
Red Rising Red Rising Series 1
Reviews

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!

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

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.

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.

a bit predictable but still a fun sci fi read

world building is 10/10. felt like the writing got “better” as we went further, i think it was intentional. half a point off because the violence was a little tedious at points, not overly graphic or anything but just not super useful to the plot. but - not a big deal!

I LOVED this book! The writing is on par with other YA dystopian books, but the plot and the characters are so compelling. Darrow is our hero, but is not a flawless archetype. He experiences the depths of love, grief, outrage, and fear as he faces various tests (with differing degrees of success). I can’t wait to continue this series.

Pierce Brown - Red Rising . ⭐️⭐️⭐️ . Red Rising is an interesting YA novels, a mix of Hunger Games and Dune, with a dash of sci-fi as everything is set on the red planet, Mars. . The 16-year old Helldiver (some sort of advanced miner in Mars), poor and belong to the Red caste was the main protagonist. His young wife Eo wanted him to lead the revolution, to break free from the slavery and to contest Gold caste - the highest caste, prime humanoids in the solar system . I can imagine how enchanting all this for YA perspective, but I was not patient enough to learn all the details, the names of characters, the places and so on. It was too much details at once and I found myself having to flip the pages back and forth trying to remember who’s who. So three stars from me. (I read somewhere that they’re going to make Netflix series out of this series) . #redrising #piercebrown #yanovels #currentlyreading #2023reads #bookstagram

YOU ALREADY KNOOOOW THIS IS FIVE STARS!
okay I have so many actual thoughts about this book so here is a rare Real Review:
I love how this book shows not tells, like the writing is direct and not at all purple, but it really makes the most of its words from the get go. The opening scene is crazy good, and lets you know right away who exactly your main character is and what he does. He’s brash, smart, and not afraid to take it to the next level.
I love how I knew nothing going into this book, because at about the 50 page mark it not only shifts plots but tone and almost genre. You, like our main character, kinda get lost in the smaller plot of this book and forget the roots.
This book has taken inspiration from so many influential classic books, it’s Plato’s Republic, Goldman’s Lord of the Flies, Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and Homer’s Iliad all set in space. Like what’s not to love???? Darrow is so Achilles-coded. You really can’t help but root for him. It also has so many other references to classical myths but like I thought it was the coolest thing how this book translates so many things directly from Plato’s Republic in particular and puts them in such a unique sci-fi world.
MILD SPOILERS BUT if i had a nickel for every sci-fi dystopian book set in the distant future about a sword-wielding hero with references to the iliad and classical mythos in which different houses must compete in a trial game I’ve read in the past year, I’d have two nickels. which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice (not really weird though bc that is My Type)!
in conclusion I’m obsessed. brb picking up golden son now.

great plot; bad writing but make do bc plot is great

Saga is right!

I'm actually blown away by how much I ended up enjoying this. It starts a bit slow, but after about 50 pages I was hooked. It's an awesome story that definitely has elements of other similar novels (it gets the Hunger Games comparisons a lot), but I found it to be very original and well-written. In a way, I'm glad I waited so long to read this book because I can now binge my way through the rest of the trilogy. Perks of procrastination!

such an immersive world - i blasted through this book in one plane ride. clever and thrilling

Really enjoyed this. Liked that the MC made mistakes and learned from them. Also liked all the Roman references.

A Percy Jackson house war gone brutally violent and political. So many twists and turns and expert strategies that only the most depraved and ambitious can come up with. Questions of morality and dismantling a system so intensely ingrained that it seems incredibly infeasible. It leaves me with the burning question of whether Darrow will become a Paul Atreides or a Katniss Everdeen.

Very well written but I bit too much Sci-fi for my taste. I enjoyed it but was confused at times. I don’t know if I will continue the series or not but if you’re into science fiction/ fantasy you will like this, it had aspects of both.

Großes Science Fiction Spektakel mit gewissen Längen.
Braucht etwas um reinzukommen. Viele Charaktere und Häuser, die an Game of Thrones erinnern...
Wer gehört jetzt nochmal wo hin ... ?

perfection. just perfection.

oh roman based systems how you enthral me

Only as high of a rating because I liked the general concept and plot. But most of the characters felt very 2D and obviously written by a man. Book also felt needlessly long, almost considered DNFing. Will not be continuing with the series. Would have been much better if written by a woman or at least had more than 2 female characters!

think of it as a bro fantasy book but in the best way

3.5 stars First half of the book was only about 1.5 stars. I hated the characters in general. Flat, boring. (view spoiler)[Was I supposed to feel something when Eo died? Idk. (hide spoiler)] 2D. Also, a lot of impossible stuff, even with the strange sci-fi But then I hit the mark where he starts the battle against Mustang & House Minerva and everything got way better. 4.5 stars, I guess. I still didn't like Darrow but...Mustang and Milia and Nyah and Sevro and Pax and the Howlers and everybody else, they were real, amazing people. I forgot they were Golds, and all I could think of was destroying Apollo and Jupiter. But yeah, I anticipate something between Mustang and Darrow later *shrug*

Great book, lots of character development and action.

Darrow, Servo, Pax, oh where to start. Martyrdom, sci fi, world building, consistent fast paced action scenes, if any of these sound good to you this may be a worthy read for you. To me this felt like Hunger games meets Warhammer 40k if that gives any reader of this something to work with. For a basic synopsis the existing descriptions do it fair justice but I would say be prepared to stick with the main character Darrow through some transformation, plot twists, and some crazy adaption to changing circumstances. My one critique is hopefully resolved later in the series but aside from Darrow many of the other characters could be fleshed out more. I enjoyed my time here and from what I have heard the series only gets stronger as you move further into the series. So guess I am in for quite a ride.
Highlights

I am the Reaper and death is my shadow.
cunty

I am Darwin’s scythe. Nature scraping away the chaff.
bars

All this for a little adventure. All this for a night under the stars with the man she loves. Yet she is calm. If there is fear, it is in me, because I feel a strangeness in the air. Her skin prickles as they lay her across the cold box. She flinches. I wish my blood had warmed it better for her.
ouch

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.

“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."
"Live for you" I say sadly.
Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more."

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.

Amani

"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,"

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

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.

Mars and Jupiter can battle it out for all I care. I'll come back for both later.
we luv an unhinged mc

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

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

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

"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 beautiful wife shone too bright to live long.

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.

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.
:(

"I live for you,” I say sadly.
She kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.”

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

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.

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

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