Red Rising

Author

Book

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.

Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies… even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

Goodreads Synopsis

Not a Hunger Games Clone

Red Rising has been on my list to read for a LONG time; it was hard to fit in anything else other than the Cosmere once you got that Sanderson addiction bug. I finally managed to catch up, and I’ve since finished all of the Red Rising series books out now. Let me tell you now… it was AMAZING.

One thing that is said a lot about this first book, Red Rising, is that it is very comparable to The Hunger Games. There is a resemblance… but this series is so much more than that. SO MUCH.

“Promises are just chains,” she rasps. “Both are meant for breaking.”

Red Rising

Premise

Check it: The year is 736 PCE (Post Conquering Era). The evil empire Society has implemented a class based system cross the Solar System which separates people into colors which determines their life. Our main protagonist, Darrow, comes from the lowest class/color in the Society’s system. Darrow’s color is red, and that makes his known world labor by underground-mining on an uninhabitable Mars. (Fuck… I guess it does kind of sound like Hunger Games…without the Mars part…)

Shit Escalates

Have you ever read a book that starts off slow, but then suddenly the stakes start to rise and the story becomes an intense, non-stop rollercoaster ride? That’s the feeling that keeps me coming back to certain types of books. When I’m invested in a story and the stakes start to get higher and higher, it’s like a rush of adrenaline that keeps me turning the pages faster and faster. Each escalation makes me more and more anxious to see what happens next, and I can’t help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation as I follow the characters through their dangerous journey. It’s like being on the edge of my seat for hours on end, and I love every minute of it.

That is this series baby! Shit just gets crazier and crazier.

“I am the Reaper and death is my shadow.”

Red Rising

War

The action in Red Rising is just pure adrenaline: It’s brutal, it’s dark, it’s awesome. What is the best skill to learn if you want to violently topple a regime? Probably being a master of war. Darrow get’s the chance here in this story to learn just how to do that. There are politics at play, strategy and tactics are discussed, and of course more and more brutal action. I’ve actually heard Red Rising compared to be “Game of Thrones in space”…which is much more fitting.

“I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war.”

Red Rising

Should I Read It?

Hell yeah you should! I would prepare to read all of the books too… because the series just keeps getting better and better!