u/Arch_Lancer17

Red Rising - Fun. Very easy re-read that sets up the series quite well.

Golden Son- Huge step up of quality. You are locked in from the very moment you read the first line. Great character work and world building. Bonkers ending.

Morning Star- Incredible first act that sets the tone for the rest of the book. Fast and brutal. Leaves you with a good feeling by the end.

Iron Gold- You quickly realize that it is not all sunshine and rainbows for Darrow and Co. Probably the weakest of the sequel trilogy, but still very strong. Love the addition of multiple POVs. Makes world building much easier. Love where it ends. Makes you want to hop straight into the next.

Dark Age- Holy shit. What a book. Just non stop carnage from start to finish. Probably some of PBs best work when it comes to action and set pieces. Insane character introductions. Probably nothing I would want to change about this book.

Lightbringer- Darrow's Odyssey. Great group of characters that PB got to work with. I laughed and I cried. And most importantly, my honor remains.

When it comes to Cassius in the second trilogy, I always felt that he is presented as severely depressed and barely holding on. He lost everyone he loved, he is an outcast by his people, and has been wandering aimlessly for 10+ years without real purpose. That of course was until he had reunited with Darrow, and things seem to be trending in the right direction for him. But was that enough for him to mentally recover from the darkness that consumed him?

I don't think Cassius would ever think to take his own life, but I feel that he was looking for honorable ways to die so that in his last moments, he could feel like he did the right thing in the end. That of course starts with his trial in the bleeding place in IG. He knew that he wasn't going to make it out of that place alive, but by not revealing how to open the safe and protecting Lysander, he felt that was good enough in the end for him.

Then we get to Hangar 17b. Cassius knows that he was never going to be able to get to Lysander, but he does it anyways. Dying in that moment was the only option for him, and he was ok with it because he made peace with death a long time ago. In that moment before the charge, he hopes that his death will haunt Lysander for the rest of his days. And with his death, Cassius is finally free from his personal agony.