Red Rising

"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 that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.

Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies... even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

So here’s the thing: I read Red Rising a few years ago and DNF’d it after the first chapter because 1) I didn’t find it gripping and 2) there was an influx of made up terminology that made it feel like Pierce Brown was trying too hard.

Since then I’ve had a number of friends recommend this series to me and when an opportunity came up for a buddy read, I shrugged and thought why the heck not? Personally, I’ve had my fill of dystopian books and I’ve sort of lost interest in them. While sci-fi is a genre I’d like to read more of, it’s still a hit or miss for me. I’m also not the biggest YA reader sooo… the odds of Red Rising working out for me was not the greatest.

This book ticks off things that usually don’t work for me as a reader: a dump of terminology, dramatic lines, unconvincing romance, and the ‘chosen one’ trope. But you know what? It didn’t irk me as much as it should because I enjoyed Red Rising for the things it did well.

1. Red Rising reminded me of a grittier, violent, and more mature version of The Hunger Games but I also like that it went beyond THG. This book explores themes of power, slavery, propaganda, anarchy, and revenge in one action-packed-sometimes-humorous-and-heartbreaking story.

2. There are schemes on schemes on schemes and I absolutely love that you can’t trust ANYONE. If you don’t like a book that keeps you guessing… well… that’s fair.

3. The struggle is real. If you’re a fan of character development/regression and internal conflicts, this book is for you. The characters went through A LOT in this book which either made them better/worse or a mix between the two. Since I’m a sucker for anything that explores human behaviour, I was hooked.

Red Rising seems to be a hit or miss book but I encourage you to give it a chance. I can see how the worldbuilding can be confusing but if you push through that, it gets better. I’m also more of a character-driven vs. plot-driven type of reader so the fact that I still enjoyed it without feeling any attachment to the characters is both an interesting experience and a notable feat for this debut novel that packed more punch than I initially judged it for.