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tiana_king's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Slavery, War, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Animal death and Body shaming
Minor: Cannibalism
jordannahamel's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: War, Gore, Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Excrement, Medical trauma, and Rape
ka_ke's review against another edition
I’m all for rallying the people against the oppressors, I think these stories are truly important, however there has to be a way to get the point across in less pages or with faster pacing.
Also… you can tell a hetero-cis-male wrote the series.
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Slavery, Confinement, Violence, War, Gore, Misogyny, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Body shaming, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Sexual content, and Rape
linneak's review against another edition
- 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
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
moonchild_cos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Classism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Grief, Physical abuse, Slavery, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
thrabenvaliant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Rape, Bullying, Slavery, Cursing, Death, Blood, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
kagey's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, and War
Moderate: Rape and Animal death
Minor: Sexual assault
chris_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, War, Classism, Medical content, and Slavery
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Rape, Blood, Colonisation, Murder, Suicide, and Torture
Minor: Bullying, Cannibalism, Vomit, Police brutality, and Animal death
grets_reads's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, Slavery, Racism, Classism, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Murder, Medical trauma, and Sexual violence
Minor: Vomit, Torture, Rape, Kidnapping, Confinement, Excrement, and Cannibalism
gailbird's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Slavery, and Torture
Minor: Cannibalism, Excrement, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence