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lillelow's review against another edition
DNF 40%.
The book begins the worst possible way with drunk father figures and community leaders laughing about raping the protagonist’s wife - and no one raises an eyebrow. Misogyny, machoism, masochism, prostitution as a means of female survival and male pleasure, a world in which all women are beautiful, marry when they’re 14 and work with silk while all the manly men work in the mines… This is a sci-fi novel, a world of make believe. You can write about ANYTHING. Create ANY future. Yet this is what we get. I’m SO F* TIRED of reading about this bullshit.
I wanted to put the book down then and there, but decided to give it a go because of all the good reviews.
I shouldn’t have bothered. It doesn’t get better.
The premiss is interesting, but the execution and the character portrayal is horrible.
I didn’t like the protagonist at all. Clever, brave, strong, humble, hardworking, loving… All the right things! At least, that’s what I’m told. Honestly, all I see is a self absorbed insular teenager with no weakness who excels at everything he does for no reason other than he’s the chosen one. He doesn’t have to be likeable, but believable is quite important, and this book does none of it.
The supposedly romantic interactions between the protagonist and his wife are probably supposed to be charming and sweet but only feel stiff, cliche and childish and evoke no emotions at all. But hey, at least she is incredibly beautiful and we’re told everyone loves her… I guess that was enough for the author.
I didn’t like any of the other characters either. Even the ones who are described in good light are horrible, not to mention the way they express themselves. I’m not prude. Explicit language and swearing is fine. But most of the writing, dialogue, slurs and expletives in this book are just disturbing and annoying. You cannot make me believe people talk like this for real. Is it supposed to be cool?? I couldn’t stand it, I hated almost everyone and the flat writing did nothing to help.
At 40% through, I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t care about the story or the characters and was mostly annoyed at it all. Ender’s Game’s the perfect chosen one meets the segregation and killing of The Hunger Games or Gladiator (only it’s terrible) in a violent color-coded elite school on Mars with some sprinkles… no, make that a heavy rain…. of machoism and sexism.
No thank you.
★★-
The book begins the worst possible way with drunk father figures and community leaders laughing about raping the protagonist’s wife - and no one raises an eyebrow. Misogyny, machoism, masochism, prostitution as a means of female survival and male pleasure, a world in which all women are beautiful, marry when they’re 14 and work with silk while all the manly men work in the mines… This is a sci-fi novel, a world of make believe. You can write about ANYTHING. Create ANY future. Yet this is what we get. I’m SO F* TIRED of reading about this bullshit.
I wanted to put the book down then and there, but decided to give it a go because of all the good reviews.
I shouldn’t have bothered. It doesn’t get better.
The premiss is interesting, but the execution and the character portrayal is horrible.
I didn’t like the protagonist at all. Clever, brave, strong, humble, hardworking, loving… All the right things! At least, that’s what I’m told. Honestly, all I see is a self absorbed insular teenager with no weakness who excels at everything he does for no reason other than he’s the chosen one. He doesn’t have to be likeable, but believable is quite important, and this book does none of it.
The supposedly romantic interactions between the protagonist and his wife are probably supposed to be charming and sweet but only feel stiff, cliche and childish and evoke no emotions at all. But hey, at least she is incredibly beautiful and we’re told everyone loves her… I guess that was enough for the author.
I didn’t like any of the other characters either. Even the ones who are described in good light are horrible, not to mention the way they express themselves. I’m not prude. Explicit language and swearing is fine. But most of the writing, dialogue, slurs and expletives in this book are just disturbing and annoying. You cannot make me believe people talk like this for real. Is it supposed to be cool?? I couldn’t stand it, I hated almost everyone and the flat writing did nothing to help.
At 40% through, I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t care about the story or the characters and was mostly annoyed at it all. Ender’s Game’s the perfect chosen one meets the segregation and killing of The Hunger Games or Gladiator (only it’s terrible) in a violent color-coded elite school on Mars with some sprinkles… no, make that a heavy rain…. of machoism and sexism.
No thank you.
★★-
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Classism, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Body shaming, Alcohol, War, Trafficking, Slavery, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Death of parent, Sexism, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Addiction, Blood, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Cursing, Racial slurs, Body horror, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Rape, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Excrement, Gore, Death, and Eating disorder
dawn_marie's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Sooooooo after half a dozen attempts and lots of prodding by friends, I finally managed to finish Red Rising by Pierce Brown and I really dislike it. The novel is marketed as a “dystopian science fiction,” I find that neither is correct. Other than being set on Mars and having some fancy tech, there is nothing “science fiction” about the novel. I suppose one could consider the novel dystopian if they really stretched the definition.
The idea of the novel is interesting: in a future where humans expanded their reach into the solar system, Mars – being rich in a mineral/gas necessary for terraforming – has becoming a mining colony. Society is structed in a color-coded caste system where Reds are the lowest, performing the most dangerous jobs (specifically the mining), and Golds are the pampered ruling class. After a tragic event and witnessing the indifference of the Golds, a Red is recruited to become a spy amongst the Gold ranks to challenge the status quo, and usher in change. While that sounded intriguing, that’s not what we go. Instead, Red Rising is a Hunger Games/Battle Royale clone, with a Gary Stu protagonist, repetitive info dumps, and painfully bad writing.
The story is narrated by Darrow, a thoroughly unlikeable character who manages to easily overcome every hardship/hurdle he faces. Of course Darrow is the youngest and bestestdrill operator helldiver that ever was, of course he is best loved amongst the Reds, of course he married the most beautiful girl in the colony, of course he not only proceeds to mine a “dangerous” pocket when everyone tells him not to, but manages to mine the biggest ore find in history, and of course he’s the first one in the family who mined enough ore to win the laurel. After his wife dies, Darrow is recruited by the Sons of Ares to infiltrate the Golds, where – after his makeover montage – he of course manages to miss only one question out 100s on the entrance exam, of course he charms everyone around him, of course he figures out some of the puzzles, traps, and tricks in the arena before anyone else, of course, although he only had a few weeks training, he manages to defeat people who have been training with weapons their entire life, and of course he manages to win everything. Nothing was ever hard for Darrow; everything came easily to him and what little conflict/difficulty did arise was quickly resolved and fell Darrow’s favor.
The rest of the cast were caricatures, serving little purpose other than to demonstrate how “awesome” Darrow is; that he’s “not like other guys”. The few characters that did get significant page time were deplorable, not one of them were likeable, or at a minimum, rootable – I wanted them all to fail, and fail miserably. The author’s portrayal of females was especially problematic, with the two main named female characters (Eo and Mustang) being quickly fridged*, and the others being reduced to prizes, arm candy, victim, or something to toy with.
For a novel that is filled with battle and fight sequences, it moves at a glacially slow pace. I blame that on the author’s choice to use first person narrative, where Darrow constantl makes tangential “philosophical” musing or dumps a ton of information. There was entirely too much tell and not enough show and writing that tried to be clever but came off pretentious (this happened every time Darrow mused about the political structure or people’s motivations). While this can work, it didn’t here mainly due to the author’s writing style, which vacillated between clumsy and clunky, with some cringe-worthy thrown in for good measure.
I don’t know who the intended audience is, but the book is feels extremely YA and should come with a trigger/content warning (regardless of the audience) as it is filled with causal violence, brutality, murder, maiming, torture, physical and sexual assault, rape, cannibalism, homophobia and misogyny slavery, and human trafficking.
I am told that that series gets better, and Pierce Brown’s writing improves with each installment. I did read the first few chapters of Golden Son and did not see any improvement in writing or storytelling. Unless the author magically/spiritually manages to channel Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, and William Faulkner, I don’t see myself reading future works.
*Fridiging – a plot device in which female characters face disproportionate harm (death, maiming, assault, rape, kidnaping) to motivate male characters.
The idea of the novel is interesting: in a future where humans expanded their reach into the solar system, Mars – being rich in a mineral/gas necessary for terraforming – has becoming a mining colony. Society is structed in a color-coded caste system where Reds are the lowest, performing the most dangerous jobs (specifically the mining), and Golds are the pampered ruling class. After a tragic event and witnessing the indifference of the Golds, a Red is recruited to become a spy amongst the Gold ranks to challenge the status quo, and usher in change. While that sounded intriguing, that’s not what we go. Instead, Red Rising is a Hunger Games/Battle Royale clone, with a Gary Stu protagonist, repetitive info dumps, and painfully bad writing.
The story is narrated by Darrow, a thoroughly unlikeable character who manages to easily overcome every hardship/hurdle he faces. Of course Darrow is the youngest and bestest
The rest of the cast were caricatures, serving little purpose other than to demonstrate how “awesome” Darrow is; that he’s “not like other guys”. The few characters that did get significant page time were deplorable, not one of them were likeable, or at a minimum, rootable – I wanted them all to fail, and fail miserably. The author’s portrayal of females was especially problematic, with the two main named female characters (Eo and Mustang) being quickly fridged*, and the others being reduced to prizes, arm candy, victim, or something to toy with.
For a novel that is filled with battle and fight sequences, it moves at a glacially slow pace. I blame that on the author’s choice to use first person narrative, where Darrow constantl makes tangential “philosophical” musing or dumps a ton of information. There was entirely too much tell and not enough show and writing that tried to be clever but came off pretentious (this happened every time Darrow mused about the political structure or people’s motivations). While this can work, it didn’t here mainly due to the author’s writing style, which vacillated between clumsy and clunky, with some cringe-worthy thrown in for good measure.
I don’t know who the intended audience is, but the book is feels extremely YA and should come with a trigger/content warning (regardless of the audience) as it is filled with causal violence, brutality, murder, maiming, torture, physical and sexual assault, rape, cannibalism, homophobia and misogyny slavery, and human trafficking.
I am told that that series gets better, and Pierce Brown’s writing improves with each installment. I did read the first few chapters of Golden Son and did not see any improvement in writing or storytelling. Unless the author magically/spiritually manages to channel Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, and William Faulkner, I don’t see myself reading future works.
*Fridiging – a plot device in which female characters face disproportionate harm (death, maiming, assault, rape, kidnaping) to motivate male characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Trafficking, Sexual violence, and Slavery
Minor: Cannibalism
espy0nage's review
adventurous
dark
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Sexual violence and Trafficking
Minor: Body horror
lua_'s review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A pretty fun and satisfying read, this is definitely one of those books where you can feel the author really likes their main character, so it does give Darrow (MC) quite a few satisfyingly "invincible" scenes. The main character also grows and changes a lot, but does have that arrogance, anger and self righteousness that morally gray characters tend to have, so if that's not your cup of tea I'd recommend avoiding this one. Darrow also has a pretty domestic side to him as well, with some very romantic, kind and "homely" (this is honestly the best word I found to describe it) thoughts, which gave him some very much necessary depth as a main character.
My biggest problem with the book was that though Darrow and the story itself does strive for revolution, and criticizes very much the world they're in, the author does make some... peculiar choices in his discussion of class injustice inside the book. He does give some biological/engeneered justifications for a superior "race" (it's not exactly a race in the book, but you can see the parallels reading it), and does give them some very blond European traits. The choice for Obsidians is also a little dubious for me. Since Darrow spends most of the book "undercover" it also shows quite a lot of characters from this superior "race" in a positive light (but it does keep bringing up the fact that they are oppressors) and since every character couldn't just be an unlikable asshole, does personaly sympathize with them in several occasions.
It's not the type of thing that ruins the book, since he never really describes any obsidian or specified skin color for any of the "classes", but it is something to keep in mind while reading. Also, I haven't finished the series yet, so it might also be a point he is making to criticize and/or discuss later on.
The pacing in the book is a little mixed, being a little fast in the beginning then very slow, then fast again.
Over all the book is a fun read for those who want a very violent, badass revolutionary main character, and despite the flaws it is very much worth it.
My biggest problem with the book was that though Darrow and the story itself does strive for revolution, and criticizes very much the world they're in, the author does make some... peculiar choices in his discussion of class injustice inside the book. He does give some biological/engeneered justifications for a superior "race" (it's not exactly a race in the book, but you can see the parallels reading it), and does give them some very blond European traits. The choice for Obsidians is also a little dubious for me. Since Darrow spends most of the book "undercover" it also shows quite a lot of characters from this superior "race" in a positive light (but it does keep bringing up the fact that they are oppressors) and since every character couldn't just be an unlikable asshole, does personaly sympathize with them in several occasions.
It's not the type of thing that ruins the book, since he never really describes any obsidian or specified skin color for any of the "classes", but it is something to keep in mind while reading. Also, I haven't finished the series yet, so it might also be a point he is making to criticize and/or discuss later on.
The pacing in the book is a little mixed, being a little fast in the beginning then very slow, then fast again.
Over all the book is a fun read for those who want a very violent, badass revolutionary main character, and despite the flaws it is very much worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Slavery, Violence, and Trafficking
Moderate: Rape, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
Minor: Pedophilia
linneak's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Slavery, War, Classism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Medical content, Murder, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Animal death, Trafficking, Death of parent, Blood, Cannibalism, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Bullying, Police brutality, Cursing, Rape, and Sexual content
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