Red Rising

up:: Books

• Type:fiction
• Author:: Pierce Brown
• Universe/Series: Red Rising Trilogy
• Year published:: 2014

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Summary/Reflection

Minor spoilers

Red Rising takes place in a universe where humans are divided into classes by colours. We follow the story of the Red hell-diver Darrow.

This book was a cool read. The premise of different colours and Darrow’s origin was interesting and well done. Especially the way Golds spoke, their vocabulary stood out to me. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was fantastic. It added a lot to the experience.

The book leaned towards the dramatic: White wolf cloaks! Greek gods! Dramatic nicknames! At times, the sensational crossed over into the melodramatic but not so much that the book lost me. The book had several moments that were impactful and significant for me as a reader. It was a captivating listen on my daily bike ride to work. Will I read the second book in trilogy though? I’m unsure. 4¼/5 ⭐

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Note: I read this book with a book club over Discord. With small changes, I pasted my messages here.

Thoughts while reading

Spoilers Chapter 0–10

Caught the same vibe as what you guys mentioned. I didn’t have Mars’ gravity in mind so thanks for mentioning that! Now I get how they can do those crazy dance moves 😅

I also think the accent adds a lot. With the lack of details in describing, I think just reading would be plain. The narrator does quite some heavy lifting.

However, Eo’s death touched me and the terraforming being done was a surprise for me 😅 So that worked.

I think the premise of a cast system with the lower being wronged and sewking vengeance/justice has been told often. I hope the story has something interesting to add that isn’t rehashing old tropes.

I am enjoying it though, the colours are a fun premise and I like this weird fantasy/sci-fi blend of this universe. And Darrow is great.

Spoilers Chapter 10–20

I find the mood quite unexpected in this book. Sometimes it’s fairly lighthearted and the characters are joking. Then you get hit in the face with such a dark scene as just now. Still, impressive how impactful the writing is in those moments. I guess it’s the “likeable character dies” strategy that was pointed out. But it works on me 😅

Also, I find Darrow’s motivation hard to follow. Initially, he was driven by revenge but now he lives for Eo’s dream? Which is rising to power for Ares? Eo’s vision was ‘breaking the chains’ but always sounded nonviolent to me.

Nevertheless, the book is intriguing and I am looking forward to where it takes us!

Spoilers Chapter 20–30

I think the book is starting to pick up now. We had so many changing sceneries initially (the mines, the penthouse, the academy…), it is nice to finally settle into it.

Titus’ revelation was also an interesting story point, forcing Darrow to make some tough choices.

Also, the dialogue is great I think. Specifically the Gold-lingo is pretty fun and gives a lot to the characters. Fitting that with Titus words became a crucial thing.

The book’s starting to be hard to put down for me 😄

Spoilers Chapter 30–45

Chapter 30-40

• I pegged Mustang as a love interest from the first interaction
• Someone having a strong grip and dexterous fingers is a unique and cool special skill. I like how that was being used too
• Tendency to the overdramatic (white wolf skins) which is why genuine moments don’t quite fit
• The storming of ceres was cool tho
• The proctors being involved also makes this more interesting
• Mustang’s humor is refreshing in a story with a tendency to the dramatic (“The Reaper”)

Chapter 40-45

• Something being up with Mustang and the Jackal wasn’t much of a surprise either, neither was her betrayal
• I was surprised by Darrow accepting the Arch governors offer though. It is also cool to see how he actually found a purpose himself.
• The story between Mustang and Darrow and Eo and Darrow was also very tastefully done. I like that the author took so much time and didn’t rush into a new thing with Mustang.