Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Red Rising

(Red Rising Saga #1)

Pierce Brown (Goodreads Author)

4.24 · Rating details · 269,395 ratings · 26,633 reviews

"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 t ...more

Get A Copy

Kindle Edition, 401 pages

Published January 28th 2014 by Random House LLC

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Red Rising, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 4.24 ·

Rating details

· 269,395 ratings · 26,633 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1)

Jul 19, 2013 Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, try-hard, gary-stu, dystopian, social-issues, boring-main-character, action, sci-fi

Actual rating: 2.5

“Darrow. Come here. Come.” He grabs my shoulder and pulls me in. “Others may have failed. But you’ll be different, Darrow. I feel it in my bones.”

I'm sorry, was I supposed to feel something?

I suppose boredom is a feeling. Not a single tear was shed. Not for a single instance was a single emotion heightened. It was by no means a bad book, but the message got lost in the telling, and there is just. So. Much. Telling. The writing is fantastic, but the plot just didn't work for me. I was bored out of my mind for much of the book.

This book tries to be grand. It tries really, really hard to make a lofty, awe-inspiring political message. It read like a rousing Communist propaganda, the sort that would get a crowd of common men fired up, ready to launch an uprising to bring down the almighty ruling class that has long oppressed them.

Wait, this book is trying to make a political message? Something about freeing the oppressed? What the fuck? No. It is a story about how Darrow is better than everyone else at everything because he is The One. His life is saved by the act of God, or shall I say, the act of deus ex fucking machina every single fucking time.

It wants to be the story of a common laborer, a sheep, one who is content with his hard-working life, who is proud of the products of his toil because it supposedly means something. Darrow is the Everyman, the ordinary worker, the common man to whom we all can relate! Not.

If Darrow were a female, I would not hesitate for one millisecond to slap a "Mary Sue" label on him. He is bloodydamn perfect. An Everyman, he is not. The common man, he is not. Average, he is most definitely not. Fine, Darrow is meant to be perfect because he's the SYMBOL OF HIS PEOPLE. He's so fucking special. He was plucked from the mires of obscurity to save his people.

His perfection raises a lot of question, and this book left me largely unsatisfied.

The Bad:

Darrow: The main character is Darrow, and he is so perfect as to be improbable, unrealistic, and completely unbelievable.

Meet Darrow.

He is a 16-year old worker. He toils. A life of hardship is all he has ever known. He is a Red, the lowest social class, the dregs of society. He is an uneducated minor, and a miner (I make no apologies for the pun, I've been waiting to ues that one for ages). As the mad scientist who has been told to turn Darrow into a Gold says...

"Say we make his body perfect, there’s still one problem: we cannot make him smarter. One cannot make a mouse a lion.”

That's right. Darrow is not stupid, but he is uneducated. He has not had the privilege of a life's worth of highly selective education. His body is hard, strong, but unhoned in war.

And he dares compete against the Golds, the highest echelon of Society. The strongest, the most powerful, the most intelligent.

Only Darrow dares. And he succeeds beyond anyone's wildest imagination. He is so fucking perfect, and I hate him for it. Despite a complete lack of education, he is brilliant. Just fucking brilliant.

I don’t know the math, but I know the pattern. I solve it and four more puzzles, then it changes once more in my hands, becoming a circle. Mickey’s eyes widen. I complete the circle’s puzzles and then toss him back the device. He stares at my hands while working his own twelve fingers.
“Impossible,” he murmurs.

He succeeds at everything. Lack of knowledge? Fuck that shit, just drink a fucking INTELLIGENCE TONIC AND BOOM! INSTANT GENIUS.

Before I sleep, I drink a tonic laden with processing enhancers and speed-listen to The Colors, The Iliad, Ulysses, Metamorphosis, the Theban plays, The Draconic Labels, and restricted works like The Count of Monte Cristo, Lord of the Flies, Lady Casterly’s Penance, 1984, and The Great Gatsby. I wake knowing three thousand years of literature and legal code and history.

Where was that stuff when I was cramming for my finals in school? :|

Which begs the question, if Darrow can be artificially enhanced like that, why hasn't everyone else? What makes Darrow so special that his artificial physical and mental enhancements haven't been used to make the actual Golds better than they are?

It doesn't work.

The Plot: It just plods on, and on, and on. There was not a whole lot of bad in this book except for the fact that the message got lost along the way, and it was so incredibly boring. My friends promised me it would get better at the 15% mark. They promised me it would get better at the 30% mark. I just kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and things never really inproved. The first 15% of the book had my head spinning as we are introduced to the immensely boring and confusing world building. The next 20% was better, because hey! Darrow got ripped apart and put back together. The rest of the book was like, The Hunger Games in that you pitch a ton of elite students together in to a Lord of the Flies scenario until one emerges, victorious.

Maybe. The message got somewhat lost in between the whole "Hunger Game" survival scenario at a leadership training school, the Insitute.

My name, three bars beside it now, floats nearer the Primus hand.
Cassius has risen too.
But there can be only one Primus.

There's the hardship of survival, the fight to be the victor...the, um, battle against pimples?

People remain hungry because we’ve yet to build a fire in the castle, and hygiene is quickly forgotten when two of our girls are snatched up by Ceres horsemen as they bathe in the river just beneath our gate. The Golds are confused when even their fine pores begin clogging and they gain pimples.

Seriously, I can't even tell you what the latter 25% of the book was about because it was such a confusing, boring mess.

The Good:

The Setting: I thought this was well done, despite the massive amount of infodumping without definition. If you want sci-fi, you got it. The reader is instantly immersed into the world on Mars, the underground, the mining world.

There is a tremendous amount of terms that the reader doesn't know at first. The good is that the book doesn't try to spoon-feed its readers. The bad is that OH MY GOD SO MANY TERMS WHAT THE HELL DOES IT ALL MEAN?! The first 10% of the book had my head in a tailspin.

Frysuit, helldiver, Tinpots, clawDrill, scanCrew, headTalk, randomlyCapitalizedWords, etc. It was tremendously confusing.

The good is that the setting is eventually explained. The system of castes on Mars based on colors is explained, and about damn time, too.

The Gray soldiers prowl the cities ensuring order, ensuring obedience to the hierarchy. The Whites arbitrate their justice and push their philosophy. Pinks pleasure and serve in highColor homes. Silvers count and manipulate currency and logistics. Yellows study the medicines and sciences. Greens develop technology. Blues navigate the stars. Coppers run the bureaucracy. Every Color has a purpose. Every Color props up the Golds.

The technology is slowly revealed to us. The reader has to WORK in order to understand the setting. I like that the background of the book is incorporated into the story, there is no stupid "Once Upon a Time blah blah blah" shit type of dystopian background building here.

The fact that the book takes such an easy view of randomly killing off its elite citizens was well-explained, too. I usually take offense at random killing of your best and brightest, but I have to admit that this book gave me an adequate explanation.

“And you may think it a waste of good Golds, but you’re an idiot if you think fifty children make a dent in our numbers. There are more than one million Golds on Mars. More than one hundred million in the Solar System. Not all get to be Peerless Scarred, though, eh?

Darrow's Physical Transformation: My Fair Lady to the fucking EXTREME, man. Darrow is a Red. He is trying to be a Gold, in order to achieve that, he has to undergo a very far-out sci-fi transformation process. Bones are rebuilt. Skin is peeled off. Synapses are formed. There is a TON of blood and pain. It is fucking awesome.

The agony is beyond language or comprehension. I watch videos of it afterwards to distract me from the residual pain. He uses a vibroScalpel to slice the flesh of my thigh down the middle. He parts my muscle and skin with clamps to expose the bones of my legs. Then he peels off layers of the bone with a bonepeeler and paints new layers with his improved-bone recipe.
“Someone has to dot God’s i’s.”

The Political Message: This is meant to be a political parable, and it does it quite well. I could select one of a thousand sentences in this book and plaster it onto a Communist propaganda where it would fit in place perfectly. The political message in this book is loud, clear, and well done. I said this was a rousing book, and it was. The message of inequality is so clear here. The struggles of the Reds are well-depicted. You can clearly see the injustice, the betrayal, the deceit, and I understand the hunger that Darrow felt and his desperation to make things right for his people.

“This is our bloodydamn planet.”
“Through sweat and toil it was made so,” he agrees.
“Then what will it take to take it back?”
“Blood.”

An ambitious book, and one that many of my friends have loved.

It just didn't do the job for me. ...more

flag 1248 likes · Like · see review

May 29, 2013 Navessa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: EVERYONE WITH EYEBALLS

Shelves: badass-mc, believe-the-hype, myths, mc-you-can-root-for, arc, fantasy, saved-the-genre, dystopian, favorites, non-ragebeast-male-lead

*I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review and honestly? I BLOODYDAMN LOVED IT*

You think you’ve read a dystopian book? Quit lying to yourself. That was teenage angst wrapped in a shiny new package, cashing in on the popularity of this genre.

You think you’ve read about evil futuristic regimes? Nope, those were one dimensional villains that will look cartoony compared the assholes in this book.

You think you’ve seen hurt and suffering and despair and heartache? You’ve seen nothing.

You th ...more

flag 1091 likes · Like · see review

Jun 03, 2013 Emily May rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, sci-fi, 2013

“I am the Reaper and death is my shadow.”

2 1/2 stars. Red Rising isn't really a bad book - 2.5 stars still means halfway between "it was ok" and "I liked it", after all. And many other reviews will tell you how amazing most people found it, but I struggled to locate the magic that so many other people seem to have found within its pages.

Red Rising is considered and marketed as dystopian/sci-fi, which technically it is, but it reads with a dense wordiness that is reminiscent of high fantasy ...more

flag 647 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2015 Rick Riordan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

(Minor spoilers follow) Red Rising introduces us to Darrow, a sixteen-year-old miner who toils deep in the mines of Mars a few hundred years in the future. In Darrow's world, humanity has spread across the solar system, and has been organized into a strict caste system of colors, with Gold at the top and Red at the bottom. Darrow is a Red, but he is making the most of his hard life in the mines. He is good at his work. He has a beautiful wife Eo (they get married young and die young down in the (Minor spoilers follow) Red Rising introduces us to Darrow, a sixteen-year-old miner who toils deep in the mines of Mars a few hundred years in the future. In Darrow's world, humanity has spread across the solar system, and has been organized into a strict caste system of colors, with Gold at the top and Red at the bottom. Darrow is a Red, but he is making the most of his hard life in the mines. He is good at his work. He has a beautiful wife Eo (they get married young and die young down in the mines) and though the Reds live in abject poverty, they are a proud tough clan. They appreciate songs and drink and family. They also hold on to the idea that they are sacrificing for the good of humanity at large. They have been told that they are pioneers on Mars, making the planet habitable through their hard lives mining helium-3, and some day the surface of the planet will be able to support life thanks to their efforts. Some day, the other colors will join them on Mars.

Then Darrow's life is shattered when he and his wife are arrested for trespassing in a garden that is restricted to the Bronze administrators. Soon Darrow finds himself alone, bereft and marked for execution. He is plucked from the jaws of death by a resistance group known as the Sons of Ares, who show him the Big Lie of his existence: the surface of Mars is actually already inhabited. The other colors have formed great cities, and are allowing the Reds to keep toiling as slaves while the Golds and their minion classes live lives of relative ease. The Sons of Ares have a plan for Darrow: because of his dexterity, constitution and quick mind, he is just the right double agent they need. Using advanced genetic manipulation, they will make Darrow a Gold and send him to infiltrate the Institute, the training academy which produces all the top leaders of the Society that controls the solar system. Darrow's job is to rise as high as he can within the Gold ranks so he can assist the Sons of Ares in their eventual revolution. The only problem: Darrow first has to survive the Institute.

I found Red Rising absolutely compelling. I tore through the book and am anxious to read the next two books in the trilogy. You will recognize many ingredients from other YA/fantasy series. The tone, especially at first, reminded me of Patrick Ness' The Knife of Never Letting Go. The big discovery of society's true nature was reminiscent of the Matrix. The caste system is like Divergent. The Institute sorts its students into houses like Harry Potter. The cutthroat competitions among the Golds is very like The Hunger Games. And the nature of the training is described as a year-long deadly game of capture-the-flag, in which the houses (all named after Roman gods) fight one another while the proctors float about them and watch from a levitating mountain called Olympus. That, too, seemed oddly familiar.

And yet Red Rising is more than the sum of its parts. Pierce Brown manages to craft all these elements into something new, something believable and exciting. I couldn't help getting swept away in Darrow's story as we follow him from the lowly life of a miner to the very heights of Olympus (literally), wondering along the way if his secret identity will be discovered, or if he will 'go Gold' and forget his rebel benefactors and his mission. The book is satisfying in itself, but it leaves a lot of tantalizing questions for the second volume, which I have already started reading. If you like YA adventures, like the ones mentioned above, this is definitely a book you should check out! ...more

flag 1122 likes · Like · see review

Dec 17, 2016 Val ⚓️ Shameless Non-Snowflake ⚓️ marked it as dnf · review of another edition

BIGGGGGG DNF

Holy effing hell, people.

Or should. I say. Holy. Effing. Helldiver.

All I can say is...

description

Seriously though, I was expecting some uber Sci-Fi awesomeness here and I feel like I got shafted with some broke ass YA that took itself waaaaaaay too seriously without having any actual sincerity.

There is NO way I could have been reading the same book as everyone else.

That's gotta be it.

My local library must have accidentally supplied me with the staccato-speak, melodramatic version of this t ...more

flag 663 likes · Like · see review

Sep 17, 2016 Patrick rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I picked up Red Rising because a *lot* of the people at Worldbuilders were goofy over the books, and, by extension, the author Pierce Brown.

Earlier this year, when I went to a convention where he was going to be in attendance, the Worldbuilders team told me that if I didn't capture Pierce like a Pokemon and bring him back to the office with me, I shouldn't bother coming home at all....

I got to hang out with Pierce there, and he was irritatingly polite, witty, and charming. That, combined with th ...more

flag 1347 likes · Like · see review

Feb 22, 2015 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-all, favorites, hardback-own, kindle-own, own, young-adult, sci-fi

Gah!! Look at the new FairyLoot Editions I got!

UPDATE:OMG! Look at the new B&N hardback edition! I can't even people! There is some artwork inside too but the cover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I first read the book I must have been on crack, because it went from 4 stars to 5 and my favorites list! It's bloodydamn awesome! Let me just say the second time around listening to it on audio was fanfreakingtastic! The narrator nails it and there is a song in the book and a w ...more

flag 609 likes · Like · see review

Mar 06, 2019 jessica rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

true confessions: i bought this book because i thought the author was really attractive in his picture on the back cover flap. the interesting synopsis and the fact that 200+ of you have this added on GR also helped, but mainly it was because pierce brown is a total babe. lol.

so what a delightful bonus to also find out this is an absolute wonder of a story. a rough, brutal and vengeful wonder. i could relate to darrow on such a spiritual level - it almost felt as if his emotions were my emotions ...more

flag 431 likes · Like · see review

Jan 28, 2014 Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Every-frickin'-body

Shelves: dystopian, favorites-ya, rabid-reads-reviews, science-fiction, ya, audible, best-of-the-best, favorite-secondary-characters, space-travel, it-burns-us-precious

5/3/18 - ON SALE for $1.99:

https://amzn.to/2w9QBPK

1/27/16 - Updated Review:

Pierce Brown would be a Gold in the society he built, and it kind of pisses me off.

This is the third time I've read RED RISING, it's the first time I've read it since reading GOLDEN SON, and, more than ever, I'm convinced he's a bloodydamn genius.

AND he's beautiful.

It's not fair.

You don't get to be brilliant AND talented AND have those eyes AND those arms:

description

You're welcome.

In heels, I might be taller than him, but who the ...more

flag 412 likes · Like · see review

Jan 16, 2019 Miranda Reads rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

“Break the chains, my love.”

Darrow has lived his entire life underground.

He lives, breaths and works thousands of meters below the surface as part of the "Reds" (lowest caste of his society) whose task is to teraform Mars for the generations to come.

Despite the cold, the dark and the damp, he is happy.

His society is poor in food but rich in love, dance and song. He married Eo, the love of his life, and they are ready to start a family.

But then, he learns.

He learns that humanity is already on ...more

flag 382 likes · Like · see review

Oct 06, 2016 Petrik rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Sci-fi & Dystopian fans

4.5/5 Stars

Buddy reading this with my favorites:
Sweet Mary, Sister Sarah, Tweebie, Jennymort, Innocent May

Let’s get the two most asked questions about this book out of the way first.

1. Is this book geared towards YA audience?
No, it’s not. The only thing in this book that fits the YA genre is that Darrow’s (The MC) age starts at 16 years old in the beginning, that’s it. Everything else; the writing, plot, themes, and world-building, in my opinion, belongs in the adult territory.

2. Is this book ...more

flag 386 likes · Like · see review

Dec 11, 2014 Dorreh rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It's like The Martian marries the hunger games, then the hunger games gets into an affair with the game of Thrones.
I think that speaks for itself, but let's elaborate further just for the sake of my sanity shall we??

I want to first of all point out what really gripped me in this book, because even though I liked it very much, I was 30% confusion, 20% outrage, 50% admiration. I'm not to great at math, but thats a 100% of how I felt. The gripping part to me was not the romance( which was pretty g It's like The Martian marries the hunger games, then the hunger games gets into an affair with the game of Thrones.
I think that speaks for itself, but let's elaborate further just for the sake of my sanity shall we??

I want to first of all point out what really gripped me in this book, because even though I liked it very much, I was 30% confusion, 20% outrage, 50% admiration. I'm not to great at math, but thats a 100% of how I felt. The gripping part to me was not the romance( which was pretty good, oh and that shocking last minute turn), or the action, or even the admirable albeit familiar setting, it was simply the touch of reality in Darrow's character. Most authors create a symbolic hero, self less, honorable, and self sacrificial to a point of outrage. This wasn't the case here. Although Darrow is a boy who knows love and loyalty, anger and betrayal, he is a touch more down to earth. Yes he is self less and all, but he's a realistic kind of selfless, a person with relatable abilities, a character that stands out, but is still only human. It started from Eo and her indulging him in her ideas. You see were this any other novel, he would have probably jumped at the idea of a revolution, of change, because well, he is the main protagonist, he is supposed to be wise beyond his years and so open minded and fearless that nothing else really matters. But Darrow isn't, he like any other real person depressed by years of brainwashing knows fear, see's the reality of his limitations, and is actually afraid of consequences. And why this was so gripping to me is that he is given space to grow, to overcome fears that are logical and real, he is not fearless, but he learns to be brave. He masters courage, and finds love where he looked for revenge.

Also the great page turner was the shock that came right before the game was over, twins?!?! Who would have thought, I had considered lovers or allies, but that one came so fast and out of nowhere it kinda made me stumble there for a minute. Even though i had a soft spot in me for mustang since the very beginning, and then she nailed her territory in my heart when she saved Darrow's life. And Cassius made me want to punch someone, even though at the same time I sympathized with him. Who can get over the blood of a loved one easily?

Despite all the great aspects this book had, I had trouble keeping up with the literature at times. The author did quite a splendid job, truly, but I guess his style of writing just didn't sync with me to well. There were times when I had focus harder on a sentence to catch its meaning, it didn't let me float through the words and let my imagination free like I usually do with books. So I guess those small confusions were my only true complaint about this book. But will I be reading the rest? Oh, definitely yes, wouldn't miss it for the world. Can't wait to see how he will conquer or fall in this tale. ...more

flag 374 likes · Like · see review

Sep 06, 2019 megs_bookrack rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Shout it from the rooftops. Red Rising is a damn blessing!!!

I am so thankful that I finally made this series a priority. I had heard so much about it, so many rave reviews, so much love, so much hype...

...but, would it work for me?

I am late to the party, perhaps the thrill is gone?

Fortunately, I am happy to report, the thrill lives on! I adored this. In the very beginning, I'll admit, I was on the fence. It started out rather slowly and the tone was a bit morose, but onc ...more

flag 327 likes · Like · see review

May 19, 2015 Darth J rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: disappointing, kids-killing-kids

Red Rising reads like a 12 year old boy’s fever script for an action movie. It lacks originality and borrows heavily from The Hunger Games. Don’t believe me? Both have a society split up into different fractions, depending on what they provide the world. Both have arenas with teens killing each other, while patrons look on and provide gifts for their favored participants. Both have protagonists who have signature weapons from a hunter/gatherer society. There are a few differences, but it’s the s ...more

flag 303 likes · Like · see review

Jul 11, 2017 Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

”Brave pioneers, always remember that obedience is the highest virtue. Above all, obedience, respect, sacrifice, hierarchy…”

It’s been quite a while I last dove into a science fiction series but “Red Rising” definitely was worth it!

This book was so well made and always forced me to think ahead, to anticipate what would come next and to try to figure out how the MC would handle the situation! Just like Darrow I constantly found myself wondering who was going to stab him in the back and who would ...more

flag 282 likes · Like · see review

Apr 05, 2015 Kai rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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

A man, whose life is about to change in every way possible. From the bones of his body to the colour of his eyes, from the place he lives to the way he talks. He's got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I was incredibly intrigued to start this series. I watched Red Rising go from underrated to hyped and now that the final installment of the series was released, I had to give it a try as well.
I first started the book and put it down ...more

flag 254 likes · Like · see review

Dec 06, 2014 ✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, outrageously-overhyped-fishsauce, science-fiction, br-2015, 2015, dystopia

Actual rating: 1.5 stars

Brace yourselves, this is not going to go well.

YES, I only gave this book 1.5 stars when 99.99% of the world population gave it a 5 star rating. But it could have been worse and I'm actually marvelling at the fact that I was able to finish the book at all. Granted, I skimmed through most of the last chapters because there is only so much boredom I can take.

First off, let's get something straight: when everyone tells you you need to get past the first 35% of a book before ...more

flag 241 likes · Like · see review

Jul 03, 2013 Shelby *trains flying monkeys* rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: end-of-the-world, read-2014, favorite-series

2nd read:
I'm a dumbass. I fully admit to being a dumbass.

I don't know what the hell I was doing the first time I read this book..because I gave it 3.5 stars. After reading so many shitty books this year I know now what a great book this really is.

This time it gets it's full five stars. Five frigging, huge, screaming stars. Stars for SeVRo, Pax, Mustang and the rest of these characters.

1st read: When I was a dumbass.
Unpopular opinion time. I'm sorry fangirls. I just didn't love this book.
...more

flag 229 likes · Like · see review

Dec 26, 2016 Mikee (ReadWithMikee) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

❝I will rise. I will attend the Academy. I will learn to lead fleets. I will win. I will sharpen myself into a sword. I will give my soul. I will dive to hell in hopes of one day rising to freedom. I will sacrifice.❞

HOLY CRAP. What a ride. I don't even know where to begin! I knew there had to be a reason why everyone was talking about this series but WOW. Red Rising was really something else. I expected a typical YA "chosen one" type of fantasy novel but this book was so much more complex than that. And it was definitely more Adult than YA. In truth, it reminded me a lot of the Hunger Games meets Lord of the Flies. But since I haven't read The Hunger Games, I can't really compare too much besides what I've seen in the movies. But I did get very similar vibes!

Darrow was such a great character. I loved his transformation so much. I was a bit wary about him in the beginning but the more the story progressed, the more I grew attached to his character. He came such a long way from the Red Darrow we first meet to the Gold Darrow we see by the end of the book. It's really as if these two characters were two different people. All the other characters were great as well, even the notorious villains in the story. Mustang was an absolute QUEEN and I can't wait to explore her character even more in the next book. She's such an amazing character and I felt like we didn't get to see as much as I wanted to. Same with Sevro! I loved his loyalty and friendship with Darrow. And PAX omg. My heart. I can't wait to see their development as the series progresses.

The only real complaint I had with Red Rising was the world building, and a bit of the pacing as well. It wasn't until maybe halfway through that the story finally started to pick up. The first half was to establish the society and hierarchy. I found it to be VERY confusing, and I'm still trying to figure it all out even now. The beginning felt very info-dumpy therefore I didn't understand too much of the society other than the fact that the Golds are the highest of highs and Reds are the lowest of lows, everyone else just fits somewhere along the middle.

If people didn't tell me to push through, I would've probably set this book aside because of how confused I was. But I'm glad I stuck with it because Red Rising probably sealed a place on my favorite series list! I can't wait to get through the rest of the series and binge read the next two books. :) ...more

flag 212 likes · Like · see review

Jan 24, 2017 Kaylin (The Re-Read Queen) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, unpopular-opinions, recommended-to-me, young-adult, dystopia, why-the-hype

2 Stars

Overview:

ALRIGHT EVERYBODY. HOLD ON TIGHT.

description

BECAUSE IT’S TIME FOR UNPOPULAR OPINIONS

To my all GR friends who loved this book and/or recommended it to me:
description

I'm really glad you loved it! This just didn't work for me...
description

Pros:

This is brutal. Pierce Brown does a fantastic job of creating a treacherous and gritty world. Almost all dystopias rely on a sense of danger, but most of the characters are safe. Not here. It wasn’t just that characters could die, but there was absolutely no mercy if th ...more

flag 205 likes · Like · see review

Jul 29, 2019 Charlotte May rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: epic-fantasy, tear-jerker, mythology, favourites, sci-fi

4.5 ⭐️

Weeks after I started this buddy read with Fares I finally finish way late because I’m useless. Enjoyed reading with you bud - please don't give up buddy reading with me forever!

“I am the spark that will set the worlds afire. I am the hammer that cracks the chains.”

Well bloodydamn! This was fantastic! Full of violence and secrets, politics and betrayals, all tied up with intricate and believable world building.

Darrow is a Red. The Red’s live on Mars and work as miners. It is hard and dan 4.5 ⭐️

Weeks after I started this buddy read with Fares I finally finish way late because I’m useless. Enjoyed reading with you bud - please don't give up buddy reading with me forever!

“I am the spark that will set the worlds afire. I am the hammer that cracks the chains.”

Well bloodydamn! This was fantastic! Full of violence and secrets, politics and betrayals, all tied up with intricate and believable world building.

Darrow is a Red. The Red’s live on Mars and work as miners. It is hard and dangerous work, but they are told they are pioneers, working towards making the planet habitable for all the other colours. There are as many other colours as can be counted – greens, pinks, blues, browns, coppers – too many to list. But the most important, are the Golds.

The Golds are the leaders, the ones in charge, and when Darrow realises how corrupt the system the Reds are forced to live under really is – it’s time to take action.

Undergoing a series of painful operations and intense training, Darrow is recreated as a Gold. Sent into their tests and training to hopefully worm his way in and find a way to bring their reign of terror down.

I loved all the different characters (Pax, Mustang, Sevro, Cassius and many others), I loved the comparisons with Ancient Rome, both with the names the Golds are given and also the way in which the Golds rule. They have Praetors and Imperators, the leaders that test the Golds have even named themselves after the Roman gods (Apollo, Mars, Venus, Juno etc.) very interestingly done.

The main test the Golds have is very Hunger Games-esque. They are split into teams, chosen by each of the Olympians and forced to battle each other, to enslave one another, until one house and one Primus remains.

As I said, loads of violence, so be wary if that isn’t your thing. But Darrow as a character was outstanding. He does everything that he must in order to move forward, never forgetting his family or the Reds that he is fighting for whilst attempting to keep his secret from everyone. So many twists and turns, Darrow always seems to have another trick up his sleeve, and I cannot wait to see where his journey takes him next!

“Remember the chains, when Gold ruled with iron veins, we roared and roared, and twisted and screamed, for ours, a vale, of better dreams.” ...more

flag 212 likes · Like · see review

Jan 28, 2017 Ikram rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fictional-boyfriends, smells-like-pain, ya, sci-fi, crews

Holy bloody gory damn shit. This book you guys.

THIS. BOOK.

I feel like Darrow would benefit from some basic life advice so here it goes.

Basic Life Advice 101.
(view spoiler) ...more

flag 189 likes · Like · see review

Feb 23, 2014 Robin (Bridge Four) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Robin by: Ash Wednesday

Shelves: kick-ass-heroines, super-sidekicks, ya, re-read, 4-5-stars, fantastic-fantasy, sci-fi

I might have liked this even more the second time through. Fantastic.

Dystopian novels seem to be a dime a dozen lately, some good, some horrible, so it is great to see a book set itself apart and really capture my imagination. Red Rising is a combination of The Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies if you turned the volume up to 11.

I am the spark that will set the worlds afire. I am the hammer that cracks the chains.

The beginning was a little predictable, I mean to create a man with an epic quest there must be a great injustice done to him. Darrow is that boy/man. While most boys of seventeen are playing at being a man, he has seen and been through too much to be a boy any longer. Married to his childhood sweetheart Eo at sixteen he works for his clan mining underground on Mars so the planet can be terraformed for future generations. He works hard to provide for them but it seems that they are destined to be low forever. Eo has dreams to make their lot in life better for Darrow to stand up and rebel but he wants nothing except her.

“You think a dream is worth dying for. I say it isn’t. You say it’s better to die on your feet. I say it’s better to live on our knees.”

When Darrow finds out his entire life has been a lie, that mars is already terraformed and has been for generations he is recruited to rebel against the system by transforming from a lowly Red into a Gold, the rulers of the worlds who believe themselves to be Gods among men. Now he must infiltrate their system and become the best Gold possible so that in the future he can destroy them from the inside.

Red Rising is dark and intense, full of intrigues and betrayals. Even though the beginning is predictable the rest of the book is not. Just when I start to feel comfortable with the characters and the roles they are playing the rug gets pulled out from under me and I have a very new understanding of the game and the society that constructed it. No one is safe and no one is what they seem.

I loved some of the side characters, there are so many that are slightly off. It could be because they are brilliant but it could also be because they are crazy, perhaps both. Servo was one of my favorites and I was never quite sure what that guy was going to pull next.

“I killed their pack leader,” Servo says when I ask why the wolves follow him. He looks me up and down and flashes me an impish grin from beneath the wolf pelt. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t fit in your skin.”

Brown has given us glimpses into a vast and complicated world. We have only seen a small part of it so far but what I’ve seen is dark, cruel and intricate. Throughout the story Darrow stumbles and falls but the transformation of him from the beginning of the story to the end was amazing and you get to see every misstep and mistake along the way to make you believe the transformation. I can’t wait to see how Brown follows Red Rising up. Definitely a dystopian worth diving into. ...more

flag 186 likes · Like · see review

Mar 14, 2015 Katerina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopia, 2017-reads, science-fiction

Darn this book is GOOD!

Pierce Brown is a freaking mastermind. Red Rising is a blend of science-fiction and dystopia with reference to History's greatest conquerors and Greek mythology, and the result is savage.

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

Darrow is a Red, working in the mines below the surface of Mars in order to make Mars inhabitable and secure the future of mankind. Reds are mostly slaves, but he has accepted his fate, thinking he's making sacrific ...more

flag 184 likes · Like · see review

Nov 25, 2013 Anne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, arc, nook, read-in-2013, favorites, mature-ya, read-in-2014, sci-fi, dystopian

I just did a re-read to prep myself for Golden Son.
*squeals*
For me, it was definitely the right choice.
I would have missed a lot of references...mainly, because my tiny dinosaur brain can't hold onto/recall information like it used to.
So.
Was it still as good as I remembered?

description

Original 2013 review:

This review can also be seen at Addicted2Heroines.
There's a lot of hype surrounding this book, and for once it's totally deserved.
How often can you really say that?!
When I first started reading it, I w ...more

flag 179 likes · Like · see review

Jan 15, 2014 Natasha Polis rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

One of the most exciting books I've read in awhile! So glad I finished it now I can talk to Pierce about his book! Book talk coming soon on my channel! ...more

flag 173 likes · Like · see review

Jan 21, 2018 Caz (littlebookowl) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, owned

Well. That was a hell of a ride! Fantastic. Action-packed. Love to love, and sometimes hate, all of the characters we meet. I need MORE!

I can't believe it has taken me SO long to get to this series, but I'm so glad I finally have. ...more

flag 172 likes · Like · see review

Jan 18, 2017 sunny rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: boring-af, i-dont-get-the-hype, endless-pain, literal-garbage, romance, dystopian, young-adult, bf

Initial Reaction:
*screams and throws book across the room*
WTF I WAS SUPPOSED TO LOVE THIS. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AS GOOD AS THE AUTHORS FACE.

I am so disappointed and was not expecting to be DYING OF BOREDOM.

○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●

Here is my rant:

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book, but when it hit around the 80 page mark, I started to lose interest and get bored. I know, for many people the first 70 or 80 pages were very boring and it got bet ...more

flag 159 likes · Like · see review

Sep 12, 2015 Matthew rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, library, fantasy, gr_awards_2014, post-apocalyptic-dystopian, 2016, young-adult, series

I really was hoping to go higher with the rating, but I found myself struggling to really get into this book. The plot was interesting enough that I will be moving on to the next one in the series, but I was definitely expecting more based on the reviews and ratings I was seeing.

For me, this was a confusing mash-up of sci-fi and fantasy. Throughout the book, the storyline jumped around so much I was often unsure what was going on or why people were doing what they were doing. I was never entirel ...more

flag 162 likes · Like · see review

Mar 16, 2014 Melanie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2017, arc, sci-fi, fantasy, dystopian

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Red Rising is the oldest ARC I have on my TBR. One of my 2017 goals was to read and review it, because I always felt so much pressure when I'd think about picking it up, because this is such a beloved book in the community.

In this world that takes place in our universe, mostly on Mars, everyone is subdivided into color categories based on their skill sets, income, hair color, and what last name they possess (informatio ...more

flag 162 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
YA and Wine: Red Rising	47	16	Apr 13, 2021 12:44PM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Videos About This Book

Pierce Brown interviewed by Matt Staggs of Suvudu.Com

5 comments

Genres

Science Fiction

5,197 users

Fantasy

3,329 users

Young Adult

2,550 users

Science Fiction > Dystopia

2,311 users

Fiction

2,282 users

Audiobook

576 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

407 users

Adult

390 users

Adventure

289 users

Space

209 users

See top shelves…

About Pierce Brown

Pierce Brown

27,773 followers

Hello. I'm Pierce Brown, the author of the Red Rising Saga, a NYT #1 bestseller.
I figured I'd write you myself than have corporate copy pasted below my totally natural author photo.

In my books you'll find stories of men and women finding their inner strength when all seems lost. You'll also find me exploring themes of love, violence, hope, and power--what it means, why people seek it, and how th ...more

Other books in the series

Red Rising Saga (6 books)

Books by Pierce Brown

More…

Articles featuring this book

Whether it’s magic schools, dystopias, paranormal love stories, or contemporary explorations of important real-life issues, young adult books...

Trivia About Red Rising (Red R...

9 trivia questions
2 quizzes

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Red Rising

“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.” — 724 likes

“I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war.” — 632 likes

More quotes…

See a Problem?

Preview — Red Rising by Pierce Brown