Hello Fellow Journeyers,
I finally completed this monster of a review. The behemoth, the colossal, the gigantic fifth part in the Red Rising series comes to us in Dark Age. This was a daunting book and daunting equally to review.
What's the story about: Dark Age picks up from Iron Gold's big ending where many questions are needing answers. Each character finds themselves in their own individual pickles as Iron Gold's troubles abounded.
Ahhhh, how do I even begin this review? I think more than anything, Brown listened to his fans knowing that there was a lot cut from Iron Gold and they just allowed him to publish the extended version of Dark Age in order to make up for how much felt missing from the previous entry. This was the right decision; it just feel beefier and thicker and each storyline benefitted from more pages. Having four full storylines that have their own progressions and climaxes (and adding another storyline entirely with Mustang, thank you very much!) was a desperately good thing that Dark Age succeeds in from its predecessor. And yet, Dark Age is kind of a mess in a similar way that Iron Gold was.
I desperately wanted to enjoy this one like the previous four books, and for what it's worth, I loved Darrow's storyline immensely (I'm totally biased at this point, no denying). It was just that the others really demolished my overall feelings about this story. Lysander appropriately picks up his storyline from where he was dropped off and for the majority of the story, it is truly captivating and fascinating to follow. It was only in the last 20% that I really started to dislike where it was headed from a storytelling perspective. His actions appeared more for the sake of Darrow needing a villain than what seemed to be true of his character. I guess my way of coming to terms with this is that relatable people can also do terrible things in the name of what's right or best? I just thought Lysander's changes seemed rushed, which is insane to think for how long this book is. I wanted to continue to appreciate Lysander even though he would face off against Darrow, but after the last 20%, I can't be sympathetic towards that character at all going forward.
Separately, like with Iron Gold, I could not get past how bored and uninvested I was with almost all of Ephraim and Lyria's chapters. I don't like those two characters and while they had much more important roles in this book, they're a significant portion of the story that is really unenjoyable. And the horrific events that they go through feel like they were exaggerated and ballooned to unbelievable degree in order for their storylines to feel more impactful or hard-hitting. Contrastingly, I loved Mustang's POV; she's a wonderful character through and through, and getting into her head was endlessly warranted, worthwhile, and appreciated. The story she embarks on was...horrendous. What happens TO Mustang and what she endures felt like some sort of gimmick in order to simply shock the shit out of readers than what seemed reasonable, even in the Red Rising universe.
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.