Red Rising: Book 1 of the Red Rising Saga (Red Rising, #1)

by Pierce Brown

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Pierce Brown’s relentlessly entertaining debut channels the excitement of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.

“Red Rising ascends above a crowded dys­topian field.”—USA Today

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—Entertainment Weekly, BuzzFeed, Shelf Awareness

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

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he toils willingly, trusting that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power.  He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

Praise for Red Rising

“[A] spectacular adventure . . . one heart-pounding ride . . . Pierce Brown’s dizzyingly good debut novel evokes The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, and Ender’s Game. . . . [Red Rising] has everything it needs to become meteoric.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow.”—Scott Sigler

“Red Rising is a sophisticated vision. . . . Brown will find a devoted audience.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch

Don’t miss any of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising Saga:
RED RISING • GOLDEN SON • MORNING STAR • IRON GOLD • DARK AGE • LIGHT BRINGER

• ISBN10: 0345539788
• ISBN13: 9780345539786
• Publish Date: 28 January 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Del Rey Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780345539786

Reviews

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Though the words “YA dystopian” now conjure up images of a washed-out fad, I believe that the strongest novels of the genre still have power to move and entertain even those readers who have read dozens of dystopians in the past several years.  Red Rising is one of those special books.  With compelling prose and an immersive plot that brings to mind elements of The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, and An Ember in the Ashes, Red Rising brings readers on Darrow’s powerful journey to discover the truth and free his people from slavery.

Part of Red Rising’s enthrallment lies in its detailed world building.  The story begins in the mines of Mars, where Reds like Darrow are forced to dig for resources that can help terraform previously uninhabitable planets.  The descriptions of the mines are rich, and Brown emphasizes the Red focus on family and community, song and dance, even when times are tough. He creates culture in addition to scenery.  The book moves on, however, to places very foreign to the mines, unimaginable to the people Darrow knows, and here, too, the descriptions are detailed and enthralling.  Brown can describe glamour as well as grit.

In his quest to break the social hierarchy that forces Reds to the bottom, Darrow moves quickly through a new world to learn how to conquer it.  The plot rarely lags, and there’s a good mix of action and reflection.  I won’t say that some parts are not predictable, particularly the catalyst that starts Darrow on his journey.  However, much of the plot is truly surprising, and it is delightful to read the new turns the story takes (even when those turns are, in fact, quite gory or appalling).

Darrow himself can be a bit of a jerk, and the fact that the novel is in first person emphasizes this.  If Brown wants to inform the reader that Darrow is handsome or talented or has done something unprecedented, Darrow himself has to be the one to say it.  Nonetheless, Darrow never walks over the edge of his arrogance to become unlikable, and, frankly, his drive and his conceit are realistic.  It does take a special type of person to overcome the status quo, someone skilled and confident enough to wield that skill.  Darrow makes sense as the protagonist of this novel in a way a gentler or more modest character might not, and the novel itself tackles this problem, asking what kind of people are dreamers or martyrs or doers.  The doers here do not kid themselves that sometimes they have to make tough choices.  Whether the decisions they make or the means they use are the right ones is left up to the reader.

Red Rising is a beautifully complex work that tackles questions about human nature and civilization, even as it takes readers on a wild ride through the many layers of the hierarchical society.  The story is action-packed, but it also has its pools of thoughtfulness and stillness.  YA readers will love this, even if they think they’ve read enough YA dystopians to last a lifetime.

[Mercy]

3.5

[Berls]

4.5 stars. I'm so glad Kimba's book club got me to read this - I've been meaning to for a while, but I really didn't expect to like it this much! Awesome world, great characters, steady and twisty plot. I have so audio review books to read, but I plan to finish trilogy very very soon. Especially before I forget all the characters - they got a bit confusing at times! Full review to follow.

[nannah]

Ha, nope.

I'll be honest, I didn't even make it to page 15. Whine all you want about me rating it one star without "giving it a fair chance," but there's no way I'm continuing on.

On the very first actual page:
1. every sentence is a fragment or a really small, simple sentence. I'm already sick of this author's style, and I've barely gotten a paragraph in.
2. "Instead, Kieran bawled like a girl." There's sexist language already. And within the next few pages, women are talked about like objects, sex toys, and young women (minors) are talked about sexually by much older men.

OK. This is the world this author decided to create. Because yes, he DECIDED to create it. He was not forced by any creative laws or anything. Plus, the story takes place on Mars. He had full control, and this is what he chose to do with it.

(also, after the first chapter, I already hated the MC. What an arrogant douche bag.)

[vagasker]

This book is amazing! The story is great, the writing is great and the characters are all I could ever hope for. So many great characters in this book! Especially Sevro and I really hope there's gonna be more of him in the next book.

[Rinn]

I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.

Red Rising. Red Rising. Why did I take so long to get to you?? Chosen as the Science Fiction Book of the Month by my Goodreads book group, Dragons & Jetpacks, this had actually been sat on my Kindle for months. Despite having heard some really wonderful things about it – which I now completely understand – its nomination as Book of the Month was what finally pushed me into reading it.

The opening gripped me straight away, introducing the reader to Darrow’s world. It is a dark, grimy world, with only a faint glimmer of hope. The people of this world work hard to terraform Mars, so that in the future their descendants can live normal lives on the red planet. Yet soon, Darrow discovers that everything he and his people have worked for is a lie – Mars is already terraformed. The Reds, as his people are known, are being used as slaves, tricked into thinking they are making a contribution to society, and other higher social groups benefit from their work. Darrow becomes involved with a group of rebels, and must disguise himself as a Gold, the highest of the groups, in order to infiltrate the system. To do this, he gains a place at their military academy, and what followed felt almost like a feudal setting on another planet: groups of teenagers vying for power and territory.

One thing that really struck me about this book was the relationships and character development. In a book that is very brutal and sometimes shocking in its portrayal of a society and human nature, there were also some tender moments. Darrow’s relationship with his wife, Eo, was wonderful. Having known each other since they were small children, their relationship is a close one and felt so genuine, nothing like many teenage relationships in books. This may also be a byproduct of Darrow’s society throwing children into adulthood too early.

Additionally, Darrow’s character progression was fantastic. The reader follows his journey from a courageous but perhaps reckless Red to a focused and determined Gold. He keeps to his roots, but on the way he develops so much. One scene that really stood out to me showed what Darrow could become if he really immersed himself into the Gold way of life, and demonstrated the stark contrast between the social groups. Although he becomes a Gold on the outside, he never really forgets why he is there, remaining a Red within.

The action slowed down a little towards the middle, but this doesn’t mean nothing happened. Darrow and his house prepared themselves for battle, allegiances were forged and shattered, friendships built and destroyed, enemies made and truths revealed. I finished this book in a matter of days – carrying my Kindle with me everywhere I went, reading it at every spare moment. Red Rising is an absolute must read for science fiction fans, but I would also highly recommend it to those who are new to the genre. I cannot WAIT to read the sequel, Golden Son!

[inlibrisveritas]

Red Rising is one of those rare books that make me outwardly excited. I don’t react to books unless they make me really upset or I’m so in love with them I can’t stop talking about it. This is definitely the latter.

Darrow is a Red, a section of the Mars colony that takes care of mining for resources to help supply and keep the terraforming of their planet moving forward. He’s comfortable with his work and life, though it is hard and demanding…but that comfort is riped away when he finds out he’s nothing more than a slave and Mars has been livable for generations. I love Darrow. He’s got an arrogance about him that tetters on being too much, but he has the skills to back all the talk up and he doesn’t fear anyone. His transformation into a Gold was rather cool, and I really liked all the changes but I mostly enjoyed the fact that he stayed true to who he was despite needing to fit in. If you are ever in need of a character who basically radiates badassery, Darrow is your man. He’s determined, intelligent, and has a knack or strategy…and as long as he has his goal, he keeps moving forward. A few other characters I basically worship now are Goblin and Mustang (nicknames). Goblin is who I would want to be when it came down to a fight for survival. He has questionable sanity (but isn’t insane), he’s the very meaning of stealth, and he loves to make a impression. Mustang is who I want to be period. She’s gorgeous, as all Golds are, but she’s incredibly smart and makes an awesome right hand for Darrow…when they are not at each others throats.

The world building in this book is basically what I live for. It has depth and detail, and it’s the sort of writing that makes me wish it were a blanket so I could wrap myself in it and forget the real world exists. I loved the stark differences between some of the castes like Pinks, Purples, and Golds. I was expecting the typical upper, middle and lower classes but instead we get classes purely for those working in pleasure and even a class devoted to those who create, but none of them have the freedoms and power that a Gold does. The command schooling is the coolest most horrific school I think I’ve come across in a dystopian so far. I loved that everything is so hands on and that they have to put strategy to the test in a real life, incredibly dangerous situation and that they have to maintain and adapt those strategies for as long as it takes to complete the task. Where the first part of this book is somewhat slow and busy building the world, the sections with the school are brutal and turned it into an addicting read where I had no issues making up excuses on why I needed to read just one more page.

Red Rising is one of those few books that manage to live up to the hype surrounding it. It’s every bit as fun and action packed as they say, and if it wasn’t for other commitments I would just into Golden Sun as soon as possible.

[chrssym]

Woah.

[ross91]

Every time I read it, I love it more!

[Kelly]

Reviewed by hubby
4½ Stars
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2015/01/professor-birdbrain-red-rising-review.html
This dystopian take on science fiction is a journey into the unknown, a fantastic blend of two worlds crashing into one another with utter devastation left in its wake. The story starts out with meager beginnings in Lycos a mining colony underneath the inhospitable surface of Mars. Darrow is what is known as a Hell Diver, a drill operator where he and his fellow miners are mining Helium 3, the life source of the civilization. Helium 3 is the life blood of terraforming technology and it is needed to transform the surface of Mars.

A tyrannical government is in power all people are divided by colour, Reds are the workers that toil away under the surface to transform their world they are the lowest of the low, pinks born into a life of slavery to the pleasures of the upper echelons of the society. The top of the pile are the Gold population and as their name suggests, who sport the arrogance of royals, and use brutality as their weapons against all other. They are monstrously over sized with the aid of genetic engineering and ugenics. The golds demeanor is quite evident that they are gods among men, and with their technology this is at least partly true.

After a tragic incident involving Darrow and his wife Eo, his world collapses around and nothing will ever be the same. Contacted by the terrorist group The Son's of Ares, Darrow undertakes a mission to change the face of the society for ever.

The reader will be fully immersed within the story. There are plot twists galore, but they are all done extraordinarily well. The immersion just keeps drawing you deeper and deeper into the story and before you know it, it's over, and will be left wanting more. The writing style is first person and very well done. The author has mastered the art of capturing the emotions of the characters and portraying them to the reader as if it were you in Darrow's shoes.

I liked the blend of science fiction and dystopian, all neatly set around a plausible near future technology and I applaud the author for doing his research into the field of future fuel sources and its uses. Some of the technology is still a bit far afield, however it still falls well within the realistic realm.

What I didn't like at the beginning, the story seemed to lack explanation. I found out later in the story that was required at the time for the flow of the story to make sense all the way through.

I would recommend reading this book to anybody who enjoys dystopian, but be warned this is not the Hunger Games or Divergent style of dystopian, this is a unique take from a science fiction fantasy take on a totally corrupt power system. But if you enjoyed that style of writing this is definitely your cup of tea. And let's face it, who doesn't enjoy seeing a government system collapse that was based on brutality and slavery.

My only complaint is that the ending seemed too rushed.