Iron Gold by Brown
Ref: Pierce Brown (2018). Iron Gold. Hodder Paperback.
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Summary
They call him father, liberator, warlord, Reaper. But he feels a boy as he falls toward the pale blue planet, his armor red, his army vast, his heart heavy. It is the tenth year of war and the thirty-second of his life. A decade ago, Darrow was the hero of the revolution he believed would break the chains of the Society. But the Rising has shattered everything: Instead of peace and freedom, it has brought endless war. Now he must risk everything he has fought for on one last desperate mission. Darrow still believes he can save everyone, but can he save himself? And throughout the worlds, other destinies entwine with Darrow’s to change his fate forever: A young Red girl flees tragedy in her refugee camp and achieves for herself a new life she could never have imagined. An ex-soldier broken by grief is forced to steal the most valuable thing in the galaxy—or pay with his life. And Lysander au Lune, the heir in exile to the sovereign, wanders the stars with his mentor, Cassius, haunted by the loss of the world that Darrow transformed, and dreaming of what will rise from its ashes. Red Rising was the story of the end of one universe, and Iron Gold is the story of the creation of a new one. Witness the beginning of a stunning new saga of tragedy and triumph from masterly New York Times bestselling author Pierce Brown (goodreads).
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Color System
The Color system of the Society originally was a caste system created by early humans on Earth to create order when first colonizing the Moon. It is also a form of social hierarchy improved upon by the early Golds during their conquering of the Solar System. It divides Humanity into fourteen distinct "Colors."
Originally the "Colors" were native Earth human beings who simply wore colored clothes that denoted their position. After conquering Earth the founding Golds of "The Society" used genetic engineering to cause members of each Color to have hair and eyes to match their caste.
Beyond the coloring, the genetic structure of their bodies was modified to allow them to be more adept at performing their denoted tasks. Examples are Red's (miners) being smaller and squat, Obsidian's (fighters) being large and with 8, 5 or 4 fingers per hand, and Gold's (conquerors and explorers) having bone 5 times stronger than an average man. Every person's vocation is dictated entirely by their Color.
As part of the genetic engineering of the hierarchy, low Colors have significantly shorter pregnancies than pre-Color humans. Labor is induced for low Colors after a maximum of 5m of gestation through the use of catalysts, sedatives, or nucleic’s. Only Golds and Obsidians experience full 9m pregnancies with natural births.
In addition to the genetic engineering that gives individuals the pigment to match their castes, a certain amount of social engineering exists in an attempt to prevent the desire for social mobility. Obsidians (for example) believe Golds to be literal gods, helping to ensure their loyalty to their masters. While Reds are socially engineered to be heterosexual, family oriented, and marry and breed by age 14-16 in order to maintain and increase their labor population.
“The Gray soldiers prowl the cities ensuring order, ensuring obedience to the hierarchy. The Whites arbitrate their justice and push their philosophy. Pinks pleasure and serve in high Color homes. Silvers count and manipulate currency and logistics. Yellows study the medicines and sciences. Greens develop technology. Blues navigate the stars. Coppers run the beauracracy. Every Color has a purpose. Every Color prop’s up the Golds.”
High Colors
Golds: Rulers of society.
Peerless Scarred: The apex Golds who have completed The Institute above the Graduates and the Shamed. They are held in the highest esteem among Golds.
Silvers: Financiers and businessmen.
Whites: Clergy and judges.
Justices: The monastic whites who, after spending their life training in a monastery, have become the spirit of justice. They oversee many of the Gold ritual functions.
Coppers: Administration, lawyers, and bureaucrats.
Mid Colors
Blues: Bridge crew of starships and pilots.
Yellows: Doctors and researchers.
Greens: Programmers and technicians.
Violets: Artisans and other creatives.
Carvers: Violets who are capable of altering and creating life via surgery and genetic engineering. Trained in the Grove, they are given hallucinogenic medication, and then told to carve the things they saw. Notable Carvers include Mickey, the man who carved Darrow into a Gold.
Oranges: Mechanics and Engineers
Master Makers: Highly intelligent Oranges who specialize in multiple different fields of engineering. Notable Master Makers include Glirastes, the man who helped Darrow use the Storm Gods.
Grays: Regular soldiers and police.
Lurchers: These are the elite special forces comprised of highly trained Grays.
Low Colors
Brown: Servants, cooks, janitors.
Obsidians: Elite soldiers and bodyguards.
Stained: Obsidians who have passed a "Trial of the Stained" and are used as elite body guards and special forces by Golds. Physical specimens, they are bred and trained in the art of killing. Notable Stained include Ragnar Volarus and Volsung Fá.
Pinks: Pleasure slaves and social functionaries.
Roses of the Garden: The rarest and most valuable Pinks, extensively trained in the art of the human body and mind during their tenure in the Garden. Highly expensive and valuable. Notable Roses include Matteo, Theodora, and the Duke of Hands.
Reds: Manual laborers and miners.
High Reds: Reds who do not work underground in the mines like the low Reds, but hold the low-level positions above ground. They fill positions such as street cleaners, farmers, and janitors
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Significant Events
Darrow defeats the forces of the Ash Lord on Mercury after an Iron Rain unsanctioned by the Senate.
Darrow is removed from power by the Senate- they issue an order for his arrest.
Lyria of Legalos’ family is killed by the Red Hand, she saves Telamanus and goes into his service.
Lysander Lun and Cassius save Persephone from an Obsidian Ship on the rim. They are taken prisoner by the Raa. Cassius is supposedly killed after many rounds of single combats against the Raa.
Darrow and the Hounds break the minotaur (Apollonius) out of deepgrave and prepare for war against the Ash Lord on Venus.
Ephrem is forced by the Syndicate to kidnap Pax and Elektra. Ephrem uses Lyria to accomplish his mission.
The Raa discover that Darrow and the Rising destroyed the docks, killing more than 10M. They vote for war.
Darrow, the Howlers, and Sevro fight the Ash lord on Venus.
Ephraim is captured by Lyria and Holiday and forced to rescue Pax and Elektra from the Syndicate.
Lysander works with Dido Raa to save his own life.
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Misc Quotes
“It is said that a life is made great by sorrow and joy.”
“I knew it was my duty to my own legend to survive this trial. But I was still crippled by my own devices. Imagine me as a great fully-rigged man-of-war. Four masts, great bulwarks of oak and five score cannon. All my life I have sailed smooth seas and waters that parted for me by virtue of my own splendor. Never tested. Never riled. A tragic existence, if ever there was one. “But at long last: a storm! And when I met it I found my hull . . . rotten. My planks leaking brine, my cannon brittle, powder wet. I foundered upon the storm. Upon you, Darrow of Lykos.” He sighs. “And it was my own fault.” I war between wanting to punch him in the mouth and surrendering into my curiosity by letting him continue. He’s a strange man with a seductive presence. Even as an enemy, his flamboyance fascinated me. Purple capes in battle. A horned Minotaur helmet. Trumpets blaring to signal his advance, as if welcoming all challengers. He even broadcast opera as his men bombarded cities. After so much isolation, he’s delighting in imposing his narrative upon us. “My peril is thus: I am, and always have been, a man of great tastes. In a world replete with temptation, I found my spirit wayward and easy to distract. The idea of prison, that naked, metal world, crushed me. The first year, I was tormented. But then I remembered the voice of a fallen angel. ‘The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, or a hell of heaven.’ I sought to make the deep not just my heaven, but my womb of rebirth. “I dissected the underlying mistakes which led to my incarceration and set upon an internal odyssey to remake myself. But—and you would know this, Reaper—long is the road up out of hell! I made arrangements for supplies. I toiled twenty hours a day. I reread the books of youth with the gravity of age. I perfected my body. My mind. Planks were replaced; new banks of cannon wrought in the fires of solitude. All for the next storm. “Now I see it is upon me and I sail before you the paragon of Apollonius au Valii-Rath. And I ask one question: for what purpose have you pulled me from the deep?” “Bloodyhell, did you memorize that?” Sevro mutters.”
“Devoid of mystery, a man must have dignity. I find the lack of either boorish.”
“Dead kids are the loose change of war.”
“Mercy emboldens evil men.’ ”
“I am Cassius au Bellona, son of Tiberius, son of Julia, Morning Knight, and my honor remains.”
“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”
“Slow your breathing. Do not be afraid. Stand astride the torrent.”
“Manners, brother; when at the mercy of your enemies, petulance demeans your entity.”
“Honor is not what you say. Honor is what you do”
“History is a wheel. And all mobs are the same. Full of small men with big appetites. Only way they grow is by eating men like us.”
“My body welcomes the adrenaline, sucking it down like water on cracked asphalt. I look at the watch and feel nothing. My focus narrows to the here and now. I grin.”
“They see my slender hands and naked face and believe me weak. Dangerous game, judging a blade by its scabbard.”
“It is our duty to embrace the scars our choices give us, to embrace and remember our mistakes, else we live believing our own myth.”
“I rather think it the habit of an indolent mind to indict a single man for a civilization’s failure.”
“Change isn’t made by mobs that envy, but by men who dare.”
“You want to pay me?” He’s offended. “Heavens no. Don’t cheapen the serendipity, love.”
“You asked me if I believe in the Vale. I don’t know. I don’t know if it exists or if they watch me. But I know it doesn’t matter if they can see us. What matters is that we can feel them. Remember them. And try to live to be as good as we were in their eyes.”
“Do not let fear touch you. Fear is the torrent. The raging river. To fight it is to break and drown. But to stand astride it is to see it, feel it, and use its course for your own whims.”
“I know it may be impossible to believe now, when everything is dark and broken, but you will survive this pain, little one. Pain is a memory. You will live and you will struggle and you will find joy. And you will remember your family from this breath to your dying days, because love does not fade. Love is the stars, and its light carries on long after death.”
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, or a hell of heaven.”
“I suppose that is what every man must tell himself in war.” His voice rasps and he sucks again on the water tube. “That there will be an end, and when it is done, enough of himself will remain. Enough to be a father. A brother. A lover. But we know it isn’t true. Don’t we, Darrow? War eats the victors last.”
“Men call him father, liberator, warlord, Slave King, Reaper. But he feels a boy as he falls toward the war-torn planet, his armor red, his army vast, his heart heavy. It is the tenth year of war and the thirty-third of his life.”
“My wife is not as fickle as a flame. She is an ocean. I knew from the first that I cannot own her, cannot tame her, but I am the only storm that moves her depths and stirs her tides. And that is more than enough.”
“Stories are the wealth of humanity!”
“Those you protect will not see you. They will not understand you. But you are the Gray wall between civilization and chaos. And they stand safe in the shadow you cast. Do not expect praise or love. Their ignorance is proof of the success of your sacrifice. For we who serve the state, duty must be its own reward.”
“The destroyer of a civilization too often resembles its founders.”
“A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.”-Lorn Au Arcos.
“They planted us in stones, watered us with pain, and now marvel how we have thorns.”
“The key to learning, to power, to having the final say in everything, is observation. By all means, be a storm inside, but save your movement and wind till you know your purpose.”
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