Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1) in The Perks Of Being A Book Addict

Sep 19, 2018 Carrie rated it it was amazing

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

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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Apr 10, 2018 Esther rated it really liked it

Shelves: __net-galley, e-book, author-male, science-fiction, dystopia, series-loved-or-to-continue, space-otherworld, gr-choice-award, future, zz-2018-from-my-own-shelves

I received this book from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Red Rising begins in the depth of Mars.

Darrow is a Red, a caste of miners who believe they are mining gas vital for the creation of a livable habitat on the surface of Mars, in preparation for future colonists. But the surface of Mars has been habitable for generations and the Reds whole existence is a lie used to control them, to keep them as slaves in a coloured based hierarchy designed to perpetuate the wealth and power o I received this book from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Red Rising begins in the depth of Mars.

Darrow is a Red, a caste of miners who believe they are mining gas vital for the creation of a livable habitat on the surface of Mars, in preparation for future colonists. But the surface of Mars has been habitable for generations and the Reds whole existence is a lie used to control them, to keep them as slaves in a coloured based hierarchy designed to perpetuate the wealth and power of the Golds.

At first the narrative seems to be standard dystopian; repressed masses, treated cruelly and unfairly by an uncaring elite. Darrow is young, with a lovely wife and little desire to rebel or improve his life even though his family receives barely enough food to survive.
But following a tragedy he is recruited by an infamous resistance group.

At this point the story diverges from the classic dystopian tropes of the underdog fighting oppression and becomes more similar to the tale of an undercover agent; disguising his identity, living among the enemy terrified of being discovered yet concerned about becoming too much like the people he despises, immersed in a new life making friends with the Golds he will eventually have to betray.

The pacing of the narrative is quite slow especially at the beginning when the scenes are set among the red miners. There is an emphasis on the Reds expressing themselves through dance and song. Songs that a much more than entertainment, a yearning conveyed in poetical form so deep and painful that certain songs are banned on pain of death. There is a suggestions that these songs have deeper meaning or significance which is never fully realized in this book but whose potential is left open for future interpretation.

As the book progress we are stunned by how stark and brutal it all is. The narrative is dark and shocking but realistic and believable. The author does not wallow in violence or cruelty but it is present on the page raw and unhidden. Although the writing focuses mainly on strategy and plot the author manages to create a genuine relationships between the characters and a connection with the reader even during the battle scenes when so many characters are in play.

The books was not perfect and at times I was mystified as to where it was headed. There was also a tricky twist at the end which felt tacked on and unnecessary.
However as the first book in a series it provided a proper logical conclusion to this first episode while still leaving plenty to pique our curiosity about the sequels.

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Jul 04, 2016 Lee Goldberg rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, young-adult, action-adventure

A mix of Hunger Games and Roman history, Red Rising is an awesome opening to a trilogy. Packed with action sequences, the pages flew by.

Darrow is a Red living in a mining colony on Mars. He sees his wife Eo executed by the government and almost dies himself. When he's rescued by the underground revolutionary group known as Sons of Ares, he learns his government has been lying to them all, and is recruited to infiltrate the Gold circle of society and help to bring it down from within.

This is a S ...more

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Jan 12, 2022 Amanda R rated it really liked it

Fantastic book to start 2022! Man, this guy can write! Terribly engaging story, full of memorable characters - Darrow, Mustang, Sevro, Roque, Pax...I probably would have given it 5 stars, only I'm personally not as into long descriptive "battle" type scenes and there were a lot of those in here due to the nature of the storyline. However, the characters more than made up for those and I found myself getting attached to quite a few! I am eager to see where Darrow's story takes him. Will for sure ...more

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