Red Rising by Pierce Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is an absolute blessing!!!
I am so thankful that I finally made the choice to pick this one up for my Sci-Fi September. I have heard so much about this series, so many raving reviews, so much love, so much hype…
…but, would it work for me? I am late to the party. Maybe the thrill is gone?
Fortunately, I adored this. The beginning, I’ll admit, I was on the fence but once Darrow meets the Sons of Ares, I was paying attention. It drew me in and never let go from there on out!
This brought back some nostalgia for my OG, The Hunger Games, and I’m cool with that. The best part of a great dystopian are those moments when you think, ‘Oh shit. This could happen someday’.
For me personally, one of the most important aspects of a dystopian story is the world-building. It has to be vast and detailed yet easy to pick up.
I felt the caste system, with designations based on colors, was really well done. Although I couldn’t list for you the role of each of the colors, I do feel I have an understanding of the functioning of the world as a whole.
Picking up this book, I really did not know too much about the plot. I was so pleased that it ended up having two of my favorite tropes ever.
The first being a training and competition element. The fact that this competition happened to involve political and military strategy was the absolute icing on the cake.
The second is a chosen one from the lowest rung of society setting out to overthrow a decadent and corrupt ruling class. I just dig that trope and Darrow is very likable protagonist. In fact, this entire book has plenty of people to cheer for and to hate because we all know, a good villain is VERY important!
I have already picked up the next book in the series, Golden Son, and it just keeps getting better and better. I cannot wait to continue on. This is definitely binge GOLD.
To all of you who have recommended this to me over the years, thank you! You are a genius and a true friend!