I finished this one back in March. It's the sequel to Red Rising which was recommended to me by a student.
The series is set in our future and humanity has spread through out our solar system. However, after a revolution sometime in the past before the beginning of the series, humanity has settled into a strict caste system based on color. Gold is at the top and rule over the other castes. Red is at the very bottom. Over the generations, the castes have become more than just titles, they've all been genetically altered to better succeed at their roles. Our protagonist, Darrow, is a red. His people have been lied to for generations. When Darrow finds out the truth, he joins the resistance and allows them to turn him into a Gold to infiltrate the highest ranks of the leadership.
In the previous novel, Darrow wins a kind of insane training program that was reminiscent of the Hunger Games. Golden Son opens with Darrow in command of a space ship and seemingly just moments before winning a triumph in the next phase of his education. Everything seems to be going perfectly for Darrow.
However, the tables are turned and victory turns to defeat. Darrow's failure puts him in a politically bad position as his sponsor abandons him and the future seems bleak.
I found this book intensely frustrating. Darrow makes a lot of obviously stupid decisions and it really got under my skin. It's not a bad book really, just irritating. My students loved this book though and I guess I can see why. I went on to read the next book in the series that I will review a little later.
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