Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Rød revolt by Pierce Brown

104 reviews

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes

I don't think I can put into words how much I loved this book but you already know I'm still gonna try lol

First of all: series is so deeply political (in the same way that The Hunger Games is) and I am absolutely not the right person to give an in-depth analysis of that aspect because there are so many more layers to this than my pea-brain is capable of comprehending, but still: it was written in a way that was so easy to follow along, never making me feel stupid despite the complexity of the whole situation. 
Which is, you know, a pretty incredible feat.

I 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 the main character, Darrow. If this guy had one thing, it was the fucking audacity lol his impudence gave me life. The thought of what this kid will undoubtedly go through in the next books is making me feel a bit unwell. 

𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 put me through ALL the emotions. Rage, fear, sadness, hope, vindication, desperation, amusement, despair. Some scenes made me howl with laughter, gasp in shock, recoil in horror. Twice I inhaled so sharply I choked on my own spit, it was a whole thing. Startled my cats and everything.

I can totally see how or why this book might not be for everyone. It was violent and upsetting and there were 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 of characters and names to keep track of (which is usually my worst enemy) but I thought it was phenomenal. When I wasn't actively reading it, I was thinking about it. It left such a lasting impact.
As soon as I finished it, I immediately wanted to re-read it.

TL;DR: If you enjoy dystopian science fiction, world building, war strategy and political intrigues, Roman mythology, unhinged characters, a wickedly smart MC, and humor despite it not being a funny book - chances are you'll love this.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

What if a white man not only thought of the Roman Empire, but actually hyperfixated on it? With the obsession over hierarchy and wolves you’d almost expect a shoutout to the omegaverse (a/b/o). No, rest assured, the strong bonds between males is purely brotherly.

The MC and male characters are well established and interesting. Even side characters with little “screen time” are characterized well.

Women in this book don’t get much of a voice. There are only two of them I’d consider more than side characters. The first one is pretty much a Mary Sue though, who becomes an idealized driving force to the MC and a symbol for everyone else— so does she really count? In this whole book you only have one well written female.

The rest kind of just exist. The majority of them are pretty unpleasant, and if not, barely talk if at all. And the vast majority get sexually harassed if not outright assaulted (check trigger warnings). Descriptions of their physical attributes are very detailed. (A mild case of “she breasted boobingly syndrome”) Oh, not to mention, doing something “like a girl” is used as a mockery.

Despite me dunking on this book, Red Rising is an undoubtedly fun read with interesting world building that reminds me of The Hunger Games and Brave New World. The writing itself has a nice flow, so I finished reading within a few days. 

Keep in mind, this is more of a fun and action driven read. It’s not a “deep” book. Oppressive regimes bad, nepotism bad, corruption bad, exploitation bad. It’s very on the nose with its messages. It’s unfortunate that a book that openly denounces oppression is full of misogyny and has 0 people of color (as if they couldn’t have red or golden irises smh).

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

This book has a very vivid world, political structure, extreme propaganda, and violence. It is well written, even if some parts were a bit too long for my liking. The characters are majority morally grey but you can easily see why that is given the setting and their social status. I don’t know if I will keep reading, given how brutal it all is, but I would like to know what happens. The women are just kinda there in the story as plot point helpers or to be the motivation for some characters and I didn’t vibe with that.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
perseusj4ckson's profile picture

perseusj4ckson's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 8%

DNF — i’m only 15% in but i’ve genuinely hated every second of it 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was a difficult book to read, for many reasons. As such, I’m both impressed and yet not. Depending on the notion. The writing style was so difficult for me to keep up with. Really struggled with understanding what was happening.  All these changing terms and multiple peoples names, too. 
The premise of a lower color Red literally becoming a higher color Gold to take down the system was just so compelling. This first in the series was really only this large set of trials where their rules make no sense - that there is none - in order to become leader of all.  It’s a long game. Which is what you need in order to read this book.  I’m not a fan of mmc having such rage like Darrow - though some of it makes sense. Im just not a fan of unchecked rage in general; where Darrows was explained to come out of nowhere.  
I don’t know if I’ll read the rest of the series. I’m intrigued, but not invested.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was a page-turner. Haven't read something this captivating in quite some time, I immersed deeper and deeper the more I read and the more complicated and serious everything got. I love how nuanced these characters are, they all have their distinctive characteristics while also some overall believes showcasing their colour.

The reason why it doesn't get full 5 stars is because I needed some time to get used to the writing style. Especially in the beginning it felt more like it kept me on distance from Darrow. Also, I sometimes was confused why something was done or why something happened and if that would really work? Maybe it's the missing neural link in my brain? 

I'll definitely continue the series! I'm excited to see what the author will do next because this book definitely set some standards and has done some things you'd see in latter books in other series. However, if you're strictly a sci-fi fan, this book might disappoint you because at least half of it doesn't really focus on sci-fi related topics or even the vibe you get from those stories.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I found Darrow to be fairly unlikeable and there were significant issues I had with the character development of the women in this book. I understand why people like it and the premise is compelling, but on the whole I found the book to be underwhelming amidst the hype. Plus every character looks the same (by design, but there are rarely defining features between the Golds) which made the story difficult to envision in my mind.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional 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: No

Him kneeling at the end made me sick. RIP Eo you will always be famous.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional slow-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

This was so slow for me. I am not a huge sci-fi fan, but I heard this was so good that I had to give it a try. Unfortunately it did not blow me away. It seemed par for the course for sci-fi and didn't really do anything different. I also struggled with the casual misogynistic and homophobic language spoken by all the characters. 

What I did enjoy most were some of the minor characters and that carried me through. I know this is the first novel in a long series so it's possible it gets a lot better. I may check out book 2.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Red Rising starts off slowly, and I found myself tempted to put it down during the first half. However, that initial sluggishness serves a purpose, laying a crucial foundation for understanding Darrow's motivations and driving forces throughout the rest of the story. Pierce Brown has crafted a complex and immersive world, but in the first half, the supporting characters feel underdeveloped, serving mostly as tools to propel Darrow forward.

Thankfully, the second half redeems the book. The character development improves dramatically, and even minor supporting characters gain depth, with distinct personalities and motivations that enrich the narrative. While the weak start impacts my overall rating, Red Rising is undeniably worth reading. I’m eager to continue with the series and see where Darrow’s journey leads.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings