of the far future, when it’s all modelled on ancient Rome.
This is not a jumping on point. New readers should start with Red Rising. Regular readers, read on.
This book runs for seven hundred and fifty two pages. It has four parts and is further divided into ninety six chapters.
It does not end the story. There’s clearly more to come.
There’s copious violence, some adult moments, and a handful of bits of strong language. So it’s just for the grown ups.
There is a cast of characters at the front. And a map of one key location.
Picking up from the end of the last book, Darrow is now an outlaw. And is at the centre of conflict on Mercury. Can he win again, or is his time done?
Oh dear.
This is a middle book. And then some. Letting things happen. Setting a lot more up. But it serves no more purpose than that.
In addition to Darrow, there are four other viewpoint characters. It will tell you at the start of each chapter who it is in the one you are reading.
Everyone narrates in first person present tense.
I can see what this is trying to do. It’s cool to be epic, which it has to be in showing the sheer scope of the narrative. But you can get a little too epic for your own good. Which this alas is guilty of.
The big problem is the prose. And the print. All the viewpoint characters do talk and think in the same way, so if not for the name at the start of each chapter, you could easily get confused as to whose chapter it is. I actually did on one occasion.
The way it’s all written, the present tense and lots of short descriptive sentences, coupled with small print size, means this becomes a complete slog at points. The prose really didn’t hold me at all, and I had to take it very slowly to try and make it keep my attention. But that was a chore at times, not a pleasure.
When the focus is on Darrow, it’s okay. The first part does actually come very close to clicking towards it’s end.
But then he rather vanishes from the tale in the middle. Far too much time is given over to two other characters, whose stories don’t really go as far as you would hope and seem like diversions from the central story at times, so it’s easy to lose your focus there.
It does slightly come back together in the final part where all plot points do converge and some things develop. But that’s where the middle book problem comes in. Because all this has done is be grim gritty and depressing for hundreds of pages, and leave so much up in the air.
There are a few too many miraculous bits of tech just happening to come into play at key points, as well.
As seems to be a common problem these days, you really wonder how much editing was done on this. If at all.
Just gets two stars because of it’s ambition and occasional moments of clicking, but I am afraid this series has rather lost it’s way for me. I will consider reading any future one, but it needs to be a bit shorter and much less indulgent to make me want to.

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Dark Age: 5 (Engelska) Inbunden – 30 Juli 2019
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Viktig notis
PEGI-märkt produkt. Mer information om åldersgränser finns här
Produktinformation
- Utgivare : Penguin Random House USA (30 Juli 2019)
- Språk : Engelska
- Inbunden : 800 sidor
- ISBN-10 : 0425285944
- ISBN-13 : 978-0425285947
- Kundrecensioner:
Produktbeskrivning
Recension
PRAISE FOR PIERCE BROWN AND HIS RED RISING SAGA Dark Age "[Pierce] Brown's plots are like a depth charge of nitromethane dropped in a bucket of gasoline. His pacing is 100 percent him standing over it all with a lit match and a smile, waiting for us to dare him to drop it."
--NPR "An epic story of rebellion, social unrest and sacrifice."
--Orlando Sentinel "Dark Age proves that Brown has truly become a master."
--The Geekiary "Much like A Song of Ice and Fire's George R. R. Martin, Brown is an author who is interested in exploring the consequences of his protagonist's actions. Revolution doesn't come without a price and no one can stay a hero forever. . . . Dark Age continues the trend of compelling characters, fast plotting, action, and the feeling that no one is truly safe and no one is who you think they are."
--The Mary Sue Iron Gold "Complex, layered . . . mature science fiction existing within the frame of blazing space opera . . . done in a style [that] borders on Shakespearean."--NPR "[A] thoughtful blend of action, intrigue, and prosaic human drama."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Fascinating . . . This is one you absolutely will have to read."--The BiblioSanctum Morning Star "A page-turning epic filled with twists and turns."--Booklist (starred review) Golden Son "In a word, Golden Son is stunning. Among science fiction fans, it should be a shoo-in for book of the year."--Tordotcom Red Rising "[A] spectacular adventure . . . one heart-pounding ride . . . Pierce Brown's dizzyingly good debut novel evokes The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, and Ender's Game."--Entertainment Weekly
--NPR "An epic story of rebellion, social unrest and sacrifice."
--Orlando Sentinel "Dark Age proves that Brown has truly become a master."
--The Geekiary "Much like A Song of Ice and Fire's George R. R. Martin, Brown is an author who is interested in exploring the consequences of his protagonist's actions. Revolution doesn't come without a price and no one can stay a hero forever. . . . Dark Age continues the trend of compelling characters, fast plotting, action, and the feeling that no one is truly safe and no one is who you think they are."
--The Mary Sue Iron Gold "Complex, layered . . . mature science fiction existing within the frame of blazing space opera . . . done in a style [that] borders on Shakespearean."--NPR "[A] thoughtful blend of action, intrigue, and prosaic human drama."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Fascinating . . . This is one you absolutely will have to read."--The BiblioSanctum Morning Star "A page-turning epic filled with twists and turns."--Booklist (starred review) Golden Son "In a word, Golden Son is stunning. Among science fiction fans, it should be a shoo-in for book of the year."--Tordotcom Red Rising "[A] spectacular adventure . . . one heart-pounding ride . . . Pierce Brown's dizzyingly good debut novel evokes The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, and Ender's Game."--Entertainment Weekly
Om författaren
Pierce Brown is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Rising, Golden Son, Morning Star, Iron Gold, and Dark Age. His work has been published in thirty-three languages and thirty-five territories. He lives in Los Angeles, where he is at work on his next novel.
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Kundrecensioner
4,8 av 5 stjärnor
4,8 av 5
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Populäraste recensionerna från andra länder

Paul Tapner
2,0 av 5 stjärnor
Massacre on Mercury
Granskad i Storbritannien den 6 mars 2021Verifierat köp
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Mendeswithans
4,0 av 5 stjärnor
Almost as immersive as all the previous ones.
Granskad i Storbritannien den 8 juli 2020Verifierat köp
Right, criticisms: language seems a lot fouler this time around - not just because of the vulgar words, which at times feel odd coming from the mouth of a Gold , but also because they at times sound like, uh... 'Twitter-speak'. While the characters retain their depth and their actions feel authentic, the way they talk can sometimes feel out of place and bring me out of the immersion. I didn't see a single 'prime' until several dozen pages in. Tsc, tsc.
Also, there is a character named Xenophon who performs the role of a logos whose actions were described with the pronoun 'they', which I thought was in reference to the role since Xenophon is also referred to as a 'he'. I thought that would be an awesome idea, to assign a role another separate pronoun like a royal 'they' or some such. Except that Xenophon himself (and not the logos role) is referred to later as 'them'. So either I missed something or Pierce has not only managed to confuse the sh*t out of me but also himself. Moving on.
Those are my main criticisms so far. Just as I think a character is about to become predictable or that there is some sort of real-world moralising on the author's part, he consistently impresses me with his incredible knack for making character and plot development feel believable. His commitment to throwing these rich characters into their own universe and chronicling what feels like the natural outcome of their actions continues to grip me. I can only hope that he upholds this standard of work going forward.
Also, there is a character named Xenophon who performs the role of a logos whose actions were described with the pronoun 'they', which I thought was in reference to the role since Xenophon is also referred to as a 'he'. I thought that would be an awesome idea, to assign a role another separate pronoun like a royal 'they' or some such. Except that Xenophon himself (and not the logos role) is referred to later as 'them'. So either I missed something or Pierce has not only managed to confuse the sh*t out of me but also himself. Moving on.
Those are my main criticisms so far. Just as I think a character is about to become predictable or that there is some sort of real-world moralising on the author's part, he consistently impresses me with his incredible knack for making character and plot development feel believable. His commitment to throwing these rich characters into their own universe and chronicling what feels like the natural outcome of their actions continues to grip me. I can only hope that he upholds this standard of work going forward.

Selby L
5,0 av 5 stjärnor
Exciting, possibly the best book in the series
Granskad i Storbritannien den 3 oktober 2019Verifierat köp
When I first read Iron Gold when it came out, I didn't like it as much as the first trilogy but having read Dark Age, I went back and read it again and it's actually a fantastic setup for one of the most fantastic books of the series. Dark Age is a thrilling ride from beginning to end. Hail Reaper and Hail Pierce Brown.
Spoilers ahead.
I found the cloning storyline a bit weak but overall fantastic.
Spoilers ahead.
I found the cloning storyline a bit weak but overall fantastic.

Jake
5,0 av 5 stjärnor
Long book but very good
Granskad i Storbritannien den 29 december 2019Verifierat köp
Really enjoying so far, another good story from Brown. Bit harder to get through than the previous titles due to sheer size alone, but otherwise very much in the same vein.

digitalis
5,0 av 5 stjärnor
Peerless.
Granskad i Storbritannien den 26 mars 2020Verifierat köp
Riveting, exciting, surprising, complex, meaty, bloody. Brilliant.