Red Rising (Red Rising, #1)

by Pierce Brown

Micaela Alcaino (Illustrator) and AVENDELL (Illustrator)

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.

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Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars, generations of people who spend their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that, one day, people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left.

Until the day Darrow learns that it is 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 at Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.

Until the day 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.

• Publish Date: January 2024 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Hodder & Stoughton
• Edition: FairyLoot Iron Edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 382
• Language: English
• Special: Exclusive Design Signed Sprayed Edges

Reviews

[Amber]

You know, for a book with such a high Goodreads rating and so many screaming fangirls, I honestly expected Red Rising to be better. I at least expected it to be good. Instead, I was almost sent to sleep by the tragically slow plot and the bland writing. Those two things along with an unremarkable main character (who tried so hard to be remarkable) made for an awful reading experience.

I realy do not get the hype surrounding this book. The plot is nothing special. Red Rising starts out with Darrow’s wife, Eo, dying, which spurs Darrow into becoming a rebel and going to a school for the obnoxious and privileged Golds. It started out well. I was interested up until Darrow actually got to the school, and then they started wars and battles and, while this sort of thing usually keeps me interested, it just made no sense to me whatsoever. It was boring, and felt contrived. As if these rich people would let their kids die at the hands of other rich people.

I started skim-reading after about 200 pages because Red Rising completely failed to hold my attention. At the same time, I wanted to get to the end because maybe I was being too judgemental and the book was going to get better. Everyone had told me that it was crazy and mind-blowing, so I had to go on, right?! Wrong. I shouldn’t have bothered.

By the end of the book, absolutely nothing had changed. Darrow was still an annoyance, the students were still doing stupid things, the ladies of the novel were still being ruled by the men (which, by the way, makes no sense for ~reasons) and I was still fucking bored.

Darrow is an awful character. At the beginning of the book I was ready to get behind him because I thought he was going to have a Spartacus storyline going on. You know, one where he finds a reason to fight for the lives of the oppressed. And that reason should have been his wife. But as the novel progressed, Darrow seemed to forget about Eo and the cause and was more interested in talking about himself. I don’t really care if you are (and always have been (supposedly)) gorgeous and great at everything you do, Darrow.

I really didn’t like how Darrow was naturally the best and most gifted at everything. Yes, he was genetically modified to be that way, but even his apparent intelligence was superior to everyone else’s. And how the fuck did those Ares people know that he’d be The One? DO YOU THINK YOU’RE NEO, DARROW.

Speaking of genetic modification, I would like to point out that this world building makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and I refuse. I REFUSE. The women in this book are mostly oppressed by the men. They are said to be weaker, even the Golds, who have been GENETICALLY MODIFIED TO BE STRONGER and so should be equal with the men of the same rank. And rape is brought up regularly and, from what fellow readers have told me, dealt with poorly. I can’t comment on how it was dealt with because I wasn’t paying attention. I just noticed that the characters talked about it a lot. But anyway, it doesn’t make any sense for the women to be the weaker sex when genetic modification is possible. And it makes even less sense when it’s included in this world and not commented on, i.e. nobody said anything about changing the fact that the men ruled the world.

You know, for such a dull book, Red Rising gave me a lot of rage. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you want to torture yourself. Or maybe you have nothing else to read. In which case, I would suggest finding a newspaper because you will find the same asinine characters and shitty plot in the daily news.

[littleread1]

While I found the MC robotic for most of the story, the story itself is very good. I am interested to see where things go here now that school is over.

[Stephanie]

I really liked this book. Except for one big thing that confused/annoyed the crap out of me. Which I will explain in many points, later. When I review this in full.

[lizarodz]

This book.  Red Rising is all kinds of amazing. This is like nothing I’ve ever read before and a combination of a lot of things I’ve read before.  I know I’m not making any sense, but bear with me while I try to make sense of it myself.

Now, here’s the thing. For the most part I listened to the audio for the book (more about the audio later), but at a certain point I had to go back to the eBook for a little white (thank goodness for whispersync) because some of the words that are unique and I couldn’t understand them well just by listening to them.  For instance ArchGovernor, ArchPrimus, gravLift, holoImmersion or medBot are weird words, but worry not dear reader because it all makes sense at the end.

“We grew together, and now are grown. In her eyes, I see my heart. In her breath, I hear my soul. She is my land. She is my kin. My love.”

This is a long book and I won’t attempt to retell the story for you.  The story can be divided in three parts and we will discuss each in turn (mind you that this is the way I “divided” the story in my mind, the book itself has four parts.)  Part one: In the beginning of the book we are introduced to the Reds.  The Society is divided by “colors” which are a group of people that are genetically engineered for a specific purpose.  Thus the Reds are the slaves of the Society, they dig the helium-3 that serves to make planets habitable.  The trick is that they don’t know they are slaves, they believe their sacrifice will save a doomed Earth.  Darrow is a Helldiver, brave, smart, young, loving, and simple.  He’s married to Eo and that love is taken from him.  I don’t want to spoil the book for you, but it is heartbreaking to read about the depth of his love and the depth of the oppression that the Reds live under.

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

'I live for you,' I say sadly.

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

Part two:  Darrow is “rescued” from death by a group of revels (as it says in the description, I promise there are no spoilers!), that open his eyes to the truth.  It is a mindboggling concept and very hard to come to terms with.  Darrow is asked to pass himself as a Gold to bring the structure of the Society down from within.  This might sound easy, but it’s not.  Each “color” behaves, talks, and looks different, so Darrow’s transformation is long, and painful.  Not only does he need to look like a Gold, but he also needs to learn how to “be” and think like them and then get into their Academy.

“You have made me give up the hair Father gave me, the eyes Mother left me, the Color I was born to, so I will keep the name they granted me, and you can make it work.”

Part three: When Darrow goes into the Academy his life is turned into an extreme “Hunger Games” scenario.  The caveat is that that the goal is not to kill each other, but to tease out the leaders, and eliminate the weaklings.  It is violent, scary, unjust, and long (almost a year long.)  BUT, during this time Darrow learns to become a different kind of leader.  Others follow him because they want to, not because they have to.  He learns to be a great tactician and to anticipate other’s moved. He’s helped by “Mustang” a Gold that has a new vision of the future could be.

“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.”

The world building is outstanding.  The Society is somewhat based on Roman culture and in a world where people like Hitler, Alexander, Spartans and such are role models and democracy is mocked. Most names are Roman and so is the mythology.  However, this is a Fantasy / Sci-fi and is based on the fact that other planets are habitable, were there is advanced technology, and the power to do many things (not all bad.) The writing is incredible good, so graphic, enthralling, and captivating.  Oh my, this story is AMAZING!  You never guess what’s coming next, it’s so interesting and I can’t wait to see where Darrow is taking us next.

“Man cannot be freed by the same injustice that enslaved it.”

Overall, Red Rising is an epic beginning to what I hope it’s an incredible series.  I cannot wait to read Golden Sun!

About the audio: Red Rising was narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds and he was amazing.  This is definitely one of the best audio books I have ever heard.  The performance is amazing, voices are distinct and even the accent is different from Reds and Golds.  I hope that Reynolds keeps narrating the series ;)This review was originally posted on Reading With ABC

[Chelsea]

Initial Thoughts

This book was recommended to me by a friend who likes similar books as me. He said it was an awesome book so my expectations got pretty high. It was a very original story with aspects that reminded me of The Hunger Games mixed with A Game of Thrones. Sounds awesome right? Well it was!

My New Best Friend

Mustang. Oh how I loved her. I thought for a moment she was going to betray everyone and then I would hate her, but she didn't thankfully. She was a different character. A strong female leader who knew when to step back. She was really smart and interesting and while I was reading I really looked forward to what she was going to do next. I think she's going to have a huge part in the next books. I hope so anyways.

My Crush

Darrow, obviously. He was a main character with some big flaws. I kind of liked that though because we had to watch him get over them. He was really quick to anger and didn't mind picking a fight. Usually that's not the character I tend to like but he was also really smart and he never did the same thing twice. I was never expecting his plans and I probably wouldn't have thought of them myself. He's a really great leader and definitely a great pick for a spokesperson for a rebellion. I'm excited to see what happens with him next.

Writing Style

The writing was very quick and action packed. The only thing that bothered me was that there wasn't really a high point in the story because it was just battle after battle after battle. There were some surprises here and there but it was a lot of strategy and fighting. I didn't mind that, I just would have liked a big climax. That's just personal preference though. It was still a really great book that I know I couldn't put down.

Closing Thoughts

There's just so much to say about this book.

This book made me excited for dystopia books all over again. You see a lot of repetitive thoughts in most dystopia books now but this one is new and fresh. I really liked all the political drama that came with all the fighting. I found that I was actually interested in it and if I was in the book I'd follow Darrow too. I like that the characters actually suffer instead of being all rich and good looking. I hate it when characters don't actually know what the world is like. I was a little weirded out that Darrow came back to life at the start and I don't think I liked that they didn't explain that at all. But just about everything else got explained enough to be satisfied. I enjoyed that they used the Greek Gods as the classes in the institute, it was a fun addition.

At the end of the book, this really was a crazy experience reading it. It was just so intense all the time. I've added this book to my favourites and I think everyone will probably do the same. It's a fresh new book for the dystopia genre. EVERYONE should be excited over this.

Bonus

This book made me feel everything. I was worried, nervous, sad, excited, horrified, and everything else you can think of. Well done.

[Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub]

This is one of those books that will make you think. It's more than just a sci-fi novel, it's a social commentary, a redemption tale, and a book that will stay with you long after you've read the last page.
Pierce Brown crafted a complex, yet believable, society. His characters are multi-layered, and none are superfluous.

Red Rising takes everything you expect in a science fiction book and throws it out the window. This is an author to watch.

[Beth C.]

Books that are supposed to be "the next" anything drive me crazy. I'm also impatient with books that every book blogger and reviewer has said are "a must read!". So it was with hesitant interest that I decided to try Red Rising. I'm so glad I did. This book is absolutely stellar.

Darrow is a Red, one of the subterranean miners who work to prepare the surface of Mars to be habitable. They have colonies down there, and have for generations. They are also treated mostly like slaves. Through a set of circumstances that shall remain a part of the story, Darrow comes to learn that his whole life (and those before him) has been a lie. And so, he becomes a weapon. The question is - will the weapon become what he hates?

The writing style is a step above Hunger Games. The descriptions and the characters truly made me feel like these were people who really live, and whose lives are being captured for posterity. I can see where there would be some comparisons to Hunger Games, but to me there really is no comparison. Red Rising rules.

This is NOT a sci-fi book in the general meaning of such. Just because Mars is where is starts out, don't be expecting flying spaceships, aliens, etc. Do expect, however, to run into several of the old Gods (or what passes for them). It is a brutal story, though I never felt the need to flinch away from it. Such is the writing.

I will be recommending this book to everyone I know, and can say right now that I believe it will be on my best books list for 2014. It's not often I find myself being thankful I went ahead and tried the next best thing, but this is definitely one of those rare times. A fantastic start to what promises to be an amazing trilogy.

[violetpeanut]

Overall: This is, hands-down, my favorite book of 2014. All of the characters are well-developed, the world is detailed and believable, and the plot is exciting. There are scenes that will make you cry, scenes that will make you cringe, maybe some to make you queasy, and many that will probably make you angry. The story is well-told and I cannot wait to see where Darrow goes from here.

Age: This is an adult title but will have appeal to mature teen readers as well. There is a lot of violence in various forms and some disturbing scenes so not appropriate for younger teens.

Genre: Genre-bending! This book is set in the future and on Mars so it could be classified as Science Fiction. However, there are battle scenes and settings and details which are more familiar in the Fantasy genre. Fans of either will love this. The society is Dystopian so there's that as well.

POV: First person through the main character, Darrow.

World-Building: Darrow's world is a fully-fleshed version of our future where mankind has colonized moons and planets and has segregated society into "colors." Reds are the miners and laborers, violets are the artists, pinks are for pleasure, and there are greys and obsidians and others. Golds are the ruling class. They are the most beautiful, the strongest, the richest and hold all the power. There are explanations of how society came to be this way, vivid descriptions of the settings and a thousand little details that form a complete picture without resorting to info-dumping. Everything you need to know is woven in to the fabric of the story.

Characters: Red Rising has some of the most complex and developed characters of any book I've read in a long, long time.

I love Darrow. He starts the book as a typical cocky 16 year old who thinks he knows everything and is content with his lot in life. Throughout the rest of the book, Darrow makes an amazing transformation, but not without difficulty. He struggles and makes bad choices and must learn to hide his vulnerability and become something stronger than just a Red or a Gold. He's probably one of the most developed characters I've read this year.

The secondary characters were not forgotten in terms of development. They each have a story and are complex. I love Sevro despite his penchant for gruesome tactics and uncouth behaviour. Mustang is a strong female character who is trying to rise above the limitations her family has placed upon her. There are so many others as well. Even your opinion of the "villains" will be colored after learning their motivations.


Romance: There is very little romance here. Darrow's relationship with his wife becomes the catalyst for Darrow's actions throughout the rest of the book. There are some tender scenes between them but romance is not the focus of this book.
Insta-Love: No Love Triangle: No

Plot and Pacing: There are really two halves to this book. The first half tells the story of Darrow's beginnings in the mines and how he comes to transform himself into a Gold. This half of the book is amazingly detailed and sets the stage for the rest of the trilogy. It moves a little slower because we're learning so much. Some readers may think it's a little too slow, but I was drawn so much into the world that I didn't mind it. The second half of the book is action packed and moves very quickly. It tells of Darrow's time at the command school. I was expecting personal drama and schooling and instead got brutal battles and strategy. There have been comparisons to The Hunger Games and I can see the similarities in that these "kids" are fighting for their lives, but this is a very different book. It was a pleasant surprise. There's quite a bit of politicking and strategy involved. There are shades of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series in terms of the politics involved.

Cliffhanger: No. The immediate questions of book one are resolved but there's still a lot to tell in the overarching story of Darrow's infiltration of the Gold society. No cliffhanger, but you'll be wanting book 2 right away.

This review originally appeared on my blog Cherie Reads.

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews


Red Rising is a well-woven story set on Mars, in a dystopian society, where the readers follow Darrow from the mines where he extracts precious helium 3 to help the population from earth to come and colonize the red planet. The Reds working and living deep inside of Mars have little food, and everything is done to make sure the clans do not band together with each other - only staying with their own. Many things are forbidden, but not many people dare to rise and try to make things better. When Eo brings her husband to a secret place she's found, a place that is fully terraformed already, Darrow has no idea what she means when she tells him they need to fight, and that he will be a leader to help the Red in the revolution.

At the start, Red Rising is about the hardship of the Red, the way they live and die, and how people look old already when they're in their thirties. All of this is soon proved to be a lie, and Darrow goes through incredible things in order to change himself to become a Gold, the highest race, so that he can bring justice to all. Intricate politics, a complex world, and a new but not at all easier life awaits him, as he enters the institute so that he can become a person of power. And the tests he and his peers are put through are horrific to say the least.

Just before the middle of Red Rising, I was thinking about similarities to a movie, where Soviet children were sent to the US to become super-spies. This is what Darrow is meant to be, however, at his core, he still retains the morals of his family, and he might be one of the few people on the surface of Mars who actually knows how wrong all the propaganda they are all fed is. As he fights to survive, he finds allies and enemies among his new race, and the ultimate price - death - does not scare him in the least.

I really enjoyed the way Red Rising is written, from Darrow's point of view, the readers really feel all he is going  through, both the bad and the good. As he grows, it is impossible not to root for him, and I was hoping he would be able to keep his humanity and his Red soul as he experienced so much heartache I think I would have completely given up if I were in his shoes. A quite quick read, even if the story is very dense, Red Rising is a wild ride, showing the most base of human morality. How power beseeches more power, and the fact that building a society based on the sacrifice of some people does not bother those in charge.

In some ways, Red Rising also made me think of The Testing, even if the world and the way it works is different. The ruthlessness of the leaders is what made me feel this connection, and I have to say that even with all its gory darkness and desolate view of humankind still held some kind of hope, and I was surprised at the many twists and turns the story took before it was completed.

Darrow is an awesome hero, even if he is sometimes ruled by his anger and anguish, he still keeps what has always been important to him close to his heart, and that is one of the things that made him seem very real - and very human. The other characters are well fleshed out as well, both in their strengths and their weaknesses, and the overall plot is well done, too. Although Red Rising is very violent, the urge to read on never weaned, and I can't wait to see what will happen next, if Darrow will indeed manage to rise among the Golds, and if he will still have soul if and when that happens.

If you enjoy reading dystopia, and to see how little we have really learned from history and wars of the past, you will probably enjoy Red Rising as much as I did. The world building is excellent, and even when I didn't agree with the characters and their choices, it was possible for me to understand why they acted the way they did. Through all the horror and fighting, the tiny glimmer of hope never disappears, and I found myself wishing for a better world along with Darrow. The whole premise is a hard, harsh story showing just how unhuman humans can possible be.



I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war.

"Power must be claimed. Wealth won. rule, dominion, empire purchased with blood. You scarless children deserve nothing. You do not know pain. you do not know what your forefathers sacrificed to place you on these heights. But soon, you will. Soon, we will teach you why Gold rule mankind. And I promise, of those among you, only the fit for power will survive."

To be a Helldiver, they say your fingers must flicker fast as tongues of fire. Mine flicker faster.

Her face is aglow as she watches me, laughing as I fall to my knees and suck in the scent of the grass. It is a strange smell, sweet and nostalgic, though I have no memories of grass.

They are humans. But they've been made differently. Carved differently. A pretty young girl, no older than Eo, sits looking at me with emerald eyes. The wings of a white eagle sprout from the flesh of her back. She's like something torn from a fever dream, except she should have been left there.

There's more laughter across the square as he tells us to look at pathetic Athens, the birthplace of the cancer they call demokracy. Look how it fell to Sparta.

Others in my House may see animals of Earth, or curious creatures the Carvers decided to make for fun. But I see only food and clothing.



 

 

[KitsuneBae]

This review first appeared on Thoughts and Pens.

So you think you’ve read it all? You think you’re already so tough after reading all the gruesome things in THG and Divergent? But friends, you haven’t seen anything yet without reading this monstrosity of a book. Red Rising will break you and pound you to an amazeballs of powdered bones and you will not do anything about it. It’s 1/3 dystopia, 1/3 sci-fi, and 1/3 epic fantasy. Heavens forgive me but this is even better than The Hunger Games. Coming from a die hard THG fan, saying that can already be considered a blasphemy but I don’t care… I don’t care… this book has it all… extremely bad-ass characters, action scenes full of carnage that will make your nightmares laughable, heart, drama, complex relationships and sweet good ol’ romance.

Red Rising is one of those books that everyone should read before they die or die trying. I don’t even know how to begin this gorydamn review without making myself look like an obsessed blabbering fool. Add the fact that I am afraid that this review will not do the book the justice it deserves. Holy shit! This book might just murder me in cold blood if I fail to make this review as awesome as the book.

Red Rising is about a slave named, Darrow, who is contented of living a life digging in the pits of planet Mars to harvest helium 3. He believed that his sweat and sacrifices will better the lives of his future children. However, he found that he and his fellow slaves were betrayed and that drove him into a mad longing to seek out justice for all the misery that they had suffered.

While the synopsis is quite unappealing to me as a potential reader, it was immediately cured as soon as I got into the story. The beginning instantly clutched me without ever letting go until the very end. I was swept into a world where people are hierarchized according to their colors with Reds being the lowest. The caste system created by Pierce Brown is interesting, exceptional and conceivable. My dear friends, this book has just restored my faith to the dystopian genre. I initially thought that dystopian authors have finally exhausted any possible means to make the said genre as awesome as the first time I got acquainted with it through The Giver and The Hunger Games but worry not, Pierce Brown is here to save the dying genre.

The world building and the community are just a small part of the awesomeness of Red Rising. Once you meet the characters, I know for sure that you will be on your knees clutching you heart and telling it to stop from becoming a pathetic mess. Our main character, Darrow, is just OWNING! His rise from the dregs of the society to become the most brilliant student of the Gold Institute was impressive yet heartbreaking. His journey was so painful that I couldn’t help myself from tearing up every time I relive the things that he did to achieve the most coveted student position in the Institute. Yes, he got ambitious, cunning and ruthless during his development phase but it was all justified. His love for his late wife, Eo, was so moving that it was impossible not to shed tears for a character that you only knew for a few pages. Guys, I rarely root for male characters as greatly as I rooted for Harry P. but Darrow has managed to usurp the number 2 spot of my “Best Male Characters of All-Time” list. That, my friends, is an honor you do not take lightly from me. Ahem.

Even the secondary characters including the gorydamn antagonists are well fleshed out and there was never a time I had difficulty discerning every one of them considering their impressive numbers. If Pierce Brown will quiz me now, I know I would ace it. *smiles smugly*

The plot of Red Rising…I couldn’t even… In this book, it’s not just about brute force but it’s also about Brown’s genius machinations to make this book’s plot at par with that of an epic fantasy story. Goodness gracious but everything that happened In Red Rising is a product of military ingenuity. And the most brilliant thing is, Pierce Brown never holds back when it comes to the bloodbath. He will describe every gory detail with relish. Interwoven into the plot are political intrigue, vengeance, unlikely friendship and a semblance of a bittersweet romance. It is a tragic story and yet one full of hope, honor and amazing goodness.

Though I recommended this book to everyone, I must suggest that those who are quite delicate must toughen up prior to reading it. Pierce Brown is a sadist Peerless Scarred who will crush you with no hesitancy. You must be ready.

***An ARC of this book was freely provided by the publisher via Netgalley. Thank you, Del Rey and Random House!***