Morning Star

by Pierce Brown

Info

Date Finished: 8/28/2026

First Sentence: I rise into darkness, away from the garden they watered with the blood of my friends.

Last Sentence: His name is Pax.

Companion Album:

New Cover

A book cover for "Red Rising" by Pierce Brown in a striking red and yellow-orange color palette. The top of the cover features the title in a stylized gold outline font, alongside the author's name and a promotional quote. The bottom portion is dominated by a high-contrast, grainy, orange close-up illustration of a classical statue's intense eyes and furrowed brow against a solid red background.

A Few Thoughts

Morning Star is an exciting end to the very enjoyable Red Rising trilogy. It's not trying to be anything more than it is, and it's a lot of fun.

There are definitely some highs and lows in Morning Star, though. One high point is a well-executed twist towards the end that caught me flat-footed. A low point is when Pierce Brown writes in an excuse for one character to literally say "Bye, Felicia." It felt like he lost a bet with a friend and then had to sneak it in. It really stood out in a bad way.

Overall, the story is pretty straightforward, and so are the characters. But it's an exhilarating ride with a cast that's easy to love.

This one took FOREVER. GIMP was not cooperating and was super slow. Most of the time was spent on waiting for the filters to apply. Not super satisfied with this one, to be honest. All my Red Rising covers were duds IMO, but that's the point of this project. Do it, get it done, and try to do a little better next time.