A review by grahammatthews
Red Rising by Pierce Brown

dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

“Man cannot be freed by the same injustice that enslaved it.” - Peirce Brown, Red Rising

This book starts off so strong. You follow Darrow, a “Helldiver” (aka Helium 3 Miner) on Mars. He lives in a world where they work for rations in their community, Darrow is married at the age of 16, and then something traumatic happens with his family. 

The world building in the beginning really sets the tone for the world, but then that trauma creates a story arc that loses a lot of the flair. Darrow changes. He changes in more ways than one. And that quote placed up top really doesn't add up because the story being told is saying “Man can only be freed by the same injustices that enslaved them”

I feel torn for this book, because it reads very well and is fast paced and I found myself interested in what would happen. The concept should be great, it's a Battle Royale on Mars! The problem is Darrow, his changes are so drastic that the set up for who he was in the beginning feels lost and I found myself wondering how a Miner on mars learned expert combat strategy in the span of months, it just doesn't add up.

The book states “The measure of a man is what he does when he has power.” And I find that to be true for Darrow. I don’t know how I feel about him by the end of the story, and his overarching story seems muddled, and maybe that is the point, to have me wondering what direction Darrow will go in the future of the series.

Red Rising overall is a quick paced read, and even with my hesitancy I want to see what happens next. I give it 3.75 out of 5 stars.

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