Golden Son
Quotes from the Book
Well, here I am, you deviant bitch. Here I bloody am. The motherfucking consequence.
Life is meant to be felt. Else why live? Valleys make the mountains.
You asked, what do I fear? I fear a man who believes in good. For he can excuse any evil.
The tragedy of the gifted is the belief they are entitled to greatness, Lysander. As a human, you are entitled only to death.
A moving mind is always fed. At rest, mine eats itself.
But the measure of a man is not the fear he sows in his enemies. It is the hope he gives his friends.
But in the kingdom of death, amidst ramparts of bodies and wind all of screams, there is a king, and his name is not Lune. It is Reaper.
There will dawn a day when these hostile hours, these days of hatred and violence, seem the faintest of memories, but dark and steep and long is the road up out of hell. So do not tire, do not despair, do not abandon your brethren, and do not forget that through this darkness we and we alone carry the light of freedom. We must defend it with every cell in our bodies. If not now, when? If not us, who?
I no longer trust stillness. Stillness is the enemy taking careful aim.
The key is having a long memory for the sweet, and a short one for the bitter.
Is a man a coward if he realizes that bravery is just a myth the old tell the young so they line up for the meatgrinder?
I’ll never get used to seeing the fear Sevro wakes in people. Deep down they know Darrow is operating on a framework of logic. No one, not even me, believes that Sevro is completely sane.
You will be hated and you will hate. You will love and be loved. You will fall and you will rise. Never will you know peace, but you will know joy.
I kept looking for hope in the world. Expecting the world to supply deliverance if I plucked the right chords. Demanding that it supply validation to my labor if I just gave enough effort. But that is not the nature of the world. Its nature is to consume. In time, it will consume us all, and the spheres will spin until they too are consumed when our sun dies. Maybe that is the point of it. Knowing that though one day darkness will cover all, at least your eyes were open to see moments of light.
I would die for the truth that all men are created equal. But in the kingdom of death, amidst ramparts of bodies and wind all of screams, there is a king, and his name is not Lune. It is Reaper.
Get him inside somewhere and keep that man alive.” “Man?” Screwface laughs. “Hic est Lupus, motherfucker.
One must worry about the strength of a principle when it must compromise itself so often to survive.
During war, the laws are silent.
The man is broke, but he is not allowed to break.
I continue to exists, only because with existence there is still hope.
There’s never a right call, just people who make the hard ones.
But that is the noble lie of demokracy, isn’t it? The belief in humanity, even though humanity is a screaming, selfish mob. I love humans, truly. But humanity …” She shivers.
Matter, how tiny my share Time, how brief my allotment Fate, how small my roll to play Self, all that can be mastered
Fear is the torrent. The raging river. To fight it is to break and drown. But to stand astride it is to see it, feel it, and use its course for your own whims.
I hope you loved and loathed this story. I hope you read into the early morning, well past any reasonable hour, and that you come along with me for the conclusion of this little tale, and many more that are yet to be written.
Love may give one wings, but everything burns when it flies too close to the sun.
It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.
Laughter spews from between my teeth. I would die for the truth that all men are created equal. But in the kingdom of death, amidst ramparts of bodies and wind all of screams, there is a king, and his name is not Lune. It is Reaper.
But you don't get the wolf by the tongue without reaching through its teeth.
Did you know?
- Dark Age is the fifth book in the Red Rising Saga and the second in the sequel sequence that began with Iron Gold.
- The novel was first published on July 30, 2019.
- It debuted at number four on The New York Times Best Seller list.
- The story is told from multiple alternating points of view rather than solely from Darrow's perspective.
- At roughly 784 pages, it is one of the longest entries in the series.
About Pierce Brown
About the book
Dark Age is the fifth novel in Pierce Brown's Red Rising Saga and the second of the sequel sequence that began with Iron Gold, continuing the science-fiction epic set in a far-future, color-stratified human civilization spanning the solar system. After a revolution toppled the old Gold-ruled Society, the book follows a fracturing republic at war: Darrow defends the planet Mercury against the forces of Atalantia au Grimmus, political intrigue and poison stalk the seat of power on Luna, and rival factions clash on Mars, while the young Gold heir Lysander au Lune pursues his own path.
Across its many viewpoints, the novel dwells on the costs of revolution and the gap between the ideals that justify a war and the brutality required to wage it. Brown weaves themes of power, loyalty, vengeance, sacrifice, and the question of whether a just society can be built on bloodshed, deepening the moral ambiguity that distinguishes the later books from the original trilogy.
Dark Age was a commercial success, debuting at number four on The New York Times Best Seller list, and is frequently cited by readers as one of the darkest and most intense installments of the series. Its expansive scope and high body count drew strong reactions from the saga's devoted fanbase, cementing the Red Rising Saga's standing in modern space-opera science fiction.
Key characters
- DarrowFormer lowborn Red turned revolutionary leader, defending Mercury
- Virginia au AugustusSovereign of the Republic and Darrow's wife, navigating political crisis on Luna
- Lysander au LuneYoung Gold heir to the deposed Sovereign, pursuing his own ambitions
- Atalantia au GrimmusRuthless Gold warlord leading the Society Remnant against Darrow
- LyriaA Red refugee caught up in the political turmoil on Luna
- EphraimA jaded former soldier turned thief entangled in the conflict
Book details
- First published
- 2019
- Length
- 784 pages
- Series
- Red Rising Saga #5
- Reading time
- 14 hours
- Author
- Pierce Brown
- Genre
- Science Fiction
- Goodreads rating
- 4.51 (158k ratings) →
Critical reception
- Debuted at number four on The New York Times Best Seller list.
- Widely regarded by readers as among the darkest and most violent installments of the Red Rising Saga.
- Praised for its expanded multi-perspective storytelling while drawing strong reactions for its grim tone and high stakes.
Series & reading order
- 1 Red Rising
- 2 Golden Son
- 3 Morning Star
- 4 Iron Gold
- 5 Dark Age
Keep reading
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Fell
Fool's Fate
Red Queen
Blade of Tyshalle
The Eye of the World
Odd Hours
The Serpent King

