Show notes
Send us Fan MailTis’ a Dark Age Indeed…👯♀️US: 🆘We are officially sending out a distress signal to anyone in the galaxy who is willing to listen! 📣Pierce Brown!? Are you out there?! If so, please send help because we’re pretty sure we’re not gonna make it! …Wait… what was that? 😈Pierce Brown: “The old rage in colder ways, for they alone decide how to spend the young.” US: 🥺🥺We’re not going to sugarcoat the truth for you. If you’ve made it this far, you already know that things are not looking good for our heroes of the Republic. In fact, things are extremely dire as the war wages and each character is forced to confront their worst fears. Has all of this death and horror been for nothing? Is Eo’s dream dead? Do any of us really have the power to rewrite our destiny and choose to live for something more, or are we fated to be crushed under the oppressor’s heel? We kicked off Sci-Fi Summer with a full-length episode introducing the genre and setting the scene for a closer analysis of science fiction. Next, we covered the original trilogy in detail, book one of the second trilogy and have officially rated every book a resounding five stars. Last week’s episode had us living in fear, and our intuition couldn’t have been more spot on because in Dark Age there is something genuinely unspeakable lurking in every shadow… in a way we never saw coming. Today we’re diving into book five: Dark Age, the middle book of the second major plot arc and what is now being referred to as the “Iron Gold Trilogy.” Political games are being played on an expert level, bloodlines are revealed so new leaders can ascend, and the disturbing jump scare to top all disturbing jump scares now lives rent free in both of our minds. We bring you our spoiler free reviews, “Five Sentence Summary” and all our faves and least faves, but also discuss sci-fi themes, differences and similarities to fantasy, the romance, genre miscategorization, lore and fun facts, quotes, character growth and relatability, and most importantly… themes. And lastly, we’ll be asking ourselves why this isn’t considered a horror novel, especially after Pierce himself said that fear was the central theme of this book. Bravo, Goodman. And congratulations on fulfilling your goal. We’re terrified. Next week we’ll continue our coverage with the FINAL available installation in the Red Rising series: Light Bringer. How will we feel after all is said and done, and how uncivilized will we become waiting for Red God, the official conclusion?Red Rising Character Art mentioned: @redmurphy.art on IGDon't be shy, subscribe! New Podcasts every Tuesday!! (And sometimes Friday!…)Shop our Merch line | * https://besties-and-the-books-shop.fourthwall.comCheck out these narrator interviews? ⬇️Anthony Palmini gives us the lowdown on what it’s like to voice act Rhysand, Kingfisher, AND Slade Ravinger! https://youtu.be/zcCyrlZ5Jcc?si=2k7ULbRPgZl_5pUJCheck out these author interviews? ⬇️Penn Cole talks with us about Strong Female Characters, Feminist Themes, and her debut bestselling Spark of the Everflame Series! https://youtu.be/7ukNImyoObw?si=7C3Y9kOUMN4hfcKbWe interviewed Callie Hart all about her NYT Bestseller Quicksilver! Watch it here! https://youtu.be/CED5s7qDBdQ?si=8xtIRO1IzX6Rsld4Check the official Follow Up Author Interview with Lindsay Straube of the Split or Swallow Universe all about Between Two Kings! https://youtu.be/OW1cxXTVcTc?si=oOxVIzbIheET_bNENikki St. Crowe, the queen of spicy fairy tale retellings chats with us about diving into the land of Oz with West of Wicked! https://youtu.be/wwFYSDKcbtE?si=X6iNmUVAE6Xhmv7B____Shop Bookish Merch we are wearing:Ashley is wearing: a hoodie from @TheLastBookStoreLiz is wearing: our branded besties and the books beanie https://besties-and-the-books-shop.fourthwall.comAnd an Anne of Green Gables “I Can’t I’m in the Depths of Despair!” T-shirt from Amazon | * https://amzn.to/4zYfTMEAny link with an * is an affiliate link through the service Magic Links and is eligible for a commission to us with no extra cost to you. Thank you for helping support our podcast!Support the showYouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Podcast Platforms@BestiesandtheBooksPodcast Besties and the Book Club on Fable!https://fable.co/bestiesandthebookclub-474863489358Liz Instagram | TikTok@TheRealLifeVeganWife AshleyInstagram | TikTok@AshleyEllix