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A review by andreoti
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
4.0
My rating: 4.5 stars
I wanted to give this book 5 stars but ended deciding on knocking it down to 4.5 because there is a small lull in the middle of the story and I had to get used to his writing style. However, once I got used to it I think it was the perfect tone (reading it in a Batman/Riddick dispassionate, dry and rough man voice helped)
The story follows Darrow, a sixteen-year-old boy (can we call him a boy?) that lives in Mars as a Red. He soon finds out that the world he lives in isn’t quite what he’d been told. In a world ruled by castes, where Red are lowest and Golds are at the top, Darrow comes across an opportunity to infiltrate the Institute where Golds are trained. There, we follow his struggles to survive and learn what it takes to be a Gold.
I think I may have read this book at a prime time. After finishing my PhD amidst the pandemic crisis and the prospect of unemployment rapidly approaching, I felt like the Institute was a simile of my experience through grad school. While so many of “the best” students start it, some don’t make it through, some drop out, and even the ones that finish are not all victorious in the same way. While everybody thinks you are la crème de la crème you feel curdled and can’t shake the feeling that some of those that finish victorious are spoiled milk.
Overall the plot was well thought out and the characters felt very real. There were quite a few things that I did not see coming and surprised myself by laughing out loud at some of the conversations and Darrow’s mental narrative. I really enjoyed reading this book, but it did take me a bit to get through it, mostly because the writing style left me confused at times and had to be fully focused to follow. Once I got through the first 200 pages is where it started getting really interesting for me and I couldn’t put it down. If you’re feeling stuck, keep reading. I promise it will be worth it. I am so glad I did and cannot wait to see where the story goes next.
I wanted to give this book 5 stars but ended deciding on knocking it down to 4.5 because there is a small lull in the middle of the story and I had to get used to his writing style. However, once I got used to it I think it was the perfect tone (reading it in a Batman/Riddick dispassionate, dry and rough man voice helped)
The story follows Darrow, a sixteen-year-old boy (can we call him a boy?) that lives in Mars as a Red. He soon finds out that the world he lives in isn’t quite what he’d been told. In a world ruled by castes, where Red are lowest and Golds are at the top, Darrow comes across an opportunity to infiltrate the Institute where Golds are trained. There, we follow his struggles to survive and learn what it takes to be a Gold.
I think I may have read this book at a prime time. After finishing my PhD amidst the pandemic crisis and the prospect of unemployment rapidly approaching, I felt like the Institute was a simile of my experience through grad school. While so many of “the best” students start it, some don’t make it through, some drop out, and even the ones that finish are not all victorious in the same way. While everybody thinks you are la crème de la crème you feel curdled and can’t shake the feeling that some of those that finish victorious are spoiled milk.
Overall the plot was well thought out and the characters felt very real. There were quite a few things that I did not see coming and surprised myself by laughing out loud at some of the conversations and Darrow’s mental narrative. I really enjoyed reading this book, but it did take me a bit to get through it, mostly because the writing style left me confused at times and had to be fully focused to follow. Once I got through the first 200 pages is where it started getting really interesting for me and I couldn’t put it down. If you’re feeling stuck, keep reading. I promise it will be worth it. I am so glad I did and cannot wait to see where the story goes next.