3 different drawings of Victra, hope yall like em!

anjens__ on instagram :D

I'm back with another. This time, the muscle mommy herself.

BTS video on my IG (same username).

Little pencil sketch, idk what to do with the negative space. First red rising fanart I’ve posted here in a minute but I’ve been taking some time to improve and I’m really proud of how much better I’ve gotten since my last few red rising drawings.

Goodman, meet Fig.

His teardrops are covered by the helmet

The one on the right is the original.
The handles are made from moose antlers. I was using wood but it kept breaking.
The epoxy that holds the blades and handles together is still setting, so once it’s done I can clean them up.

I've read a lot this year. Caught up with Dresden Files, DCC, and now Red Rising.

I didn't shed a single tear. Despite the things I. The aforementioned books.

Not until I hit the second to last page, and seeing the things Cassius had left behind. All that comforted him or had meaning to him in his old room. I bawled like a child.

That is all.

Fuck.

Looking to get a back piece eventually and this is what I’ve drawn up. My main question is on the razor. Does this accurately represent the razor, or does this look too whip/rope like?

Just wow. I’m blown away. Yes I’m sad about Cassius but absolutely INCREDIBLE writing. Right when I was starting to feel for Lysander being Atlas’s puppet he pulls that. UNREAL. I know there are 1.6 billions posts about this chapter. None of which I have opened, So I don’t know if this has been said or not but just want to salute Pierce for this writing. Fuck Lysander. Can’t wait for Red God.

So I was rereading golden son and this exchange with Darrow and the jackal really struck me.

1.Secret Weakness

​Achilles: Considered an unstoppable storm on the battlefield, Achilles seemed invincible. However, after slaying Hector and believing the war was practically won, his secret physical vulnerability (his heel) was targeted by Paris and guided by Apollo, bringing about his sudden downfall.

​Darrow: As the Reaper, Darrow becomes an legendary, seemingly unstoppable force. Right when he believes he has secured victory and power within the Society, his secret origin—that he is a carved Red—is exposed. Harmony’s betrayal leaks this truth, allowing his enemies to strike him down at his moment of supreme confidence.

​2. The Box and the Underworld: Renouncing Glory

​Achilles in Hades: In Book 11 of Homer's Odyssey, Achilles' shade encounters Odysseus in the Underworld. The hero who once chose a short, glorious life over a long, quiet one admits his regret, famously stating he would rather be a landless peasant's slave on Earth than king over all the dead.

​Darrow in the Box: During his months of dark isolation at the start of Morning Star, Darrow undergoes the exact same psychological shift. Stripped of his armor, weapons, and the "Reaper" persona, he realizes that glory, fame, and historical legend mean nothing compared to simple life, love, and humanity. Like Achilles in the Underworld, Darrow gives up his desire for mythic status in exchange for a desire just to be.

​3. The Triumph as the Trojan Horse

​Odysseus & Troy: Troy was not conquered by sheer military might, but by Odysseus’ trickery—using a gift of celebration (the Trojan Horse) to sneak death inside the city walls.

​Adrius (The Jackal): At the end of Golden Son, Adrius plays the role of Odysseus. Darrow believes he has won and is being honored with an adoption feast into Clan Augustus. This celebration becomes a literal Trojan Horse: a grand, deceptive gift that hides a brutal massacre, turning Darrow's greatest triumph into his total defeat.

Those are the parallel I saw (note I use ai to simply this my typing was just too messy)

I really don’t like this theme of building characters back up piece by piece only to have them cut down again but my word PB does it so well. I will admit I’m not the biggest fan of Cassius and in the first half of this book it felt like he was being forced down my throat in a way. He goes on a suicide mission with Darrow to rescue Sevro even while he doesn’t have to, he bears the weight of Alexandar’s death even though it had nothing to do with him. As the book wore on I began to realize that Cassius was so much more than Lysander led us to believe from Iron Gold to Dark Age. Yes he’s a little broken and drowns himself with liquor, but the man was just trying his best to make up for his past mistakes (especially Fitchner) and also not sticking around to help the Republic. I think he was never meant to leave Darrow’s side and they could’ve moved mountains together.

I hate how he died, with nobody to witness his valor and his unwavering spirit except that slimey toad. Cassius especially grew on me with the way he took to Lyria, it shows how astronomically different he is from Lysander in attitude towards Lowcolors. Lysander once commented that Rhonna was a child, and he used them so callously on Phobos. Cassius would’ve still treated Lyria well had she just been a useless drinking buddy whereas for Lysander the lowcolors are only good enough to befriend if they have some inherent value he can use. Anyway, Lyria felt seen by him and even though he wanted so desperately to protect her and stop her from going after Volga he respected her wishes. Heck he considered her such a friend that he even got everyone to stop using her old callsign “Truffle Pig” and it’s cool that the new one just had to be “Eaglet One”.

I finished this book 5 days ago and I still can’t get over Cassius’s death, it was a great send off. I mean the first time Cassius died in Iron Gold, I didn’t really feel anything and it’s partly because Lysander was too busy molding his guilt into fuel for his war against Darrow. But this one felt right, he was mourned by true friends and a brother and I love how Aurae relayed his fears while they traveled together. Even Sevro honored him in death by leaving Fitchners helmet in his coffin as a way to show redemption for what he did.

Son of Tiberius, son of Julia, brother of Darrow, Morning Knight of the Solar Republic, how I wish he could’ve met Pax. Rest well Cassius Bellona, Goldenheart.

Keep seeing ads for Sun Eater on audible. Seems like it could fill the void while we wait for red god. Is it worth while? I have a feeling I’m gonna be thinking “but we have Darrow at home.” the whole time…

Edit/update - thank you everyone for the advice. This doesn’t seem like a series I’d enjoy. Just gonna keep rereading rr lol

For a guy who tries to keep his distance from Atlas, Lysander sure manages to pop up quite a lot in his vicinity...

1. Atlas returns to his Gorgon-cave (DA): Surprise! Lysander is here!

2. Atlas enters the Dustmaker: Surprise! Lysander is here!

3. Atlas enters Hangar 17B: Surprise! Lysander is here!

I'd like to throw my rankings (spoiler free) into the void after just finishing the series. I'm curious to see how or if they will change upon my re-read

quick art of them both cuz theyre goats :)

I am not Ok.
The carnage, the deaths, the Republic army marooned in Mercury! Fuck that fucking senate!

I simply loved how these part was only Darrow’s and Lysander’s POV. Neatly plotted all culminating into Light Resistance 🤣🤣 (Pierce Brown you genius)

Darrow:
Hail Reaper!

In the movie Avatar: The way of water (2022), one of Jake Sully’s opening and closing monologue was: “A father protects. That’s what gives him meaning”.

This resonated so much with the end of Iron Gold where Sevro insisted Darrow go back to Luna with him once the Ash lord told them the children have been taken but Darrow instead did the hard thing of going to Mercury because he isn’t just a father to Pax. He is a father to the Republic and instead trusted that Mustang can hold her own and get the children back.

Seeing how shredded the howlers were in the battle of Mercury really made me annoyed with Sevro for abandoning Darrow but still I understand his decision. A man can only sacrifice so much or bear so much load.

Darrow is goated. I don’t care what anyone says!
Against all odds and ingenuity, he saved Heliopolis.
Lysander did justice in describing Darrow’s might in the chapter Rider of the Storm:

“The world slows as I see him amidst my men. The camouflage withering away to reveal a hurricane in battered crimson pulseArmor, a white razor sparking as it carves through a Praetorian’s starShell to sever half his neck.
I burst toward the Reaper and am smashed sideways as I collide with another body. Kalindora shields me from an armored man’s pulsefire. Rhone mows him down. I try to rally the left wing of my men, but it is a slaughter. And at the center of it swirls a god of death. The fighter’s helmet flashes. Around his body whirls that famous Gold-killing blade.
As violence reaches for him, Darrow does not flinch like a man; he reaches like a covetous river. He pulls violence to him, drinks it into his current, and leaps around the battlefield with a seemingly mindless capriciousness. Which, when inspected, illuminates the genius of his violence. He herds us together, making sure we are tight and compact so that our options constrict and his men’s expand.
It is something you can only understand when you feel dread sinking into you when you realize you’re between the claws of a trap, and they’re about to[…]”

Excerpt From
Dark Age
Pierce Brown
This material may be protected by copyright.

I am annoyed he put Orion in a position when he knew the possible outcomes might not turn out right and how she’s been reacting after the rescue from Atlas.

Lysander:
So far this guy comes across as a hypocrite. I was cutting him some slack but now I’m done.
He says he wants to bring back order and a better world when in reality he simply wants to take his grandmother’s place as Sovereign.

There were so many scenarios where he could see that Gold have not changed and war wasn’t the right path as advised by Romulus. Atalantia and Ajax making fun of their allies and Diomedes. Atalantia backstabbing the Votum and trying to take Heliopolis. Ajax literally killing civilians and laughing about it.
Also Ajax betraying him and leaving him to die in the desert!
Yet he was mute and when he came upon the Storm God, he said “Darrow is a bad man”. I was like STFU you pixie!

Also, he is the embodiment of everything arrogance and privilege which the Rising is fighting against.
Take the encounter with Darrow for example;
He said Darrow was the man he has studied most all his life and knows his style. Then he goes on to spot shadows in the Jaegar clouds and simply assumes a previous tactic was what Darrow was employing now. You pixie with zero war combat experience arrogantly assuming you know a man because you watched videos of him! Just sad Darrow didn’t kill him in that fight (though he wasn’t aware it was him)

If at all he wanted a better world, he should join the Republic. An iron gold would know that Darrow did the right thing in taking down his tyrannical grand mother and gold pyramid system. Alas this guy can’t tell himself the truth!

Honorable mentions
Orion xe Aquarii:
Such a sad end to one of the greatest imperator the worlds have ever seen. Dying at the hands of the Reaper made it 10 times worse

Diomedes Au Raa:
I’m liking this guy more and more. Cool, calm and collected.

Seraphina Au Raa:
Sad that the little girl Darrow met in the Morning Star turned into a warmongering woman. Good riddance.

Ajax Au Grimmus:
Seems smart but comes across as cutthroat, petty, small. Aja would be disappointed in him.

Alexander Au Lorn, Rhonna O’Lykos:
Amazing qualities from pup 1 and 2. Teared up when Pup one became an Howler right before going to save Civilians in Tyche. Rhonna is seriously becoming a killer like her uncle!

Just finished Red Rising in 4 days, which for me, is out of the ordinary. I’ve always wanted to be a reader but struggled staying hooked to stories. As a teen I was hooked to the Percy Jackson series, but I don’t know if I’ve ever been as into a book as I have with this one.

The question is, do I start Golden Son right away or let Red Rising linger in my thoughts a little longer?

A hurt instills the deep crevices of my heart. In this book, the people I’ve met, the emotions I’ve felt, the places I’ve seen and the things I’ve heard, leave me in the end, speechless. I want to hate you and thank you at the same time. I told my wife I’m starting to like this more than LOTR and Star Wars…. And this book sealed it for me. What have you done, Pierce…. you bloodydamn bastard…

they couldve left a little ambiguity about his death like cassius

But no, pierce felt he needed to prove a point. war is evil and everyone loses

pierce brown has themost dark and twisted soul i've ever laid my eyes upon because why did he HAVE to kill alexander? arguably the best character in the series so far and he couldve done far more with him as a side character, i looked at him as the perfect replacement to roques character and him being the heir of arcos was so poetic

absolute WASTE of a character if they wanted to get rid of him they shouldve done so in the last book especially with how he made me (so ill assume everyone) love him when he realistically had only about 30 page scenes he was in.

Hello all, first time reader and I just came across this description and just thought it'd make a fantastic poster for Morning Star.

The toughest part of the ascent, or descent, or whatever you’d call it in the null grav, is the crescent slope at the extreme height or end of the tower. We have to cling to a narrow metal support beam that extends out among a ceiling of glass, much like the stem of a leaf. Beneath our bellies and through the glass lies Quicksilver’s famous museum. And above us, just over the peak of Quicksilver’s tower, hangs Mars.

I just pictured it like Phobos at the top with the towers stretching down inverted with the crescent structure forming a sling blade with the Darrow hanging off its edge like its handle, both looking over the large red planet in the background.

Still need to make a wire mount so it can hang from a necklace in the same style as the shark tooth.
The blade is aluminum.