Review: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Red Rising

Author: Pierce Brown
Series: Red Rising Trilogy #1
Publisher: Del Rey (Random House)
Genre: YA Dystopian/Science Fiction
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Source: Received from Publisher at ALA MW 2014
Rating: 4 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***   

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The war begins...


Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars. Generations of Helldivers have spent their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that one day people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left.

Until the day Darrow learns that it is all a lie. Mars is habitable - and indeed has been inhabited for generations by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. The Golds regard Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.

With the help of a mysterious group of rebels, Darrow disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside.

But the command school is a battlefield. And Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda...

My Review:

I have been super stoked about this book ever since I first heard about it. A dystopian set in space? Yes please! When I was at ALA, I happened to see a copy at the Del Rey booth (a tiny little separate booth from Random House). I started talking to the guy who was working the booth and he was kind enough to give me a copy! Thanks, Random House!

This book you guys. Where should I start? How about with the world? I absolutely loved the world that Pierce Brown created. An elaborate caste system in space. Caste systems are one of my favorite things in books. I don’t know why, I just love them. The different classes are separated by color and each color does a specific job. Golds are the highest and Reds are the lowest. There are many classes in between like Pinks and Greens. It was so interesting to read about this caste system and what each color meant.

The space. The story takes place on Mars which was pretty awesome. The author did a great job of describing the planet, the landscape, the climate. It was so interesting to read about a completely different planet. There was also reference to a number of other planets/moons that had been terraformed and were abundant with life.

The main character, Darrow, is a Red. He believes that his job to mine the underground depths of Mars for the good of the future. Because he has no idea that Mars has already been fully terraformed. Something tragic happens to him which eventually leads him to discover the truth. He is taken in by a group of rebels and they “carve” him into a Gold so he can infiltrate and ultimately lead a rebellion. The whole idea and mindset of the Golds thinking that they are better than everybody else sickened me and made me truly hate this government.

Darrow was such an awesome main character. He was not perfect and that’s what I loved. He was perfectly flawed, quick-tempered and honestly a bit ragey at times. But Darrow is proof that this caste system was unfair. He wasn’t stupid like they believe all Reds to be. Darrow was extremely intelligent and he developed very well over the course of the novel. Darrow attends a prestigious “school” for future Gold leaders. He learns a lot over the course of his insane journey (because this “school” is anything but average) and he truly becomes the man that he needs to be to lead a rebellion: strong, confident, and determined to do whatever it takes to win.

I will give you a warning though. This book was brutal. Bloody and extremely violent. It honestly wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it. I loved that the author was able to show us through this violence and bloodshed just how sick Golds really are. I shook with rage over some of the things that happened in this book and wanted to jump inside and rip their leader’s throat out. The politics in this book were super shady and twisted which really allowed the reader to develop a strong hate for the antagonists.

The secondary characters were all really cool too, although I didn’t feel a huge attachment to any of them except maybe Sevros, but even he didn’t completely steal my heart. This book was super fast-paced and one that I stayed up way too late reading. I can’t wait to continue on with this new series. If you’re looking for a new, unique dystopian to fall in love with, this is the book for you. Marketed as “Hunger Games in space”, this book is so much more. Happy reading all! 

Have you read this one? What did you think of the caste system? What were your thoughts on Sevros? And Darrow?