In the Silence Between Battles, We Find the Soul of the Rising

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

Published: February 9, 2016

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Audience: 14+

Synopsis

Morning Star is the explosive third installment of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising saga. Darrow of Lykos, once a lowborn Red miner, now the infamous Reaper, continues his high-stakes rebellion against the tyrannical Society that rules the solar system. After the devastating fallout of Golden Son, Darrow must rise from the ashes and unite a fractured alliance of unlikely allies (spanning warlords, outcasts, and nobles) if he hopes to shatter the Color hierarchy once and for all.

As the war intensifies, loyalties are tested, betrayals abound, and the cost of freedom grows ever higher. With its blend of blistering action, emotional depth, and philosophical weight, Morning Star pushes Darrow to the edge, asking what he’s truly willing to sacrifice for a better world.

Review

As Dominic Toretto would say, “I don't have friends, I got family,” and Darrow would absolutely agree.

It took me about 3 weeks to finish Morning Star - not because it dragged, but because I was emotionally wrecked from the end of Golden Son. That cliffhanger hit me like the ending of Empire of Storms (I keep comparing Darrow to Aelin), and I found myself both dreading and delaying the inevitable: the end of this phenomenal trilogy.

In general, I find that trilogies rarely end as strong as they started, but Pierce Brown defeated that expectation swiftly with a red scythe and a dream.

The character arcs in Morning Star are richer and more expansive than I anticipated. Yes, this is a space opera, and there are raging battles and bloody fights that had me biting my nails. But the success of wrapping this trilogy is found in the quiet moments in-between the great moves of war - in Darrow’s psyche, hushed conversations, a hand offered when all seems lost, and in unexpected pieces of wisdom.

Characters I thought I already knew came into sharper focus. As Darrow grows as a man, warrior, leader, partner, and friend, so too do those around him. Through Darrow’s perspective, Brown imbues these characters and relationships with complexity, pain, and purpose. It makes the story feel huge and human all at once, and makes certain deaths so unbelievably gutting.

This book is twists on twists. There were times I didn’t know who to trust, moments that made me gasp out loud, and several scenes that made me question just how reliable Darrow really is as our narrator. Our boy is broken and hardened, but still fighting for something greater than himself; this tension drives the story forward with a ferocity that had me constantly on edge.

Morning Star wraps up the trilogy with both fire and heart. And while this chapter of Darrow’s journey closes, the war is far from over. I’ve seen people online describe Red Rising as The Hunger Games evolving into Game of Thrones, and honestly? That couldn’t feel more accurate.

This rising isn’t finished, and I’ve got my gravBoots on.

book cover: Morning Star by Pierce Brown