Morning Star (Red Rising #3) by Pierce Brown

Synopsis:

5 out of 5 stars

Well, that was an ending if I ever read one. I honestly didn't know what to when I first got into reading this book. I was apprehensive because I knew nothing will or can go the way I want it to. This is just another Game of Thrones, prediction-wise. If you go ahead and assume something will happen, that assumption will come back and bite you in the butt. Like it did me in Golden Son, but I learned my lesson: abandon all expectations. Good or bad. Hopeful or heavy-hearted. All the same.

Another two lessons I learned reading this book: 1) Pierce Brown is the master of all things poetic. There are so many quotes in this book that are so deep and meaningful, it mind-reeling. He's like a seventy-four-year-old man in a twenty-seven-year old's body. There are so many I love, but here's one that I particularly enjoyed:

It reminds me of John Donne's famous line "No Man Is An Island" in his poem Devotions upon Emergent Occasions: "No man is an island, entire of itself, everyman is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the seas, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manor of thy friend's, or of thine own were: Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

I don't know why I typed the entire poem when I just needed a line, but I felt I should. It's very...humbling. It's a reminder that life is transient. Not that Pierce intended it to be similar or anything, I don't know, maybe he did. But enough about this depressing topic. Let's move on to a more...cheerful (?) subject, which is the second lesson I learned reading while this book 2) never, ever underestimate a belittled character, quite specifically, Sevro. He was always underestimated by the enemy in the book. (I'm going to stop there so as to not reveal too much information) His bluntness and non-filtered talk always kept me laughing. Sometimes even cringing. There was no stopping him. He did whatever the hell he wanted, whenever the hell wanted to. And that's one thing that made him an all-around awesome character. Also, can we appreciate his spontaneity for a second, especially when it came to his songs? They were actually pretty good, as good as impromptu songs can be that is.

He's my favorite character, for a number of reasons. Reason 1 is what I mentioned earlier. Reason 2, he's smarter than people give him credit for. Reason 3, he's actually very forgiving and lets a lot of things slide. Reason 4, he doesn't care what anyone thinks. He talks and treats everyone like they're nothing more than crap beneath his shoe. Reason 5, he's very funny. Reason 6, super loyal. I have a lot more, but I think you get the point. Honestly, though, I liked all the characters in some way. Even the "bad" ones. Everyone had flaws of character, to each their own pros and cons. For instance, Octavia, like Nero Augustus, just wanted to preserve what she truly thought was peace in her Society. She was merely too blind to see that it wasn't peace and order. The Jackal, the devil that he is, just wanted to be loved, but again was to blind to see that Mustang did, in fact, love him. You don't always sympathize with the antagonists of books, and when you do it more pity than sympathy, but Pierce Brown does a stellar job in making you feel conflicted at all times. I don't know how I feel about the ending, it wasn't really sad, but it wasn't exactly happy either. It was more like a compromise. It was a little sad.

I absolutely loved this book! I would recommend it to anyone that reads. I simply cannot do it justice with this review. It was so good. Well-written, fast-paced (even though it took me nearly a month to read, but that was no fault of the book. I was in a reading slump for some time), and the story line is excellent. I can't wait to see what Pierce Brown has in store!