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luis_vieira'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Violence, Classism, and Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Slavery, Rape, and Murder
Minor: Excrement and Injury/Injury detail
tiana_king's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Somehow a mix between Outlander, The Hunger Games, and 1984. But put it in space ✨ Sometimes the main character irritated me with his impulsivity and naïveté but then I’d remember he’s 17 so I’m sure that was on purpose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Slavery, War, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Animal death and Body shaming
Minor: Cannibalism
aliciaallisonmorgan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Gore, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Slavery, War, Murder, Violence, Death, and Genocide
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, and Torture
m4rt1n4's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Que perdida que estaba a menos de la mitad del libro, no entendía nada y eso afectó mi puntuación.
Vi muchas reviews que decían que tenia vibras a los juegos del hambre nada más que mandaban a los niños del Capitolio y es 100% real.
Siento que no pasó mucho pero estoy segura que el segundo libro lo va a remediar y obviamente lo voy a leer.
Yo estuve leyendo todo el libro esperando a que se vayan de la arena y pasen más cosas, igual es entendible que eso haya tomado todo el libro.
De todas maneras siento que todo el conflicto con el jackal fue MUY corto. Lo estuvieron mencionando todo el libro para que dsp tuviese una escena corta (estuvo muy buena igual) y que sea derrotado en tercer plano sin tener una proper “pelea”.
Lpm no puedo esperar a leer el segundo. Quiero ver las reacciones de sus “aliados” (mas que nada la de Mustang) al haberse aliado con el enemigo.
Vi muchas reviews que decían que tenia vibras a los juegos del hambre nada más que mandaban a los niños del Capitolio y es 100% real.
Siento que no pasó mucho pero estoy segura que el segundo libro lo va a remediar y obviamente lo voy a leer.
De todas maneras siento que todo el conflicto con el jackal fue MUY corto. Lo estuvieron mencionando todo el libro para que dsp tuviese una escena corta (estuvo muy buena igual) y que sea derrotado en tercer plano sin tener una proper “pelea”.
Lpm no puedo esperar a leer el segundo. Quiero ver las reacciones de sus “aliados” (mas que nada la de Mustang) al haberse aliado con el enemigo.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Gore
zoemajors's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
First 15% - woah crazy
20-40% - honk shoo honk shoo
45% to the end - HOLY SHIIIIIIITTTTT
20-40% - honk shoo honk shoo
45% to the end - HOLY SHIIIIIIITTTTT
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Sexual assault, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, War, and Violence
kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Some clunky sentences and sentence structure at times. There are too many colours too, which I hope will be touched on in later books because if not then why are they mentioned. However, very good pacing and general stroytelling. Definitely sets the scene for the rest of the series. The ending may have been a little rushed but it still worked in the greater scheme of things. And the lack of descriptions for fictional tools. Like,,,I am none the wiser on what any of these things look like. What do they mean by razor? Also, why is it written like "gravBoots" in the book, why not capitalise the G too since the B is so important. But thats a personal annoyance more than a critique.
Red Rising was genuinely one of the best books I've read in a long time, so much so I have the rest of the series ready for when I have recovered from the emotional whiplash of this one. Dark, dystopian, excellent worldbuilding and a deep political system that I am excited to discover more of. Would highly recommend.
Red Rising was genuinely one of the best books I've read in a long time, so much so I have the rest of the series ready for when I have recovered from the emotional whiplash of this one. Dark, dystopian, excellent worldbuilding and a deep political system that I am excited to discover more of. Would highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Blood, Colonisation, Violence, War, Classism, Death, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture
Moderate: Grief, Animal death, and Cannibalism
the_trees_speak_latin_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Death, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Slavery, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Vomit
jordannahamel's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Ok so, where to begin.
Red Rising is absolutely without a doubt not for the faint of heart both in content and commitment. If Hunger Games, Battle Royale and Game of Thrones with a dash of the Roman Empire had a fucked up baby, it would be Darrow and Red Rising. Thats not to say that I didnt enjoy it, because I absolutely did. But this was a heavy book to read for me even if it wasnt that long of a book.
To start, I was not expecting for the story to go the way it did. I was anticipating a much more straightforward dystopian burn the system down narrative (which I still believe will be the overarching theme) but it evolved into something much more gritty and less straightforward.
Darrow starts off as someone who sees the system only 2 inches from his face and then quite literally gets a full picture view. It changes him from being someone just trying to keep their head down and do the best they can for their family and turns him into a war lord hell bent on burning the system down from the inside out - in time. His character is overhauled inside and out to the point that throughout reading I had a hard time remembering the boy first introduced to the man that emerges through the blood, war and violence of Red Rising. Character development is in the form of "I'm not just going to be better, I'm going to be worse" and honestly, good for Darrow. Im anticipating lots of world building from the remaining books in the series, but I'm looking forward to it and how it will change Darrow's character even further.
I took points off for the pacing during the "war games" portion of the book and quite frankly the writing of RR's female characters. The former: I absolutely understand the point and lesson's Darrow & Co. receive throughout this part of the book. It forces them to be calculating, cruel and learn on the fly when entering a cut throat academy. However, it was a long and slow process filled with the violence and gore that can only come from tribal war games, which was a bit exhausting at times.
For the latter critique: I wouldn't go so far as to say the female characters were poorly written but the most prominent ones fell into the dreaded categories of "untrustworthy bitch" and "pure, Mother Mary" who only seemed to serve the purpose of pushing Darrow's character arc further at their own expense and make him the "protector" of the story. Namely Mustang, Antonia, and Eo.Eo is literally killed off as a means to propel Darrow into action, which felt a little cheap and made her the sacrificial pure lamb of Darrow's story, when honestly the murder of his father could have been used in the exact same way. Antonia is literally introduced as the crazy sexy hot bitch who is untrustworthy if any man gets close to her. Darrow is mocked for liking Mustang and trusting her when he has no reason to doubt her (only up until the reveal of her being Lucian's twin) but it is asserted over and over she is a woman using her feminine wiles to trick him - I say this because Sevro's intentions are NEVER doubted where Mustangs continuously are. To add insult to injury, the Proctors kidnap her and of course Darrow has to save her (especially when he could not with Eo), a damsel in distress narrative she herself acknowledges! Furthermore, Mustang's entire presence is there to keep Darrow alive and drive HIS wants forward, a fact that the Apollo Proctor also directly calls out. Listen, I enjoyed the book and still enjoyed all of the characters but the pitfalls it seems every male dominated fantasy novel gives into with its female characters and female specific violence (dont even get me started on the rape in this book and Darrow's idea of "justice" whilst maintaining his power) was still extremely prevalent in Red Rising.
TLDR; Would I recommend this book? Absolutely - just not for someone under the age of 16 lol. Do I have my own critiques of it, absolutely. It is not a perfect book but after a good break and maybe a change in content, I'm excited to see where Darrow's story goes.
Red Rising is absolutely without a doubt not for the faint of heart both in content and commitment. If Hunger Games, Battle Royale and Game of Thrones with a dash of the Roman Empire had a fucked up baby, it would be Darrow and Red Rising. Thats not to say that I didnt enjoy it, because I absolutely did. But this was a heavy book to read for me even if it wasnt that long of a book.
To start, I was not expecting for the story to go the way it did. I was anticipating a much more straightforward dystopian burn the system down narrative (which I still believe will be the overarching theme) but it evolved into something much more gritty and less straightforward.
Darrow starts off as someone who sees the system only 2 inches from his face and then quite literally gets a full picture view. It changes him from being someone just trying to keep their head down and do the best they can for their family and turns him into a war lord hell bent on burning the system down from the inside out - in time. His character is overhauled inside and out to the point that throughout reading I had a hard time remembering the boy first introduced to the man that emerges through the blood, war and violence of Red Rising. Character development is in the form of "I'm not just going to be better, I'm going to be worse" and honestly, good for Darrow. Im anticipating lots of world building from the remaining books in the series, but I'm looking forward to it and how it will change Darrow's character even further.
I took points off for the pacing during the "war games" portion of the book and quite frankly the writing of RR's female characters. The former: I absolutely understand the point and lesson's Darrow & Co. receive throughout this part of the book. It forces them to be calculating, cruel and learn on the fly when entering a cut throat academy. However, it was a long and slow process filled with the violence and gore that can only come from tribal war games, which was a bit exhausting at times.
For the latter critique: I wouldn't go so far as to say the female characters were poorly written but the most prominent ones fell into the dreaded categories of "untrustworthy bitch" and "pure, Mother Mary" who only seemed to serve the purpose of pushing Darrow's character arc further at their own expense and make him the "protector" of the story. Namely Mustang, Antonia, and Eo.
TLDR; Would I recommend this book? Absolutely - just not for someone under the age of 16 lol. Do I have my own critiques of it, absolutely. It is not a perfect book but after a good break and maybe a change in content, I'm excited to see where Darrow's story goes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Gore, Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Excrement, Medical trauma, and Rape
cerebellum's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Classism
blingokitty's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Violence, Blood, War, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, and Slavery
Moderate: Confinement, Excrement, Gore, Kidnapping, and Rape