Red Rising Read-A-Long 18 discussion
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Part I AKA Chapters 1-11
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Liene
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Jun 09, 2018 07:18AM
What do we think so far?
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Now that we've seen a little more of the Jackal than we did in Red Rising, is it bad that I like him more than I do Darrow?When I read, I tend to have to cast actors (or pro-wrestlers etc.) in my "mind movie", rather than just making up faces for the characters. In the previous novel, I'd envisioned the Jackal as being Luther from The Warriors. Though now, after their conversation in the club, I think of him as being a Gold version of Penguin (as depicted in the Gotham TV show, not the plump comic or movie versions).
Interesting that you like the Jackal - he's Pierce Brown's favorite character too hehe.Penguin is a pretty good fit, ngl. I tend to picture him as the gold version of Ramsey Bolton from Game of Thrones :)
I strongly agree with liking the Jackal more than Darrow, especially now that we've seen a bit more of him. I respect characters who are ruthlessly self-serving. I can understand the Jackal's motivations, and I feel like I know who he is as a person.Darrow makes me crazy, a bit. I feel like Pierce Brown couldn't decide what kind of person he really was, and so he vacillates in whatever way the plot requires. Sometimes he's a brilliant tactician. Sometimes he's hopelessly, helplessly dumb. He's alternately cold and unfeeling or whiny and pathetic. We're already an entire book in, and I don't feel like I know Darrow at all. It makes it really hard for me to care about what happens to him. At the end of part one, he's obviously in some emotional turmoil about his wife, his baby, his mission, etc. But I care so little about him that the whole thing felt over-the-top and ridiculous to me. I found myself rolling my eyes a lot at his inner monologue. I want him to grow up, which I don't think is how I'm supposed to feel.
Also, I had some misgivings about Eo's role in the first book, and this one is just REALLY bringing that home for me. She's not a person. She's a plot device.
However, all that said, I'm still having fun with this book. I want to know how things shake out. I'm looking forward to the implied return of Sevro, and I want more of the Jackal. There are aspects of this story that make me shake my fists at the sky in frustration, but overall, I'm having a good time.
I was just talking to someone yesterday about how incredible it is that there are so many legit fans of Red Rising that hate DARROW - I think that's just a testament to Pierce Brown's storytelling. I don't have time like a character to like a story...Given that you want Darrow to "grow up" I really hope you keep reading through to Iron Gold when we see Darrow in his 30s.... he's quite changed.....
i just got to chapter 9. its been a busy month and i hope i can still get through this book this month.
