Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Red Rising (Red Rising, #1)

by Pierce Brown

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.

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'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

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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.

Reviewed by Chelsea on

5 of 5 stars

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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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 22 April, 2014: Finished reading
  • 22 April, 2014: Reviewed