Reviews with content warning for War - Red Rising

This story was different than I expected it to be, both in good and bad ways.

I love the premise, world building, characters, and general ~vibes~. The story is pretty fast paced in the beginning, to slow down a bit after the first ~25% of the story, which gives you some to time to get used to the current situation and what has happened before that point; it really works. It’s clear from the very first chapter what this book will be about and it still manages to surprise me and not felt like a dime a dozen dystopian YA book, just going through the motions.

However, even though the plot itself was surprising, the beginning (and also some minor plot points after that), was pretty obvious and felt a little too easy; it didn’t feel like it was the writers intention to make the reader more knowledgeable than the characters in the story, therefore not increasing tension but taking some away. This problem did let up, once the story ramped up luckily!
Second point of ‘megh, why, otherwise this was a 5-star read’ is the weird discrepancy between the actual age of the main character and how he came across. Yes, Darrow sometimes even makes remarks about this himself, and, yes, it makes some sense in this world looking at his background, but it still irked me. Especially when

he has sex with his, also underage, wife (reading it felt pretty yucky, even if it fits the narrative)

and

when the other student, supposedly around his age and even less developed mentally then Darrow himself, start raping each other (yes, that happens in the real world as well, and I’ve read multiple books in the same genre that also discuss it, but this felt so much more jarring because of their age and the way it is discussed. And no, not in a ‘what a cruel dystopian world this is, that these things happen!!!’ kind of way)

, but also more generally it gave a bit of an ~I’m not like other people!!!~ vibe that reminded me a little bit too much of some YA troops. But, this problem has also (partially) solved itself now with him aging in the story.

Over all I’m excited to start the second book. I’ve seen some people think that the story really gets going only during the second book, so I’m hopeful I will enjoy it even more and my icks will not rear their heads again!

Content Warnings

togglesmcbobbins's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

It's not my cup of tea, but I understand why people like it--it's well written. There's really no "good" protagonist. Everyone sucks and the government is steeped in corruption and greed. This is a lot like Hunger Games, but a lot darker and much slower.

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cabboge's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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n0ize's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book has all that we of multiple fandoms want packed into a series. This book is for Harry Potter , Divergent, Hunger Games and PJO fans alike. The plot the characters the world building is all top tier. You feel yourself rooting for just about everyone, but make sure you also steel your heart as well. Great read!

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ciuricirui's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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readyforit's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-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

4.25

4.25⭐️0🌶️0.5💧

I can’t believe this missed me during my 2014 dystopian phase but I’m glad it found me 10 years later. I think I would’ve liked it more if I read had a copy to read while I listened, since there are a lot of fantasy-esque names to remember. I liked the narrator a lot but I had to slow it down since he has an Irish accent so I couldn’t get through it as fast as I normally do with audiobooks. The beginning was a bit slow to start, as most fantasy books are with world-building, but surprisingly it also slowed down in the middle after Darrow entered the institute. This author is really good at jerking you around with his twists and turns though I’ve never had my jaw on the floor as much as when reading this series.

Darrow is a labor worker in the poorest class of people in the solar system, red. He and his people are told they’re making mars livable for higher classes, but we soon find out the dream has already been realized and all classes of people are living on mars, and other planets. To free his people he must become one of his enemies, a gold, and bring them down from the inside. He goes to the institute (aka hunger games for district 1 kids but somehow more brutal), where he makes friends and enemies, trying to win. We meet a lot of side characters who are all deeply fleshed out, and you either learn to love or hate.

If you liked the hunger games, divergent, or the maze runner, you’ll love this series. I’m definitely going to try listening to the graphic audio and reading along to a physical copy to see if that’s a better experience. Overall, I really liked the book and will reread! I wish this had a larger fan base for a series or movie or better fanart though, since I’m someone who has trouble picturing things in my head.

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goodwillcunting's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Red Rising is a book about power, and about hope, and about all that matters to being human once everything else is made perfect. The cast is messy and complicated in a way that makes you forget who you’re rooting for. The worldbuilding is engaging, but still tethered in reality enough that it comes easily to the reader. The story is full of plot twists, unlikely alliances, and highly detailed action, and I would recommend most to read it. 0.25 stars were taken off for pacing and the other 0.25 for excessive use of the word “piss.”

Content Warnings

lily_sutton's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

3.75

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