With shades of The Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, and Game of Thrones, debut author Pierce Brown’s genre-defying epic Red Rising hit the ground running and wasted no time becoming a sensation.
Golden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom from the overlords of a brutal elitist future built on lies. Now fully embedded among the Gold ruling class, Darrow continues his work to bring down Society from within.
A life-or-death tale of vengeance with an unforgettable hero at its heart, Golden Son guarantees Pierce Brown’s continuing status as one of fiction’s most exciting new voices. 

My Review 

Author: Pierce Brown
Series: Red Rising #2

Pages: 464

Publication Date: January 6, 2015

Source: Library

I’m rusty at this review thing but I’m going to try for Darrow.

With the exception of Harry Potter, Outlander and maybe the Lumatere Trilogy, Red Rising is the absolute epitome of all the books I’ve read.

There is this chill that goes down ones spine when they know they are reading a great book. I felt that with Red Rising and the feeling was intensified in Golden Son, which was so much more complex and dramatic than its predecessor and if you’ve read Red Rising you’d also know that that’s quite a feat in itself. Pierce Brown has outdone himself.

The world is ten folds that of what we saw in Red Rising and so are the friendships, betrayals and action-drama sequences. I took a 3 day break because I couldn’t deal with certain revelations and other possible outcomes. This series has broken my heart so many times thus far and all that’s keeping me going is Darrow’s hope. It takes a moment to realize that his problems aren’t mine and his world is not real, however, Brown’s Martian society very closely resembles our own and its hard to not be fascinated and horrified by this paradigm.

Golden Son begins with a 2 year leap, Darrow begins the novel at age 18 commanding fleets at the Institute fresh and yearning for action, but finishes the novel as a full fledged man of war at age 20. I loved the subtle yet continues passage of time. A war doesn't happen in a month, it takes years and a lot of manpower something Pierce Brown made sure to address.

Darrow is a fantastic character to be inside the head of. His faith in humanity and capacity to love is heartbreaking given what he went through and continues to go through. It does help that he has some wonderful friends like Sevro and Ragnar. Sevro's sailors-mouth was always a welcome reprieve. This midget in wolfs clothes has really grown on me. On the other hand Ragnar was newly introduced in Golden Son and his relationship through not too deeply explored foreshadows to the future Darrrow's been working on and I'm so excited to see more and learn more about Ragnar's sisters and family. Also, special mentions go to the Telemanus's and Lorn of Arcos. Pax was my teddy bear in Red Rising and I'm glad there was more of the Telemanus's in this book.

“Rise so high, in mud you lie.” So many left in the dirt and now I have a sopping month to wait for the conclusion.

-MARI

A discussion between P.E. and Mari.

OMG The Sirenic Codex is officially one! It's been a long process, and it's crazy to see our baby growing up. Mari and I started this blog last year, almost on a whim. It was something we talked about for a while, and it wasn't until we decided to close our previous blogs and move on that the process sped up. Throughout the year, there were some mishaps, but I think we're both extremely happy with how the blog has done through it first year.

So Mari, what has been the highlight of blogging for this past year?

That's an easy one. It's our amazing followship. The TSC doesn't have a huge following but the people we have are the best kind of book friends. We enjoy reading everyone's comments and replying to each and every one of them. You guys are so appreciated and we couldn't have done it without you. Some one once said comments are better than cookies and the comments on the TSC are definitely better.

I'm pretty sure I said that. Funny, because I'm eating cookies right now! Beyond the readers, whom I adore obviously, my highlight has been being very proud of some of my work. I like writing, and I feel like this year especially, I worked hard to try to write posts worth reading. I'm nowhere near where I want to be, but there are some reviews and discussion posts that I'm extremely proud of.

Definitely, I'm very happy with how far the blog has come and all the work we've put into it. I've enjoyed doing the cover wars meme which was my favourite from your old blog. Also, I love being able to do these conversation type discussion posts. I also believe that I've one some of my best work on this blog. Here are some of my favourites:

• Bookish Vacations: Anna and the French Kiss
• Why Do I Read?
• Dauntless: Side-Effects of The Bronze Horseman
• Come Back Hope: On Dystopias and Technology
• Review: Mistress of Rome

There is much to be proud of. All these posts made me smile whilst writing and I enjoy reading them, I hope everyone else did too. How about you? What are your favourites?

Obviously, the best has yet to come, but my favourites include

• Looking for Euphoria: Dreaming and Blogging
• Libraries Are Awesome
• The New Hotness
• Comments Are Better Than Cookies
• The Cost of Awesomeness
• The Rule of Romance in YA
• Melina Marchetta: The Books That Hurt
• The Land of Opinions

Yeah, we had a great run. I think we've done great so far. So great, and a lot of it has to do with our readers. So, for TSC's first birthday, we will be hosting a giveaway. And not just any giveaway: we will be giving away one of our favourite books.

P.E.'s Choice

I'm giving away Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Red Rising is one of my favourite books ever, and I adore everything about the book. It has an epic story and plot, and you can read my insanely gushy review of it here.

Mari's Choice

I'll be giving away one of my favourite books of this year and a Cover Wars favourite: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski. I absolutely loved this book and you an read more in my review.  

Terms and Conditions

• If you're a minor, have your parent's permission. 
• There will be two winners. The first winner will be contacted first, and will have their choice of book. The second winner gets the other book. 
• This giveaway is international as long as The Book Depository ships to you. However, The Sirenic Codex reserves the right to get you your brand new book from the most cost efficient source possible (Barnes & Noble, we could buy and mail it, or use another site). 
• The information you provide will only be used for the purposes of this giveaway. 
• We can't control shipping/handling and won't be liable for any damage your book might incur. If it gets lost, due to monetary restrictions we will be unable to send you another one. 
• Finally, this giveaway is meant for the people that have been supporting The Sirenic Codex for the past year. You all mean a lot to us, and we hope you enjoy your prizes.

Thank you so much for everything! Enjoy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author: Pierce Brown
Date of Publication: January 28 2014
Pages: 382 (but the book is huge so it's more than your typical 382 page book)
Source: Library

The war begins...

Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars. Generations of Helldivers have spent their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that one day people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left.

Until the day Darrow learns that it is all a lie. Mars is habitable - and indeed has been inhabited for generations by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. The Golds regard Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.

With the help of a mysterious group of rebels, Darrow disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside.

But the command school is a battlefield. And Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda...

Review:

"And to the reader, thank you. You're going to bloodydamn love these books." 

Pierce Brown opened the story with these acknowledgements and he was bloodydamn right. Red Rising is a monster. It is a powerful book about cruel realities. It is cunning and proud and a masterpiece. This book is epic and I expect its impact to be huge. So many times has it been compared to The Hunger Games and although the stories are different, I think it's because the potential is just as strong. It is a story of universal appeal and I can't wait to watch Red Rising become a sensation because this book has the x factor. I know I'm gushing but it's hard not to because Red Rising is everything I could ever want from a book.

Darrow is a Helldiver. He is a Red, one of the lower castes in a futuristic world where humans learned how to space travel and are terraforming other planets. As a Red, Darrow is a pioneer helping make Mars habitable for future Earth evacuees. He lives without much, but he is happy with his simple life with his beautiful wife, whom he adores. Reds are on the bottom of the caste system, and that has never bothered Darrow, who believes in what he's doing. Except that he has been lied to his entire life and he soon learns of the oppression of the Golds.

The world building is phenomenal. Everything has not yet been told to the reader, but the society is described with such clarity that I can clearly imagine it and its values. Pierce Brown put so much thought into his world and that makes Red Rising really shine. There are so many references to history- to Alexander the Great, to the Romans, to Plato, and all of it is done intelligently. For example, Plato's thoughts on democracy as the tyranny of the people are one of the principles to Darrow's world. There is a beautiful balance between the future and the past and it's very clear how their society was built from the past, just like ours.

I adored Darrow right away. He had a spark in him that was apparent from the first scene and watching his character develop is truly remarkable. Darrow was complex and the relationships he built as well as his inner conflict from questioning the morality of his actions was fantastic. Darrow was so ambitious and focused. He wanted something and he did it singlemindedly. He suffered a lot and my heart broke for him, but all that suffering forced him to change.

There are so many phenomenal characters, and I wish I could highlight them all. Instead, I'll focus on the portrayal of females in Red Rising. The society was not patriarchal nor matriarchal. In fact, in several of the high positions, women were in charge. There were so many women, all powerful in different ways, like Eo's unwavering belief in a better world (I adored her) to some other character's sly realism. Red Rising was very much a military book and sometimes women seem to be ignored in these types of books, which is ridiculous because they have been incredible military leaders in the past. There was Zenobia, Jeanne D'Arc, the Trung sisters, Boudicca. Sometimes, dystopian YA authors seem to decide that in their imaginings of the future, women are weak and of lesser value; this is a step backwards I have never understood. So, I was happy to read about strong, capable women in Red Rising.

The plot was unbelievable. This is an epic story that is Game of Thrones esque. There are brutal battles, victories and failures. It is so bloody at times and I enjoyed reading about Darrow finding his way though this Machiavellian world. I was completely enthralled through every part of Red Rising. The writing is strong as it has a sense of attitude and it portrays Darrow perfectly.

Now, my absolute favorite part of Red Rising was its exploration of several subjects, most notably, power. I've always been fascinated with power: its acquisition, and its effects. Red Rising explored all this perfectly. As Darrow changed from a lowly Red to someone with greater opportunities, the story explored the effects of power as it changes and corrupts. The story also explored different types of power. What kind of power can a martyr have? Are matyrs good? What effect can power have to people born to it, yet oblivious to that fact? And how does an empire remain in power? All these questions were explored so well with undertones of psychology, philosophy and history. This literary aspect made Red Rising a page turner to read for entertainment, but also a book that could be comfortably read and analyzed in an English class.

Everything was crafted stupendously and Red Rising was a glorious melange of politics, brutality, rebellion, life, death... It had all the qualities one would expect from some of the truly great books. I don't know how Pierce Brown can possibly top Red Rising, but I'm so excited to find out because it is almost mid 2014 and Red Rising is already by far the best book I've read this year, and the series can potentially make my all time favourites list. I adored Red Rising and I implore you to read it.

-P.E.