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A review by agnela
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it was actually good, plot twists were unpredictable, action flowed, Darrows' character was consistent.
On the other hand, theres so much I didn't like about it. First of all, the main character is 17, but he thinks and talks like he's 35. Sure, his life was tough, but 35, really? I get it, it's almost YA but with adult topics, to appeal to adults without leaving YA genre. Which leads me to thr fact that Brown put everything that was popular these past decades in distopia and YA and made a Frankenstein out of it. Roman mythology, cruel games for teenagers, serious teenage relationships, segregation of society, death, distopia, glow up, you name it. Of course he made it, his creature is alive and breathing, it bloodydamn worked, although it shouldn't have.
My own personal greavances with this book was fridging of the main character's wife and the fact that after his body was modificated, changed, rearranged, his skin, organs tampered with, after rehabilitation he felt nothing. Look, this was a perfect opportunity to talk about chronic pain, you couldn't find a better way, and yet he blew it, not even mentioned anything. Sure, it's scifi, it's perfect technology and yadayada. I don't care. The last time I checked, the world has hundreds of languages to choose from, hundreds of nations that might end up in cosmos, and they are all Stil lspelaing in English, right? So why can't you talk about pain after major body surgeries and modifications? Seems realistic and plausible to me as much as everyone being an English speaker.
So yeah, it was good but not that great, come on guys.
On the other hand, theres so much I didn't like about it. First of all, the main character is 17, but he thinks and talks like he's 35. Sure, his life was tough, but 35, really? I get it, it's almost YA but with adult topics, to appeal to adults without leaving YA genre. Which leads me to thr fact that Brown put everything that was popular these past decades in distopia and YA and made a Frankenstein out of it. Roman mythology, cruel games for teenagers, serious teenage relationships, segregation of society, death, distopia, glow up, you name it. Of course he made it, his creature is alive and breathing, it bloodydamn worked, although it shouldn't have.
My own personal greavances with this book was fridging of the main character's wife and the fact that after his body was modificated, changed, rearranged, his skin, organs tampered with, after rehabilitation he felt nothing. Look, this was a perfect opportunity to talk about chronic pain, you couldn't find a better way, and yet he blew it, not even mentioned anything. Sure, it's scifi, it's perfect technology and yadayada. I don't care. The last time I checked, the world has hundreds of languages to choose from, hundreds of nations that might end up in cosmos, and they are all Stil lspelaing in English, right? So why can't you talk about pain after major body surgeries and modifications? Seems realistic and plausible to me as much as everyone being an English speaker.
So yeah, it was good but not that great, come on guys.