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kathrynleereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
In my opinion, worldbuilding is one of the most crucial elements of a good book/series, and there are no worlds better written than the Society in Red Rising.
The complexities of this world vary from the obvious (the color system), to the minute (the use of bloody instead of gory), and they are shared with the reader in a way that feels completely organic and unforced.
And then there are the characters.
**Spoilers Ahead**
On the one hand, Darrow is the textbook definition of morally grey, but on the other, he couldn't be more different. He has a good heart, but it is because of that good heart that he is able to commit normally heinous acts. Not once did his mind stray from his overall mission (at least not to the point of hindering his mission), even when his goals required that he sacrifice his own morals.
I was never really a fan of Cassius. He expected respect without earning it, even while constantly disrespecting his friends in little ways. He wasn't capable of putting his goals above his personal opinions and vendettas.
Sevro is just his own breed. Utterly perfect in every way. I'll fight anyone who says a bad word about Sevro. He deserves everything good in the world (but probably doesn't want it).
Mustang was the character through whom Brown's brilliance really shown. Her unwavering logic and strategy made her loyal in a way that wasn't blind but was genuine. She always reminds me of Annabeth Chase (another daughter of Minerva/Athena).
Pax au Telemanus.
Such a soft heart in such a hard form.
I will never forgive Pierce Brown for what he allowed to happen to Pax. Never.
If you haven't yet read Red Rising, I suggest you sit down and start right now. It's the kind of book you'll always wished you'd read sooner.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
driedmintleaves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Genocide, and Colonisation
irb0red's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Body shaming, Slavery, Blood, Murder, and War
Minor: Sexual assault and Torture
mayhem9683's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexism, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Cannibalism
spatterson7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Excrement, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
wardenred's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Life is the most effective school ever created.
I feel like I’ve made a mistake in picking this up as an audiobook. The writing style is the kind I can better perceive, perhaps even enjoy, when I see the words in front of me on the page. In this format, though, it ended up being kind of distracting and almost dense, which likely colored my perception of the story to some extent.
As for the story itself… Well, plenty of people have recced it to me with a comment that this first book is deliberately crafted to match the Hunger Games-style tropes popular at the time, but grows into something more unique and expansive in the latter books. That sounded super interesting in theory, but now I’m not so sure if I want to continue to those latter books, tbh. Maybe I’d rather re-read Hunger Games.
I wouldn’t call the book bad, and I’m actually really impressed by the worldbuilding. A lot of it is really intricate and thought-provoking. I also generally like plots focused on going undercover to stay among the enemies, and this one has its awesome moments. But in general, there were just too many aspects here that aren’t to my taste. For example, I’m definitely a character-first reader, and here all the characters just so obviously exist as vehicle for the plot and the themes. This was hard for me to vibe with.
I also found the way all the brutal violence is handled here off-putting. Not just the quantities of it, but like, the way it was spoken about? Maybe it’s at least partially on the narrator, but I felt like it was constantly crossing into torture porn territory. Finally, the pacing was just too rocky, with a loooong expositin that had me wondering if the inciting incident would ever occur, then big sections moving at breakneck speed around the middle/in the second half of the story, making an already dense story with lots of characters harder too follow.
All in all, lots of cool ideas here (and really great worldbuilding!), but I’m not sure the author is for me.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
winglesswarrior's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
underthemoon_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death, Gore, Racism, Slavery, Violence, War, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Medical trauma
Minor: Excrement, Cannibalism, and Dysphoria
melist6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual harassment
amir_hamza's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Xenophobia and Classism
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Cannibalism