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saskiajva's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book had me hooked from the very first chapter. I love the concept and the plot, the whacky and interesting characters you meet, and the detailed world building. It’s often formulaic but it’s a formula i love dearly. This book is fast paced, and occasionally left me wishing the author used more show-don’t-tell, however it was typically the gorier parts that weren’t shown so for many readers I imagine it’s appreciated. There were even a few key moments that happen fully off page, and as someone who loves big epics with intense battles and mind games, i was left wanting more.
Even with these faults, I ended up plowing through this in just a couple days and am excited for book 2 and 3. I highly recommend this for fans of the Hunger Games and anyone who loves world building that features the cruelest of humanity and those moments that make you go “holy shit, that’s messed up”. The audiobook narrator also does a great job, though there was at least one line i couldn’t understand what he said even after rewinding, and it was hard to tell who was talking on occasion, but overall it did not take away from my enjoyment.
Even with these faults, I ended up plowing through this in just a couple days and am excited for book 2 and 3. I highly recommend this for fans of the Hunger Games and anyone who loves world building that features the cruelest of humanity and those moments that make you go “holy shit, that’s messed up”. The audiobook narrator also does a great job, though there was at least one line i couldn’t understand what he said even after rewinding, and it was hard to tell who was talking on occasion, but overall it did not take away from my enjoyment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Classism, Body horror, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Blood, Animal death, Death, Gore, Rape, Grief, Murder, Slavery, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Rape and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Misogyny
miss_fish's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual violence, Slavery, Classism, Death, Misogyny, Cannibalism, Violence, Murder, and Rape
cats_n_plants_n_cats_n_plants's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Violence, Sexual violence, War, Misogyny, Animal death, and Death
cepbreed's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The adult men who make book content on TikTok dickride this book so hard I was expecting something different. Red Rising is an amazing book, but strikingly unoriginal. Tell me why this has the plot of every dystopian novel enjoyed by me and my peers in middle school. " Chosen One" attends an academy for the elite and must fit in and rise to the top. Also, a lot of the twists were similar throughout. Pierce Brown just loves parentship twists. If he wrote Harry Potter Voldemort would’ve been Harry’s dad. Not that this is real criticism, because I EAT these basics up every time, I am just so shocked no one mentions it. Still, Darrow is PEAK. What an amazing protagonist who carries the novel beyond the standard plot. You become so invested in this man and his future: his pain, his passion, everything. Sevro captured my heart too, totally unexpected. I am so eager to read the next book in the series which is insane because in the review of the last book I read, I think I mentioned how much trouble I'm having continuing series. Like I'll read the first book and love it, but for some reason can't get myself to actually start the second. Wild. Thank you Piece Brown for such a compelling novel! The world-building is so intricate I am so obsessed. Brown has really thought of everything, from the most subtle slang and habits to the obtuse. I have an urgent NEED to understand all the loose ends left at the end of this book. What will happen with Cassius? How will Darrow's new position under the ArchGovernor affect his relationship with Mustang??? With the rest of his peers??? I am also so eager to see Roque recover and their brotherly bond. UGH I'm just so obsessed with this series!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Murder, Violence, Bullying, Classism, Gore, War, Death, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Rape
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Animal death, and Slavery
Minor: Death of parent
marciareadsandrescues's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I had to get past all the misogyny. It was annoying. Lots of derogatory "like a girl" comments. Among other things, check the trigger warnings. It's a weird book. Good plot and interesting twist on a dystopian fight the hierarchy theme but odd. Probably could've used a glossary. It was If hunger games (more gore), will of the many (with a less endearing MMC), Frankenstein and the avengers (just Thanos) had a baby. I'm questioning if I'm a Scifi dystopian Fantasy fan. Maybe it's me or maybe I was expecting more because of all the hype. The character development was good but I guess I'm among the few who feel like the world building is a bit weak. The class system is well explained but not so much the why or how. I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed much of it but it felt like a giant tossed word salad, at times. I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to finish the series because I'm not sure I like Darrow all that much or that I believe he's passionate about his cause. They should've sent Eo.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Slavery, Genocide, Torture, Death, Emotional abuse, and Gore
baileyisbookish's review
I really wanted to like this because I thought the premise was interesting. I did enjoy it up to a point. But the main character became so uninteresting and hard to be in the thoughts of that I found myself dragging near the end. I had four chapters left before I DNF’d.
I was also disturbed by the author’s use of SA and misogyny as plot points. It is one thing to include these serious, traumatic and triggering topics as a way to explore their impact upon individuals and societies and have readers empathize with what this experience does to you. It is quite another to include this topic solely for world building or moving a plot along (violence against female characters in order to benefit the male characters? really?). That is a practice in writing that needs to be left behind.
This had a lot of potential for me to enjoy, and I just didn’t. I was disappointed. I hope the author can learn from the feedback he is receiving from the millions of women who love to read sci fi and fantasy stories.
I was also disturbed by the author’s use of SA and misogyny as plot points. It is one thing to include these serious, traumatic and triggering topics as a way to explore their impact upon individuals and societies and have readers empathize with what this experience does to you. It is quite another to include this topic solely for world building or moving a plot along (violence against female characters in order to benefit the male characters? really?). That is a practice in writing that needs to be left behind.
This had a lot of potential for me to enjoy, and I just didn’t. I was disappointed. I hope the author can learn from the feedback he is receiving from the millions of women who love to read sci fi and fantasy stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Body horror
a_bow's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Excellent example of how unchecked capitalism negatively impacts everyone, including those it benefits. It's in the same vein as Hunger Games.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Bullying, Colonisation, Misogyny, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Ableism, Blood, Self harm, and Pedophilia
Minor: Abortion, Medical content, and Vomit
stephanieluxton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book book did not hook me from the very beginning. It takes a but of time to get a feel for the setting and what is going on. I found myself thoroughly captivated during the second half.
This book is about 16 year old Darrow - a member of the Red's on Mars who beleiie they're slaving away in the planets mines for a higher purpose of terraforming the planet to get it ready for future generations. He lives with his family and wife, in terrible conditions. An act of disobedience triggers a series of events which shatter his entire world and he learns Mars is already terraformed and Mars is a bustling, fairly high tech civilization run by the Golds. His people, the Reds have been lied to in order to create an entire cast of people who are literal slaves. Darrow is then presented with the opportunity to infiltrate the Golds and must push himself beyond the limits to move up in society in order to reform the system.
So much happens in this book. The book takes place over the course of a couple years and it's fantastic. There's a ton of characters but they feel complex. The stakes feel super high in this book. I love feeling afraid for the main character. There's little twists and turns throughout the whole story. I loved not knowing how things would play out. The character growth is unreal. Darrow changes so much during the story and it's empowering to experience his growth - although he messes up quite a bit too.
I can see how some people may think of the Hunger Games or Lord of the Flies while reading this but it's definitely it's own story. I am not someone who enjoys series a lot, but I am really excited to keep reading this one.
This book is about 16 year old Darrow - a member of the Red's on Mars who beleiie they're slaving away in the planets mines for a higher purpose of terraforming the planet to get it ready for future generations. He lives with his family and wife, in terrible conditions. An act of disobedience triggers a series of events which shatter his entire world and he learns Mars is already terraformed and Mars is a bustling, fairly high tech civilization run by the Golds. His people, the Reds have been lied to in order to create an entire cast of people who are literal slaves. Darrow is then presented with the opportunity to infiltrate the Golds and must push himself beyond the limits to move up in society in order to reform the system.
So much happens in this book. The book takes place over the course of a couple years and it's fantastic. There's a ton of characters but they feel complex. The stakes feel super high in this book. I love feeling afraid for the main character. There's little twists and turns throughout the whole story. I loved not knowing how things would play out. The character growth is unreal. Darrow changes so much during the story and it's empowering to experience his growth - although he messes up quite a bit too.
I can see how some people may think of the Hunger Games or Lord of the Flies while reading this but it's definitely it's own story. I am not someone who enjoys series a lot, but I am really excited to keep reading this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, Grief, Toxic friendship, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Death, Murder, Misogyny, Slavery, and Bullying
Moderate: Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Alcohol
Minor: Excrement
A lot of dark things happen in this book but none are described in absolutely excruciating detail. You can probably handle it.casualk's review against another edition
funny
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Violence, Sexism, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and War
Minor: Mental illness, Ableism, and Fatphobia
coryharrop's review against another edition
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
This novels POV character is a man named Darrow. Darrow is very fond of insulting his enemies by comparing them to women and sex workers.