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A review by aliyah_d
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Journal entry from when I was at 50% of the book :
So far, Red Rising is quite the formulaic and a Manichean book that struggles the most when it must flesh out its characters (especially women) and give more dimension to its world. A well developed, more nuanced political and societal structure, which is at the core of this book's plot, would have helped elevate it away from the initial YA fiction concepts in which it is seeded. The first two acts of the book in particular are just a succession of tropes, executed decently if not uninspired, which I suspect has the benefit of allowing the younger readers or those not into fantasy or sci-fi to not get lost and even predict what would happen on a chapter-to-chapter basis.
Speaking of the very genre of the book itself, I do feel, in spite of the omnipresence of scientifically backed up elements and concepts that it is more" sci-fi for fantasy readers" rather than actual sci-fi ; I believe some of the scientific explanations were straight up incorrect or not fully thought through (and I'm not a science gal, really, but some claims about Mars gravity established early on in the books made me raised an eyebrow).
Finally, I have many problems with the main character, Darrow. Darrow is not that compelling to me as he is clearly a wish fulfilment type of character for heterosexual men in their thirties. Which I do not have a problem with but if you look up the definition of "Gary Sue" online, you will find a pretty illustration of Darrow. He is the perfect boy, or rather, the perfect boy who speaks, thinks and acts like a late thirty-year-old man. Darrow smells the best, looks the best, dances the best and he is the strongest and the smartest teen you will ever meet.
Never mind that he is thrown into an unknown environment filled to the brim with societal customs and expectations that he only knows the surface of and had to learn in a few months. I never felt any sense of danger or worry for him because his challenges were completely artificial and were a mere inconvenience to him. Easy come, easy solve. I also do think the first-person narrative really didn't help at all.
It seems like I have nothing but criticism for this first entry of the trilogy, but I'm enjoying it so far ! It's easy to read and enjoyable. It is not a slog or a bore, everything is moving at the right pace and although I adore purple prose, the simple writing here is effective and curiously engaging (albeit a tad cheesy and dry sometimes). Similarly, I tend to skim through conflict, battles and fights in books, but all of them were written very clearly, all raw and exciting.
Overall, this is a nice book which scratches the surface of a bigger, better, more tri-dimensional story, so I'm curious to see how the author manages to evolve in his writing from here.
Speaking of the very genre of the book itself, I do feel, in spite of the omnipresence of scientifically backed up elements and concepts that it is more" sci-fi for fantasy readers" rather than actual sci-fi ; I believe some of the scientific explanations were straight up incorrect or not fully thought through (and I'm not a science gal, really, but some claims about Mars gravity established early on in the books made me raised an eyebrow).
Finally, I have many problems with the main character, Darrow. Darrow is not that compelling to me as he is clearly a wish fulfilment type of character for heterosexual men in their thirties. Which I do not have a problem with but if you look up the definition of "Gary Sue" online, you will find a pretty illustration of Darrow. He is the perfect boy, or rather, the perfect boy who speaks, thinks and acts like a late thirty-year-old man. Darrow smells the best, looks the best, dances the best and he is the strongest and the smartest teen you will ever meet.
Never mind that he is thrown into an unknown environment filled to the brim with societal customs and expectations that he only knows the surface of and had to learn in a few months. I never felt any sense of danger or worry for him because his challenges were completely artificial and were a mere inconvenience to him. Easy come, easy solve. I also do think the first-person narrative really didn't help at all.
It seems like I have nothing but criticism for this first entry of the trilogy, but I'm enjoying it so far ! It's easy to read and enjoyable. It is not a slog or a bore, everything is moving at the right pace and although I adore purple prose, the simple writing here is effective and curiously engaging (albeit a tad cheesy and dry sometimes). Similarly, I tend to skim through conflict, battles and fights in books, but all of them were written very clearly, all raw and exciting.
Overall, this is a nice book which scratches the surface of a bigger, better, more tri-dimensional story, so I'm curious to see how the author manages to evolve in his writing from here.
My final thoughts after reaching the end :
I took a month break from this novel because I could smell it would soon devolve into everything I fear it could become. And it did not disappoint.
Darrow being such a formidable, "no problem is a true problem" prodigy exhausted me. I could not care less about this whole clash of the clans act because you have these two or three characters that keep taking down does big factions that are way smarter, more mature, more organized, well fed and better communicators/brothers in arms than them, on top of being whole armies.
That whole plan to bring down Titus was good on paper, until the actual execution of it that made me doubt the whole house of Minerva shared more than one brain cell. The following ones were written better but that initial first demonstration of Darrow's intelligence (and EVERY other houses sheer stupidity) made me worry about the author's ability to write compelling strategical battles and an interesting massive uprising that didn’t relied on the enemy somehow not being clueless whiny idiots ?
Adding to that, the pacing dulled any feeling I might have been able to develop towards this novel and what's happening in it: it's a fast succession of dramatic moments, so those that are supposed to be major and gut-wrenching fall flat since the author doesn't allow them to stretch beyond two pages. It doesn't feel like I'm part of the action. It feels like someone is trying to resume me an action movie big scene by big scene, skipping anything that might add dimension and substance to the characters so I do not get bored... forgetting to make me care in the process. The fighting and battles sequences are becoming hit or miss since half the time they involve characters barely described or personified.
I have no insensitive to care about this character disappearing or this character dying because the in-between fun/relaxing/dialogue moments were clearly written as fillers and last three lines. Darrow's male friends and acquaintances are barely more than tropes or gimmicks while Darrow's female friends and acquaintances are no more than mere names. Occasionally, a commentary on the state of their beauty will be made. That or they will be turned into some sorts of victims to give Darrow and the boys some good self-righteous motivation (or to make the big bad the baddest), a motivation that promptly turns to pity when the big old rapist turns out to have some sad backstory. Then it's all "Iam so sorry I have to kill you my brother, I get you now".
Anyways. I already bought the whole trilogy and was told that the following two are a huge step up in terms of overall quality in all aspects I have been critical off so I'm glad I’ve reached the end of this one. If the next disappoint, I'll just find a balding heterosexual dude with strong power-fantasy and dump him the whole trilogy.
Darrow being such a formidable, "no problem is a true problem" prodigy exhausted me. I could not care less about this whole clash of the clans act because you have these two or three characters that keep taking down does big factions that are way smarter, more mature, more organized, well fed and better communicators/brothers in arms than them, on top of being whole armies.
That whole plan to bring down Titus was good on paper, until the actual execution of it that made me doubt the whole house of Minerva shared more than one brain cell. The following ones were written better but that initial first demonstration of Darrow's intelligence (and EVERY other houses sheer stupidity) made me worry about the author's ability to write compelling strategical battles and an interesting massive uprising that didn’t relied on the enemy somehow not being clueless whiny idiots ?
Adding to that, the pacing dulled any feeling I might have been able to develop towards this novel and what's happening in it: it's a fast succession of dramatic moments, so those that are supposed to be major and gut-wrenching fall flat since the author doesn't allow them to stretch beyond two pages. It doesn't feel like I'm part of the action. It feels like someone is trying to resume me an action movie big scene by big scene, skipping anything that might add dimension and substance to the characters so I do not get bored... forgetting to make me care in the process. The fighting and battles sequences are becoming hit or miss since half the time they involve characters barely described or personified.
I have no insensitive to care about this character disappearing or this character dying because the in-between fun/relaxing/dialogue moments were clearly written as fillers and last three lines. Darrow's male friends and acquaintances are barely more than tropes or gimmicks while Darrow's female friends and acquaintances are no more than mere names. Occasionally, a commentary on the state of their beauty will be made. That or they will be turned into some sorts of victims to give Darrow and the boys some good self-righteous motivation (or to make the big bad the baddest), a motivation that promptly turns to pity when the big old rapist turns out to have some sad backstory. Then it's all "Iam so sorry I have to kill you my brother, I get you now".
Anyways. I already bought the whole trilogy and was told that the following two are a huge step up in terms of overall quality in all aspects I have been critical off so I'm glad I’ve reached the end of this one. If the next disappoint, I'll just find a balding heterosexual dude with strong power-fantasy and dump him the whole trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, Torture, and Murder