Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, graphic violence, and child sexual abuse.

Dark Age (2019) is the fifth installment in Pierce Brown’s Red Rising series, a science fiction series that began with Red Rising, released in 2014. Originally envisioned as a trilogy, the series expanded into a second trilogy due to the commercial and critical success of the original books. Brown’s background in political science and economics, as well as his personal interest in mythology and history, inform the series’ exploration of power, rebellion, and societal stratification (“About Pierce.” Pierce Brown).

The first trilogy—comprised of Red Rising, Golden Son, and Morning Star—follows Darrow, a miner on Mars. Born a Red, the lowest-ranking order of worker in his society, Darrow infiltrates the Gold elite after discovering the oppressive nature of the class system that structures “the Society”—the 14-caste hierarchy that operates in this dystopian future. Darrow ultimately rises through the Gold’s ranks to lead a revolution. The second trilogy—comprised of Iron Gold, Dark Age, and Light Bringer—shifts from the mythic hero’s journey to multi-perspectival narration that explores the messy aftermath of revolution.