They say good things come to those who wait, and Dark Age is no exception to that rule. Red Rising fans might have been frustrated with its twice-delayed publication date, but if there’s one thing I can say about this book, it’s that yes, the wait was worth it.

*This Dark Age review is spoiler-free.*

I was provided a free ARC of Dark Age. The opinions are my own.

When Iron Gold was released in early 2018, it was clear that Pierce Brown’s ability to craft a riveting story with amazing character development had grown far beyond the original Red Rising trilogy – a trilogy that was already populated with characters who inspired strong feelings on all points of the love/hate spectrum. While the change from a single point of view in the original series to multiple POVs in Iron Gold wasn’t always completely smooth, Dark Age proves that Brown has truly become a master of this art.

Admittedly, I felt that Dark Age got off to a bit of a slow start, though there’s a good chance that might not be the case for everyone as my feelings about this come from the heavy focus given to two particular POV characters for the first 150-ish pages of the book. That said, once Dark Age got going, it REALLY got going. The addition of a new POV character – Virginia au Augustus, a.k.a. Mustang – was a far more brilliant one than I was expecting. Seeing into the head of an already beloved character (at least on my part) was a huge treat, to say the least!

As for the returning POV characters? After reading Dark Age I can’t imagine that anyone will be able to deny that at the very least, whether you love them, hate them, love to hate them or hate to love them, they will all get under your skin. Of course, after four books, it shouldn’t be surprising that Brown knows how to build arcs that are beautiful and frustrating in turn.

And of course it’s not just the characters that draw myself and so many others to this series. While Brown certainly wove some intricate plots in the first three Red Rising installments, with Dark Age he graduates to a whole new level, and let’s just say that I’m both excited and scared to see some of these threads come together in the final book (fingers crossed that we don’t have to wait TOO too long for it).

Without revealing too much, if my fellow Red Rising fans are expecting another Golden Son-esque heartbreaker, let me just say that you’re in for all of that and more.

You can pre-order your copy of Dark Age now via Amazon or snag a signed copy from Barnes & Noble!

Author: Tara Lynne Tara Lynne is an author, fandom and geek culture expert, and public speaker. She founded Ice & Fire Con, the first ever Game of Thrones convention in the US, and now runs its parent company Saga Event Planning. Twitter



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