Red Rising by Pierce Brown

[Michelle]

This is quite a difficult book to review – there are things I want to talk about, but I don’t want to give away key points of story. Red Rising is set on Mars, in a far distant future. We’re introduced to Darrow, who’s a miner working under the surface.. mining for the elements which will help terraform the planet for humans to live on. His people have lived in the mines for generations, working as humanity’s last hope.

 

Until Darrow makes a discovery that this is all a lie.. Mars has been habitable for years, as have other planets, and his class, called the Reds, are simply used for slave labour. Don’t worry – that’s all on the back cover!

 

From here, through a series of events, Darrow is chosen to be disguised (which turns out to be an understatement!) as a Gold, the highest class. He’s taught how to be chosen for training in their command school, so he can eventually infiltrate and lead a rebellion. However, no one really knows what happens in the school, and it’s certainly not what you expect.

 

I will say now that my biggest problem with the book happens during the change.. there is a lot of world building during the first section, interesting characters, and emotional writing. As Darrow enters the school however, you forget they’re actually on Mars, and the book has a different feel. Plus it’s a confusing feel.. in one way it’s more YA then the beginning of the book, but it’s also harsh and violent. To me, it was as if the author wasn’t fully clear who he wanted his audience to be, and what direction he really wanted to take this first book.

 

However.. both parts of the book are actually really good, and I think the series has great potential. Now that the school aspect is over, there is so much scope, and I’m really excited to see what happens next. I believe the initial world building will pay off, and the author has already shown he can bring the unexpected.

 

Pierce has taken aspects of ancient Earth culture, and blended them with aspects of other books. Yes, there are aspects of The Hunger Games and of Ender’s Game, and even Lord of the Flies, but these are combined with echoes of Roman gods and ancient wars. They are the building blocks, which have been twisted and developed into something new. Despite my reservations early in the book, there proved to be a lot to love, and this morning I feel rather bereft now the book is finished. I look forward to getting my hands on Golden Son, and finding out where the journey is going to take me next.