Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Guest Book Review: Red Rising by Pierce Brown (@Pierce_Brown)


Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Publication Date: January 28, 2014
Published: Del Rey
Reviewer: Stephanie

My rating:

The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope.
Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.
Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.

I first heard about and became interested in Red Rising after reading a review in Entertainment Weekly.

After reading Red Rising myself I pretty much agree with EW. I really enjoyed it. I am so glad there is no love triangle in this story, however I don't think it is Young Adult. As far as I know it is sold in the Sci-Fi section. It also has more violence than a YA novel (more on that below), and there are curse words.

I do see the similarities to the other books it's been compared to; i.e. Hunger Games, Ender's Game, Lord of the Flies, and Game of Thrones. While it has a lot of those elements I think it has become its own story and has a rich universe. The colorful characters (no pun) and settings are well thought out. It's well paced with a mix of suspense, action, heartbreak, tactical planing, political manipulation, romance, psychological mind games, etc.

I loved the development of the relationships. When I think about it it is what I loved most about the book. I love Mustang. She is my favorite. She's a smart and strong female character.

It does get really violent. While some of it happens off the page (some girls are rapped) and people lose body parts, it is none the less heartbreaking to read about.

I had borrowed a copy from the library but have since then downloaded a digital copy to my nook. I also just bought the hardcover edition at New York Comic-Con and Pierce signed it for me! He is such a fun guy to talk to.

I will definitely reread Red Rising before the sequel, Golden Son, (scheduled to be published January 2015) comes out.

4 out 5 bloodydamn scythes.


2 comments:

  1. I need to read this! I gave it to a friend who said it was amazing!
    Jen @ YA Romantics

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  2. It is amazing. When the book is returned to you read it right away.

    ReplyDelete