Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

161 reviews

kathrynleereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

Red Rising will never cease to amaze me. No matter how many times I read this book, I am always left surprised and in constant awe of Pierce Brown's brilliance. There are not many writers who could fill 400 pages with near-constant strategy and incredible insight into human civilization.

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

mayhem9683's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

underthemoon_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5 stars for pure entertainment. -.75 because the book seems to want to communicate a clear moral but fails to consistently state what that moral would be either structurally or in text. I've never read a book about eugenics where the author's own opinion about eugenics is this unclear. 

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Content Warnings

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

amir_hamza's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

6/10. A decent, just above average and mostly entertaining book that's more futuristic fantasy than sci-fi, at least so far. This definitely isn't YA, with a significant amount of blunt (albeit offscreen, blessedly) sexual violence. The protagonist is also an edgy arrogant guy who's not the most endearing to read about, especially past the first third, and his companions are shallow animations at best. The book also lacks much falling action and ends not even a dozen pages past the climax, and unless there's a cliffhanger, to me, the falling action is very important when it comes making a book satisfying or not. That being said, beyond the very generic intro (to be honest this whole book is very generic) and a jumbly middle, it does pick up in the last third and upto the climax at least, it's pretty fun. I did roll my eyes at (mild spoilers!)

the fridging and damsel in distress in the same book though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Classism

Moderate: Sexual violence

Minor: Cannibalism

insideunder's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A vivid young adult sci-fi dystopian novel with interesting world building and a main character who absolute goes through it. I like Darrow, especially since he has a character flaw - rage - that I find cathartic and relatable. His anger makes him impulsive and passionate, and gets him in trouble as much as it helps him. The performance of this audiobook elevated the story for me by at least one star. Wasn't sure I'd care for another War School story, but this one managed to have enough new and interesting ideas to keep me on my toes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Police brutality, Stalking, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Excrement and Cannibalism

captainbella's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Loved every moment, crave more. 

This was gritty and intense. The pacing was fantastic. I think this is my favourite read of the year. 

Both exhilarated and devastated to find out there are 6 more including one yet to be released, because now I have to find the next books, and wait for the last one. 

Obsessed

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Cannibalism, and Murder

shaletalon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, and Cannibalism

3rina's review

adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Cannibalism

boba_nbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

Spice Rating: 🫑 / 5 🌶️

My friend's constant badgering me to "Read Red Rising, Hope!!!" (you know who you are 😂) finally paid off, and I'm so glad she never laid off because I loved this book.

In the color-coded society of futuristic Mars, Darrow is a Red--the lowest of the low. The people who work underneath Mars' surface in order to pave the way for future generations to live on the surface. His life is a simple one, but one day he loses everything and everyone he loves. Darrow learns the Reds have been lied to for centuries, and he is one of the few people who can bring them justice. Darrow leaves behind his world and his family in order to help the right this terrible wrong. All of this leads to his complete transformation which could be his downfall.

It's really difficult to write even a short summary of Red Rising without giving away its major plot points, so I'll give some spoilers here:

Learning that the Golds and all the other colors that are "higher" than the Reds have been convincing the Reds that no one is living on the surface is wild. The other colors have been living in opulence on the surface for centuries, yet they still use the Reds like cattle--they're just slaves meant to mine the substance needed to keep their world afloat. I was so fully invested in the resistance and felt Darrow's rage as he learned the truth.

And that only happened in the first half of the book?!

Darrow's full transformation into a Gold was fascinating and terrible. He truly lost who he was trying to infiltrate the enemy from within. The crimes and violence Darrow has to commit from there are truly insane. I can't imagine how difficult it was to remember who he truly was as he became so invested in the games (both literal and figurative) he had to play.

Long story short, I am now going to be the friend constantly badgering you to, "Read Red Rising, PLEASE!!" Pierce Brown has created an intricate world full of political, moral, and ethical dilemmas where Darrow and others have to choose what truly matters most. Red Rising brings a mirror up to our society today and asks us, "Is this really the future we want?"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Cannibalism