Morning Star.

1. Author: Pierce Brown

2. Name of the book: Morning Star

3. Editorial: Hodder and Stoughton

4. Number of pages: 518 pages

5. Publication date: September 22nd 2016

6. My Grade: 7

7. Summary:

At the beginning of the book we found Darrow as a shadow of his former self after a year of torture and imprisonment at the hands of Adrius au Augustus, also called the Jackal, and now the ArchGovernor of Mars, he keeps him in a cell, starving, hurting him, and playing games with him. Across the worlds, he is believed dead because of a public execution faked by the Jackal and Octavia au Lune, the Sovereign, and also now everyone knows his secret since the process of his operation has been revealed. Sevro, is now the leader of the Sons of Ares, and after they found out that Darrow is still alive somehow, he sends his deputy Holiday ti Nakamura and his brother with some of his Howlers to rescue Darrow. Darrow discovers that Victra au Julii is also still alive and so he risks the mission to save him to free her as well. Reconciling and recovering at a hidden rebel stronghold, Darrow and Victra join Sevro's gang of Howlers, now he is beaten up and slimmer but he is finally with his friend and theHowlers. After recovering and healing both of them, they start training and do mini missions so they can get back in action, and when they accomplish that Sevro and them set to their first official mission, and it is to kidnap Quicksilver, the richest man in the Society, who they believe is the Jackal's silent partner. Darrow, Sevro and their men stumble into a peace negotiation between some of the Sovereign's underlings: Cassius au Bellona, Moira au Grimmus and the Death Knight, on one side, and Darrow's old friends: Virginia "Mustang" au Augustus, Kavax au Telemanus and Daxo au Telemanus on the other one and let’s say all of them are pretty surprised. The room erupts in conflict and destruction; Moira and the Death Knight are killed. Mustang is shocked to find Darrow alive but escapes anyway, and the Howlers manage to escape with Quicksilver and Kavax as prisoners. Quicksilver reveals that he had secretly co-founded the Sons of Ares with Sevro's late father Fitchner but obviously they doubt him so he tells them how he got involved and some personal things that only Fitchner, Sevro and Darrow would know the reason why Fichtner started the Sons. They, and offers his considerable resources to Darrow. Kavax also makes peace with Darrow and offers him allegiance.

The Sons seize control of the moon Phobos as a distraction, allowing Darrow, Ragnar and Holiday to slip away to seek an alliance with Ragnar's mother Alia Snowsparrow, an Obsidian queen. They are intercepted and then joined by Mustang, who renews her dedication to Darrow and his cause. They learn too late that they have been followed by an enemy ship. Both ships exchange fire and crash into the frozen wasteland of Obsidian territory. Plagued by cannibalistic tribes of Obsidian outcasts, Darrow and his companions ambush their Gold pursuers, Aja au Grimmus and Cassius. Darrow and Mustang neutralize Cassius, but Ragnar is mortally wounded by Aja before she escapes. Ragnar's sister Sefi arrives in time to be reunited with him, only to watch him die. Hoping that the fierce Obsidian warriors will join his rebellion when they see that their "gods" are just men who have subjugated them, Darrow and Mustang lead Sefi and her Valkyrie to overtake the Golds who style themselves as Norse gods for the superstitious Obsidians. Alia still refuses to follow Darrow's cause and denounces his group as heretics, so Sefi kills her mother and then the former "gods". Sefi becomes queen and manages to rally all of the Obsidian tribes to join Darrow's crusade, leaving the polar region for the Sons of Ares' stronghold with a wounded Cassius in tow. Cassius reveals that the Sovereign's secret stockpile of nuclear weapons has been stolen, likely by the Jackal.

Darrow and Mustang seek an alliance with the Moon Lords of Jupiter, who are led by the self-declared Sovereign of the Outer Rim, Romulus au Raa. Darrow's former friend Roque au Fabii is also there, in his position as the Imperator of Octavia au Lune's Sword Armada, to negotiate a truce with the Moon Lords. Darrow secures their support against Octavia when he manipulates Roque into confirming that she possesses planet-destroying atomic weapons to use against them if necessary. Darrow's forces are joined by those of the Moon Lords against Roque's Sword Armada and the fleet of Victra's brutal sister, Antonia au Severus-Julii. Using a tactical ruse, Darrow along with Sefi's Obsidians board the Roque's flagship. They overtake the ship, and the proud Roque, refusing to surrender, commits suicide. Antonia flees, but is soon captured by Victra. After the battle, Sefi and her Obsidians instigate a riot among the Sons of Ares to execute their Gold prisoners, having been enraged by the savagery of the Jackal. Sevro proves their hypocrisy in dramatic fashion by first hanging Cassius for killing Fitchner, and then hanging himself for his own multiple murders. Astonished, Sefi cuts them both down before they die, and Sevro makes peace with the Obsidians. Sevro and Victra are married in the week thereafter.

Darrow's Red Armada arrives at Luna to attack the Sovereign. Darrow, Sevro and Mustang release Cassius, who swears to distance himself from the war — until he suddenly grabs Sevro's scorcher and shoots him to death. Cassius stuns Darrow and Mustang, sets Antonia free, and the duo take Darrow, Mustang and Sevro's body with them to deliver to the Sovereign. They meet the Jackal, who coerces Cassius to sever Darrow's hand. Octavia orders Aja to execute Antonia for her dishonorable conduct during the battle with the Moon Lords, and sentences Darrow to death in a live telecast. Cassius, however, kills the Sovereign's Praetorian guards and releases Darrow and Mustang. Darrow fatally stabs Octavia and incapacitates the Jackal. While Cassius and Mustang face Aja, Darrow revives a sedated Sevro. Aja is slain under their combined efforts. The Jackal instructs Darrow to commit suicide, under threat of detonating the nuclear bombs he has placed across Luna. Darrow tears out the Jackal's tongue while Mustang and Lysander direct both the loyalist and the Rising fleets to fire upon the Jackal's flagship that was responsible for detonating the nukes. Nevertheless, twelve nukes go off, killing millions.

With the support of Octavia's young grandson Lysander, Mustang takes control as Sovereign. She disbands the Senate and begins dismantling the Colour system and the tyrannical social infrastructure of the Golds. The Jackal is publicly executed, after Darrow decides to take the only thing that knows that will truly damage the Jackal, his tongue. Cassius, having made "peace" with Darrow and himself, takes off with Lysander to raise the boy in exile. Mustang reveals to Darrow the existence of their son, Pax, who was born while Darrow was presumed dead, and had been secretly in the care of Kavax's wife. Darrow vows to himself to create a better world for his son to live in.

8. Full opinion:

Don’t get me wrong, I liked this book a lot, firstly for the first chapter when we find Darrow as a slave, in his cage under the Jackals table, like that is very cruel, making him his toy, starving him, taking everything from him, making him weak and more, I also love that Victra is also there, wounded and tortured too, because it’s like two of the strongest characters of the books are now week and left to die like no one cared for them. And I also loved that tiny moment between Cassius and Darrow on Roque’s rooms on the ship, as it brings some nostalgia to the books after a lot of fighting, a lot of hating and a lot but a lot of rivalry. Well founded of course, but either way nice to have them in one moment without wanting to kill each other. Also how some confrontations worked on this past book were really interesting, like the confrontations between the Jackal and them in the end or how Victra and Antonia go at each other almost to the point to maybe their deaths if it wasn’t for the fact that they stopped them.

The charming part was at the wedding of Sevro and Victra, two characters often mistaken by being emotionless because they are so violent and brutal, but in fact, for me, it was them that make this story so engaging and fun to read, how literally is that phrase of don’t judge a book by its cover, it’s truly the definition for them, they might fight like animals but they are loyal, ambitious, and they can understand far more than what the others give credit for, because when people found out about Darrow being a red, it was only Sevro that accepted it. So yeah, it was those two my favorite thing from the entire series.

And now the points that I disliked, first, the ending of Darrow and Mustang, yeah they belong to each other and whatever that is not my problem, it’s the fact that they have a kid by just spending one night together, it seems so like oh let’s give this man like the perfect happy ending, I am sorry but I don’t like it. I would have rather for them to have a kid like a few years later or something but not like this it felt forced for me. The fight between the Sovereign, the Jackal and Aja, I would have loved to be longer, I mean it was super smart the plant that they came up with, making it up that Cassius escaped and took them with him as prisoners and all but I would have liked it to be longer as it is kind of like the end of the society as it is and the most powerful people in the solar system and it seemed, not easy, because it was packed with action and more, but i just wished it to be longer. But overall, to me, it was a really beautifully written book, in a universe that I will always go back to, and full of the three things that I love the most, action, fantasy and a group of people proving that there is always something worth fighting for.

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