Name: Red Rising
Rating: 4.105230386052304 (803 reviews)
ISBN: 9780345539786

Pierce Brown

Darrow is a Helldiver. A pioneer of Mars.

Born to slave beneath the earth so that one day, future generations might live above it.

He is a Red - humankind's lowest caste. But he has something the Golds - the ruthless ruling class - will never understand.

He has a wife he worships, a family who give him strength. He has love.

And when they take that from him, all that remains is revenge . . .

Red Rising Saga #1

Red Rising

I instantly knew after reading this from the first chapter that the Red Rising Series was going to be my new binge-worthy obsession. 

bookmole

I just watched and thought it a shame that he died dancing but without his dancing shoes. On Mars there is not much gravity. So you have to pull the feet to break the neck. They let the loved ones do it.

raia – inactive

In her eyes, I see my heart. In her breath, I hear my soul. She is my land. She is my kin. My love.

Stars glow soft and graceful in the slick black sky, like the lights that dangle above our township. Eo looks as though she could join them.

"All ears yearn for a voice to lead them through darkness.”

She kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.”

Then they are dragging me to the side. They leave my blood. I’m sure I screamed, sure I shamed myself. I hear them bring out my wife. Her skin prickles as they lay her across the cold box. I wish my blood had warmed it better for her.

If only I could save her from this. If only I could protect her; but the world is cold and hard to me. It does not bend as I wish it to bend. I am weak. I watch my wife die and my haemanthus fall from her hand.

My beautiful wife shone too bright to live long.

"Dreamers like your wife are limited, little Helldiver. The only power they have is in death. The harder they die, the louder their voice, the deeper the echoes."

My dreams are cruel things to wake from. In them, Eo comforts me, but when I wake, she is nothing but a fleeting memory.

"Now you're looking at me and you're realizing that we don't bloodydamn like it down there. Red is rising, Mickey."

"I know you cry in your sleep for a girl named Eo."

Mars and Jupiter can battle it out for all I care. I'll come back for both later.

I miss the small cot I used to share with Eo. She's been dead now longer than we were married. I'm surprised how much it hurts to realize that.

I had thought it would be over, but not all scars heal. Not all sins are forgiven.

Kesar Varma

"You do not follow me because I am the strongest. Pax is. You do not follow me because I am the brightest. Mustang is. You follow me because you do not know where you are going. I do,"

Brandon Liew

Noah Cross

She's almost right. But she thinks like a Gold. Someone. scream as they see Sevro and his Howlers cutting their way t of the stitched-up bellies of the dead and bloated horses that litrh mud up to the gate. 

Jordan

“I live for the dream that my children will be born free" she says. "That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them." 

Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more."

I look down at my hands. They are what Dancer called them-- cut, scarred, burned things. When Eo kissed them, they grew gentle for love. Now that she is gone, they grow hard for hate.

Dani

Feels like Hunger Games for adults and a bit cliché (the chosen one, the revolution...). Besides that it is extremely entertaining.

The tragic events of this book made my callous and jaded self, be fully enthralled by the world and engrossed in the first books story from beginning to end.

”I would’ve lived in peace, but my enemies brought me war”

—as well as the oddly captivating speech by a ruthless gold, managed to hook me. 

I implore one to at least try it out, and based on what I’ve heard Golden Son is where the true meat and bones of Darrows grand story picks up.

Kuitunen06

Reverend Darrow

The tragic events of this book made my callous and jaded self, be fully enthralled by the world and engrossed in the first books story from beginning to end.

For me personally, the opening line of

”I would’ve lived in peace, but my enemies brought me war”

—as well as the oddly captivating speech by a ruthless gold, managed to hook me. 

I implore one to at least try it out, and based on what I’ve heard Golden Son is where the true meat and bones of Darrows grand story picks up.

Yulez

This was absolutely brilliant, and I loved how easy it was to follow and the world building wasn’t too heavy. 

This was reminiscent of Dungeon Crawler Carl for me, which made it an instant hit. A little bit slow to get started, but once it did it had me gripped. In the second book I see more explanation and detail that would've been nice in the first, but otherwise a decent tale.

BC Hark

Very interesting story line, just A LOT of set up.

Will Bishop

I always feel nervous going into a book with a lot of hype around it, but I definitely get the appeal of this one. The world building is very compelling, and I really appreciated the level of thought put into this stratified society (compared to other novels with a similar premise). There were some solid twists that I didn't see coming. If I had to nitpick, I think there were moments or certain characters that I felt could have been better developed or didn't feel as grounded, but I can also appreciate that this is only the first book in the series. Overall, I'm pretty excited to see where this series is going.

Sivani

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, BUZZFEED, GOODREADS AND SHELF AWARENESS Pierce Brown's heart-pounding debut is the first book in a spectacular series that combines the drama of Game of Thrones with the epic scope of Star Wars. ********** 'Pierce Brown's empire-crushing debut is a sprawling vision . . . Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow' - Scott Sigler, New York Times bestselling author of Pandemic '[A] top-notch debut novel . . . Red Rising ascends above a crowded dystopian field' - USA Today ********** Darrow is a Helldiver. A pioneer of Mars. Born to slave beneath the earth so that one day, future generations might live above it. He is a Red - humankind's lowest caste. But he has something the Golds - the ruthless ruling class - will never understand. He has a wife he worships, a family who give him strength. He has love. And when they take that from him, all that remains is revenge . . .

Red Rising Series 1

My heart knows nothing but pain. This book was sooo good but my heart ached so much throughout it. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Tsu 💙

Chase Leitner

Bo Heroman

Honestly this went so hard. YA is so back. Really makes you think about society and stuff. Absolute breeze of a listen.

Finn James

Speechless. I am way too excited to see what this epic story has in store for our Darrow

🌝🌝

Follows predictable dystopian/sci-fi patterns, but an exciting and addictive read regardless. So excited to pick up the next in the series.

Hayley Jolliffe

somewhat slow to start but background foundations are necessary. a very complex layering of both story progression and ambition development; we’re given such  great insight to how Darrow thinks and how this changes with the events of the book. brilliant introduction to the series, excited for the next book. 4/5

kenway

Katie Avila

It’s okay. The games got a bit tedious. Darrow isn’t my favorite character, but I’m going to see the series out. I love Sevro, that psychotic little goblin. Ooooowwwwww *wolf howl *

Kelsey 

“i would have lived in peace. but my enemies brought me war.”

it’s done, i finished it. i simply do not know what to say—if i should even be saying anything. there comes a time where a book steals all of your language and renders you speechless. this is that, that time has come.

開花

“i would have lived in peace. but my enemies brought me war.”

it’s done, i finished it. i simply do not know what to say—if i should even be saying anything. there comes a time where a book steals all of your language and renders you speechless. this is that, that time has come.

The ending was somthing that left you wanting more. Like nothing was solved. The characters was well developed. All around a really good book

Aleksander.G

This book starts off pretty rough IMO. Kinda boring and very basic in plot, also the (spoilers for chp 5) fridging of Eo is really bad. But I kept reading just because, and I did start to have fun with the characters. The story is very easy reading and overall its a fun time, but nothing about it will blow your mind. 

Max Riley

I’m very glad I finished this. The first couple chapters had me rolling my eyes a lot but once it gets down to business, it’s sooo good. The pacing was just right for me and I appreciated that not all of the action was meticulously detailed but was simply talked through almost in bullet point format? Which sounds like a dig but I swear is not. I feel like doing that kept the plot centered on the overall story of all the shifting dynamics involved in setting Darrow up for his mission rather than getting lost in the violence of it all. Very politics focused as opposed to just watching the action unfold, which I like so much more.

Emilee Keawe Oldroyd

Great way to start my 2025 reading challenge. 

I read this last year and HATED it, but having seen no one slate this book, I realised it must have been me and not the book. And so I gave it another go. This time via the graphic audio version. It was definitely me that was the problem. I really enjoyed it. Still got a bit lost, there are so many characters, but enjoyed the experience. Will absolutely be continuing with the series…….. where possible via graphic audio! 

Aims

Ngl guys i got the audiobook version for when i was driving down to Hawkes Bay and got so confused on where in the story I was - good book though

rebecca

Por muito desse livro eu achei que as pessoas tavam mentindo pra mim falando que esse livro era ótimo, mas do nada fui surpreendido com o fato delas estarem completamente certas. Estou completamente capturado pela história de Darrow e o “jogos vorazes no espaço (para homens 🧔🏻‍♂️)” e não vejo a hora de ver o que me aguarda no restante dessa série.

Pedro Rodarte

This was a great book! Very much like Hunger Games in space. It does a great job of illustrating the main character’s inner struggles about the morality of both himself and the society in which he lives. My only critique would be that the world building can be tough to keep up with; you’ll often find yourself wondering what that random new word is.

Red Rising Red Rising Saga #1

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