Red Rising

Red Rising is definitely one of those books that improves with re-reading. It’s been touted as the next big thing, a book that will knock you off your feet and fill the void left by The Hunger Games. When I finished my first read of the book, I couldn’t decide whether the hype was justified or not; Brown blew me away in the first few chapters, failed to wow me in the next few, and then alternated between “pretty good” and “outstanding” for the remainder of the book. There were times when I struggled with the believability of Brown’s world, when I felt he wasn’t being consistent with his characterization or was losing the thread of his story. At other times, though, there were moments of true greatness, where I glimpsed the tremendous potential of this trilogy. When six months had gone by and I still couldn’t stop thinking about Red Rising, I decided to buy a copy and read it again. The second time, I was blown away. I found myself describing it to friends as “epic,” “spectacular,” and “out of this world,” and it's become one of my favorite books. Red Rising takes place on Mars hundreds of years in the future, when a person’s station and function are determined by the Color they’re born into. The Reds, for example, are tasked with toiling in the underground mines of Mars to collect the elements that will be used make the planet inhabitable. One of these Reds is Darrow, a young man respected and loved by his people for his quick hands and sharp mind. Working conditions may be hellish, living conditions bleak, but Darrow is proud to do his part for the good of humanity. His wife, on the other hand, views the Reds’ toil as slavery and urges Darrow to use his reputation and talents to free their people. Darrow, head-over-heels in love with his wife and unwilling to risk her safety and the life they’ve built together, resists. It’s only after tragedy strikes that Darrow is forced to rethink his world view and realize his wife’s dream is one worth fighting for. Transmuted by grief and rage, Darrow joins a rebel force in a plot to bring down the Golds, the elite who rule all the other Colors. Darrow undergoes an extensive and painful transformation to pass as a Gold, the plan being for him to fight the Golds from within and rise through the ranks to a position of influence where he can start a revolution. The first step in this ascension is to enroll in the Institute, a training ground for young Golds. Unlike traditional schools, the Institute is less of a college, more of an immense, high-stakes game of Capture the Flag or Risk. The students are divided into 12 houses and thrown into the wilderness, the objective being for one house to conquer all of the others. This is where most people begin comparing Red Rising to The Hunger Games. While there are definite similarities, such as the fact that young people are fighting one another in an arena-like field, there are key differences between the two. The principle way Red Rising differs from The Hunger Games is that the game of Capture the Flag is not a free-for-all where only one can be left standing at the end. To succeed in the Institute you need allies, an army. You need to become a leader, bring people to your side, rally and unite your troops. You need strategy and inspiration. Watching Darrow figure out how to become not just a victor, but a leader and a legend, is one of the biggest selling points of the book. I would say Red Rising feels more reminiscent of Braveheart than The Hunger Games, mostly due to the setting and to Darrow himself. The game of Capture the Flag is played out in a land of castles, highlands, forests, and vales. There are battle cries, ferocious warriors galloping around on horseback, animal pelts, and war paint. And like William Wallace, Darrow is fighting against oppression and has an inner fire and charisma that win people’s hearts and loyalty. Darrow is everything you could ask for in an epic hero. For one thing, he’s self-aware and able to make sacrifices and tough decisions because he knows they are required. He regrets some of the things he must do in order to get ahead but recognizes that those actions must be taken in order to realize his wife’s dream. He’s brilliant and strong but not infallible; a leader, but one who must trust and rely on others for his ultimate success. His victories are epic, but so are his failures. I’m in awe of him and can’t wait to see his meteoric rise continue in the rest of this series. The supporting characters in the Institute also played a huge part in winning me over. Darrow may be the grand hero, but don’t let that fool you into thinking the rest of the story's cast are lesser beings. There are some serious power players in this book, and they each feel like real, distinct, memorable people. They’re not just characters, they’re titans, and without them Red Rising wouldn’t be half so successful. Were there problems with Red Rising? Certainly. It can be overwhelming at times, slow at others, and there are moments when it feels like Brown is writing not a story, but Ideas, with a capital "I." Ultimately, though, this is a brilliant book. It wowed me, moved me, and left me stunned, and I am rabid to know how the trilogy will proceed. This review can also be found on my blog,http://AngelasLibrary.com.

This book was superbly phenomenal. Heartrendingly painful and breathtakingly sweet. The first book to give me goosebumps every other page! Be that because of the sheer brilliance of Mr Brown's writing, how his characters felt so real and made me scared and nervous and suspicious and sad with every second breath, or just the life these characters took on all by themselves. Either way, it has climbed all the way up to my top 10 favorite books of all time. A quick note: Those who couldn't get past the first few pages: **Push your little bum through it!** I felt this struggle in the beginning too and actually put this book away for 2 years (!) , but when I came back and just jumped in, hit that 50-ish page mark, I was complete trash for this series and the author's writing! The things that stood out to me about this book the most was the writing, I loved the highLingo `( camel-case (programmers unite!))` and the colored tiers. The hierarchy, how this all fits into a sci-fi world. How the world out there is so big and yet when we start reading, we can't even fathom the chaos and vastness of it all that is brewing right atop our favorite character's mine(read: home). We get to learn and journey along with Darrow and see the worst and some of the best parts of this new Terra-formed Mars and the world they live in through Darrow's dry-wit and perspective. We get to see him grow as a character tremendously and I can go on and on about the fine young man he has become after the events of this book. They are forced to make some of the hardest decisions in their lives during their testing, and seeing the character growth is in and of itself something to admire, if nothing else. But, once the ball gets rolling, no amount of bodies piled up together can stop it, so enjoy helldiver Darrow-life while you can. This book is unapologetically clever, thought-provoking, ruthless, cunning, captivating, scary, and most importantly, it makes you reevaluate a lot of very important topics in society, not just in this fictional world. It's relevant right now. <<<Spoilers to follow from here>>> I made a note of when I officially fell in love with Darrow, Sevro, Pax, and Mustang(Virginia) on page 166. One of the sticky notes with less context simply stated: "all the goosebumps all the gorydamn time!" Books don't do that for me. I can usually see plot twists and characters being forced to say and do things to seem "good" in the reader's eye straight away, yet nothing was forced here. I was smacked upside the head every time there was a twist. I was still guessing right up until the last page. A few more things I adore about the writing and the world/characters: - The color castes and how you can be carved into a completely different person, not on the inside, my friends, all outside. Super strength, extremely good looks, a really tight little bum, some jingly bits, whatever you want, but inside...ohhh, inside they are still the same pigs/broken children/men/woman, etc. They talk to one another in such a way that it just makes you feel like you could easily fit in with them. Some are vile and just plain rude, others slap you in the face with a really well-crafted set of words. It feels like they could be my friends. I only speak for myself here, but I am extremely sarcastic and would fit right in using this kinda lingo! It's often said that those who are more verbose and non-beat-around-the-bushers are some of the most honest/loyal humans you get. - ALL the betrayal, high stakes, very much of the Adrenalin, very much of the kill-kill and some stab-stab(okay, a lot). What got me shaking my head when I finished this was how real and utterly heartbreaking every second of their trial was. The loss and the betrayal and the realization of a society that is corrupt, as many are, and then when the trials were done and our brilliant little cinnamon roll Darrow and co. kicked some butt, it was over, just like that. - He overthrew a freaking corrupt structure/society and did something no one would have dared. He took the fight to the ruthless idiots watching kids being murdered and tortured and doing nothing, and he then proceeded to stick their heads where the sun don't shine, one by one. Also, Epic battle scene! And to get back to my point, here we have this high-stakes, life-and-death situation, and then when it's done, nothing. It's like it wasn't that serious, like lives weren't lost and that friends hadn't died and friends hadn't betrayed. This makes me loves these books even more. It shows how terribly ruthless and full of sh$t this society and the hierarchy of it is. How we need Darrow and his band of misfits to overthrow society. To make a change or to just slingBlade an ArchGovernor's head off his fake body ^.^ (no this didn't happen bit it should!!) Bloodydamn brilliant read. 10/10 would suffer the feels again! R.I.P my sweet little Pax, you teddybear, you </3

So this book was a proof of my sometimes-lameness in reading certain book. I purchased the kindle copy last year, started reading it for the first time around February, and now 3 months later I just finished it after having long battle with side of me that wanted to keep putting it down. I swear this was my first time of needing such a long time to finish a fiction. I personally was in total awe with this book and Pierce Brown. Red Rising was a debut novel and the author outdid himself with all the rich details and the unthought-of plot, ever. And not to forget his imagination to build up a fantasy of the whole Mars and all its complexity, it was dead awesome. Bloodydamn. Just where did he gather the inspiration to write this trilogy? ‘I was not raised in palaces. I did not ride horses through meadows and eat meals of hummingbird tongues. I was forged in the bowels of this hard world. Sharpened by hate. Strengthened by love.’ (Prologue, Red Rising) Sixteen years old Darrow was a Red. A Red by all means was meant to be a slave to higher colors, specifically Gold. Sad truth Reds sat on the very bottom of society which made them slaves to every color. Darrow never dreamt of living more than what his current life offered now. He was a helldiver, the youngest in history, the best in history. He married a beautiful brave girl named Eo. He had his family all living together even though his father was long gone when he was still a kid. He thought no more than spending all his life in Lykos as Red Lambda where song and dance was the comforts to their rough life. But nothing remained forever in life. “I live for you” “Then you must live for more.” (Chapter IV, Red Rising) The day the nightmare happened, all Darrow wanted was to follow the smell of death. And that was what about to happen except a group of rebels wanted a different path for him. Away from Lykos, family, and all familiar thing back in Red ground, Darrow was shaped to a whole different form. Red Darrow was now a Gold. Well, at least that was what shown on the outside. Darrow was still Red in heart and sure he would never change. Disguised as Gold, Darrow tried a risky step to infiltrate the evil color from the inside. And just like another teenage Gold, he stepped up to join a Gold institution where he could pick a start of revenge. Little did he know that the institution wasn’t at all like its simple name. It was not a school. It was more like a life-and-death battle to be the only one ArchPrimus. Darrow used all his strength to be the said Primus and found along the way how exactly it was to be a real Gold: mean, unforgiving, and unstopped. He began to question himself about all he’d done to get the title, wondered if that would make him no less than an evil Gold. But he did it all for Red, for people back in Lykos, for every Red blood who put their faiths on his shoulder. Surely that would make a different, right? As he questioned himself that, he was faced with another surprising fact that Gold could be a loyal friend if treated right. Struggling with all these complicated dilemmas, Darrow was once again reminded by the fact that in the end, after all the torture, blood, pain, and death, it was only just a beginning. I remembered became all teary inside once I finished it. Not because the story, though, but because the fact that I was finally able to reach the last page. My first impression about Red Rising was hardcore dystopian. But first thing first, let me say something. I NEVER like dystopian book. I hate it. I do. Dystopian infuriates and depresses me at the same time. I always avoid this genre at all cost. I believe that reading is a joy where we could fully escape to the story without having to worry about being lost because we can always close the page any moment to come back. But the ‘misery’ from reading this genre seemed to haunt my soul forever no matter just when I decided to stop reading it. So we could easily conclude that I’d hate this book. What with each violence scene was being described very casually here. But here I was going to say something that would make my whole speech above pointless: I loved Red Rising. I know, I am being confusing here but this was what exactly I felt. This book had me at mental battle between loving and hating this book. I hated this book that I couldn’t stop wincing at all those miserable scenes which practically on EVERY page. Yet my mind was in a superb awestruck condition by all the details that I could not forget this book until this very second. Hell, Red Rising might be the first dystopian book that I ever loved. The author did characterizations to each character very well. Darrow was my top favorite. I loved that Pierce Brown didn’t make him as this flawless hero but simply as human who made mistakes and learned from it to be better. I loved Darrow’s way of thinking despite his young age. He was so much mature, well, being Red it was common though. The other character, Eo, also took special place in my heart. There was this one particular scene where she did something that later became the turning point of Red Rising. I loved Darrow for loving her so deep. Never once he forgot her while doing his risky mission. After all, what he’d done was all started because of Eo’s move first. ‘And she may be like me— from a clan of Red earth diggers, a clan of song and dance and soil— but she could be made from air, from the ether that binds the stars in a patchwork.’ (Chapter I, Red Rising) I super loved the details about Mars, how separate the life of each colors there. I kept saying about rich details here because that was what the author did. He went all out with details for everything. When devouring all these details, for a second there, I could easily forget my hope to get an HEA from this book. Clearly, the author knew very well what he wrote and what to do to engage readers to stay put until the end of the book. Anyway, there was one thing that bothered me a lot about the title. First time I read the title ‘Red Rising’, all I could think of was this book would be about Red people fighting their rights, like they were having actual war of getting justification somewhere in the middle of the book. Instead it was focusing more on the preparation of rising, like how Darrow went through all those awful phases transforming into Gold, then more about how Gold’s world worked. Gold took like 80% of the book. I kept thinking when the rising would occur only to find out on the last page that everything was just a beginning. The actual rising didn’t even really happened here. It annoyed me when the title of the book misleading what I thought about the story inside. Oh, another complaint: just how many odd terms on this book made it rather difficult sometimes for me to immerse into the story. This might be one of the reasons I kept putting it down. Just put glossary in the end of the book then problem fixed! So, despite my complaints and my speech about hating dystopian book, here I said that I loved this book, or more like awestricken by this book. I wanted so bad to read the continuation of Red’s rising under Darrow’s command but I still don’t know when I’d read the next book because clearly I needed time to recover from the torture caused by Red Rising before firing it up again with second book. Well, hopefully soon.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown 5 Stars!! I'm not going to recap the plot because the book's summary does a great job of explaining what the book is about: The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope. Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labor, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought. Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda. I'm sure by now it's obvious I love romance novels. I wasn't originally going to read this book because it's listed under science fiction. I was going to have a friend read it and do a guest review (he still is going to review), but somehow I found myself intrigued by this book and all the praise that it has received. It is compared to Hunger Games and I really liked Hunger Games so I decided to give it a try...why not? Well...I'm so happy I decided to read this book. I'm not sure it does this book justice to compare it to Hunger Games. While I can see some similarities, Red Rising has added layers of depth. The writing and story is so good. You will be sucked in. First, it is quite obvious the Pierce Brown is well read. He created his own unique story but managed to borrow and weave the concepts of some great works. The first thought I had was that this book reminded me of Golding's Lord of the Flies with a twist on Homer's Iliad. There's a lot of references to Greek mythology in this story. The Golds like to play God and they interfere a great deal. It was interesting how I would forget this novel is actually set into the future. The school is basically set up to imitate ancient times where Darrow and the other students have to learn to conquer but also learn to establish order and civilization. This is where I see many similarities to Lord of the Flies. The books incorporates major themes about the conflict within human nature: civilization versus savagery. It highlights Nietzsche's concept that the driving force behind human nature is the "will to power, " or the long standing question of "does the end justify the means?" This is what I love about the novel...it's not just entertainment; it's entertainment with layers that question morality and the true nature of humanity. It has all the entertainment of Hunger Games, but the depth of the some well know classics. It's interesting to think about how this book is futuristic and technology has advanced far beyond what we can imagine, but no matter how advanced the world becomes, human nature is constant: our drive for power and our inclination for savagery always exists; it is a fine balance to keep civilization and morality in the forefront. This book has a lot of action in it and it is INTENSE. I was so stressed reading it, which is crazy since it's a trilogy and I automatically know Darrow will live through to at least the last book. I'm terrified that Pierce Brown will not give me a happy ending. I'm a happy ending girl and I want it SO bad for Darrow. There is love in this story and love is the major driving force for all of Darrow's actions, but this is not a romance story. It's a story about many things: love, war, survival, redemption, strength, fear, humanity, etc. I LOVED this book. If you are looking for a good book that has it all...love, action, science fiction, philosophical principles, something you can learn from...then READ this book. I hear it's going to be made into a movie. So READ this book before the movie comes out!! Onto book 2...here we go.

Holy Helldivers, that was a bloodydamn wild ride, and I can't wait for the rest of it. I've heard a lot of comparisons for this book, including the Hunger Games and the Six Million Dollar Man. But I'll let you be the judge of what's what in that regard. Let's talk synopsis first ... (minor spoilers included - I'm really trying hard to not ruin any of the big stuff.) Red Rising is written from the 1st person account of Darrow, who is a "Red" - the lowest caste which is responsible for mining Helium-3 on Mars and (they believe) laying the foundations to make Mars habitable for "softer Colors". Through a tragic series of events, he comes to realize that his life and place in society is a lie that serves to prop up the other colors in an elaborate caste system, which essentially enslaves his caste. A resistance network seeks to topple this heirarchy by making Darrow into that which has subjugated them, a Gold ... but not just ANY Gold. In order to make changes to this system of slavery, he will need to be the best of the best so that he can rise within the cutthroat caste of Golds. After a painful biological transition, Darrow tests into a school in which the leaders of the Golds are forged and taught painful lessons in the ideology of "might makes right". The question is will Darrow become the monster that he seeks to vanquish? WHAT I LOVED: Darrow is a relatable character from the beginning. He's a 16 year old kid with all the arrogance and impulsiveness you'd expect from a teenager who has been the best within his community. And though you experience the brashness and cynicism, you also see tenderness, wonder, and vulnerability. His evolution as a character is believable. Because he's not fighting for his *own* dream, it is understandable when he temporarily gets sidetracked from the bigger picture due to his rage against such an unfair system that has unfeelingly and unknowingly stolen everything from him. He has much to learn if he is going to overcome ... "I learn more when I make mistakes, so long as they don't kill me." The Supporting Characters. They're on point, y'all. The writing makes it clear that some of the worst of the characters have depth to them, whether it was in hinting at the reasons they did the terrible things they did or in showing that there was a possibility of redemption. And the journey of how Darrow acquires his allies is truly where you see his growth as a character. Honestly y'all, there's just so much that I could rave about ... but I'm an impatient sort and if you've stuck with me this far, you've probably already made up your mind about whether you want to read this. (and you really should read this.) OTHER THOUGHTS: There is a lot of worldbuilding going on here, especially in the beginning and the slang/terms used reflect that. Some readers seem to have been turned off by that, but I didn't feel it was excessive or overly cumbersome. I've seen several people question whether this should be categorized as a YA book. The themes (politics, hierarchical systems, racism, power dynamics, etc.) involved are weighty. There are allusions to rape and cannibalism, and the story is rife with violence and brutality. While the ages of the characters in this book are largely in their teens, but most teenagers in our world aren't confronted with these topics so blatantly in their day to day life. YET ... isn't the job of books and the characters in them to make us think critically about the world around us? To help us form our views about what is right and wrong, what is noble and what is dishonorable? To make us think about what we would do in their shoes? And, hopefully, to help us see the kind of people we want to be and encourage us in that that direction? While I don't think I would want my 14 year old read this unsupervised, I think stories like this one can powerfully shape the minds of young people and adults alike when we reflect on the lessons it contains, rather than just consuming it purely for our own entertainment. How many of us seriously consider where we might fall in such a hierarchy? Do we truly look for the ways that our comfort might blind us to the suffering of others that might serve to prop up that comfort? Do we care to do so? Do we see the hypocrisy in ourselves that we see rife in some of the characters of this book? And if we feel that twinge of discomfort, do you press into that to see why or do we move on, happy to be entertained by a story? "The measure of a man is what he does when he has power." -Plato ... a common theme in this book, but I might go a step further and say that the measure of a man is what he does with the power he has. We ALL have a measure of power. How are we using that power to elicit change in ourselves and in the world around us?

Five starts at the minimum. I was told to read this book last year and didn't get around to it, I'm almost happy I waited because now I have book one and book two. So, how to describe this, well, sci-fi first off. It's not my favorite genre and I'm often accused (cough-Amelia-cough) of not being able to suspend my own reality to get lost in another. I own this, I accept this and I usually limit my Sci-Fi reading because of it. I fought with the beginning of this book because I wasn't sure of where they were or what they were doing and why. It kind of jumps in and starts you out in a foreign world where you're not familiar with the vernacular or the social scales and players. I felt adrift (no pun intended) in what was happening and why. But... I can honestly say, the more I read, the more I understood. The history of Mars and of Darrow's people comes to light in a slow and methodical way. You are introduced to characters and their vocations without any understanding of what they mean, but you learn, slowly how it works and who the players are. It's like stepping into a new world with new eyes and learning WHY the story is important. I'm still a little foggy on the minutia of the Red's world because Darrow is entrenched and then removed so quickly (in my opinion) but it all makes sense in the scheme of things. Time passes in this book without the dragging on of every detail but enough so that you're living it with the characters. You understand the Red's have been lied to their entire lives, you understand the Gold and their maniacal plan to enslave a race (although I'm not 100% sure I understand why they are enslaved after terraforming is complete if for no other reason to have them enslaved) the lushness of the lives of the upper society and the varying degrees of social scale for the middles. I will admit I'm still a little in the fog about the other colors and what they all do or how they play in. I STILL have no idea the difference for a pixie or a bronze in the Gold world other than it's derogatory and they're not considered as prized as the higher level Peerless Scared. So really, this book, after mentioning all that is probably a 4 but I just can't find it in my heart to drop the 5 because it was STILL, despite my not understanding everything, an amazing read. Plot - lovely. Love the idea of taking over a ruling race that is abusive of the power. Love that Darrow's whole heart belongs to EO, who started all of this but yet is still open to loving another. LOVED that relationship he and Mustang developed but I think this is going to be part of his undoing. Either he will find a way to be truthful to those such as Rogue (who I strongly suspect knows more than Darrow knows he knows), Servo (who I think and hope would still follow him regardless of his knowledge because he's loyal and smart and knows there has to be another way) and Mustang (who shows Darrow that it's wrong to lump everyone together). Mustang, Rogue, Servo show that there is good in all colors and it's not as easy to just sweep them all in one pile as the Red's feel has been done to them. The hard part is going to be keeping himself and finding ally's within the Golds that want change without selling him out... So very interesting, off to Golden Son :) I will also say, I loved the twist with the Roman/Greek mythology. Not sure how it really comes into play and such or if the Golds just seem themselves as Gods and they take on their names as a sign of their power or something but the whole Gods thing was a nice twist. I love me some Greek Mythology. And I love how Darrow is referred to as the Reaper... talk about a sign from the future and his story line. He will end the socioeconomic world in which they live... great little tidbits.

Finally! A YA dystopian novel worth the trouble! I have read so many awful YA dystopian novels in the past few years that I was starting to get convinced there would never be another good one. And Pierce Brown has just proved me wrong! Let me count the ways this book was awesome. 1) World-building Where 99% of all YA dystopian stories fail, Pierce Brown succeeded. The world-building in Red Rising is incredible. Well thought out. In depth. Rich. There's a caste system that actually makes sense and isn't ill-defined, that actually affects in innumerable ways the lives of those who live in it. There's an entire set of linguistic differences that Brown consistently uses throughout the book -- it gives the novel a flare that even the average Adult sci-fi novel lacks. A sense of "cultural authenticity," if you will. There's advanced technology that is well integrated with the plot and the world. There's a setting with an awesome backstory -- Mars -- and that is described in a way that periodically reminds you of what is so that it never fades into a generic Earth-like setting. Brown nailed the world-building of this book. It's on a level so high that 90% of the YA I have read in the last 5 years can't even touch it. Can't even come close. The sheer amount of thought (and thoughtfulness) that went into designing the world of this book just blows me away. 2) Characters Here we go! At last! A large, diverse caste of characters with a range of personalities, who are all fully fleshed out even when they have little screen time. My dream has come true! Let me start with Darrow -- I have lamented the generic nature of YA protagonists for years. I'm so tired of seeing the same people with the same personalities and the same general life experiences in the same situations trying to achieve the same exact goals. Darrow is, in many ways, the exact opposite of the typical YA protagonist. And not just because he's male. His personality is fantastic -- it perfect matches his culture and his personal life experiences. You can see the causes and effects that have shaped Darrow over the years, and you can see him change in the face of new experiences while still remaining the same character at his core. Now, the rest of the cast -- Just...great. There were so many GREAT characters in this book. And despite there being so many, none of the recurring secondary characters blended together. There all managed to remain distinct individuals who were clearly identifiable throughout the book. And with a cast so large and a book so long -- man, that is difficult. Bravo, Pierce Brown! 3) The Content Another one of my issues with the average YA is how little impact most of the events have on the characters and how what is supposed to be violence in a desolate world falls flat because the true nature of it all is rarely described in the kind of detail it needs to be. Brown avoids that issue in spades. There is grim-dark, brutal violence in this book. Kids being slaughtered by the handful. Rape and assault. All-out warfare -- framed with cold and downright cruel battle tactics in order to win. I have never read another YA book that throws such realistic hyper-violence in your face. Brown doesn't skirt around anything. Not language. Not violence. Not sex or mentions of sex. This is the true depiction of how horrifying it would actually be to have teenagers murdering each other. On the flip side, everything runs with this undercurrent of moral questioning -- right or wrong, bad or good -- and the answer is never given. Because there isn't one. Justice is left to the interpretation of the individual -- and injustice is suffered and perceived by the characters differently throughout the novel. All round, this book is just...excellent in its depiction of a dystopian society and the real brutality that such a regime would force upon its people. However, all that being said, there were a few downsides to this book... 1) Plot I think Pierce Brown's grand ideas got away from him a bit in the execution of the story. Not to say it was bad. It wasn't. It was a very well-written book and excellent on many fronts. However, the book was, for my taste, too long, and I thought it could have shed some content in several places without losing anything important. There are lulls in the action that are too drawn-out, and Brown could have tightened those sections more quickly lead into the next major event. In other words, the plot could have used a little careful editing, and the book could have shaved off quite a few pages. Other than that, though, the plot was excellent as well. Compelling throughout. Always gave me a reason to keep reading, even in the parts that lulled a bit. There was a never a point where I didn't want to know what happened next, and that, right there, is a huge success for any author. 2) Writing Style I think my biggest issue with the book was the writing style. Though I loved the terminology Brown created for the book, I just...didn't quite like the way the book was written. There was something in the way Brown phrased things, the way he structured his sentences and paragraphs, the way he wove introspective moments into the text that just...read as "tedious" to me and often heavy-handed. As I read further into the book, it bothered me less, but it was always there hovering in the background. I just don't like his writing style. Which is a huge pity -- because it certainly is a great book. At the end of the day, though, I always cringed a bit when thinking of the style this book was written in. So, overall, Pierce Brown has created an excellent YA dystopian tale that stands out above the rest and has A LOT of potential for its sequels. A great read!

2007. I remember when I first started reading Games of Thrones, the first book of George RR Martin’s epic Song of Fire and Ice series. It took me a few chapters to understand and fully follow the style and language, but as soon as I got to that point, I WAS HOOKED. Since, there hasn’t been a book, or series, that has captivated me as quickly or as intensely...until Red Rising, the first book in the Red Rising trilogy, by Pierce Brown. I. Couldn’t. Put. It. Down. No, seriously. It was bad. Not the book! I'm talking about my total lack of interest in everything else. I wasn’t gaming with my husband or hanging out with my friends...all I wanted to do was read. EVERYTHING about the book was incredible, especially the setting, the characters, and the writing. I think the book is best described as a Sci-Fi/Fantasy hybrid. It takes place in the far future (Sci-Fi), where the planets of the solar system have been colonized and each are governed by powerful families (Fantasy). They are all ruled by Octavia au Lune, who lives on Luna, also known as Earth’s moon. The story’s setting starts in the depths of Mars’s core, where our lead character is mining for helium-3 to support planet colonization. We also travel to the surface of Mars, into its slums, and into the society’s top educations institution, where the young elite are trained to rule. Each location is depicted beautifully. The storyline follows 16-year-old Darrow, a Red, who lives a simple life with his wife and family. In Darrow’s world, people are classified by color (and I'm not talking about the color of their skin). The Golds are the rich and powerful, whereas the Reds are the poorest with the least desirable jobs. Between, there is a whole spectrum of color, with each representing a different skill and station in life. Pierce does an excellent job of introducing the reader to characters of all colors and stations. And all shortcomings. The characters are very realistic, very believable, and very flawed. They are wicked, yet redeeming, sultry, yet vulnerable, beautiful, yet deadly. They are complex, which makes them real and relatable. Finally, Mr. Brown’s writing is absolutely incredible. His use of slang language is so thorough, so fluid, that I was instantly drawn into Darrow’s ruddy world. Sure, it took some getting used to, but that’s what made my brain tickle. I just HAD to make sense of this incredibly intricate language and dialect. He also does an incredible job of describing the complicated settings and characters. My imagination danced along with this text, creating vivid imagery and emotional attachment. I felt like I was a part of the story - the writing knew how to draw me in and keep me there, in the throws of the story. I don’t want to give too much away...the book is just so good and I want everyone to experience every little bit of it… Like I mentioned, the story follows Darrow. He is poor, and lives underneath the surface of Mars along with huge colonies of fellow Reds. One day, Darrow and his wife, Eo, are caught breaking the rules. The punishment? A public whipping. At the display, Eo, in rebellion, decides to sing a forbidden song, a crime punishable by death. On orders from the ArchGoverner of Mars, a Gold, she is hung on the spot, in front of the underground population, including Darrow. Red Rising is a story of his quest for vengeance...a quest that turns into an incredible journey. I CAN’T RECOMMEND THIS BOOK ENOUGH. I didn’t even mention the plot...which is by far the best quality of the entire book. But how do I discuss the plot without giving it away?? My favorite since Game of Thrones, I know I will be reading Red Rising one over and over again. AND THEY’RE MAKING A MOVIE! Details are a bit muddied, but it’s definitely listed on IMDB as “in development.” WEEEEEEE!!!! Pierce Brown is a screenwriter and novelist, currently residing in Los Angeles. He moved around quite a bit while growing up, due to his mother’s successful career. He received his degree from Pepperdine University in 2010 and sold Red Rising in 2012. Red Rising, his debut novel, was #20 on the NY Times Best Seller List. The sequel, Golden Son, rose to #6 on the same list, and the last installment of the trilogy, Morning Star, reached #1. Mr Brown has received the 2014 Goodreads Best New Author award, as well as the 2015 Goodreads Best Science Fiction Novel.

Good book

Blog: irenadams.com Caution, mild spoilers ahead. "Funny thing, watching gods realize they’ve been mortal all along." I was going to leave for a trip for 3 weeks and couldn’t bring physical copies of the books with me. At least not as many as I would want to. So, for the first time in years I bought kindle versions of a few books. I decided to clean my want-to-read and owned-to-read shelves and this is one that’s been on one of those lists for a long time. I don’t think the synopsis really convinced me and I wasn’t sure the book would be worth buying. I regret that I formed an opinion before giving it a real chance. I think I might want to have it on a shelf of my bookcase so I can re-read it or just flip through the pages to savor the good passages. This is one of those books that really surprised me. There was action, a bad-ass character, suspense… Everything you want in a good novel that takes you in its grip and doesn’t let go before you flip the last page. The future that this book is painting is simple but evil. It has been compared to The Hunger Games, and I thought the same by the middle of the book but P. Brown created something new. It may be another dystopian future, another example of our flaws and habits, but it is also an example of what we might become if a handful few can grab the seats of power and impose their will, hiding the rest of us in the dark for the next centuries. If I only knew that there would be Greek and Roman mythology involved I would have picked the book sooner. P. Brown used the names of the gods and their characteristics and attributes to show the different battling houses of the Golds, but at the same time mentioning the differences between Greek and Roman mythology. The main character is not perfect, but deep and easy to connect to. He might be above average in his skills or strength, but then again, it was all built for him. And throughout the pages P. Brown shows us the change in the protagonist, his doubts, his fears, but also his never ending will to push forward.We get to presence his evolution and the adjustment to his new role in the society. The story is gripping and full of twists. Even though some of the turns of the events are easy to foresee, the story is ever changing. The fluid relationship between the characters and the protagonist is sometimes surprising like with Tactus, Servo and Pax, other times not so much as with Mustang. But the author is not afraid to kill one or several of the characters you liked or started to like, leaving you on the edge of the seat to see what will happen next. It was a good ride and I hope you will take it too.

I'm so glad that I got this book as the introduction to my first reading spree in years. The first maybe 100 pages can feel a little bit slow, as usual with in-depth stories that need foundation, but then it's just amazing. I was mindblown by the environments that is showcased and, being on the 4th book now, I still think about this first one a lot.

Wonderful book... was hooked every second I read it

A visceral, high-octane introduction to a dystopian universe that feels both hauntingly familiar and grandly operatic. Set on a terraformed Mars, the story follows Darrow, a Red laborer mining helium-3 for a future he believes he is building. The narrative begins with a crushing revelation: the surface has been habitable for centuries, and Darrow’s people are enslaved to support the decadent Gold caste. This betrayal sparks a revenge-driven mission as Darrow undergoes a grueling transformation to infiltrate the Golds and dismantle their Society from within. The novel’s strength lies in its relentless pacing and brutal world-building. Once Darrow enters the Institute—a proving ground where young Golds wage war to earn their status—the story shifts from a "chosen one" trope into a savage study of leadership and survival. Brown doesn't shy away from the horrific costs of war; the stakes feel lethal, and Darrow’s internal conflict is palpable. He must adopt the cold, calculating traits of his oppressors to defeat them, risking his own humanity for the sake of justice. While drawing inspiration from The Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies, it distinguishes itself through a rich Roman-inspired aesthetic and philosophical weight. The supporting cast is equally compelling, featuring the enigmatic Mustang and the volatile Sevro—the kind of loyalist who proves you haven't lived until you get yourself a friend that will hide in a dead horse for you. These allies challenge Darrow to look beyond vengeance toward a new social order. 🍵Final Verdict A gripping exploration of power, sacrifice, and the morality of revolution. Red Rising is a rare debut that manages to be both a page-turning epic and a thoughtful commentary on class struggle. It sets a formidable foundation for the series, leaving readers eager to see if a man born in darkness can truly bring the dawn.