Reviews

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

angeliecatharina's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

ohyouread's review against another edition

5.0

This is probably the 4th or 5th time I’ve read Red Rising. The first time was when it first came out, long before I started reviewing books. I remember picking it up because the cover mentioned it being like The Hunger Games. And the first book really lives up to that correlation.

We start out with death within the first 5 chapters and there is death throughout the book… really throughout the entirety of this series. I think the one thing that Pierce Brown has taught me is to never trust him with a favorite character. They’ll probably die at some point.

Darrow lives up to the nickname he’s given halfway through the book, the Reaper. That name really does strike some form of foreshadowing into what’s to come. When Eo sings the song that ends with “the reaper comes,” you know that the name is giving us the information that we need to know that his mission of revenge will (hopefully) be successful.

I have always learned the hard way. It doesn’t matter what I’m life I’m doing. But I, of course, find a favorite in every book. Sevro is my fave for now… I’m just waiting for the other hand to drop.

yitzm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

kellers's review against another edition

3.0

You know, I didn't like this book for the first few chapters. It moved too fast; characters died who we didn't even get a chance to know well enough to care. The writing felt clunky with its would-be retro-futuristic slang style, and no teenagers I know talk like that.
However, once you get into the 'war games' part of the story, it's thoroughly entertaining. Brown seems to have a gift for describing siege tactics play-by-play in narrative in a way that's clear and fun. Often there are twenty or more named characters all doing different things, and somehow you don't get confused, because the author's taken the time to mark them memorably with traits and personalities (even if they can be a bit stock-ish).
It's not as good of a literary piece as the Hunger Games, but it's undeniably a good, easy read (I finished the book in a day and a half). And I'll definitely check out the next book, Golden Son.

willettagrace's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

begumisu's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

novavxid's review against another edition

5.0

My first review and my first 5 star read. This book was an absolute blast to read, when I initially read this book I struggled visualizing the world that Pierce was trying to create for us. After 5-7 chapters it was no longer a struggle, I loved the concept, the plot was great and never fell off at any point. You fall in love with Darrow and initially it was really easy to hate the Gold characters but then you start to like them as you progress through the book. The fighting sequences were my favorite parts, the author does a really good job of illustrating the fights. This book was so easy to devour, I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

tahns's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

justhermes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

i know i say this about a lot of books but this one is by far one of the greatest books i have ever read, both the plot and the characters are so well written it's simply such a masterpiece, i honestly can't wait for the rest of the series

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and War

lumi43's review against another edition

4.5

For me;