Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Red Rising

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

53 reviews

readyforit's review against another edition

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.

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.”

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saskiajva's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This book had me hooked from the very first chapter. I love the concept and the plot, the whacky and interesting characters you meet, and the detailed world building. It’s often formulaic but it’s a formula i love dearly. This book is fast paced, and occasionally left me wishing the author used more show-don’t-tell, however it was typically the gorier parts that weren’t shown so for many readers I imagine it’s appreciated. There were even a few key moments that happen fully off page, and as someone who loves big epics with intense battles and mind games, i was left wanting more.

Even with these faults, I ended up plowing through this in just a couple days and am excited for book 2 and 3. I highly recommend this for fans of the Hunger Games and anyone who loves world building that features the cruelest of humanity and those moments that make you go “holy shit, that’s messed up”. The audiobook narrator also does a great job, though there was at least one line i couldn’t understand what he said even after rewinding, and it was hard to tell who was talking on occasion, but overall it did not take away from my enjoyment.

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abitterknitter's review against another edition

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I just could not care enough about the characters to keep going. It was all just violence.

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mirandyli's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This book is Brave New World meets Hunger Games, with way more oppression.

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baileyisbookish's review against another edition

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I really wanted to like this because I thought the premise was interesting. I did enjoy it up to a point. But the main character became so uninteresting and hard to be in the thoughts of that I found myself dragging near the end. I had four chapters left before I DNF’d.

I was also disturbed by the author’s use of SA and misogyny as plot points. It is one thing to include these serious, traumatic and triggering topics as a way to explore their impact upon individuals and societies and have readers empathize with what this experience does to you. It is quite another to include this topic solely for world building or moving a plot along (violence against female characters in order to benefit the male characters? really?). That is a practice in writing that needs to be left behind.

This had a lot of potential for me to enjoy, and I just didn’t. I was disappointed. I hope the author can learn from the feedback he is receiving from the millions of women who love to read sci fi and fantasy stories.

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