Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1) in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Dec 15, 2013 Amber (Books of Amber) rated it did not like it · review of another edition

You know, for a book with such a high Goodreads rating and so many screaming fangirls, I honestly expected Red Rising to be better. I at least expected it to be good. Instead, I was almost sent to sleep by the tragically slow plot and the bland writing. Those two things along with an unremarkable main character (who tried so hard to be remarkable) made for an awful reading experience.

I realy do not get the hype surrounding this book. The plot is nothing special. Red Rising starts out with Darrow You know, for a book with such a high Goodreads rating and so many screaming fangirls, I honestly expected Red Rising to be better. I at least expected it to be good. Instead, I was almost sent to sleep by the tragically slow plot and the bland writing. Those two things along with an unremarkable main character (who tried so hard to be remarkable) made for an awful reading experience.

I realy do not get the hype surrounding this book. The plot is nothing special. Red Rising starts out with Darrow’s wife, Eo, dying, which spurs Darrow into becoming a rebel and going to a school for the obnoxious and privileged Golds. It started out well. I was interested up until Darrow actually got to the school, and then they started wars and battles and, while this sort of thing usually keeps me interested, it just made no sense to me whatsoever. It was boring, and felt contrived. As if these rich people would let their kids die at the hands of other rich people.

I started skim-reading after about 200 pages because Red Rising completely failed to hold my attention. At the same time, I wanted to get to the end because maybe I was being too judgemental and the book was going to get better. Everyone had told me that it was crazy and mind-blowing, so I had to go on, right?! Wrong. I shouldn’t have bothered.

By the end of the book, absolutely nothing had changed. Darrow was still an annoyance, the students were still doing stupid things, the ladies of the novel were still being ruled by the men (which, by the way, makes no sense for ~reasons) and I was still fucking bored.

Darrow is an awful character. At the beginning of the book I was ready to get behind him because I thought he was going to have a Spartacus storyline going on. You know, one where he finds a reason to fight for the lives of the oppressed. And that reason should have been his wife. But as the novel progressed, Darrow seemed to forget about Eo and the cause and was more interested in talking about himself. I don’t really care if you are (and always have been (supposedly)) gorgeous and great at everything you do, Darrow.

I really didn’t like how Darrow was naturally the best and most gifted at everything. Yes, he was genetically modified to be that way, but even his apparent intelligence was superior to everyone else’s. And how the fuck did those Ares people know that he’d be The One? DO YOU THINK YOU’RE NEO, DARROW.

Speaking of genetic modification, I would like to point out that this world building makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and I refuse. I REFUSE. The women in this book are mostly oppressed by the men. They are said to be weaker, even the Golds, who have been GENETICALLY MODIFIED TO BE STRONGER and so should be equal with the men of the same rank. And rape is brought up regularly and, from what fellow readers have told me, dealt with poorly. I can’t comment on how it was dealt with because I wasn’t paying attention. I just noticed that the characters talked about it a lot. But anyway, it doesn’t make any sense for the women to be the weaker sex when genetic modification is possible. And it makes even less sense when it’s included in this world and not commented on, i.e. nobody said anything about changing the fact that the men ruled the world.

You know, for such a dull book, Red Rising gave me a lot of rage. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you want to torture yourself. Or maybe you have nothing else to read. In which case, I would suggest finding a newspaper because you will find the same asinine characters and shitty plot in the daily news. ...more

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Dec 03, 2014 Lyn rated it it was ok

Somewhere Aldous Huxley is shaking his head.

When I first picked up the book, and read the summaries, I thought, “Surely to God this is not really another young adult dystopian sci-fi with obligatory and gratuitous violence and where class distinction has taken a colorful or numeric distinction.”

It is.

To his credit, Brown is a talented writer and he throws in some twists and curves, some ins and outs and what have yous. Taking a queue from Huxley’s brilliant Brave New World, this society is divid ...more

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Sep 06, 2015 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi

I was worried that a crowd pleaser might be a dull book, a shallow book, or yet another silly recreation of Greek myths.

What I received was a truly excellently paced SF that read like a standard Fantasy rebellion story that had to have humble beginnings and the first great challenge to prove our Hero's worth. What places this work above so many other rebellion stories is its writing. I mentioned how well paced it was, and I'm not joking. It read like free-flowing water, always keeping me interes I was worried that a crowd pleaser might be a dull book, a shallow book, or yet another silly recreation of Greek myths.

What I received was a truly excellently paced SF that read like a standard Fantasy rebellion story that had to have humble beginnings and the first great challenge to prove our Hero's worth. What places this work above so many other rebellion stories is its writing. I mentioned how well paced it was, and I'm not joking. It read like free-flowing water, always keeping me interested in character development and plot pacing while consistently grabbing me with each rise and fall. Success and failure, success and failure. It breathed and it breathed life into my enjoyment.

Oh yes, I enjoyed this novel quite a bit.

Eo was the standard sacrificial lamb to stake all the rage onto, and that wasn't nearly as convincing as I believed it could be, but everything else, from the fixing of his body to the staging of the great game on terraformed Mars to see who gets what postings or patronage, was pretty damn convincing and it allowed me to sink into the story without such near breaking points as I suffered when I began reading.

Honestly, (view spoiler)

But ignore that. Everything else was pretty damn awesome. Rebellion stories these days seem to be a dime a dozen, it seems, so now we have to rely on a bit of criteria and judgment as readers to determine which are Good and which are Not. Is the rebellion believable? Do we care? Is there Deus Ex involved? Is the writing so good that we just don't care?

I'll answer that: It's Good. Yes,Yes, No, and Yes.

I'm hooked. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series and the next after that. Setup is Complete. I've GOT to see how this popcorn story sorts its way out. :) ...more

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Mar 31, 2017 Lata rated it did not like it

Shelves: sf-f-h, x2017-read, kids-and-ya, abandoned

I could not finish this. 1) I didn't enjoy the author's writing style. 2) I couldn't care about the main character. 3) I began skimming the text by the time I got to page 50, which is a bad sign, indicating I found the book tedious. 4) I couldn't keep the names straight of the various supporting characters, and didn't care about any of them. 5) The stratified society of colours didn't offer anything new and interesting to the genre. 6) Training Darrow to become a better psychopath than all the o ...more

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May 31, 2014 Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller rated it really liked it

Shelves: audible-tbr, series-i-d-have-to-restart, zbooks-like-hunger-games

The Red Rising Trilogy is an inspiring, yet heart-wrenching story about Darrow, a young Martian miner (known as a “hell-diver”) who, as a “Red” in a society built around a color caste system, is at the bottom of the hierarchy. Thrust into a covert struggle to fight against the “Golds” (the highest caste) and eliminate the system once and for all, Darrow’s story will evoke you emotionally from start to finish. I will be reeling from this trilogy for quite a while.

There were a lot of things about The Red Rising Trilogy is an inspiring, yet heart-wrenching story about Darrow, a young Martian miner (known as a “hell-diver”) who, as a “Red” in a society built around a color caste system, is at the bottom of the hierarchy. Thrust into a covert struggle to fight against the “Golds” (the highest caste) and eliminate the system once and for all, Darrow’s story will evoke you emotionally from start to finish. I will be reeling from this trilogy for quite a while.

There were a lot of things about this trilogy that reminded me of other series I’ve read (and loved). It has the same elements of overcoming oppression and deadly competition that I loved so much about the Hunger Games Trilogy. The characters, environment, dialogue, and overall grittiness of the story was as equally provoking as that found in the Game of Thrones series. Later in the trilogy, the tactical nature of the space battles and other military strategy reminded me of, well, pretty much every epic science fiction I’ve ever read. That being said, it managed to resonate with all these other titles while still being unique enough to stand solidly on its own. Because of that, I can honestly say I’ve never read anything quite like it.

As first books go, Red Rising was a strong one. Immediately immersing you into Darrow’s world, it will likely make you feel emotionally invested in his plight within the first few chapters (it sure did for me). Most of the characters introduced in this first book are young, so it was particularly interesting to watch them face challenging obstacles and come into their own convictions. Red Rising takes place predominantly at an elite military academy for the children of the most prestigious Golds, a setting which is easily my favorite part about the first book (if not the series). It boasts plenty of strategy and “game” play, which I liked. The struggle to win and emerge at the top of this training and competition was as morbidly fascinating as it was deadly. The friendships and enemies made here set the stage for the rest of the series. Between the great characters, cool story, and setting, I had a difficult time putting it down.

Overall, is the Red Rising Trilogy worth your time? Absolutely! Especially if you liked the gritty, evoking storytelling of series like Hunger Games and Game of Thrones. I can definitely see myself recommending it for years to come. Fair warning though: profanity, violence, and sexual references.

Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com Via ...more

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Jan 14, 2014 Christina Pilkington rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites-of-all-time

Edit for reread: I loved this even more the second time around! With Lightbringer coming out in 5 months, I figured I'd better reread this series from the beginning so I can be fully immersed in the series once the new book is published.

I felt much more connected to Darrow right from the start, which I guess is understandable! The plot twists were still amazing! I had forgotten so many moments, so it was still exciting and had surprise moments for me.

Excited to move on to Golden Son in Februar ...more

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Aug 05, 2019 Emma rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, dystopia

It took me 3 attempts to start this book over a period of time and I just couldn’t get into it. This time, I did become interested until the competition started in earnest and I quickly became quite bored and remained that way until the end. For me, it wasn’t about how it was written or implausible plot lines; it was just not what the ‘reading me’ had much interest in. Very Lord of the Flies-esque.

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Jan 27, 2018 Amanda rated it it was amazing

March 2023 - 3rd read 4.5 stars

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Sep 12, 2015 Lindsay rated it it was amazing

The rise of a boy from the lowest part of an hierarchical dystopian society to challenge the ruling class in a bizarre tribal battlefield.

The Reds are a race of miners, slaves kept in place by brutal oppression and lies. Darrow is a Red, but finds himself in a position to infiltrate the school of the elite of the elite ruling class of Golds. What he finds there runs the full gamut of humanity with brutality and animalism along with loyalty and honor. But he's not the only one there that's more t ...more

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Jun 09, 2018 Vavita rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Wow! Why did it take me so long to read this book??!!!
It is amazing!

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Mar 06, 2015 Ctgt rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi

Obedience is the highest virtue

This book has been bouncing around with several friends here recently but I can't say it was high on my radar. I had the impression that it was similar to The Hunger Games and while I liked HG it wasn't exactly my cuppa'. So how did I come to reading it now? A group I'm in has a challenge that lets members pick books for each other to read. So there you go.

I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the book, I enjoyed it much more than I anticipated. Some of the over ...more

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Sep 19, 2018 Carrie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mgr, young-adult, 24-for-24, read-my-shelves, science-fiction, 4-and-a-half-to-5-stars, fantasy

4.5 stars....

*May contain spoilers*
Set in time that our time is ancient history, and humans have colonized the cosmos. Where people are not considered equal and have been divided into a color class system.

Red are slaves lowest and Gold the ruler and highest. Darrow is a red and a helldiver on Mars, trying with the other reds to get the planet ready , terraforming it for humans left on a "dying" Earth to come and live. But little do they realize they are nothing more then slaves.

So this was fan ...more

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Mar 14, 2014 Helen rated it liked it · review of another edition

I liked it, despite the over-familiar themes; TotalRecall, Sorting Hat... I preferred the part where Darrow was selected by Dauntless and placed into the Hunger Games where ~~Percy son of Zeus~~ Goblin son of the Procter became a friend.

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Jan 03, 2014 Lulu rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, science-fiction, books-read-in-2014

Darrow is a young man who is part of a mining team - and he has the most dangerous job (which is something he'll go around telling everyone in the second third of the book, even if they didn't ask) - Helldiver. Terrible injustices are done in his town, and he suffers a tragedy - all which lead him into the hands of the mass terrorist group, Sons of Ares. They show him that the lowReds (of which he is one) that live beneath Mars are being lied to; told that they are helping to terraform a Mars th Darrow is a young man who is part of a mining team - and he has the most dangerous job (which is something he'll go around telling everyone in the second third of the book, even if they didn't ask) - Helldiver. Terrible injustices are done in his town, and he suffers a tragedy - all which lead him into the hands of the mass terrorist group, Sons of Ares. They show him that the lowReds (of which he is one) that live beneath Mars are being lied to; told that they are helping to terraform a Mars they will one day live on the surface of, Darrow finds out that it has been terraformed for decades, and the lowReds are being kept in slavery just to keep a hierarchal system in place.

They decide he is fit to be "carved" (by Mickey the Carver, Brown was…less than creative on the nicknames) into a Gold, so he can infiltrate and start the rebellion from within. Golds are the ultimate top of society - with an almost superhuman strength, and usually incredibly beautiful, they rule civilisation as the highest form of evolution.

I'm not going to pretend I was a fan of this - it seemed borderline ridiculous. I know they are worse dystopian novels, with more bizarre systems - but what the hell kind of evolution leads us to be born in colours? Pinks for pleasure, "obsidian" for bodyguards, whites for torturers…etc. etc. Not only that, two different types of Red - highReds which live on the surface as street cleaners and nannies, and lowReds that are being lied to. Just. Wish there was more explanation for this bizarre evolution Brown has come up with.

Anyway, the carving is successful, and Darrow is transformed - everyone is shocked at how well he adapts, how strong he gets, how clever he is! Can you tell who really pissed me off for the first half of this book?! He's some kind of prodigy - which, given he's from the lowest form of evolution…well, it just doesn't add up. Darrow is then accepted into the "Institute", a place for Golds to get apprenticeships at the end of.

And boy, do they work for those apprenticeships. Battle Royale/Hunger Games eat your heart out! This is where the book really starts livening up. Each "House" within the school, all named after Roman gods, is given some kind of fortress, perhaps some supplies - and told to conquer each of the other Houses. This involves enslaving hundreds of students, and fighting savagely - and often lethally - to become the best.

I had no idea this part in the book was coming before I read it, so imagine my glee when we start getting action - duels, ears cut off, wolf hunting. This is more like it! Instead of Darrow acting like a petulant child!

We are introduced to a totally new set of characters, all distinct and…all Gold. Most of the characters are sly and proud, but we do meet a good few likeable characters on the way. Darrow is still questionable, however. It's full of action, adventure, and watching things fall apart. Not to mention, we see what kind of monsters Golds can be - ones who see nothing in raping and beating. Darrow makes many mistakes, often almost lethal mistakes. He is tricked, betrayed, stabbed, saved…the second half of the book is pretty relentless, actually, and very intense while you wait to see how the Sons of Ares' prodigy fairs under the brutal Gold "game".

Surprisingly, this is all we see in this book - so further rebellion must come later on in the series. It was an enjoyable, easy read. After the definite lull in the middle (where only Matteo was any fun), the book ends up being eventful and full of conflict. Darrow never seem able to reign in his rage, but he learns to use it - not without mistakes. Hopefully, we'll see more of this later on in the series.

I will definitely be reading the next in the series. For all its many flaws, this book is addictive and likeable.

Review can also be read on Robot Witch. ...more

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Jun 28, 2015 Dawn rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: series-abandoned, science-fiction

I never should have read this book in the first place but when you're desperate for something to read you can't be too picky. So while I really felt that the writing, the story and the characters barely deserved one star, I bumped it up to two because I did finish the book after all. ...more

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