A review by jenny_luau
Red Rising by Pierce Brown

adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I read this book in full due to several recommendations, but if it wasn’t praised so highly I wouldn’t have made it through. 
Overall, the book is action focused and primarily dialogue. I’m left aching for more worldbuilding, more detail beyond the violence. While the pace picks up a third of the way through, the depth of the book remains explicitly shallow. The labels of society limit us…..hoorah. Whether its the limits of Darrow’s perspective or otherwise, it is strenuous to connect to the people and goals of the book besides what is explicitly stated. 
The writing feels as mature as our protagonist - I wish it had been developed a bit more. If you are looking for a fast paced fantasy dystopian novel with room for self-insert, this is for you. The themes of class, status, power are written with sweeping generalizations. It feels like Brown is giving himself room for the series to grow and get an adaptation - a flaw I believe many recent debut authors suffer from. 
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