A review by rach835
Red Rising by Pierce Brown

adventurous dark 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

It started out so well and intriguing, but it feels like a hollow attempt at the hunger games. The Hunger Games was excellent because it was extremely critical of the capital in nuanced ways and exaggerated the hypocrisy of the society. This novel fell very flat of that. The characters had no real depth besides arguably Darrow, but his internal struggle felt shallow throughout the novel. I would say it’s definitely creative, but at times the plot is so confusing that creativity is mute. Also, throwing everyone into an archaic form of tribal war felt cheap with the sci-fi setting. I just had an ‘eh’ feeling at the end, like the whole novel was taking itself way too seriously for the caliber of story it was telling. Also the whole Roman inspiration is just very cliché and tired.