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dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Unfortunately I had to waste my precious time with this Temu version of the Hunger Games for men who don't read because it was our book club pick this month. We get it, women exist to be used and abused, men are violent and cruel, caste systems are bad, and Darrow is the super special Chosen One despite the fact that he has zero redeeming qualities and is just as evil as the "Golds" he despises. Just knowing that there are 7 books in this series and this author is now a multimillionaire makes me want to hurt my computer into the sun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
Minor: Cannibalism
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Murder
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A very entertaining and dark sci-fi story. Went into this expecting a space opera style story and got more of a Hunger Games competition instead, but I’m not mad at the results. Content warning on this one for sure, it gets pretty gruesome. Pierce Brown does a great job at keeping the reader engaged throughout the whole story. It was action packed and just non-stop from cover to cover.
However, I do have some big negatives with the story, primarily the characters. They’re all incredibly shallow and one-dimensional. I wasn’t really a big fan of Darrow cause he wasn’t all that interesting. He was just the best at everything, his motivations were pretty lackluster and we never really see him struggle at all. After a while, he just got kinda boring. On top of that, the females in this story are so poorly done, they seem more like accessories than anything else. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters aside from a choice few, and solely because I thought they were cool. There were also tons of plot holes all throughout the book, which took me out at times.
All of that said, I still really enjoyed the book! Everyone says that the first book is the weakest in the series, and it only gets better from here. Hope the rest of the series can build on Darrow and the rest of the cast, bringing a little more humanity and reality to them. I’m willing to stick it out and give the rest of the series a shot, I think you should too!
However, I do have some big negatives with the story, primarily the characters. They’re all incredibly shallow and one-dimensional. I wasn’t really a big fan of Darrow cause he wasn’t all that interesting. He was just the best at everything, his motivations were pretty lackluster and we never really see him struggle at all. After a while, he just got kinda boring. On top of that, the females in this story are so poorly done, they seem more like accessories than anything else. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters aside from a choice few, and solely because I thought they were cool. There were also tons of plot holes all throughout the book, which took me out at times.
All of that said, I still really enjoyed the book! Everyone says that the first book is the weakest in the series, and it only gets better from here. Hope the rest of the series can build on Darrow and the rest of the cast, bringing a little more humanity and reality to them. I’m willing to stick it out and give the rest of the series a shot, I think you should too!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Classism
Moderate: Death, Gore, Rape, Murder
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I literally decided to read this book because I love the board game that they created from it. this was nothing like the board game but im for sure reading the rest of the series now
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
Minor: Cannibalism
yeah it’s a doozy
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Rape
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Hunger Games 🤝 Mars
Darrow and his fellow Helldivers work long hours in harsh conditions to ready the surface of Mars for the rest of humanity. Unbeknownst to them, they’re Reds, the lowest members of society, and Mars has been inhabited for generations. There’s hell to pay when Darrow finds out the Reds have been tricked into slavery by the Golds at the top.
Full of high-stakes action, political strife, and kids forced to cosplay as adults in their dystopian world, Red Rising is all about war games and being the best of the best. The plot was very action-packed and (so far) hasn’t delved super deep into the characters. I like to understand the characters’ choices via their development, but I’ve heard the second book is better, so I’m hoping to see some more character development as the series goes along!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Murder, War
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Murder, War
Moderate: Rape, Death of parent
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Red Rising definitely feels like The Hunger Games meets Percy Jackson with a little bit of gore. I thought I would like it as it felt like something I would read/listen to as well as all the hype for this series was kind of getting me to pick up this book somehow (I got it through it being "free" with my subscription on Audible). However, I kind of struggled a little bit to listen to this. It felt a little bit too predictable, left a lot of unresolved questions for me, and didn't feel as engaging as I was hoping it would be. By the end of it, it reminded me a little bit of Dune as well as The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson, but without the space travel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, War