A review by hummingmarie
Red Rising by Pierce Brown

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Red Rising by Pierce Brown.  4(.5) stars out of 5.  Highly recommended for 17+.  I borrowed this book from one of my local libraries.

First of all, this book is very violent, but it is set in a dystopian world on Mars, so it was not surprising.  The violence was not over the top and fit in with the plot and events that were occurring.

The main character, Darrow, is very well written and has a believable personality.  Oppressed and tragic beginning, pain and struggle to rise,  more pain and struggle to try and accomplish his goals, etc.  He is a character that I found myself rooting for as I read.

When reading a dystopian novel, it is always interesting to see how the people are divided and what “sets” their rank in the hierarchy of power and privilege.  Pierce Brown did an excellent job of describing the differences between the colors and their roles in this society.

I did not give this book a full 5 out of 5 because, while I would read it again, I’m not sure I like it enough to purchase it for my library.  That may change once I am done reading the series.  Excellent book, recommend for upper teens and above.

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