Light Bringer by Pierce Brown Series: Red Rising #6
Published by Del Rey (7.25.2023)
Genres: Adult, Science Fiction
Format: ARC, 704 pages
Source: From Publisher
Darrow returns as Pierce Brown’s New York Times bestselling Red Rising series continues in the thrilling sequel to Dark Age.
“The measure of a man is not the fear he sows in his enemies. It is the hope he gives his friends.”—Virginia au Augustus
The Reaper is a legend, more myth than man: the savior of worlds, the leader of the Rising, the breaker of chains.
But the Reaper is also Darrow, born of the red soil of Mars: a husband, a father, a friend.
The worlds once needed the Reaper. But now they need Darrow. Because after the dark age will come a new age: of light, of victory, of hope.
My thoughts
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES. DO NOT READ IF YOU AREN’T CAUGHT UP TO THIS BOOK. It also contains spoilers for this book itself, and while those are in spoiler tags, they do not work on the mobile app. So if you’re reading this on mobile, LOOK AWAY CHILD.
Light Bringer, a summary:
Me: Lysander is a little pixie bitch and I couldn’t possibly hate him more
Lysander: Hold my beer
Now, on to the real review:
First of all, THANK YOU so much to Del Rey for sending me an early copy! I legit screamed when I opened that email. And then again when it came in the mail, lmao!
I can’t believe there’s only one book left in this series. I’ve been with this story and these characters for seven years. I’ve read them all several times (with the exception of Dark Age, which I’ve only read twice) and at this point, the characters feel like family. The world that Pierce created feels so real, the characters feel so real…it’s uncanny, and I can’t even begin to put the connection I feel with these books into words. And I really felt that connection in this book. It struck me while reading that this is the only long series I’ve spent years with as the books published. There’s been plenty of trilogies, but the small handful of longer series I’ve read were already published (or mostly published) by the time I read them.
This book gave me ALL the feels!! There were a couple of times where Darrow was reminiscing about the past and the loved ones he’d lost, and I actually teared up reading it. Actually, several scenes made me tear up or outright cry without even involving someone dying. And one particular part had me SOBBING. Like full out, ugly cry. View Spoiler » How many times will this series break my heart into pieces 😭
I am heartbroken, yes, but also filled with hope that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel in Red God. I am positively overwhelmed by my love for these characters, and the thought of such a beloved series coming to an end after all these years is bittersweet indeed. The characters feel like family after so long spent with them and I will be sad to say goodbye!
I think my favorite part about this book was the relationship that developed between Lyria and Cassius. It was pure gold every time they were on the page together, and I found their dynamic incredibly endearing! It was such a genuine and heartwarming relationship, I loved it to pieces!! Lyria has really grown on me, and so has Cassius. CASSIUS, MY SWEET LITTLE MARSHMALLOW. I didn’t realize how much I loved him until this book!
And then there’s the opposite spectrum – Lysander. (Imagine I said his name while baring my teeth, in a contemptuous hiss.)
YA’LL. My hatred for Lysander has grown exponentially. Just when I thought it wasn’t possible to hate him any more than I already did. I desperately need him to die a slow, horrible, agonizing death by the end of this. I just knew this was basically going to be his book, with that title. And boy do I despise that self-righteous, entitled, arrogant little pixie bitch. I don’t think I’ve ever hated a fictional character more than I hate him. You think you hate him in Iron Gold, and then even more in Dark Age? Well, folks, prepare for that hatred to be multiplied tenfold in Light Bringer. Just when you think he can’t get any worse, HE DOES. He thinks he’s some badass righteous savior, but he’s just a petulant child playing at war. I can’t wait to see him go head to head with Darrow (the version of Darrow at his best), because when he actually faces a Peerless Scarred all out? He’s going to be torn apart, and I can’t wait to watch. FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT, LYSANDER.
So. I’ve had this feeling since Iron Gold that Pierce is setting up the death of the Reaper, and the title of book 7 does not give me much hope to the contrary. My hubby thinks Sevro will have to kill him (I think that notion is ridiculous lol), but he hasn’t read Light Bringer and Darrow has more or less found redemption for all of the horrible shit he’s done. And I was so happy to see that redemption – I was losing faith in him, and it absolutely broke my heart. Something else I was ecstatic to see was the catharsis between Darrow and Sevro. They are my BROTP!!! I haaaated seeing them fight, and their dissonance the last couple of books has been killing me a little. Sevro is my absolute favorite character of the whole entire series (very closely followed by Victra) and I neeeeed him to not die in the next book. View Spoiler »
Overall Assessment
Plot: 5/5
Premise: 5/5
Writing style: 5/5
Originality: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World-building: 5/5
Pace: 5/5
Feels: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 5/5
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