Rating: 5/5
This book was consumed in essentially one sitting on a Sunday. Under time constraints from library due dates I had no choice but to read through this book as fast as I could. Lucky for me the read was an absolute joy. I’ve seen comparisons of this book to The Hunger Games and at least for each of the first entry in either trilogy the comparison is obvious. I think an important difference between these too that make this one more interesting is both the scale and the initial drive of each character. At the start of The Hunger Games, Katniss is no rebel she’s individualist to be sure but her motivations (at least to start) are much more personal.
However here, are character is immediately reckoned with the idea becoming his people’s savior. With a not so subtle nod to being risen from the dead and at one point his handler’s actually being asked are you to make him your messiah? This creates an interesting fish out of water story where as we would expect he excels and struggles with how to maintain the identity of his upbringing and that of his current state.
Most of all in this entry of the series I enjoy the subtle world-building, and many reveals. Each time a new reveal occurred I quickly recalled the obvious foreshadowing and it leads to some great payoffs. Following entries I expect to force the MC to really wrestle with hierarchy in their society and whether the Gold’s are beyond saving or just a slave to the same hierarchies. I also anticipate our hero much like Katniss being force to ultimately confront his own saviors the Sons of Ares. Will their revolution bring liberty or just a shift to a new oppressive hierarchy. Who could Ares actually be?