RED RISING SERIES REVIEW

Hello everyone! I am back with another series review. I've recently marathoned the second and third books in the Red Rising Trilogy and I completely and irreversibly fell in love with them. When I read the first book at the beginning of the year, I knew the series would quickly become an all-time favourite and it did not disappoint. I have a lot to say about these books (nothing negative though) so let's just dive right into the review!

Also, on a side note; I keep saying trilogy but there are more books in the series; Red Rising, Golden Son and Morning Star are part of the main trilogy. Iron Gold (released in January 2018) and Dark Age (coming up in 2019) are the 4th and 5th books. They will also be followed by an untitled 6th book.

Now that we got the intro out of the way, what are the books about? It is set in the future, centuries from our time. The Society is divided in a caste system where the Golds are on the top of the chain and the Reds are at the bottom. Reds are miners who live under the ground, their purpose is to mine helium-3 which is crucial for the atmosphere to be convenient for the survival of the mankind. But the Reds are deceived, the planets have been survivable for centuries and they are left to work under cruel conditions and to obey. Our main character is a Red named Darrow. He lives a fairly simple life in the mines of Mars until the unjust death of his wife. As a result of her death, he joins the rebellion which is called the Son of Ares. And the story takes off from there.

THE CASTE SYSTEM

Let's start with our beloved protagonist, Darrow. He, as a character is so well rounded. In the very beginning, he starts off as quite light-hearted, sassy and smart. As the story progresses, he becomes a skilled warrior, a revolutionary. He learns so much all throughout the books and he becomes a better person. The reckless teenage boy turns into a bright young man who is not afraid to question and who is also open to others' opinions. The character development is there for everyone to see and he is by far one of the best protagonists I have ever read about.

The great characters are not limited to only Darrow, every single one of them is multidimensional, diverse and developed. Even the smallest characters have a role to play in the story. They have a depth to them and purposes of their own. The names aren't thrown randomly onto the pages just for the sake of filling space.

Speaking of characters, can we get a standing ovation for the incredibly well written female characters? They are ever present throughout the story, they are capable and strong. They kick ass and are also very diverse. Darrow is always very respectful of the women around him. He acknowledges them as his equals which is something I appreciate a lot in fiction.

Antagonists are as developed as the protagonists. The villains in this story are so complex, dark and fascinating to read about. From the corrupted Sovereign to the ruthless sociopaths and dictators, they have their own motifs and backstories that make the plot even more interesting.

Also, throughout the story, the characters go through a lot together and their relationships are tested along the way. They are clearly well thought of and have unique personalities which make the character dynamics so real and fun to read. The dialogues are well written, each conversation carries the story further and allows the reader to explore the characters more. They reflect the characters' personalities; if someone gave me a phrase said by one of the characters and wanted me to guess who it's from, I'm pretty confident that I can figure it out. It reminded me of Six of Crows -another all-time favourite- from this aspect (the riches of the cast and the individuality).

Before getting into the narration and the plot, I would like to give Sevro his own paragraph in this review. I think we should all be bloodydamn grateful to Pierce Brown for giving Sevro au Barca to the world. He is such an amazing character. He is as loyal as Samwise Gamgee. His character arc is so interesting and their relationship with Darrow is everything. I especially love the fact that they're constantly communicating. When there is a problem between them, they talk -or fight about it until it's solved. There isn't unnecessarily elongated angst just for the sake of having one in the story. Their friendship is the kind of material we need more of in literature. It's them against the world, ugh, bromance feels...

As a narrator, Darrow is constantly leaving the reader in the dark. He doesn't reveal all that he knows. This, however, doesn't make the story confusing or hard to follow but, on the contrary, makes it even more interesting and intriguing. For instance, let's say they're planning a battle strategy; we as readers don't witness the plan making, instead, we see the plan in action. This is a risky way to choose while narrating because it can easily become confusing and take away from the reading experience. But Pierce Brown handles it very well and even though at some point you start expecting there to be a twist that Darrow didn't mention, the plot doesn't fail to surprise and improve.

Speaking of plot twists, the books are full of them, big or small. There are so many jaw-dropping pieces of information, but also they're not shoved to the reader's face all of a sudden. It's in the casual dialogues, incorporated into the storyline and the more they reveal, the more pieces fall in together and once the bigger picture is complete, you realize how brilliantly plotted it all was. The plot overall is so good. Pacing is great, Pierce Brown gives the reader the time to recharge after a long, bloody battle with descriptions of scenery and battleships. The characters interact, long-awaited confrontations happen and relationships get explored.

The writing style is captivating, engaging and at the same time very beautiful and poetic. Also props to the translator and the publishing company. The books have their own weird vocabulary that I'm sure took a lot of work to translate. It was such a delightful reading experience.

Some Honorable Mentions:

• Another thing that I want to touch upon is how normal crying is in these books. Darrow isn't afraid to "hurt his fragile masculinity" by crying and expressing his emotions.
• The romance isn't the main focus of the story but it is also very well handled.
• Being from the LGBT+ community is completely normal in this world, in other words, homophobia doesn't exist and I love me some books where it doesn't exist.
• Pierce Brown breaks so many stereotypes in these books and I am living for it.
• Kavax, Pax, Mustang, Tactus, Ragnar, Deanna, Dancer, Fitchner, Theodora, Orion, Lorn, Roque, Cassius and especially Victra. I love reading about these characters so much. Every single one of them is amazing; the good, the bad.
• Betrayals and redemptions... Who doesn't love a good old redemption arc?

   Kavax au Telemanus                       Victra au Julii                               Mustang 

Moral values are ever present. Darrow is constantly questioning the morality of his actions. He always tries to do the right thing even though the world doesn't often let him do so. No one in this story is entirely black or white. Everyone's morally grey and have both good and evil in them. (Maybe some exceptions though, looking at you Adrius, you sociopath.) Darrow is someone who believes that everybody is worth saving. He persists in seeing the good in people and it doesn't make him stupid or too trusting, but it helps him be the person he wants to be when the odds are not in his favour. He is a precious cinnamon roll that needs to be protected.

This is the story of a revolution and while no revolution is won without blood or sacrifices, it doesn't back away from sending a strong message, pointing out how important it is to be able to build and not just destroy eyes shot.

On the other hand, this is also a story of friendship and love and growth, of learning to change and to embrace.

All these remind me of the Lord of the Rings in a way. It's not in the vibe you get while reading but it's in the ideas between the paragraphs. And this is probably the biggest compliment I have to offer to a book 😄.

The series is considered a science fiction but it definitely has strong dystopian elements and a bit of fantasy. So, if you love The Hunger Games, I bet you'll love Red Rising too. I cannot recommend this series enough.

Aaand that concludes my very detailed but somehow spoiler-free review of the Red Rising Saga by Pierce Brown. I hope you enjoyed it, thank you to anyone who read through all of it and I really hope that I was able to convince you to pick it up. Thanks for stopping by and I will see you next time! Or should I end appropriately? Per aspera, ad astra!

"Words are a weapon stronger than he knows. And songs are even greater. The words wake the mind. The melody wakes the heart. I come from a people of song and dance. I don't need him to tell me the power of words." 

-Darrow of Lykos

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