Morning Star is a 2016 science fiction novel by American author Pierce Brown; it is the third in his Red Rising trilogy.

Morning Star picks up as the lowborn Darrow escapes capture and resumes his campaign against the tyrannical Sovereign of the Society.

Preceded by Red Rising (2014) and Golden Son (2015), Morning Star was published on February 9, 2016, and debuted at #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

The Rising seizes Phobos as a distraction, allowing Darrow, Ragnar, Holiday, and Virginia to visit Mars to recruit Obsidians.

Using Colossus, Darrow and Victra destroy Ganymede's dockyards to impede the Rim Golds' ability to fight the Rising, with Roque being blamed.

Adrius broadcasts himself executing Narol, prompting Sefi's deadly riot in the Rising's fleet against Gold prisoners.

Cassius (seemingly) kills Sevro, takes Darrow and Virginia hostage, and frees Antonia; the group leaves the Rising's fleet.

Adrius, who placed the stolen nuclear bombs on Luna to blackmail Octavia into making him Sovereign, has Lilath detonate them, killing millions.

The Rising is the revolutionary movement featured in the book, which seeks to reform or overthrow the ruling hierarchy to achieve fair treatment and justice for all human races.

It comprises The Sons of Ares (the rebellious organization that originally started the movement), The Sun Industries (their financier), several Obsidian tribes and part of the fleet of the Lion House of Mars.

Their characters include: The Society is the tyrannical government that has ruled the whole solar system but lost control of all planets beyond the asteroid belt before the start of the book.

It's a more ambitious book than either Red Rising or Golden Son, so I've got my work cut out for me, but I couldn't be more pleased with how things are going so far.

[4] It reached #1 on USA Today's Best-Selling Books list,[5] and won the Goodreads Choice Award for science fiction.

[7] Kirkus Reviews called Morning Star an "ambitious and satisfying conclusion to a monumental saga", noting that "Brown creates an alternative universe that is multilayered and seething with characters who exist in a shadow world between history and myth, much as in Frank Herbert's Dune.

"[8] Marc Snetiker of Entertainment Weekly referred to Brown as "science fiction's best-kept secret", calling the novel "devastating and inspiring" and writing that "the violence here is grimmer, its humor more unsettling, its forgiveness rarer, its casualties more sickening.

"[9] Publishers Weekly called the Morning Star "excellent", adding that "Brown's vivid, first-person prose puts the reader right at the forefront of impassioned speeches, broken families, and engaging battle scenes that don't shy away from the gore as this intrastellar civil war comes to a most satisfying conclusion.

"[10] Kristine Huntley of Booklist described the novel as "simply stellar", calling it "a page-turning epic filled with twists and turns, heartbreaks and daring gambles" and praising Brown's "fabulously imagined universe".

[12] Jason Sheehan of NPR praised Brown's vivid action scenes but wrote that this third installment is heavy on exposition.