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kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
Some clunky sentences and sentence structure at times. There are too many colours too, which I hope will be touched on in later books because if not then why are they mentioned. However, very good pacing and general stroytelling. Definitely sets the scene for the rest of the series. The ending may have been a little rushed but it still worked in the greater scheme of things. And the lack of descriptions for fictional tools. Like,,,I am none the wiser on what any of these things look like. What do they mean by razor? Also, why is it written like "gravBoots" in the book, why not capitalise the G too since the B is so important. But thats a personal annoyance more than a critique.
Red Rising was genuinely one of the best books I've read in a long time, so much so I have the rest of the series ready for when I have recovered from the emotional whiplash of this one. Dark, dystopian, excellent worldbuilding and a deep political system that I am excited to discover more of. Would highly recommend.
Red Rising was genuinely one of the best books I've read in a long time, so much so I have the rest of the series ready for when I have recovered from the emotional whiplash of this one. Dark, dystopian, excellent worldbuilding and a deep political system that I am excited to discover more of. Would highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Blood, Colonisation, Violence, War, Classism, Death, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture
Moderate: Grief, Animal death, and Cannibalism
the_trees_speak_latin_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Death, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Slavery, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Vomit
jordannahamel's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Ok so, where to begin.
Red Rising is absolutely without a doubt not for the faint of heart both in content and commitment. If Hunger Games, Battle Royale and Game of Thrones with a dash of the Roman Empire had a fucked up baby, it would be Darrow and Red Rising. Thats not to say that I didnt enjoy it, because I absolutely did. But this was a heavy book to read for me even if it wasnt that long of a book.
To start, I was not expecting for the story to go the way it did. I was anticipating a much more straightforward dystopian burn the system down narrative (which I still believe will be the overarching theme) but it evolved into something much more gritty and less straightforward.
Darrow starts off as someone who sees the system only 2 inches from his face and then quite literally gets a full picture view. It changes him from being someone just trying to keep their head down and do the best they can for their family and turns him into a war lord hell bent on burning the system down from the inside out - in time. His character is overhauled inside and out to the point that throughout reading I had a hard time remembering the boy first introduced to the man that emerges through the blood, war and violence of Red Rising. Character development is in the form of "I'm not just going to be better, I'm going to be worse" and honestly, good for Darrow. Im anticipating lots of world building from the remaining books in the series, but I'm looking forward to it and how it will change Darrow's character even further.
I took points off for the pacing during the "war games" portion of the book and quite frankly the writing of RR's female characters. The former: I absolutely understand the point and lesson's Darrow & Co. receive throughout this part of the book. It forces them to be calculating, cruel and learn on the fly when entering a cut throat academy. However, it was a long and slow process filled with the violence and gore that can only come from tribal war games, which was a bit exhausting at times.
For the latter critique: I wouldn't go so far as to say the female characters were poorly written but the most prominent ones fell into the dreaded categories of "untrustworthy bitch" and "pure, Mother Mary" who only seemed to serve the purpose of pushing Darrow's character arc further at their own expense and make him the "protector" of the story. Namely Mustang, Antonia, and Eo.Eo is literally killed off as a means to propel Darrow into action, which felt a little cheap and made her the sacrificial pure lamb of Darrow's story, when honestly the murder of his father could have been used in the exact same way. Antonia is literally introduced as the crazy sexy hot bitch who is untrustworthy if any man gets close to her. Darrow is mocked for liking Mustang and trusting her when he has no reason to doubt her (only up until the reveal of her being Lucian's twin) but it is asserted over and over she is a woman using her feminine wiles to trick him - I say this because Sevro's intentions are NEVER doubted where Mustangs continuously are. To add insult to injury, the Proctors kidnap her and of course Darrow has to save her (especially when he could not with Eo), a damsel in distress narrative she herself acknowledges! Furthermore, Mustang's entire presence is there to keep Darrow alive and drive HIS wants forward, a fact that the Apollo Proctor also directly calls out. Listen, I enjoyed the book and still enjoyed all of the characters but the pitfalls it seems every male dominated fantasy novel gives into with its female characters and female specific violence (dont even get me started on the rape in this book and Darrow's idea of "justice" whilst maintaining his power) was still extremely prevalent in Red Rising.
TLDR; Would I recommend this book? Absolutely - just not for someone under the age of 16 lol. Do I have my own critiques of it, absolutely. It is not a perfect book but after a good break and maybe a change in content, I'm excited to see where Darrow's story goes.
Red Rising is absolutely without a doubt not for the faint of heart both in content and commitment. If Hunger Games, Battle Royale and Game of Thrones with a dash of the Roman Empire had a fucked up baby, it would be Darrow and Red Rising. Thats not to say that I didnt enjoy it, because I absolutely did. But this was a heavy book to read for me even if it wasnt that long of a book.
To start, I was not expecting for the story to go the way it did. I was anticipating a much more straightforward dystopian burn the system down narrative (which I still believe will be the overarching theme) but it evolved into something much more gritty and less straightforward.
Darrow starts off as someone who sees the system only 2 inches from his face and then quite literally gets a full picture view. It changes him from being someone just trying to keep their head down and do the best they can for their family and turns him into a war lord hell bent on burning the system down from the inside out - in time. His character is overhauled inside and out to the point that throughout reading I had a hard time remembering the boy first introduced to the man that emerges through the blood, war and violence of Red Rising. Character development is in the form of "I'm not just going to be better, I'm going to be worse" and honestly, good for Darrow. Im anticipating lots of world building from the remaining books in the series, but I'm looking forward to it and how it will change Darrow's character even further.
I took points off for the pacing during the "war games" portion of the book and quite frankly the writing of RR's female characters. The former: I absolutely understand the point and lesson's Darrow & Co. receive throughout this part of the book. It forces them to be calculating, cruel and learn on the fly when entering a cut throat academy. However, it was a long and slow process filled with the violence and gore that can only come from tribal war games, which was a bit exhausting at times.
For the latter critique: I wouldn't go so far as to say the female characters were poorly written but the most prominent ones fell into the dreaded categories of "untrustworthy bitch" and "pure, Mother Mary" who only seemed to serve the purpose of pushing Darrow's character arc further at their own expense and make him the "protector" of the story. Namely Mustang, Antonia, and Eo.
TLDR; Would I recommend this book? Absolutely - just not for someone under the age of 16 lol. Do I have my own critiques of it, absolutely. It is not a perfect book but after a good break and maybe a change in content, I'm excited to see where Darrow's story goes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Gore, Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Excrement, Medical trauma, and Rape
cerebellum's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Classism
blingokitty's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Violence, Blood, War, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, and Slavery
Moderate: Confinement, Excrement, Gore, Kidnapping, and Rape
pxl8dwulf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore
artmuseam's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
i wasn’t entirely sure what i was expecting when i first started this book, but wow. this interesting concept of people being divided in a social hierarchy by colors (red, pink, brown, gold, and so on) and seeing the beginning of a revolution from there was an incredible story to follow. i especially loved darrow’s character as someone who went through fifteen new experiences all in one setting and yet remained a headstrong, loyal person. the action was super intense as well and kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time (some scenes were a little TOO intense…check content warnings!) one thing i will say that i wasn’t a big fan of was the writing style. maybe i’m just the type of people who like more detail and showiness, but the writing itself felt bland with so much of narration and explanation of scenes going on rather than really putting me in the moment. this might be a personal take for me so if anyone else enjoys this type of writing style, this book is for you!! 4/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Rape, Animal cruelty, Animal death, War, Torture, Murder, Kidnapping, Grief, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, and Slavery
Moderate: Drug use
kazli's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
i need darrow and virginia in a way that's concerning to feminism.
people weren't lying when they said this is like game of thrones in space.
people weren't lying when they said this is like game of thrones in space.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Classism, Murder, Death of parent, Gore, Police brutality, and Kidnapping
blackbird300's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I’m mad that I enjoyed this so much. My biggest issue with the entire book lies with the fact that nearly every femme-presenting character introduced in the story is assaulted at some point. Yes, many of them are well developed characters, but it does not erase the fact that they were assaulted/nearly assaulted. That fact alone feels out of place in the entire plot.
This first book belongs solidly within the YA genre. The plot moves at break neck pace, losing the reader first at the beginning, but once accustomed, it becomes easy. Certain plot points are wrapped up quickly upon being introduced, but all strings are tied at the very end.
I’ve been wrestling with myself as to whether or not I should purchase the sequel…and my answer is a solid yes.
This first book belongs solidly within the YA genre. The plot moves at break neck pace, losing the reader first at the beginning, but once accustomed, it becomes easy. Certain plot points are wrapped up quickly upon being introduced, but all strings are tied at the very end.
I’ve been wrestling with myself as to whether or not I should purchase the sequel…and my answer is a solid yes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Medical content, Abandonment, War, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Sexism, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Excrement, Animal death, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Cursing, Colonisation, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
sandwiiche's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.0
lowkey so disappointed by this book, but that's on me because i really thought i would love it.
sadly, i didn't. the main character was insufferable for the first half of the book (sometimes he still annoyed me in the second half but he got better) and there were things that happened at the beginning that just annoyed the heck out of me. my fave characters were, surprise, not the main dude, and they stole the show for me. at times, the cast felt really large and so some characters were not developed as well as i hoped? plus, it just made things confusing and difficult to remember.
i also don't really like pierce brown's writing. it's quite static, the sentences are relatively short, and he uses certain vocabulary that gives me the ick lol
however, i am still giving this book 3 stars because there were some fun twists that i enjoyed in the second half the book, and the action was pretty decent! sigh, i'm conflicted as to whether i want to finish the series..... maybe if i'm in the mood for it one day
sadly, i didn't. the main character was insufferable for the first half of the book (sometimes he still annoyed me in the second half but he got better) and there were things that happened at the beginning that just annoyed the heck out of me. my fave characters were, surprise, not the main dude, and they stole the show for me. at times, the cast felt really large and so some characters were not developed as well as i hoped? plus, it just made things confusing and difficult to remember.
i also don't really like pierce brown's writing. it's quite static, the sentences are relatively short, and he uses certain vocabulary that gives me the ick lol
however, i am still giving this book 3 stars because there were some fun twists that i enjoyed in the second half the book, and the action was pretty decent! sigh, i'm conflicted as to whether i want to finish the series..... maybe if i'm in the mood for it one day
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Blood, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Gore, Death, Slavery, and Grief
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death and Cannibalism