Review: Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Blurb:
“I live for the dream that my children will be born free,” she says. “That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them.”
“I live for you,” I say sadly.
Eo kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.”
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 toils willingly, trusting 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 reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds 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.
Review:
Red Rising is a novel and series familiar to anyone with frequent exposure to the science-fiction and fantasy space. It certainly was recommended to me and showcased well ever since I got into the genre years ago now, but I put it off for a time until I felt ready to begin tackling it. The premise did not immediately hook me, but the aura surrounding this series is undeniable. As someone with no previous experience with any of Pierce Brown’s work, and no real expectations going into this novel besides the hype that surrounds it, I can safely say it is a satisfying debut novel and gets across a lot of powerful plot points and character moments—with a few noticeable hiccups along the way.
“Sharpened by hate. Strengthened by love.”
As stated in the book’s blurb, Darrow, our main character, was once in the lowest of society, a Helldiver in the dangerous mines as he toils away for a Society he was never supposed to see. After the loss of his wife and having given up on continuing his toil, he is rescued and taken to the surface to discover all of the lies told to him his entire life. It’s a compelling beginning, and despite minor gripes with Darrow as a protagonist, it was nearly impossible to not root for him throughout this novel. This is a man who, even when he was nobody, strived to be better, who strived to make life better for everyone around him. Pushing the people who were beaten down into working harder to claim their true worth, showing compassion and understanding to people where others might have not. This characterization rings true throughout the entire novel, and I find this rather refreshing. He breaks in many ways, but his most admirable qualities remain throughout the book, which makes it easier to follow along with his journey. You know what he is capable of, and you know from the beginning that he is the right man for the role chosen for him.
“I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war.”
The plot itself is interesting, if not noticeably similar to the premise of The Hunger Games. That novel’s presence is felt throughout this book, but it never treads far into what one would consider plagiarism, in my opinion, largely thanks to the vastly different perspectives of the main characters. Darrow is a very proactive, likable protagonist in many ways, and he does not put on a show for the purpose of appeasing anyone, even after he fully understands his circumstances. He does put on a show, but only to serve his own purposes, through strategy for his overarching goal. Darrow lies and deceives, but he does so very like himself, and it’s all fully explained throughout the beginning for the things that he worked on to present himself to the Golds. Without direct spoilers, Darrow becomes the driving force of many events in the novel, directly or indirectly. I appreciated how grounded he felt despite this—the first person perspective, though limiting in certain ways, makes us understand Darrow’s position in everything very well. Red Rising beautifully shows us the perspective of a boy-turned-man forced to become a mirror of what he hates the most as he chases his goal to destroy them.
“You do not follow me because I am the strongest… You follow me because you do not know where you are going. I do.”
Red Rising is the shortest novel in the series, but I felt that the length was actually preferable for the story being told. It does not overstay its welcome, and I feel the four-part structure worked well to keep the reader feeling as if they’re progressing at a decent pace. I was worried that this book would feel too shallow, or that it wouldn’t get anything across and serve as essentially a big prologue to what’s to come. While I think that perspective can be applied here, and this story certainly isn’t finished with this first book, it works well on its own and contains enough of its own self-contained mysteries, plot twists and events to make it memorable even long term.
“I am the Reaper and death is my shadow.”
Unfortunately, despite all of its successes, I have my gripes with his book, and most of them are subject to taste more than anything. Perhaps my only significant issue comes from the portrayal of women and the continued use of assault in this story to further character motivations and create stakes for the plot. This is not a once and done occurrence—Pierce Brown is content to let his female characters, often less relevant ones, be subject to the men in this story in disgusting, disturbing ways. He vilifies those who commit this, as he should, in most cases, but in others we see disappointing resolutions in decisions that I don’t yet fully understand. I think this sort of plot device can be done well, and I’ll confess that I believe Red Rising could have handled this with more poorly and with less taste, but I would be remiss not to mention it, as unless you come into this novel with the prior expectation of this, it will come as a shock, like it did to me. I hope that Pierce Brown does not continue with this sort of portrayal in the future, because I believe, and am often proven right, that he is capable of writing more captivating, interesting plot points that do not depict his female characters in this light.
“I am no martyr. I am not vengeance. I am Eo's dream.”
The other gripe to mention would be the prose, which is more a note of how it did not stand out, nor did it offend. Particularly in the beginning I felt the sentence structure got a little tiring, but this concern mostly smoothed over as the novel progressed. Brown’s writing is immensely readable, and I found it easier to digest as the book went on, similar to Sanderson in many ways, which is a compliment from me. He is not flashy, and his descriptions do not go on overly long. Rarely this comes with the detriment of not fully giving a clear picture of certain characters or in-universe technology, but Pierce Brown has stated in the past that he likes to give his readers the chance to paint their own picture in their mind, and I respect that. I did not fully embrace his use of custom slang and curses just yet, but I reckon the time will come when I can. Most commendable are some individual lines that I can only describe as legendary. Just a few of the quotes throughout this review display the power behind certain lines, and even on their own I think they can serve as the best advertisement for this book possible.
Overall, Red Rising is a very commendable debut and I can safely recommend it to almost any science-fiction fan who hasn’t already given it a try. It is short compared to behemoths like The Expanse or Dune, and the world never becomes unbelievable or hard to comprehend. I will be continuing into book 2, Golden Son, and hoping to see any of personal gripes be smoothed over. Darrow is a compelling protagonist and I understand now why so many readers have fallen in love with him, though I am not quite there yet. Beyond Darrow, the book’s biggest strengths are its depiction of a semi-dystopian space-age future and motivated side characters who drive Darrow to make difficult choices. If you’re new to science-fiction, maybe read or watched The Hunger Games or Divergent and want something familiar yet new, I believe Red Rising is perfect for you.
