Red Rising

I can absolutely see why Red Rising has such a devoted fan base. I went into this book expecting a great sci-fi story, but what I got was so much more. Pierce Brown created a brutal, fascinating world filled with political intrigue, impossible choices, and characters who constantly kept me guessing. Once the story found its footing, I could not put it down. Darrow is the kind of main character you can't help but root for. Watching him navigate a world built on power, manipulation, and survival made every victory feel earned and every setback hit even harder. The friendships, rivalries, betrayals, and shifting alliances kept me turning pages late into the night. What impressed me most was how effortlessly the action, strategy, and emotional moments all worked together. Every time I thought I knew where the story was headed, Pierce Brown proved me wrong. The ending left me excited to see what comes next, and I already understand why so many readers say this series only gets better from here. If you're looking for a fast-paced story with unforgettable characters, high stakes, and twists that keep you hooked, Red Rising absolutely delivers.

Red Rising is definitely one of those books that improves with re-reading. It’s been touted as the next big thing, a book that will knock you off your feet and fill the void left by The Hunger Games. When I finished my first read of the book, I couldn’t decide whether the hype was justified or not; Brown blew me away in the first few chapters, failed to wow me in the next few, and then alternated between “pretty good” and “outstanding” for the remainder of the book. There were times when I struggled with the believability of Brown’s world, when I felt he wasn’t being consistent with his characterization or was losing the thread of his story. At other times, though, there were moments of true greatness, where I glimpsed the tremendous potential of this trilogy. When six months had gone by and I still couldn’t stop thinking about Red Rising, I decided to buy a copy and read it again. The second time, I was blown away. I found myself describing it to friends as “epic,” “spectacular,” and “out of this world,” and it's become one of my favorite books. Red Rising takes place on Mars hundreds of years in the future, when a person’s station and function are determined by the Color they’re born into. The Reds, for example, are tasked with toiling in the underground mines of Mars to collect the elements that will be used make the planet inhabitable. One of these Reds is Darrow, a young man respected and loved by his people for his quick hands and sharp mind. Working conditions may be hellish, living conditions bleak, but Darrow is proud to do his part for the good of humanity. His wife, on the other hand, views the Reds’ toil as slavery and urges Darrow to use his reputation and talents to free their people. Darrow, head-over-heels in love with his wife and unwilling to risk her safety and the life they’ve built together, resists. It’s only after tragedy strikes that Darrow is forced to rethink his world view and realize his wife’s dream is one worth fighting for. Transmuted by grief and rage, Darrow joins a rebel force in a plot to bring down the Golds, the elite who rule all the other Colors. Darrow undergoes an extensive and painful transformation to pass as a Gold, the plan being for him to fight the Golds from within and rise through the ranks to a position of influence where he can start a revolution. The first step in this ascension is to enroll in the Institute, a training ground for young Golds. Unlike traditional schools, the Institute is less of a college, more of an immense, high-stakes game of Capture the Flag or Risk. The students are divided into 12 houses and thrown into the wilderness, the objective being for one house to conquer all of the others. This is where most people begin comparing Red Rising to The Hunger Games. While there are definite similarities, such as the fact that young people are fighting one another in an arena-like field, there are key differences between the two. The principle way Red Rising differs from The Hunger Games is that the game of Capture the Flag is not a free-for-all where only one can be left standing at the end. To succeed in the Institute you need allies, an army. You need to become a leader, bring people to your side, rally and unite your troops. You need strategy and inspiration. Watching Darrow figure out how to become not just a victor, but a leader and a legend, is one of the biggest selling points of the book. I would say Red Rising feels more reminiscent of Braveheart than The Hunger Games, mostly due to the setting and to Darrow himself. The game of Capture the Flag is played out in a land of castles, highlands, forests, and vales. There are battle cries, ferocious warriors galloping around on horseback, animal pelts, and war paint. And like William Wallace, Darrow is fighting against oppression and has an inner fire and charisma that win people’s hearts and loyalty. Darrow is everything you could ask for in an epic hero. For one thing, he’s self-aware and able to make sacrifices and tough decisions because he knows they are required. He regrets some of the things he must do in order to get ahead but recognizes that those actions must be taken in order to realize his wife’s dream. He’s brilliant and strong but not infallible; a leader, but one who must trust and rely on others for his ultimate success. His victories are epic, but so are his failures. I’m in awe of him and can’t wait to see his meteoric rise continue in the rest of this series. The supporting characters in the Institute also played a huge part in winning me over. Darrow may be the grand hero, but don’t let that fool you into thinking the rest of the story's cast are lesser beings. There are some serious power players in this book, and they each feel like real, distinct, memorable people. They’re not just characters, they’re titans, and without them Red Rising wouldn’t be half so successful. Were there problems with Red Rising? Certainly. It can be overwhelming at times, slow at others, and there are moments when it feels like Brown is writing not a story, but Ideas, with a capital "I." Ultimately, though, this is a brilliant book. It wowed me, moved me, and left me stunned, and I am rabid to know how the trilogy will proceed. This review can also be found on my blog,http://AngelasLibrary.com.

So this book was a proof of my sometimes-lameness in reading certain book. I purchased the kindle copy last year, started reading it for the first time around February, and now 3 months later I just finished it after having long battle with side of me that wanted to keep putting it down. I swear this was my first time of needing such a long time to finish a fiction. I personally was in total awe with this book and Pierce Brown. Red Rising was a debut novel and the author outdid himself with all the rich details and the unthought-of plot, ever. And not to forget his imagination to build up a fantasy of the whole Mars and all its complexity, it was dead awesome. Bloodydamn. Just where did he gather the inspiration to write this trilogy? ‘I was not raised in palaces. I did not ride horses through meadows and eat meals of hummingbird tongues. I was forged in the bowels of this hard world. Sharpened by hate. Strengthened by love.’ (Prologue, Red Rising) Sixteen years old Darrow was a Red. A Red by all means was meant to be a slave to higher colors, specifically Gold. Sad truth Reds sat on the very bottom of society which made them slaves to every color. Darrow never dreamt of living more than what his current life offered now. He was a helldiver, the youngest in history, the best in history. He married a beautiful brave girl named Eo. He had his family all living together even though his father was long gone when he was still a kid. He thought no more than spending all his life in Lykos as Red Lambda where song and dance was the comforts to their rough life. But nothing remained forever in life. “I live for you” “Then you must live for more.” (Chapter IV, Red Rising) The day the nightmare happened, all Darrow wanted was to follow the smell of death. And that was what about to happen except a group of rebels wanted a different path for him. Away from Lykos, family, and all familiar thing back in Red ground, Darrow was shaped to a whole different form. Red Darrow was now a Gold. Well, at least that was what shown on the outside. Darrow was still Red in heart and sure he would never change. Disguised as Gold, Darrow tried a risky step to infiltrate the evil color from the inside. And just like another teenage Gold, he stepped up to join a Gold institution where he could pick a start of revenge. Little did he know that the institution wasn’t at all like its simple name. It was not a school. It was more like a life-and-death battle to be the only one ArchPrimus. Darrow used all his strength to be the said Primus and found along the way how exactly it was to be a real Gold: mean, unforgiving, and unstopped. He began to question himself about all he’d done to get the title, wondered if that would make him no less than an evil Gold. But he did it all for Red, for people back in Lykos, for every Red blood who put their faiths on his shoulder. Surely that would make a different, right? As he questioned himself that, he was faced with another surprising fact that Gold could be a loyal friend if treated right. Struggling with all these complicated dilemmas, Darrow was once again reminded by the fact that in the end, after all the torture, blood, pain, and death, it was only just a beginning. I remembered became all teary inside once I finished it. Not because the story, though, but because the fact that I was finally able to reach the last page. My first impression about Red Rising was hardcore dystopian. But first thing first, let me say something. I NEVER like dystopian book. I hate it. I do. Dystopian infuriates and depresses me at the same time. I always avoid this genre at all cost. I believe that reading is a joy where we could fully escape to the story without having to worry about being lost because we can always close the page any moment to come back. But the ‘misery’ from reading this genre seemed to haunt my soul forever no matter just when I decided to stop reading it. So we could easily conclude that I’d hate this book. What with each violence scene was being described very casually here. But here I was going to say something that would make my whole speech above pointless: I loved Red Rising. I know, I am being confusing here but this was what exactly I felt. This book had me at mental battle between loving and hating this book. I hated this book that I couldn’t stop wincing at all those miserable scenes which practically on EVERY page. Yet my mind was in a superb awestruck condition by all the details that I could not forget this book until this very second. Hell, Red Rising might be the first dystopian book that I ever loved. The author did characterizations to each character very well. Darrow was my top favorite. I loved that Pierce Brown didn’t make him as this flawless hero but simply as human who made mistakes and learned from it to be better. I loved Darrow’s way of thinking despite his young age. He was so much mature, well, being Red it was common though. The other character, Eo, also took special place in my heart. There was this one particular scene where she did something that later became the turning point of Red Rising. I loved Darrow for loving her so deep. Never once he forgot her while doing his risky mission. After all, what he’d done was all started because of Eo’s move first. ‘And she may be like me— from a clan of Red earth diggers, a clan of song and dance and soil— but she could be made from air, from the ether that binds the stars in a patchwork.’ (Chapter I, Red Rising) I super loved the details about Mars, how separate the life of each colors there. I kept saying about rich details here because that was what the author did. He went all out with details for everything. When devouring all these details, for a second there, I could easily forget my hope to get an HEA from this book. Clearly, the author knew very well what he wrote and what to do to engage readers to stay put until the end of the book. Anyway, there was one thing that bothered me a lot about the title. First time I read the title ‘Red Rising’, all I could think of was this book would be about Red people fighting their rights, like they were having actual war of getting justification somewhere in the middle of the book. Instead it was focusing more on the preparation of rising, like how Darrow went through all those awful phases transforming into Gold, then more about how Gold’s world worked. Gold took like 80% of the book. I kept thinking when the rising would occur only to find out on the last page that everything was just a beginning. The actual rising didn’t even really happened here. It annoyed me when the title of the book misleading what I thought about the story inside. Oh, another complaint: just how many odd terms on this book made it rather difficult sometimes for me to immerse into the story. This might be one of the reasons I kept putting it down. Just put glossary in the end of the book then problem fixed! So, despite my complaints and my speech about hating dystopian book, here I said that I loved this book, or more like awestricken by this book. I wanted so bad to read the continuation of Red’s rising under Darrow’s command but I still don’t know when I’d read the next book because clearly I needed time to recover from the torture caused by Red Rising before firing it up again with second book. Well, hopefully soon.

Red Rising is a captivating blend of science fiction and high fantasy that throws readers into a brutal, richly imagined world of rebellion, power, and survival. The story follows Darrow, a deeply relatable protagonist whose relationships with family, friends, and enemies drive the emotional heart of the novel. While the intricate world-building and complex social hierarchy may be challenging for some readers to follow at first, the gripping plot quickly pulls you in and keeps the pages turning. I did a read and listen of this book. The voice actor does have a strong accent and it took some time to become familiar with his speaking style. The book contains graphic scenes of violence and death, reflecting the harsh realities of its dystopian setting. Despite its sci-fi premise, the characters feel authentic and emotionally grounded, making their struggles and triumphs resonate long after the final chapter. For readers who enjoy intense action, compelling relationships, and an unforgettable underdog story, Red Rising is a thrilling and rewarding read.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown 5 Stars!! I'm not going to recap the plot because the book's summary does a great job of explaining what the book is about: The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope. Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labor, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought. Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda. I'm sure by now it's obvious I love romance novels. I wasn't originally going to read this book because it's listed under science fiction. I was going to have a friend read it and do a guest review (he still is going to review), but somehow I found myself intrigued by this book and all the praise that it has received. It is compared to Hunger Games and I really liked Hunger Games so I decided to give it a try...why not? Well...I'm so happy I decided to read this book. I'm not sure it does this book justice to compare it to Hunger Games. While I can see some similarities, Red Rising has added layers of depth. The writing and story is so good. You will be sucked in. First, it is quite obvious the Pierce Brown is well read. He created his own unique story but managed to borrow and weave the concepts of some great works. The first thought I had was that this book reminded me of Golding's Lord of the Flies with a twist on Homer's Iliad. There's a lot of references to Greek mythology in this story. The Golds like to play God and they interfere a great deal. It was interesting how I would forget this novel is actually set into the future. The school is basically set up to imitate ancient times where Darrow and the other students have to learn to conquer but also learn to establish order and civilization. This is where I see many similarities to Lord of the Flies. The books incorporates major themes about the conflict within human nature: civilization versus savagery. It highlights Nietzsche's concept that the driving force behind human nature is the "will to power, " or the long standing question of "does the end justify the means?" This is what I love about the novel...it's not just entertainment; it's entertainment with layers that question morality and the true nature of humanity. It has all the entertainment of Hunger Games, but the depth of the some well know classics. It's interesting to think about how this book is futuristic and technology has advanced far beyond what we can imagine, but no matter how advanced the world becomes, human nature is constant: our drive for power and our inclination for savagery always exists; it is a fine balance to keep civilization and morality in the forefront. This book has a lot of action in it and it is INTENSE. I was so stressed reading it, which is crazy since it's a trilogy and I automatically know Darrow will live through to at least the last book. I'm terrified that Pierce Brown will not give me a happy ending. I'm a happy ending girl and I want it SO bad for Darrow. There is love in this story and love is the major driving force for all of Darrow's actions, but this is not a romance story. It's a story about many things: love, war, survival, redemption, strength, fear, humanity, etc. I LOVED this book. If you are looking for a good book that has it all...love, action, science fiction, philosophical principles, something you can learn from...then READ this book. I hear it's going to be made into a movie. So READ this book before the movie comes out!! Onto book 2...here we go.

Holy Helldivers, that was a bloodydamn wild ride, and I can't wait for the rest of it. I've heard a lot of comparisons for this book, including the Hunger Games and the Six Million Dollar Man. But I'll let you be the judge of what's what in that regard. Let's talk synopsis first ... (minor spoilers included - I'm really trying hard to not ruin any of the big stuff.) Red Rising is written from the 1st person account of Darrow, who is a "Red" - the lowest caste which is responsible for mining Helium-3 on Mars and (they believe) laying the foundations to make Mars habitable for "softer Colors". Through a tragic series of events, he comes to realize that his life and place in society is a lie that serves to prop up the other colors in an elaborate caste system, which essentially enslaves his caste. A resistance network seeks to topple this heirarchy by making Darrow into that which has subjugated them, a Gold ... but not just ANY Gold. In order to make changes to this system of slavery, he will need to be the best of the best so that he can rise within the cutthroat caste of Golds. After a painful biological transition, Darrow tests into a school in which the leaders of the Golds are forged and taught painful lessons in the ideology of "might makes right". The question is will Darrow become the monster that he seeks to vanquish? WHAT I LOVED: Darrow is a relatable character from the beginning. He's a 16 year old kid with all the arrogance and impulsiveness you'd expect from a teenager who has been the best within his community. And though you experience the brashness and cynicism, you also see tenderness, wonder, and vulnerability. His evolution as a character is believable. Because he's not fighting for his *own* dream, it is understandable when he temporarily gets sidetracked from the bigger picture due to his rage against such an unfair system that has unfeelingly and unknowingly stolen everything from him. He has much to learn if he is going to overcome ... "I learn more when I make mistakes, so long as they don't kill me." The Supporting Characters. They're on point, y'all. The writing makes it clear that some of the worst of the characters have depth to them, whether it was in hinting at the reasons they did the terrible things they did or in showing that there was a possibility of redemption. And the journey of how Darrow acquires his allies is truly where you see his growth as a character. Honestly y'all, there's just so much that I could rave about ... but I'm an impatient sort and if you've stuck with me this far, you've probably already made up your mind about whether you want to read this. (and you really should read this.) OTHER THOUGHTS: There is a lot of worldbuilding going on here, especially in the beginning and the slang/terms used reflect that. Some readers seem to have been turned off by that, but I didn't feel it was excessive or overly cumbersome. I've seen several people question whether this should be categorized as a YA book. The themes (politics, hierarchical systems, racism, power dynamics, etc.) involved are weighty. There are allusions to rape and cannibalism, and the story is rife with violence and brutality. While the ages of the characters in this book are largely in their teens, but most teenagers in our world aren't confronted with these topics so blatantly in their day to day life. YET ... isn't the job of books and the characters in them to make us think critically about the world around us? To help us form our views about what is right and wrong, what is noble and what is dishonorable? To make us think about what we would do in their shoes? And, hopefully, to help us see the kind of people we want to be and encourage us in that that direction? While I don't think I would want my 14 year old read this unsupervised, I think stories like this one can powerfully shape the minds of young people and adults alike when we reflect on the lessons it contains, rather than just consuming it purely for our own entertainment. How many of us seriously consider where we might fall in such a hierarchy? Do we truly look for the ways that our comfort might blind us to the suffering of others that might serve to prop up that comfort? Do we care to do so? Do we see the hypocrisy in ourselves that we see rife in some of the characters of this book? And if we feel that twinge of discomfort, do you press into that to see why or do we move on, happy to be entertained by a story? "The measure of a man is what he does when he has power." -Plato ... a common theme in this book, but I might go a step further and say that the measure of a man is what he does with the power he has. We ALL have a measure of power. How are we using that power to elicit change in ourselves and in the world around us?

I think this book was overall quite interesting, a good start to a series, but not without some flaws in my opinion. I thought the introduction into this world started off extremely strong and hooked me from page one. Moving through the chapters however, I did find Darrow to be a rather dull character at times. There would be stilted sentences threaded throughout that I found to be kind of comical. Thanks to the other elements and promises of what was to come, that kept my head in the story and to keep pushing forward. I thought the major loss in the beginning, happened a little too soon for me to even care. And, the age of Darrow was also something I found myself battling. I feel like the fact that Darrow is a minor (as well as the entirety of the main cast of characters) is probably very intentional to solidify the brutality and inhumane way that this society functions....however, it was still an internal battle for me to remember that these are just teenagers in such incredibly mature situations. Anyways, I felt that the movement into the next phase of Darrow having a new mission and going behind enemy lines was well done. I felt very excited on what was to come next....but, I'm not going to lie. Once Darrow entered into The Institute I felt the writing got a little messy and chaotic. I had to pretend that it was sort of set in the past rather than the future; because these were kids being thrown into this OTT, severely unforgiving game that adults were acting as if it was all some sort of video game/soap opera. At times it was a little absurd and things did go over my head. And it was during this time that I actually starting losing focus on Darrow. He continued to appear as a very simplistic, nearly "caveman" mentality manchild...which, is fair being that he is just a teenager. But, I do feel that the writing didn't quite support who Darrow thought he was as a character. As this is the first book in the series, I didn't personally see Darrow exhibit anything that stood out to me as character development, but I am very eager to see how he grows in the next installments! Sevro aka Goblin was probably the character that carried this book for me. I loved him from the first scene he appeared in. He was everything I love in a character, a severe underdog that does not back down. He was a beast, period. I loved all of his contributions in scenes and seeing the little bit of his story get revealed was perfect for me. And he is one of the biggest reasons I want to keep reading this series. Victoria aka Mustang was another character that kept me going in this story as well. She was jus awesome. She kept me interested and I loved how she had her own convictions and even though she's quite petite, she's full of fight, and bravery. I enjoyed the influence she seemed to have over Darrow. I think she was a strong character for Darrow to learn from and look up to, throughout the story and made me like Darrow a bit when the two shared scenes. Cassius was the second MVP of this book for me. I felt that his character was solidly constructed and I loved how he stuck to his beliefs and also could back up his talk. I think his character arc made sense and I am eager to see how his story unfolds in the next installments. Even though there were certain things that I felt kind of got out of hand and the plot went a little crazy astray from what I thought I was getting into with this series...I am eager to jump into the next book. I want to see what happens now. I have high hopes that the second installment will only strengthen what foundation Brown has laid down for this series.

I have read a lot of books like this one lately. Smashing elements of the first two Hunger Games books together, for example, you'll get something rather like Red Rising. Present-tense, first person POV, someone from the lower echelons of society challenging (or attempting to challenge) the established social order. Naturally, the established social order is unjust -- extremely so. We're supposed to want it to be overturned. And so the protagonist has our immediate sympathy. (Essentially, people are identified by colors: Red, Brown, Obsidian, Gold, Gray, Silver, and several others. People of each color are assigned specific roles in society -- Golds rule, Reds are basically at the bottom of the ladder, Pinks are forced to work in brothels, Violets are artists, and so forth.) In this case, our protagonist is Darrow, a young (Red) man who mines helium-3 under the surface of Mars. This is his family trade; they've been doing it for years, eking out an existence on scraps thrown to them by their Gold masters (and the Golds' functionaries of "lower" color classes). Something happens (don't want to spoil it) and Darrow's life changes forever. I like Darrow as a character. I think part of this is the emotion the author is able to put into his writing. This is especially true for the first 20% of the book, but you remember that aspect of Darrow throughout the rest of the book. Sometimes he seems heartless, but you know why he does what he does (or why he *thinks* he needs to take certain actions). He's filled with anger and purpose but he also has doubts. Naturally, this being first person POV, the other characters are not as complex. But in a way, that's necessary. There are quite a few betrayals and double-crossings in this book. Alliances shift. And there'd be much less tension if you knew what every character was thinking, the whole time. There's something of a pattern to this book -- a series of defeats and/or humiliations for our hero and his allies, but these are followed by triumphs. What I do like is that you never know how big the defeat is going to be. Sometimes, you get nervous about something only for it to turn out to be minor. Sometimes, the problem is much bigger. And you never know which is going to be the case until it happens. So the book is predictable in its overall arc, but you are still surprised by the reading experience. So even though there are many parallel stories out there, told in many other books, somehow I still find this compelling to read. I suppose that's the author's skill involved there (pretty remarkable, as I think this is his first book). The setting is Mars, but this Mars has been terraformed. People live there, on the surface, in great cities. So even though a lot of this book involves low-tech warfare, you know things like space travel are possible. There are tablet computers and holographic video playback devices and boots that alter the workings of gravity. Thankfully, this is not explained in detail -- because many of these things are probably not scientifically possible. However, these elements generally just blend into the background. Usually objects are named such that you can kind of figure out what they do without being bogged down in the particulars. I prefer it that way. Pacing is pretty good. There is a period in the middle of the book where not much happens for months. But the author doesn't dwell on this; it takes only a few pages. We know what Darrow is doing, and there are a few tense moments and dropped bits of information that further the story. This is a good strategy -- this part builds the relationship between two important characters (not a traditional YA love story, thankfully) but also sets the stage for events later in the book. And it doesn't feel like it's taking too long. It may not be the high point in terms of action, but it works. There's a lot of violence in this book, so be prepared for that. Most of the swear words are made up, and there are references to sex and rape although nothing of that nature is described in explicit detail. I would hesitate to call this YA because of the level of violence and gore, but the characters are older teens and I think mature young people could handle it, most certainly. (However, you don't *have* to be young to enjoy the book -- I'm in my mid/late 30s!) In the end, although the type of story was familiar, this was something of an emotional roller coaster. Not many books have been able to make me feel that way lately. I read book 2 right after this and now I have to wait along with everyone else for book 3. I hope it's not too long in coming.

Good book

Blog: irenadams.com Caution, mild spoilers ahead. "Funny thing, watching gods realize they’ve been mortal all along." I was going to leave for a trip for 3 weeks and couldn’t bring physical copies of the books with me. At least not as many as I would want to. So, for the first time in years I bought kindle versions of a few books. I decided to clean my want-to-read and owned-to-read shelves and this is one that’s been on one of those lists for a long time. I don’t think the synopsis really convinced me and I wasn’t sure the book would be worth buying. I regret that I formed an opinion before giving it a real chance. I think I might want to have it on a shelf of my bookcase so I can re-read it or just flip through the pages to savor the good passages. This is one of those books that really surprised me. There was action, a bad-ass character, suspense… Everything you want in a good novel that takes you in its grip and doesn’t let go before you flip the last page. The future that this book is painting is simple but evil. It has been compared to The Hunger Games, and I thought the same by the middle of the book but P. Brown created something new. It may be another dystopian future, another example of our flaws and habits, but it is also an example of what we might become if a handful few can grab the seats of power and impose their will, hiding the rest of us in the dark for the next centuries. If I only knew that there would be Greek and Roman mythology involved I would have picked the book sooner. P. Brown used the names of the gods and their characteristics and attributes to show the different battling houses of the Golds, but at the same time mentioning the differences between Greek and Roman mythology. The main character is not perfect, but deep and easy to connect to. He might be above average in his skills or strength, but then again, it was all built for him. And throughout the pages P. Brown shows us the change in the protagonist, his doubts, his fears, but also his never ending will to push forward.We get to presence his evolution and the adjustment to his new role in the society. The story is gripping and full of twists. Even though some of the turns of the events are easy to foresee, the story is ever changing. The fluid relationship between the characters and the protagonist is sometimes surprising like with Tactus, Servo and Pax, other times not so much as with Mustang. But the author is not afraid to kill one or several of the characters you liked or started to like, leaving you on the edge of the seat to see what will happen next. It was a good ride and I hope you will take it too.

I'm so glad that I got this book as the introduction to my first reading spree in years. The first maybe 100 pages can feel a little bit slow, as usual with in-depth stories that need foundation, but then it's just amazing. I was mindblown by the environments that is showcased and, being on the 4th book now, I still think about this first one a lot.

Red Rising é uma obra impactante que explora profundamente temas como opressão de classes, hierarquia social e desenvolvimento pessoal. A trama acompanha Darrow, um Vermelho cuja visão de mundo é desmantelada ao descobrir verdades ocultas sobre a sociedade em que vive. Motivado por essas revelações, ele inicia uma jornada de ascensão e rebelião contra a estrutura vigente. A construção de mundo é imersiva e detalhada, povoada por personagens complexos que evocam reações genuínas, variando da empatia à aversão. A narrativa possui um ritmo consistente e a escrita em primeira pessoa cria uma conexão real, permitindo que o leitor experimente as emoções e dilemas de Darrow de forma intensa. Vale ressaltar que este é apenas o primeiro volume de uma saga, servindo como uma porta de entrada explosiva para este universo. Leitura altamente recomendada.

Wonderful book... was hooked every second I read it