Hello Fellow Journeyers,
We thought it was over, we thought that the first three books were all the story to be told in the Red Rising universe. We were wrong. There was more. Pierce Brown continues the story with Iron Gold. I adore the Red Rising trilogy, so I was eager to see what the next saga held in store. Let's get to it.
What's the story about: Iron Gold picks up with two familiar characters in Darrow and Lysander, and two new character POVs in Ephraim and Lyria in what is happening to the society that Darrow destroyed and fought for ten years earlier. As billions of lives were affected by the great upheaval, not all of it was for the better and Darrow, Lysander, Ephraim, and Lyria begin their journeys to finding what life after the breaking of the chains is like.
I was...skeptical to say the least about Brown picking up the trilogy again after Morning Star ended, but decided to treat this with a healthy separation to the first trilogy since it takes place ten years later and has more POV main characters than we've experienced before. There is a decidedly bigger feel to Iron Gold that was lost to the first trilogy because it centered around Darrow and his first person perspective. That being said, I was less of a fan of the other POV characters that were introduced. Ephraim is a character that didn't immediately pull me in because he was needlessly hopeless and somewhat despicable. I liked how his story connected to the overall story, but didn't like him as a character much. And then there is Lyria, who made me wonder why Brown decided to put another red at the center of the story when we'd already experienced Darrow's perspective. And she isn't even an enjoyable character to read about. She's like diet Darrow except without all of the melodrama and personality quirks that makes him endearing.
But there was definitely a redeeming quality in that Darrow and Lysander's stories are good. I loved how Brown decided to take Lysander's perspective, his education, his upbringing, and connect it with Cassius. It was just a treat to see how they were doing ten years later, find them as basically vigilantes helping those in need, and doing their best to survive. Darrow's storyline is the most typical Brown has to offer and found myself immediately and completely engrossed in it as it went along. The biggest thing that I have to say about this book is that it splits me down the middle with how much I enjoyed it. Yes, Darrow and Lysander's chapters were good, I was invested, the pacing is great still, but Ephraim and Lyria's chapters were a chore to get through and I just didn't enjoy them very much. I still have so much love for this universe and characters that most of what is entailed is very enjoyable, but there was definitely something amiss.
Which leads me to my final point. I think that Iron Gold's most blatant error is that it feels like only part of a story is told from all the characters perspectives. I get the cliffhangers are a thing nowadays with books, but really? Lysander basically ends with what could be described as the end of his introduction, Darrow reaches a point of climax and finality with a twist (typical Brown), but I don't feel we had the progression and development we normally do, and Ephraim and Lyria both end on a note that leaves you seriously hanging, but not necessarily wanting for more. They...have a lot going on, but we didn't really go through enough with them to feel fully invested. Needless to say, you want to read the fifth book immediately after this one, which isn't a bad thing, but it does feel a little mismatched.
★★★★ 4 Stars - Iron Gold is a somewhat difficult book to rate. While I don't think that Brown's story has the ability to branch off in multiple POVs very well, he does an admirable enough job with Darrow and Lysander's perspectives to make getting through the Ephraim and Lyria sections not so bad. All the characters you've loved to love are there and the ones included in the separate storylines bring an air of familiarity that makes you smile, even when Ephraim and Lyria are not as enjoyable. Iron Gold is a fantastic, if a little sloppy and insufficient, introduction to the next trilogy that will hopefully course-correct upon further entries.
Let me hear from you! If you like what you read, want to hear more thoughts on this book, other reviews, or talk book recommendations and Essential Reading, leave a comment below.
Rating system:
★★★★★ 5 Stars: It was amazing; I loved it. Read this book; it is definitely Essential Reading!
★★★★★* 4.5 Stars: It was nearly perfect. I really loved almost every aspect of it, but a few things kept it from being amazing.
★★★★ 4 Stars: It was very worth reading and satisfying; highly recommend.
★★★★* 3.5 Stars: I thoroughly enjoyed this story, but it was lacking in certain crucial areas.
★★★ 3 Stars: It was good, but could've been better or improved upon significantly.
★★★* 2.5 Stars: I wanted to enjoy it. Certain aspects were good, it was worth finishing, but many issues.
★★ 2 Stars: It was okay, I didn't feel strongly about it.
★ 1 Star: I did not like it. It was not worth finishing or I did not finish it.
*I round up based on the system on Goodreads. Also, there is no 1.5 Stars because it does not seem to have enough differentiation.