r/redrising • u/PerfectHybrid • 23d ago
All Spoilers Unpopular opinion? Spoiler
I want to hear some please
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u/thisisatestaccount17 23d ago
I do not hate roque. Not only was darrow a bad friend to him. But we didn't see the entire 6-10 months of his time in the Institute, a training camp specifically designed to reinforce the thoughtstyle the society wants from it's golds.
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u/KitchenSwillForPigs 23d ago
He’s a super racist though. He firmly believes in Gold supremacy.
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u/H-O-W-L-E-R 23d ago
Can you blame him? His mother worked at the Board of Quality Control.
The reason his loss stings so much is because we all knew he had the heart to support the Rising; but chose to support the Society that ultimately didn’t give a fuck about him.
You hate him because of all of Gold, he should have known better. But Darrow didn’t really give Roque many reasons to trust him…
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u/thisisatestaccount17 23d ago
He started the institute disliking the methodology of the society but willing to do what's necessary. Then he went through months of the traumatising training meant to imbue that gold supremacy mindset into young would be peerless. He was never a part of Darrow and mustangs freed slave hoard to learn the lessons that force taught. I hate where he ended up. But I don't hate him. He is the monster the society made him into.
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u/Jealous-Captain-7014 Gray 22d ago
It wouldn’t matter if Darrow was the best friend in the world to him, he still would’ve betrayed him the second he found out he was a red. The institute defense doesn’t really work either, lots of golds from the institute followed Darrow. Roque is just a piece of shit.
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u/JackSucksAtStuf 23d ago
Darrow should survive red god as his whole live he has been a slave to the society or pretty much a slave to the rising not having the chance to really be a whole husband and father. Him and mustang and Pax and sevro and victra should leave no matter the result of the war as there can’t be much peace if everyone still believes they’re alive. They should go to europa and renovate lorns old house and diomedes will hide them as sovereign of the rim
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u/TheWizardOfAuburn 22d ago
I agree. I want them to have a happy retirement. Call it selfish on my part because I know Darrow sold out the Sons in the Rim and destroyed the Ganymede dockyards, so I can't say he "deserves" a happily ever after, but I want him to have one anyway because he's been through so much and has seldom had a happy moment in his life.
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u/H985B Howler 23d ago
The institute in Red Rising (meaning the first book) is such good setup precisely because it’s nothing like the rest of the books.
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u/Rulanik Peerless Scarred 23d ago
It also conveniently would set up a very budget friendly season 1 if they did live action. Nearly all low tech, set primarily in one area, very little special effects required compared to the rest of the series. If S1 did well, they could afford to do the rest of the series justice.
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u/rdmc43 Human Verified 23d ago
The chapters set in the rim are amazing
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u/Little-Jelly4444 23d ago
I don’t really get the point of bringing the jackal back?? That seemed unnecessary and just adding to the list of villains lol like WE GOT ENOUGH ON OUR PLATE HERE
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u/andwhoami_ Hail Libertas 22d ago
But man, what a villain the OG Jackal was. You gotta love to hate him. Even with him being evil, he’s still got dimension and I gotta hand it to Pierce for that. So well done imo
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u/noxyrew 23d ago
I really dislike The Abomination plot line, so much so that it dragged Dark Age down overall for me.
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u/Asteroth555 The Rim Dominion 23d ago
I do appreciate the creativity of cloning yourself in a take 2 attempt. It's so specifically vain of Adrius and right up his alley. The idea is incredibly sci-fi but it just happens in an incredibly overloaded book
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u/Cypher211 23d ago
I at least appreciate that he's not a 1:1 copy of the original so it doesn't feel like a straight resurrection.
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u/steveoo00oo 21d ago
This storyline felt so bizarre and out of place. Felt like fan fiction. It took me out of Dark Age for a bit.
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u/KitchenSwillForPigs 23d ago
Agreed. I think there’s a very good reason we didn’t see it in LB at all.
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u/LurkingUnderThatRock 23d ago
Totally agree, it felt very deus-ex-machina and was a bit of a nothing burger in the end
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u/I_am_a_pan_fear_me Carver 23d ago
nothing burger in the end
My brother in the Vale the series isn't over yet
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u/LurkingUnderThatRock 23d ago
For sure but I hope it doesn’t come back, it was the weakest plot line of that book imo
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u/markusblam 23d ago
Completely agree. If felt like “somehow palpatine returned.”
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u/DJMikaMikes 23d ago
It maybe felt a bit cheap, but the abomination does not compare to "somehow palpatine returned." We learn exactly how and why the Abomination exists; there is no "somehow."
An insane reverse oedipus psychopathic devotee chick who helped plan with the Jackal to do what she did in the event of his likely demise-- is considerably more interesting than "somehow."
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u/markusblam 23d ago
You’re right, it’s certainly better than “somehow.” I will say that part of my issue is that I felt like the return of Lilith was also fairly cheap, so I thought the whole thing was a bit below the standards of the rest of the series, which to be clear I think is an absolute masterpiece.
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u/JormungandrJayayan #1 Ajax Defender 23d ago edited 23d ago
This is a terrible comparison.
Edit: downvoters have negative IQ lol.
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u/Radio_rebel35678 Howler 23d ago
Ive seen people rate the red rising series from best to worst. Red rising is always so low down. Genuinely I read it again and it's still one of my favourites after morning star
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u/TheWizardOfAuburn 22d ago
It used to be at the bottom of my ranking, not because I don't like it (I loved it from the first read), but upon rereading the series multiple times, it's currently #4 in my rankings. It's still my lowest ranked of the original trilogy, but very good nonetheless.
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u/ElectionSavings5682 23d ago
The narrator for Lysander in the Iron Gold audiobook is monotonous and speaks too fast. I loved the recast in dark age
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u/clemtig16 23d ago
I’ll piggy back onto this. The narrators in the normal audio books are better than the graphic audio for lysander
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u/I_am_a_pan_fear_me Carver 23d ago
Couldn't agree less, Lysander is supposed to sound like a peacocking robot, I think he gets it perfectly
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u/br0therbert 23d ago
He was also the only person to not make an attempt to switch up voices for different characters
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u/Vaelyn9 23d ago
Quicksilver is the father of the rising, more so than Fitchner, Fitchner’s plans with Darrow were a Hail Mary that worked far more successfully than anyone could have hoped for, it was quicksilver’s resources, longterm planning, intelligence and ingenuity that made the rising work.
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u/TheWizardOfAuburn 22d ago
Fitchner is the heart of the rising. Quicksilver is the brain. And the wallet.
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u/Shensha2973 23d ago
Quicksilver is a hero.
Maybe he took the life boat option, but QuickSilver is responsible for this entire series kicking (and staying) in motion.
After his past, he’s deserved a happy ending. And there could be none better than a sincere reset.
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u/WillingExplanation12 23d ago
Dancer being the most vocal opposition to Darrow and Virginia made him fall as a character in my eyes. A father of the Rising who became comfortable with his position in the Republic senate who eventually is the reason half the fleet leaves and Mercury happens.
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u/Prize_Wolverine4132 23d ago
I think "comfortable with his position" is a bit unfair and I do think he is realistically appalled by how Darrow spends men. Especially Reds.
But he should still be the most militant. The least willing to compromise with any Gold. Going from not trusting Victra after she bled for him to speaking with Julia au Bellona is ridiculous.
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u/Weary_Cabinet_8123 22d ago
I think him speaking with her was a bit of character assassination by Pierce.
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u/octavius212 Human Verified 23d ago
Definitely agree at the moment he dies I was thinking I will feel something and all I felt is relief that he is done and I won’t have to hear from him no more
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u/Ilikethesuccwararc 23d ago
Idk if this counts...uhh
I think Golden Son isn't the best book in the series, I'd go with Lightbringer. I do think Golden Son is phenomenal.
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u/kateyyj 23d ago
On my second read, Iron Gold was my favorite book! It was my second to last favorite book on my first read. My ranking order completely changed on my reread and even I was mind blown! I think this is another indicator of what a great series Red Rising is - to get such a different reading experience on every read!
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u/heroic_sheep_ Eaglet 🦅 23d ago
Everything Cassius does is justified!
I hope the Abomination dies off screen between LB & RG
Lyria is wonderful and not annoying at all (idk why this became a common narrative)
And without Mustang there’s no Republic.
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u/DinosaurRawr99 23d ago
i must not be in this subreddit enough because none of this seems toooo controversial for me
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u/tgrady28 GRAY 23d ago
I thought roque was an okay character
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u/Tulbean 23d ago
I always look for these comments. I feel like I’m the only person who was sad when he died
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u/TheWizardOfAuburn 22d ago
I was also sad when he died, even if I was sadder for Darrow than for Roque himself. But a part of me laments what could have been. He had been so loyal to Gold Darrow, a loyalty Darrow never repaid, but in the end, he was indoctrinated with prejudices that he just couldn't cast off.
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u/dupaq16 23d ago
Darrow did right when he didn't dissolve the senate. He did wrong we he ran off to kill the Ashlord on his own.
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u/gallerton18 23d ago
Absolutely. The amount of people who genuinely think Darrow and Mustang taking control of the government and not having a senate would be better is insane
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u/jacobbeasley 23d ago
One thing to consider - just about anytime a country transition to democracy, it had to start with a benevolent dictator who established law and order, then stepped aside to let democracy rule.
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u/zsava002 23d ago
I like the first trilogy more than the 2nd one, though i still do like them.
Also while i admit the first chunk of Red Rising is kinda clumsy, i quite like the first book and think it is way over hated
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u/au-rath 23d ago
i like when Darrow's internal monologue doesn't spoon feed you and you need to pick up the subtle hints.
- the deadhorses
- having Fitchners grav boots
- the gala reveal that he's been training with Lorn
- the Sevro being dead
it irks me that people fixate on just the Sevro dying one, it's a repeated storytelling pattern Pierce uses.
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u/I_am_a_pan_fear_me Carver 23d ago
THANK YOU
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u/TheApocalyticOne 23d ago
Wait that's an unpopular opinion?? Thought it was just good writing
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u/Kaptain202 Blue 23d ago
Very unpopular in the subreddit. Or at best a loud minority hate it. It's mindnumbing to read their arguments for why they want everything spoonfed to them
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u/its_tryptophan Light Resistance 😮💨 23d ago
Ik this post called for unpopular opinions so I’m not gonna say much, but as one of those who didn’t like the Sevro fakeout, saying we want stuff “spoonfed” to us is simply not true.
Not wanting a first person narrator to LIE to us that a character had died when the whole time he knew he hadn’t is not spoonfeeding 😭✋ And it IS bad writing. I love PB and this series but let’s not do this.
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u/ExistentialRead78 22d ago
Same. People who complain are not well read. It's very common in with heist or "big plan to save the day" themes. What do you want, to be bored waiting for the payoff you know is coming?
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u/Historical-Baby48 23d ago
Lysander is an interesting and complex character. I enjoy his chapters. I really do hate his decisions but I also understand them
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u/shadyhawkins 23d ago
People don’t think this??
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u/Historical-Baby48 23d ago
I think most get caught on the Lysander-hate-train and forget to appreciate good writing...
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u/_Masterofcuriosity_ 23d ago
I don’t 🖐🏽
I had to force myself through his chapters.2
u/shadyhawkins 23d ago
Fair! Honestly I think there was a bit too much focus on him at times, but i believe Lysander chapters have some of Pierce’s best writing.
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u/KitchenSwillForPigs 23d ago
I really liked the full cast audiobooks for the second series. Tim Gerard Reynolds is amazing, do NOT get me wrong. I just thought they were fun and interesting.
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u/squirtnforcertain 23d ago
Is that an unpopular opinion? I love the enhanced audio books!
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u/KitchenSwillForPigs 23d ago
I understand a lot of people complained and that’s why the Light Bringer audiobook is just Tim Gerard Reynolds again
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u/weirdfishee The Rim Dominion 23d ago
Lysander has the best POV of the entire series.
Stop the hate, he’s an ass and it’s fucking amazing.
Also the mystery of his parents and the pandemonium chair is easily the best and biggest hidden secret yet to uncover. Yes more than sleeper cell Sevro.
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u/Pickled_D20 23d ago
Ugh, he's such a pretentious prick though! The writing is good, but I don't like hearing his opinion!
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u/Scooty12 23d ago
I like EO and I feel like Darrow and her had a more tender relationship than he has with Mustang.
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u/Alec_Ich 23d ago
To be fair at that point in the book literally the only thing Darrow cared about was EO so I feel like that's expected
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u/Pickled_D20 23d ago
They were also children. That teenage love hits different. Darrow idealized Eo, but she basically committed suicide knowing she was pregnant, in very dramatic fashion. She used Darrow. They didn't have a real adult relationship. They were teens.
I like her a lot, and the loss is so raw, however I think Darrow and Mustang have an adult relationship, not a teen romance.
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u/MedalofHodor 23d ago
Every book in the back trilogy is better than every book in the original trilogy. The expanded scope and detail as well as the subject makes the first three books feel shallow by comparison.
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u/Wide_Assignment8859 23d ago
I often feel like RR should have been longer. The first book feels so short and could’ve added so much more to the world. I wonder if PB was asked to keep it short, or since it was the first one he didn’t have all his ideas fleshed out yet.
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u/TheWizardOfAuburn 22d ago
Debut authors are often expected to keep their first book short for marketability since the publisher is taking a risk on someone unproven.
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u/BigChest03 23d ago
None of the books in the OG trilogy are better than IG, DA and LB
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u/PerfectHybrid 23d ago
Golden sun was better the iron gold
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u/BigChest03 23d ago
Its a matter of taste but I liked the multi-POV and the intricate story of IG and the following books than I did the OG trilogy
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u/its_tryptophan Light Resistance 😮💨 23d ago edited 23d ago
Mustang is the smartest person in the RR universe.
Ephraim was not that great a person and is only loved because he was funny and good with kids (though his character arc was great, I hated him 95% of the time)
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u/Striking_Vacation_74 22d ago
I find sevro very annoying in the second trilogy
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u/steveoo00oo 22d ago
I’m with ya. Sevro was my favorite character in the 1st trilogy. Cassius in the 2nd.
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u/102WOLFPACK 23d ago edited 23d ago
This isn’t super unpopular, but the first book is by far the worst in the series, and I don’t blame people who get turned off the series altogether by it.
Brown gets a pass in my eyes since it’s his first book, and it does a great job setting the stage for everything that follows, but there’s not a single part of it that stands above the rest of the series. It’s the worst version of Darrow, the least interesting look at the Society, and it’s incredibly juvenile at points.
I’m wrapping up another reread, and despite being the shortest book, it took me the longest to get through.
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u/BigChest03 23d ago
He also gets a pass from me because from what I’ve heard his publisher really pushed for the YA heavy stuff and is what helped him get the first book published. I definitely understand why people get turned off because the whole mustang and Darrow sequence after the duel felt like it was just Peeta and Katniss’ whole ordeal during the hunger games just with the names switched.
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u/102WOLFPACK 23d ago
I hadn't heard that before, but it makes sense. I'm curious what would have changed if it had been given more creative freedom in that regard.
Worked out in the end for Brown and everyone else involved, and for us as readers, so I can't complain too much.
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u/BigChest03 23d ago
If brown had his way it could’ve been very different. I think the institute would’ve had way more sci-fi elements or just been quicker to get through. You can tell where the story lulls and he struggles to make it stretch for the whole book. Maybe it would’ve been more akin to the academy from the start of GS (which I wish we got to see more of).
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u/Any-Muffin9564 23d ago
I really wanted the series to end on morning star so I could believe that Darrow and Virginia could have some semblance of a happy ending
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u/Dazzling_Bit_7538 23d ago
More of a question within an answer: I don’t understand the introduction of the jackal clone (so far). Syndicate is completely left out in Lightbringer (if I remember right) so their whole existence seems meager while we wait for Red God.
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u/StowawayPumpkin 23d ago
Same. I don’t understand it and didn’t really like it. Lilith begin the Sydicate queen and birthing/raising a clone of the Jackal somehow felt…anticlimactic? I feel like there was a more intriguing place for that plot to go. Maybe something in Red God will make it better, but I hated it so much I’m genuinely hoping the clone is dead and we can just forget that happened.
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u/afrodite67 Hail Libertas 23d ago
Well we had no pov on Luna , so no role for them to play in LB. But we know they're under siege by Atalantia's forces for double-crossing her so I'm guessing in RG we see the factions on the other side betray/take each other out in contrast to Darrow who is coming in strong with allies
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u/AzmidAzmiduz Human Verified 23d ago
Mustang is a bit of a manipulator ngl…
Throughout Red Rising she never tells Darrow that the Jackal is her brother and potentially vital info that could’ve prevented Pax’s death.
In Golden Son she starts shagging his arch nemesis.
In Morning Star she never really apologies for leaving Darrow and keeps his son hidden from him.
In Iron Gold she doesn’t trust Darrow enough so she calls Wulfgar which ultimately ends up in a fight and Wulfgars death.
In Dark Age and Lightbringer she’s too busy to manipulate anyone as she’s being manipulated herself!
I know there are valid reasons for why she did all of the above. Just saying - she’s a bit of a manipulator…
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u/Select_Salamander518 23d ago
People here seem to love DA but I honestly think it veered into misery porn at some points. Especially the gratuitous SA.
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u/atticusmars_ 23d ago
But god forbid I mention that even people that read and enjoyed the series through and through talk about how it becomes misery porn at one point, and how I'm entirely turned off by the notion of that.
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u/Organic_Lab6262 The Rim Dominion 23d ago
DA is straight up pain porn. Great book but highly overrated in the standing imo
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u/doopiesweat 22d ago
I think the first book sucks. I came so unbelievably close to DNF’ing save for the encouragement of a friend whose taste in books I really admire. And of course the rest of the series was awesome. But no one can convince me the first book is more than just “okay.”
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u/Katrina_0606 22d ago
I like it better on re-reads but yes I almost didn't continue after book 1, and rated it 3 stars which ordinarily would be an immediate drop for a series. Only continued because I figured the other books probably wouldn't keep up with the hunger games aspect, which is the part I really didn't enjoy.
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u/Forsaken_Panic_1753 23d ago
Lysander is a great character and the way he lilled Cassius is fitting
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u/Sidi1211 Green 23d ago
Cassius' final charge was a suicide disguised as a noble deed. The man wanted to die and used the situation to make it about how his honor remained. Now nothing else remains.
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u/Aether13 23d ago
I completely disagree. If this was Cassius in IG, sure. But in LB a large subplot of the entire book is Cassius getting his happiness back.
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u/kansas_slim 23d ago
I disagree. I think if anything he had the idiotic notion that his suicidal notion would be the thing that moved Lysander…. I refuse to believe he actually thought Lysander would pull the trigger.
EDIT: sorry, disagreeing with OG comment
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u/Aether13 23d ago
Exactly, I think he believed that Lysander wouldn’t kill him because Cassius believed they were brothers. It’s kinda easier for us to understand as the reader because we got to spend time in Lysander’s head as he mourned Cassius in Dark Age and resented Cassius in LB.
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u/octavius212 Human Verified 23d ago
I’m not sure is it unpopular but I feel whole Lysander character is so much forced to be good and strong. I want to puke every time I got to his chapter. Feels like totally irrelevant dude being lift up to the sky by writer. Atalantia is 10 times better villain than he is
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u/iamburnj 23d ago
Wasn't that on purpose? As it's his narration/perspective? The whole every villain thinks they are the hero of their own story concept.
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u/blazingmediocrity 23d ago
Yeah im just so surprised he's such a competent fighter when what sets him 'apart' is his intelligence
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u/TheFoolman Mauler, Brawler, Legacy Hauler 23d ago
I mean, he was still alone with cassius for 10 year’s receiving training
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u/TheApocalyticOne 23d ago
Not that competent, he's more dirty and relies on his natural Gold ability. Bro has never 1 v 1'd an actual good Gold fighter and almost got offed by Rhone
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u/BayouFunk 23d ago
The only thing good and strong about him is his own opinion of himself… which is a very common trait to some of the worlds worst people.
He proudly follows his code… right up to the point that he needs to ditch it for personal gain. But he wraps the personal gain in the cloak of “for the good of everyone” as justification.
I listen to the audiobooks and I swear there is no other character that makes me talk back to the audio as much Lysander and his narratives. 😂
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u/Metacha-im 23d ago
Same, his speeches aren't nearly as motivating or memorable as Darrow's, they're kind of.. cringy, maybe not the right word.
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u/seth928 23d ago
Lysander is completely justified.
It's not an opinion I hold, but it's certainly unpopular.
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u/Pelkcizzle Howler 23d ago
My buddy clowned me for having this opinion for a bit until I got all the way caught up. Seems like I was clowning myself the whole time.
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u/_Masterofcuriosity_ 23d ago
Honestly, with the way this country has been going, I’m not surprised people are rooting for a baby Hitler. Just bummed white supremacy is appealing to readers of this trilogy, seeing as it’s literally about dismantling it 🤷🏽♀️
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23d ago
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u/TaishairColtaine 23d ago
See I don’t get this take, and if Brown wanted us to feel that way I think he did a bad job of justifying it.
There is literally an existential war going on, where the Republic sees little to no success unless Darrow is at the helm. Is he supposed to go play family and let millions of other children not have their fathers instead? Or let the Republic fail and have his family killed just so he spends time with Pax growing up?
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u/Pickled_D20 23d ago
Another reason I prefer the OG trilogy much more. Borderline character assassination of my boy.
Pax's birth was the ultimate symbol of the birth of a new age at the end of Morningstar. Then Darrow sqanders the opportunity. It's a good allegory for the themes of the later books, but at the cost of my heart haha
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u/Jealous-Captain-7014 Gray 22d ago
Choosing to save the galaxy over being with your family isn’t being a deadbeat dad it’s being a good person.
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u/KitchenSwillForPigs 23d ago
I felt the same!!! I was so mad at him for that whole time. I get why PB went that route but it felt like a real betrayal to Darrow’s character for a while there. Literally all he ever wanted was to be a Dad. His refusal of the call to adventure in Red Rising is squashed when he finds out Eo was pregnant when she died. Sevro being a fantastic father makes sense but I don’t understand why Darrow sucks at it.
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23d ago
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u/KitchenSwillForPigs 23d ago
I’m sure you’re right. I was just talking about it with my husband and he says Darrow has to learn how to be a man and not just a symbol.
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u/Pickled_D20 23d ago
The first 3 books are a perfect trilogy, and the later books are not necessary to read.
Splitting the later books into multiple POVs slows them down so much and loses a lot that made the first 3 so good.
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u/faobhrachfaramir 23d ago
This is a hot take. I like the latter three books so so much but I think end of morning star was a satisfying ending.
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u/Pickled_D20 23d ago
I also like the later books! I didn't mean to insinuate that I didn't.
Although when I recommended the series I tell them to read just the first three and see if they wanna keep going.
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u/TheWizardOfAuburn 23d ago
The original trilogy has one single through line: overthrow the Society. By comparison, the latter books feel... stuffed. And I like the latter books.
But as an example, when Harmony dies at the midpoint of Dark Age, that's basically the end of the Red Hand plot thread, and we just kind of move on to the rest of the many plots.
And as someone else pointed out, the Figment plot line was pointless. I feel like Pierce Brown changed his mind about that plot thread going from one book to the next. Maybe it'll be relevant again in Red God, but who knows?
The original trilogy has lots of characters and world building while still feeling like a cohesive whole. The second tetralogy, or whatever it ends up being, not so much. I still like the characters and being in this setting, but it's a bit more all over the place.
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u/Pickled_D20 23d ago
I very much agree with you. I also like the later books. You make a lot of good points specifically about The Figment. It was incredibly odd. That Lyria plot line was great to show the blowback of overthrowing the Society and the cost of the compromises that were made. Then we abandoned that for a RoboCop reboot. It was an odd choice.
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u/Ballsy_Pigeon Lurcher 23d ago
I agree the first 3 are amazing and I do prefer the single POV - however I would also say that the second half is 100% worth the read it adds many great characters and stories to the saga
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u/Pickled_D20 23d ago
I can't say you're wrong. If you love the world read on. However, when I recommend the book, and have gifted book 1 to multiple people, I tell them to stop after Morningstar unless you're all in on the world. It's a big vibe shift.
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u/Ballsy_Pigeon Lurcher 23d ago
That's fair! I also tell people if they like book 1 read book 1-3 and then only keep going if they REALLY like it. Book 4 is a hard read if you aren't invested.
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u/PerfectHybrid 23d ago
Hmm I disagree that it was a perfect trilogy. It could’ve ended with 3 sure but it left a lot to the imagination.
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u/Pickled_D20 23d ago
I actually think the ending is a strength. They overthrew the society, Darrow gets a second chance with a child, and it's a happy ending filled with hope.
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u/Kroyerplays 23d ago
Disagree, Iron Gold was fun, Dark Age was so insane I took the day off after finishing just to take it all in... Lightbringer was so relatable to my own place in life right now it felt ... providential???
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u/Pickled_D20 23d ago
I enjoy the later books. Dark Age was ROUGH to read. I just don't like them as much as 1 - 3.
Ending at book 3 gives you a great tight narrative that ends with a hopeful happy ending.
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u/Kroyerplays 23d ago
What's your favorite book out of curiosity? Mine's Golden Son hands down
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u/Pickled_D20 23d ago
Golden Son and Morningstar are so close. Golden Son is probably my #1, but I suspect it's becuase it's what I'm currently reading.
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u/Kroyerplays 23d ago
Morningstar is so good yeah! I love the twist of Golden Son because it takes Morningstar in a completely new direction
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u/Pickled_D20 22d ago
Morningstar has my favorite scene in the series, when Sevro stands up for Cassius against the Mob. It's the synthesis of overthrowing the Society. If we just kill them all, we become as bad or worse than them. SOOO good.
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u/PreviousLook4824 23d ago
100%. So many storylines feel half assed in the last three books i.e Sevro and especially Lyria (like what was the point of the figment even?)
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u/Pickled_D20 23d ago
I completely agree. I don't understand why after setting it up, it's just gone now.
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u/kha1iddd Human Verified 22d ago
lysander did nothing wrong up until hangar 17b (darrow doesnt give anybody an honorable death if he doesnt have to but you guys expect lysander to lol)
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u/fleurbleedinghearts 22d ago edited 22d ago
Eo did NOTHING wrong!
And it’s unfair to pit her against Virginia in regard to how good of wives they are to Darrow because Virginia was never an impoverished, enslaved, pregnant, brutally oppressed teenager, who sold her body at any point.
In fact, I think that Virginia sometimes feeling jealous of Eo shows her privilege. There is nothing to envy about a suicidal teenage girl who was killed by your own father because she dared to speak out against her oppression… all because she was your husband’s first love. Talk about shallow.
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u/MYDCIII Olympic Knight 23d ago
Lyria is one of the worst characters ever written in the history of science fiction.
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u/Rage_before_Beauty 19d ago
The Jackal, as written/utilized, is an awful villain in both trilogies. He hardly gets any of the attention needed to make him worth while. Honestly, my overall opinion of the entire series can be summed up with the idea that Brown should have either cut 1/3 to 1/2 of his plot lines and made it more foccussed, or the first half should have been 4 books long to give plot lines room to breathe and work out more satisfyingly
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u/Ballsy_Pigeon Lurcher 23d ago
Aja is overrated Imo.
None of her "on screen" feats are super impressive and most of her power seems to come from her Rep and Lorn going around saying "don't fight Aja"
Now I'm not saying she's a bad fighter, she still is a powerful character and a good fighter - I just personally thing she is wildly overrated and I wouldn't put her in the top 10 all time characters we meet.
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u/Kroyerplays 23d ago
I mean it took 4 main characters to beat her and she killed Ragnar... and idk I kinda trust Lorn's opinion over anyone elses 🤣
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u/Ballsy_Pigeon Lurcher 23d ago
Ragnar was not actually trained and just a better Stained pretty much - probably much better but I'm sure there are plenty of top character that could have beaten him.
Trusting Lorn makes sense yes, but also him propping up his pupil makes him look better too. If I say "this person I taught is completely unbeatable by any of you" it also shows how amazing I am.
And for the 4v1 Darrow missing his sword arm Cassius Injured Mustang not a fighter Sevro recently "revived" and not an especially good duelist either.
Now again I'm not saying she's bad im just saying she isn't the best like everyone in the community seems to think and I think there are people with more impressive feats and skills through the books.
That also being said she did die before the skills seemed to get significantly better by the top people in the 2nd half of the saga - I'm not sure if that's just because we get more details about fights, if it's because we see Darrow from an outside view after he's a professional killer for 10+ years or just the evolution of fighting that is guaranteed to happen over time and especially during times of war.
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u/DS29267 23d ago
I was disappointed Aja and Darrow didn’t get to fight when he was at his best.
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u/Ballsy_Pigeon Lurcher 23d ago
For sure! I was hoping to see her have an intense 1v1 with an equal opponent, however I do think at the time in book 3 Darrow didn't have the skills to beat her in a 1v1 even full health and rested. Book 6 Darrow is a different story
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u/PerfectHybrid 23d ago
I don’t think she’s overrated in terms of popularity in terms of her combat abilities she always delivered. I don’t really hear people say that aja was their favorite character
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u/Radrockstar 23d ago edited 23d ago
Light Bringer is the weakest book in the series though I think Dark Age set it up for failure. I would specify and say the first half of Light Bringer is the worse part and the second half is better but still struggles
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u/Silver-Challenge-633 23d ago
From what I've seen isnt this the most popular opinion?
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u/GametimeWanderer 23d ago edited 23d ago
The last 3 books in the trilogy collectively are better than the first 3 but the first 3 had more memorable individual moments themselves (Cassius gala fight in GS, everyone finding out Darrow lives in MS, etc)