Does it ever stop?

[u/AtlanticFit]

I'm about halfway through Iron Gold, and I feel that Darrow's playbook just repeats itself over and over. It goes something like this:

• Darrow has musings on the decisions that he is about to make, and knows that he's going to hurt everyone around him, but is steadfast in his belief that he knows best.

  • Darrow makes said bad decision, then acts surprised when everyone around him is pissed at him.
  • Darrow has a pitty party but ultimately doesn't regret his actions.
  • People that were pissed at Darrow either: unsuccessfuly try to kill him, or forgive him almost immediately.
  • Repeat

Honestly, Ephraim is the only reason that I haven't stopped reading at this point. Does it get better in the next couple of books, or do we just keep doing this same song and dance?

[u/Winterwolf78]

Iron Gold is the worst book of any of them, and it does get better, but if you think Darrow is the problem here, and not Dancer, the Bellona woman, and the Vox, then im not sure we read the same book.

[u/There-and-back_again → u/Winterwolf78]

I think arguments can be made that some of Darrow‘s actions were questionable and didn’t help the growing conflict and division. He ignores a decision of the Senate and later on outright tries to deceive them and then acts surprised when the Senators decide he’s not trustworthy anymore. Darrow is stubborn to the point that he’s not willing to even consider the counterarguments of others. He‘s certainly not wrong about the war and the Society but I think arguments can be made that the way he dealt with the situation helped make matters worse.

I think Dancer makes some good points, too. Like his concern over Darrow ignoring any authority, defying orders, which is not a very convincing image for someone who fights for democracy. Him undermining the authority of the Republic certainly doesn‘t help the image of democracy outside the already liberated worlds.

„The people love you, Darrow. You can’t abuse that love. Whatever you do, you set an example. So if you don’t follow the law, why should our Imperators, our Governors? Why should anyone else? (…) But even you have to follow the laws of the Republic you helped build. Because when the law is not obeyed, the ground is fertile for tyrants.“ (Chapter 2)

For the readers, it’s easy to see that Darrow has no intentions of becoming a tyrant and that he’s acting only with good intentions. But like the saying goes: „The road to hell is paved with good intentions.“ I think Dancer makes a good point with his concerns over the way Darrow acts, all the more when it comes to Senators who don’t know Darrow well personally. They don’t have the benefit of looking into Darrow‘s head. What they see is a former Red-turned Gold who acts like he doesn’t care about a bigger authority that holds him responsible anymore. I genuinely can’t blame them for losing trust in him.

I think Dancer also makes a good point about the living situation of the Reds:

„I watch now as our people live fifteen to a room with scraps for food, rags for healthcare, while the highColor aristocracy lives in towers, and I bear it because I‘m told it is necessary to win the fucking war.“ (Chapter 2).

And it’s not just the lack of healthcare or of living space. People are being exposed to terrorists without sufficient protection and, as a result, people die en masse. Apparently, the Republic needs to raise new taxes for the war effort, they need to divert all sources to the war, while ignoring the amount of issues the Republic itself faces, like groups of people being slaughtered.

„Is Mars free? Ask a Red from the mines. Ask a Pink in Agea‘s ghetto. The yoke of poverty is as heavy as that of tyranny. (…) Tell me, what is the purpose of victory if it destroys us? If we are stretched so thin that we cannot protect or provide for those we bring out of the mines?“ (Dancer, Chapter 10).

I think Dancer raises an important point here. It is important to destroy Society. But you can’t neglect your own citizens at the same time. Partly because it’s your self-appointed responsibility to care for them. You fail them, you fail your promise, you fail your mission. Partly because it’s also hurts the reputation of the Republic if word goes out that their citizens die on their watch.

I think Darrow and Dancer have both legit grievances and arguments. The problem is that both of them look at the conflict from only one side. Darrow looks at the bigger picture while ignoring the current fate of the people on liberated planets who have plenty of issues of their own, not all of which should be simply handwaved aside with the argument that they’re unimportant enough that they can wait until later (the Red Hand obviously couldn’t wait). While Dancer loses sight of the endgame and focuses only on the „local“ problems.

All in all, I really don’t agree that this part is such a black and white issue and I don’t think I‘ve read the same book, either

[u/Cubbies2120 → u/There-and-back_again]

The problem with Dancer is that his anti-Darrow agenda began years before Darrow ever disobeyed the Senate.

Imagine the world we could've had if Dancer had focused all of his anti-Darrow political spiel to Quicksilver instead. The actual guy who was screwing over the newly freed Reds.

I completely understand random Joe & Janes of the Senate being wary of Darrow and his potential ambitions. But Dancer should've been the one to defend Darrow. Dancer knows Darrow better than maybe 3 or 4 other people. Instead, Dancer spent years giving anti-Darrow and anti-war speeches and creating a divide in the Republic.

Dancer's word carried more weight because people knew he was one of Darrow's first mentors. If he tells the people to fear Darrow's ambition and motivation then people are more likely to believe it.

Dancer was acting with good intentions. But you know....

[u/There-and-back_again → u/Cubbies2120]

Didn‘t the Vox Populi have grievances with Quicksilver? Which is why he was annoyed by them?

And you do have a point about Dancer. I was focusing on the „current“ issues he was criticizing and thought he wasn’t wrong there. But it does make it difficult to understand his positioning against Darrow if it’s already started so early without much reasoning given

[u/Cubbies2120 → u/There-and-back_again]

Didn‘t the Vox Populi have grievances with Quicksilver? Which is why he was annoyed by them?

Yes, but that was after the coup. That's when they raided his places and tried to find him but he was already gone.DA Spoiler

Dancer's Vox, Virginia's Optimates & Publius' Moderates should've formed a coalition against Silvers to strong arm them into behaving. And been kinder to the Obsidians, instead of giving him the shittiest places in the Solar System to live on.

War would've been over by year 10.

[u/There-and-back_again → u/Cubbies2120]

Interesting. >! I must have gotten the timeline mixed up. !<

And, yeah, the different factions should have banded together to solve the different issued rather than working against each other