Brilliant!

I just finished Red Rising by Pierce Brown and I bloodydamn loved it. Darrow is born a Red, working in the mines of Mars under a generational lie that his kind is there to mine an element to help terraform the surface and prepare it for colonization for the weaker colors of Earth. He believes he’s building a future for humanity. Turns out, humanity’s already thriving on the surface while his people are kept buried, both literally and politically. After major heartbreak and betrayal, he’s remade into a Gold and dropped into the lion’s den to rise, infiltrate, and burn the system from within. You watch Darrow fight to become a Gold without forgetting he was born a Red. This isn’t just a story of rebellion. It’s a brutal, brilliant tale of class warfare and color-coded oppression. It digs into love, violence, hope, and power… what it means, why we chase it, and what it takes to hold onto it. If you're into sharp worldbuilding, moral complexity, and a main character who’s equal parts fury and fire, start this series now.

Hunger games meets a bloody war simulation where many experience fates worse than death. Red Rising introduced readers to a deeply flawed caste system, where the higher colors essentially enslave the lower colors by setting harsh examples in order to stem rebellion. The story follows Darrow, who infiltrates said system in order to bring about equity and exact revenge. The beginning of the book is slow, despite a major plot point happening within the first fifty pages, written in gruesome and gut wrenching detail. When the arena section came around I found myself unable to stop reading. My only grievance was the pacing, but from what I hear this fantastic book is only the start of a series with books that get progressively better. So, to start with four stars, I am eager to know just how many the subsequent books in the series get.

Wow. Darrow is a character a person could blindly follow to the darkest depths. He’s characterized almost as a young great of his time. Seeing his life unfold and understanding the events that shape him makes you feel as though you are there with him. The world building is phenomenal as well as the characters around him. It’s as if they all come from their own backgrounds with their unique purposes. Such an incredible read!

What an amazing start. Love the action and characters.

This book grabs you from the very start and you can’t put it down. There were never any lags. The story is very engaging and lacks predictability. Will definitely continue reading this series.

Great storytelling and engrossing world building.

I absolutely love finding a book I literally cannot put down and Red Rising had me up until 4:30 a.m.! Absolute masterclass in writing and world building! Can’t wait to read the next one!

Absolutely amazing, I couldn’t put it down. Action? Amazing. World building? Amazing. Plot? Amazing. Starts kind of slow but saying it heats up would be an understatement. Do yourself a favor and read this.

It feels like warhammer, hunger games and invincible tied together