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A review by josiahdegraaf
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Second time reading through this novel in preparation to go through (hopefully!) all six this year, and man, this story only gets better on a second read. While the story borders on grimdark, I deeply appreciate the surprising moral arc of the protagonist in this story. It's one of the few novels that genuinely surprised me (even the second time around) with its themes--and in a very satisfactory way. Darrow doesn't always make good decisions. In fact, some of his ethical decisions are pretty awful. But man, if he doesn't learn from them and deal with the consequences of his mistakes head-on.
In addition to the rich themes, the story is also just plain entertaining. While I enjoyed the original <i>Hunger Games</i> trilogy, this really did feel like the "adult" version of it in terms of its sophistication and political commentary. And the way Darrow skewers the whole system within the "games" is so much more resonant than the romance plot of Collins' work. None of that is to diss Collins' trilogy since I do think it's a quite good YA series. Simply to say that this exceeds it at pretty much every turn, in my humble opinion.
I will acknowledge that Brown takes a few books to really master his writing style. I re-read this book as a part of a book club, and while I was accustomed enough to his style the second time around, a lot of my reading partners really struggled with it. While my style concerns dissipate after the first two books, there <i>are</i> elements of his style that some readers may find confusing and frustrating the first time around.
Notwithstanding all of that, though, this really is a fantastic read, even more so the second time around. Solid opening to one of the best dystopia series out there.
Rating: 4-4.5 Stars (Very Good).
In addition to the rich themes, the story is also just plain entertaining. While I enjoyed the original <i>Hunger Games</i> trilogy, this really did feel like the "adult" version of it in terms of its sophistication and political commentary. And the way Darrow skewers the whole system within the "games" is so much more resonant than the romance plot of Collins' work. None of that is to diss Collins' trilogy since I do think it's a quite good YA series. Simply to say that this exceeds it at pretty much every turn, in my humble opinion.
I will acknowledge that Brown takes a few books to really master his writing style. I re-read this book as a part of a book club, and while I was accustomed enough to his style the second time around, a lot of my reading partners really struggled with it. While my style concerns dissipate after the first two books, there <i>are</i> elements of his style that some readers may find confusing and frustrating the first time around.
Notwithstanding all of that, though, this really is a fantastic read, even more so the second time around. Solid opening to one of the best dystopia series out there.
Rating: 4-4.5 Stars (Very Good).