Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Red Rising

Spice Rating: 🫑 / 5 🌶️

My friend's constant badgering me to "Read Red Rising, Hope!!!" (you know who you are 😂) finally paid off, and I'm so glad she never laid off because I loved this book.

In the color-coded society of futuristic Mars, Darrow is a Red--the lowest of the low. The people who work underneath Mars' surface in order to pave the way for future generations to live on the surface. His life is a simple one, but one day he loses everything and everyone he loves. Darrow learns the Reds have been lied to for centuries, and he is one of the few people who can bring them justice. Darrow leaves behind his world and his family in order to help the right this terrible wrong. All of this leads to his complete transformation which could be his downfall.

It's really difficult to write even a short summary of Red Rising without giving away its major plot points, so I'll give some spoilers here:

Learning that the Golds and all the other colors that are "higher" than the Reds have been convincing the Reds that no one is living on the surface is wild. The other colors have been living in opulence on the surface for centuries, yet they still use the Reds like cattle--they're just slaves meant to mine the substance needed to keep their world afloat. I was so fully invested in the resistance and felt Darrow's rage as he learned the truth.

And that only happened in the first half of the book?!

Darrow's full transformation into a Gold was fascinating and terrible. He truly lost who he was trying to infiltrate the enemy from within. The crimes and violence Darrow has to commit from there are truly insane. I can't imagine how difficult it was to remember who he truly was as he became so invested in the games (both literal and figurative) he had to play.

Long story short, I am now going to be the friend constantly badgering you to, "Read Red Rising, PLEASE!!" Pierce Brown has created an intricate world full of political, moral, and ethical dilemmas where Darrow and others have to choose what truly matters most. Red Rising brings a mirror up to our society today and asks us, "Is this really the future we want?"

Content Warnings

erinmassey23's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Content Warnings

chloebrandon's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No

2.0

This book just felt like a Hunger Games Clone to me. I think it was to set up the financial success for the series to get published, but it felt uninspired.

Content Warnings

kateltranter's review against another edition

Go to review page

Content Warnings

gabriellabmszros's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

Short review: I guess I like science fiction if it is set in a world where life is basically like on Earth.

Nihil novi sub sole

Although Red Rising may appear to be an amalgamation of all the coming-of-age and utopian literature we have encountered as teens, this does not necessarily mean it is bad. Yes, there are many "borrowed" characters, motifs and twists. Nevertheless, the book is still enjoyable. In fact, the story actually made me giddy with excitement sometimes.

My two minor issues were:

It seems that both Greek and Roman mythology and expressions are in use in this world, which could potentially make sense, but so far it seems odd.
There was a slightly homophobic remark when two guys were sleeping next to each other. ("Wonder which is Romeo?")

Content Warnings

rmb27's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

This book is a very dark hunger games full of vengeance, death, loads of swearing, and frequent discussion of sexual assault. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone and wish I had DNF.

Content Warnings

More...