A review by chronic_listener
Red Rising by Pierce Brown

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes

5.0

I don't think I can put into words how much I loved this book but you already know I'm still gonna try lol

First of all: series is so deeply political (in the same way that The Hunger Games is) and I am absolutely not the right person to give an in-depth analysis of that aspect because there are so many more layers to this than my pea-brain is capable of comprehending, but still: it was written in a way that was so easy to follow along, never making me feel stupid despite the complexity of the whole situation. 
Which is, you know, a pretty incredible feat.

I 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 the main character, Darrow. If this guy had one thing, it was the fucking audacity lol his impudence gave me life. The thought of what this kid will undoubtedly go through in the next books is making me feel a bit unwell. 

𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 put me through ALL the emotions. Rage, fear, sadness, hope, vindication, desperation, amusement, despair. Some scenes made me howl with laughter, gasp in shock, recoil in horror. Twice I inhaled so sharply I choked on my own spit, it was a whole thing. Startled my cats and everything.

I can totally see how or why this book might not be for everyone. It was violent and upsetting and there were 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 of characters and names to keep track of (which is usually my worst enemy) but I thought it was phenomenal. When I wasn't actively reading it, I was thinking about it. It left such a lasting impact.
As soon as I finished it, I immediately wanted to re-read it.

TL;DR: If you enjoy dystopian science fiction, world building, war strategy and political intrigues, Roman mythology, unhinged characters, a wickedly smart MC, and humor despite it not being a funny book - chances are you'll love this.
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