Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1)

by Pierce Brown

Without me, she would not eat. Without her, I would not live.

“Death isn’t empty like you say it is. Emptiness is life without freedom, Darrow. Emptiness is living chained by fear, fear of loss, of death.

“Look into yourself, Darrow, and you’ll realize that you are a good man who will have to do bad things.” My hands are unscarred and feel strange when I clench them till the knuckles turn that familiar shade of white. “See. That’s what I don’t get. If I am a good man, then why do I want to do bad things?”

“Even the nations of Earth grew jealous of one another. The United States of America exacted this idea of equality through force. And when the nations united, the Americans were surprised to find that they were disliked! The Masses are jealous! How wonderful a dream it would be if all men were created equal! But we are not.

We need not study chemistry or physics. We have computers and others to do that. What we must study is humanity.