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 Beth C. on

5 of 5 stars

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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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 17 February, 2014: Finished reading
  • 17 February, 2014: Reviewed