From the Bookshelf of Challenge Corner…

Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1)

Pierce Brown

Start date: July 1, 2020

Finish date: July 31, 2020

Discussion: Book of the Month

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 7 topics — 750 comments total

Book of the Month

This topic has been closed to new comments.

* Previous BOTMs
By Felicia · 11 posts · 732 views

last updated Dec 27, 2024 06:25AM

* BOTM Polls!
By Alaina · 24 posts · 217 views

last updated Sep 19, 2025 07:58AM

showing 10 of 87 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Aug 05, 2019 Emma rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopia, science-fiction

It took me 3 attempts to start this book over a period of time and I just couldn’t get into it. This time, I did become interested until the competition started in earnest and I quickly became quite bored and remained that way until the end. For me, it wasn’t about how it was written or implausible plot lines; it was just not what the ‘reading me’ had much interest in. Very Lord of the Flies-esque.

18 likes · Like · see review

Aug 13, 2020 Aly rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dystopian, sci-fi, 2020, audiobook, 2021, ya, favorite-reads

2nd time reading

I'm so happy to be rereading this. I remembered quite a bit of it but there were some details I missed and I think this will help me going into book two. The story is so compelling from the beginning, the class system is well developed, and the pacing is great. I jumped right into this again and almost couldn't stop myself from listening to the book in one sitting.

I still love Darrow. He's quick to adapt to changes and a natural leader. He makes mistakes that have costly consequ 2nd time reading

I'm so happy to be rereading this. I remembered quite a bit of it but there were some details I missed and I think this will help me going into book two. The story is so compelling from the beginning, the class system is well developed, and the pacing is great. I jumped right into this again and almost couldn't stop myself from listening to the book in one sitting.

I still love Darrow. He's quick to adapt to changes and a natural leader. He makes mistakes that have costly consequences, but he learns from them and grows as a person. He stays true to his love for Eo, even when he has other women show interest. Darrow also knows the value in having all kinds of allies, particularly those who are underestimated. These partnerships play a big role in his success and I'm sure will help him win the rebellion.

**************************************

Wow, why have I been sleeping on this?! I've heard great things and I don't know why I kept putting this off. I absolutely loved it from the very beginning and I need the next book asap!

Darrow is such a compelling character. He's a red, which mean he's the lowest caste and does the hardest, deadliest job of mining. He has a wife he loves and a family around him. When the worst thing that can happen does, he's recruited into a rebellion. He transforms into a gold, the highest caste, and infiltrates their Institute, where the golds send their children to learn to be leaders and gain apprenticeships.

Darrow quickly amasses followers, he's smart and cunning and not the typical gold. He cares for his people and I love that about him. He wants revenge, but knows how to keep himself in check and play the game. The war games they play are deadly and I was surprised at the amount of death that happened. Some of it was really sad, we got to know these characters and I'll miss them.

The ending had a lot going on and I'm very excited to see where we go from here. Darrow has only begun his mission and there's a long road to travel still.
I'm also hoping we'll get more of Mustang, Sevro, and Roque, the bond they formed in the games is strong and I think they'll all help Darrow in the coming times. ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Jun 08, 2016 C.P. Cabaniss rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, dystopian, books-i-own

It's hard for me to express my feelings for this book. While the beginning was interesting enough, it didn't grab me. The writing wasn't stunning, Darrow was annoying, I could not connect with a single character. A few things about the beginning, particularly how Eo's character was introduced and used, just didn't really work for me.

But...at around the halfway point I started connecting more. I don't know if Darrow really changed or if I changed the way I was looking at him, but he started anno ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Apr 27, 2016 Sibil rated it really liked it · review of another edition

La valutazione in stelline è provvisoria.
Review to come!

5 likes · Like · see review

Nov 17, 2018 Jocelyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-five

Probably closer to a 4.5 but the second half of the book was so incredible I can't bring myself to give this only a 4. The first half dragged a bit and bordered on the nonsensical, even for a fantasy book, but the second half blew me away. It became so intense, so raw, and oh so thrilling. I absolutely devoured the rest of the book.

I've got so many other books I need to finish but I need to read the second book in this series asap so library due dates be bloodydamned! ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 22, 2018 Ashy Khaira rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 08, 2016 Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) rated it really liked it

Shelves: dark, sci-fi, 4-and-a-half-stars, from-my-shelf, adult, dystopian, fantastic-hero, completed-series, 2016

“The measure of a man is what he does when he has power.”

4 stars. The first few chapters had me second guessing this but at about 100 pages in, I was sold. This was really dark and gritty and a lot of fun for me. Once the story picked up and the action kicked in it was intense and it didn't stop.

I liked the writing style quite a bit, I think the world building was kind of iffy in the beginning but definitely got better by the end. The pacing was good and the story itself is really intriguing ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 30, 2016 Iman the Bookwitch rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, audiobooks, fantasy, scifi-fantasy, 2023-tbr

2023 reread, still trope-full but still full of fun!

————————-

Yes, this book isn't original.
Yes, we have seen all the elements this book has to offer a million times already.
Yes, the MC fits every archetype of dystopian novels.
But is this book hella interesting, action packed fucking good? HELL YES!

Don't get me wrong I'm aware that all the points listed above are major problems, but somehow I still found myself totally riveted by this book. As I read, I found myself taking mental notes of when ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 25, 2020 Brittany Kollenberg rated it it was amazing

WOW.

I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. My boyfriend has been begging me to read it and honestly I have no idea why it took me so long. I didn't have much time to read, but when I did I could not put this book down.

Darrow is probably one of my favorite characters ever and watching how he grew and changed throughout the book was fascinating. I love how much Pierce built up this world. It took me a bit to understand the terms and how people were ranked, but once I did I was s ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 18, 2018 Jenn added it

I had seen those book on the shelves at stores and it kept popping up as a recommended read. The premise sounds interesting and something I might like. But I could not get into it. I tried for a few chapters and felt nothing compelling me to read the book farther. I had no emotions for the characters even when Darrow losses Eo, I felt nothing, and I should have. People kept telling me to keep with it and it gets better...but it does not. I couldn't finish it.

The characters are completely unreali ...more

Like · see review

Sep 29, 2019 kia rated it really liked it

Honestly, it turned out like none of my expectations at all. Well, I expected some kind of violent or maybe a very confrontative rebellion in this book. Instead, this book pursue a politics (?) way to do the rebellion. That's why there's a wide time span happening in this trilogy. The characters build their rebellion a step at a time and kinda take their time to perfect their ace. And surprisingly, I kinda digging this.

There's a LOT of informations in this book. The concept of this book's univer ...more

Like · see review