Reviews

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

jacobhjustice's review against another edition

4.0

I thought the Hunger Games-esque vibes The Institute made for a fun and gripping story, but couldn't help wishing we got more of the overall world and society. I've heard that books 2 and 3 have a much vaster scope though so I'm excited to see where things go!

Also the audiobook narrator is phenomenal.

amzirkle's review

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

spensacanread's review against another edition

5.0

this took me a couple of weeks to finish because i kept on putting it down after intense scenes. i've read 5 books in between reading this to kinda rest my heart lol.

But i still loved it. I already liked the concept from reading the few chapters, it definitely got me intrigued. I have no idea what the book was about except that it's a scifi set on Mars. I started getting into it more when Darrow got to the Institute and omg that intense game of "capture the flag" was so vivid and i can just imagine everything that was happening. All the bloodshed (reminds me of Battle Royale) and betrayals and fight scenes, and the the masterful strategies and execution of Darrow's plans just left me in awe.

I could not put it down when i got to the 3rd half. And all that reveals.

Will definitely read the next book now. And here's to hoping there'll be a lot of Servo scenes cause he's definitely an instant favorite. He kinda reminds me of Leo from Heroes of Olympus (PG-13 version).

onlyemilyreads's review

adventurous challenging emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

kmesserdova's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

annianni345's review against another edition

5.0

Okay, 5 Stars
If I had read this two years ago I would've loved it even more

raddon's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

rachelbowski's review against another edition

5.0

I love this book, I don’t know what it is exactly but something in it tickles the same itch as The Hunger Games or Ender’s Game.

My 2024 reread was the Graphic Audio edition, which is very cool with cinematic music and sound effects and a full cast. Some of the cast sounded older than I imagined the characters in my head (they’re late-teens at the Institute), but I thought the narrator/Darrow was fantastic. This is a very violent book to listen to on Graphic Audio (lots of deaths!) so maybe heed that warning if you typically avoid violent media. Cheers to my library having the sequel in Graphic Audio too!

lukaj2810's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-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

aylaex's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

4.25