A review by byrdies
Red Rising by Pierce Brown

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

3.5

This is the third time I've read this book, so there is some charm to it that keeps drawing me back. Some of that charm might be high school nostalgia, as many books I found myself reading in that time of my life I return to. So take what I'm about to say and know that I do enjoy this novel, and from what I remember of the rest of the series, I enjoy that too. That being said, I find some of the political tones in this book unsatisfying, and the prose to be rather simple and repetitive in a way that is sometimes effective but often somewhat annoying. There is a hefty serving of telling and not showing throughout the book, and a lot of what is told and not shown is intended to be taken at face value. This, in my opinion, weakens a lot of the character development and the political messaging. 
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