Dark Age

"It's good, and it's too long. There's political intrigue, betrayal, and shocking revelations in 752 pages. Maybe bc I'm reading the series back-to-back but I got a bit fatigued of the story in some spots, but was drawn back in by something unexpected. Also, he kills so many characters lol"

"This one had a lot of war and plot twists that it was crazy. (Possible spoilers after this) Every once in awhile it made you feel like everything was okay then bam its not. But overall it was amazing. I loved that we got to see Virginias point of view. My favorite point of view was Ephirums because we get to see more of Pax. I wish we got to see more of Sevro in this book but its okay. I hope we get his point if view in the next book cuz that would be amazing. I wish there was more of Kavax too. Im also glad that Darrow finally realizes what hes been doing. But Lysander is just so naive and new to war and he doesn’t understand what it truly means to be a lower color. Its like he has a superiority complex that has yet to be taken down."

"This series has kept a steady pace in the high-octane writing style and the author's ability to spit them out every year. Just the mere fact of that astounds me. I also just learned that he wrote the first book in two months. My jaw hit the floor. I don't want to be rude but is Pierce Brown human and also not his future self who is already successful?<br/><br/>The audiobook is the way to go with Tim Gerald Reynolds taking the lead. Still, with six books out, there is always a possibility of change and in true fashion two of the other narrators were replaced from Iron Gold and the next book is just Reynolds, so heads up. I dislike inconsistencies with audiobooks but this one wasn't terrible enough to ruin the experience.<br/><br/>Lyria was not my favorite character maybe because she didn’t have much of a purpose. Well she finally steps up to the plate. I started to enjoy Lyria's story and smiled to see how far she had come. But all that aside Victra was the prize. It was honestly like watching a wrathful God. When matched with lower colors without heavy weapons the difference was staggering. To see how her brain pushed aside her weariness and loss to slaughter was almost mechanical. She was everything a Gold was engineered to be. I didn't get enough. I wanted a whole book of Victra and I'm not even sure I wanted it thru her eyes. To see her from a low Red was truly like witnessing a God.<br/><br/>Darrow is now on Mercury trying for this one last push to turn the tide. Still he is making many decisions I am not sure I can agree with but also I am not in his position. Darrow tries his best but without Mustang looking over his shoulder it is hard to know what is right. My favorite thing about this book was the sense of nostalgia. A moment in which technology is off the table and colors rule. With all the shields and weapons we forget the might of the Gold. They tear thru the low colors like tissue paper. The fights were very intense the story never lags and I could never be sure of where it was going. Just perfect.<br/><br/>There was maybe one too many monologs but I have to truly reach to complain about this series. Rereads are absolutely necessary. This is whole worlds full of complex beings. It gets better every time.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Quotes:<br/><br/>'I am the walking death. Whoa to those who cross my shadow.'"

"Mother of pearl!! I cannot believe how much this book messed with me. There is so much going on all the time, yet it’s not hard to keep up with. I am always astonished at how Mr brown does it, they just keep getting better and better! I do not know how the **** this shits going to end, like seriously I couldn’t predict 1/4th of this book. Lots of death lots of crazy ******* battles idk this book had everything!!"

"Brown’s best yet! "

"This is one of my favorite books"

"So, here's the thing. I don't think I actually like Darrow anymore. He's had to make incredibly difficult decisions throughout the series and this just continues in Dark Age. I disagree with many of them and he has the arrogance of a Gold who was created to destroy and rebuild the society. <br/><br/>But, you know what? It doesn't matter because I continue to love this series. I love so many of the characters and it hurts when they get hurt (and die, because of course they do). Lyria especially who grows in this book to start to recognize she can make change happen. The world building continues to be superb. The world Pierce Brown has created continues to grow and develop. <br/><br/>In so many book series, it ends with the triumph. We never get to see what happens after. The pettiness and resistance to change. The day to day struggles that can result in everyday people thinking that life was easier in the oppressive society of before our hero's triumph. Not this series. We see some fighting to return to what was before. We see some fighting to change things. And we see some people thinking they know what society needs and they will fight to shape it in their vision, whether it be right or wrong. <br/><br/>The most upsetting thing in this book is now having to wait for the next in the series to be published. I can't wait."

"**Update**<br/>Bumping up my rating to a 4.5 and keeping up my old review just to show how vastly a single year difference can change your opinion on something. <br/><br/>First, I have no idea what 1 year younger me meant by the beginning of this book being confusing. I think I may have been in a bad headspace or just simply reading too fast to fully comprehend what was happening. I will say that during this reread, I took it slow, like 2x slower than I've been reading through books this year. I made sure to read every word and even took the time to write out a recap after every 100 pages. While the first part of the book is intense and there's a lot going on, taking the time to digest it improved my view of it. <br/><br/>Anyways, I still think Dark Age doesn't have enough Sevro, but I appreciate the desolation and bleakness a little more. I also adored the addition of Virginia's POV and now crave to know what she was thinking and feeling in previous installments. I read that Brown felt like she was the hardest character to write and that doesn't translate on the page at all. She's the best part of Dark Age. All in all, I enjoyed it more the second time around and will be patiently waiting for the next 4 weeks until Light Bringer comes out. <br/><br/>**original review**<br/>It pains me to not be able to give this a 5. Like, physically. So much so that I desperately tried to convince myself with every turn of the page that despite it’s flaws, it was just as good as the first 4 books. But the very definition of a 5 star read is that it’s flawless. However, a 4 is still good. Not great, not mind-blowing fantastic, but just... good. I really wish the beginning hadn’t started out so confusing and that it didn’t take a good 250 pages to match the momentum of the other books. There’s a lot more things I could list that I did or didn't like, but the main thing is this: not enough Sevro, too much desolation."

"Shower thoughts for months while waiting for the 6th book. Appropriately named - this was daaark. Hail Reaper!"

"I love this whole series tbh! Currently rereading my favorite book “the angels game” while I figure out what new book to start next. It’s nothing like dark age but still one I always recommend to everyone. "