Red Rising(Red Rising)
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4.7 • 487 Ratings
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- $22.99
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow."-- Scott Sigler Pierce Brown' s relentlessly entertaining debut channels the excitement of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Ender' s Game by Orson Scott Card. " 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 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.
Customer Reviews
Beware: You’ll be hooked
Ever read a book where the ending sequence feels rushed and isn’t a long enough payoff to the slower story at the beginning? This book has that sequence, but about 8 times over. Which is to say it isn’t really rushed at all. The action keeps ramping up over and over, the stakes constantly grow, and when you get the payoff you want - another twist.
To just say the beginning is slow (it is, but…) isn’t quite accurate. It does a very good job setting up the political/ cultural setting and the MC impetus to do the very things that make the rest of the book so great.
The book is written in 1st person so we get to understand exactly what the MC thinks and feels about the brutality around him. This includes how “lesser” people are treated. Lower classes (anyone who’s weaker in any way) are marginalized to the extreme. Power and strength valued above all else, so if the high class want something, they take it no matter what. The red rising world is classist, sexist, brutal, violent etc. Darrow despises this fact and we get to see his often violent and cutthroat reactions. Also, this story doesn’t exist without the women in Darrow’s life, and we are reminded frequently of this.
Minor nitpicks : the MC is 16 yo but the VA for the audio book sounds much older. It’s not a huge problem as the author explains the harsh living conditions age people faster. The VA is amazing, tho, and really brings gravity to Darrow’s actions.
I wish Pierce actually provided more detail for the way things look. His writing will stimulate imagination, which I know is the point, but I’d love to know a bit more of how the author envisions the world’s aesthetic.
You’ll love this book, and you’ll be on the hook for the rest of the series.
Awesome!
This was incredibly enjoyable. I’m really glad I got the second book before I finished the first one…. Can’t wait to read the series.
Sexist portrayal of women in the writing style
Very fun book. Very engaging.
Hard to listen to though as the way the female characters are written is pretty sexist. They are all described as hot or gorgeous and most are not given the time and character development of their equivalent male characters. This book feels written by a young man who views women as weaker. Often the line “like a girl” is thrown out as an insult even though in the society created it shouldn’t be an insult. The main character’s perspective feels like it looks down on many attributes he believes to be “feminine” and it is ALWAYS very clearly stated that the female characters can’t keep up with him but “look cute trying”. Often an opinion stated by a female character is followed by a remark on her appearance or sexiness, minimizing her opinions unintentionally.
There are great things about the book and there is also a great female character. It is overall a good book if you can ignore the toxicity of the main character.