Review "[A] spectacular adventure . . . one heart-pounding ride . . . Pierce Brown's dizzyingly good debut novel evokes "The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, "and" Ender's Game." . . . ["Red Rising"] has everything it needs to become meteoric."--"Entertainment Weekly" "[A] top-notch debut novel . . . "Red Rising" ascends above a crowded dystopian field."--"USA Today"" " ""Red Rising" is a sophisticated vision. . . . Brown will find a devoted audience."--"Richmond Times-Dispatch" "A story of vengeance, warfare and the quest for power . . . reminiscent of "The Hunger Games "and" Game of Thrones."""--Kirkus Reviews"" " "Fast-paced, gripping, well-written--the sort of book you cannot put down. I am already on the lookout for the next one."--Terry Brooks, "New York Time"s bestselling author of "The Sword of Shannara""Pierce Brown has done an astounding job at delivering a powerful piece of literature that will definitely make a mark in the minds of readers."--"The Huffington Post"" " "Compulsively readable and exceedingly entertaining . . . a must for both fans of classic sci-fi and fervent followers of new school dystopian epics."--"Examiner.com" "[A] great debut . . . The author gathers a spread of elements together in much the same way George R. R. Martin does."--"Tor.com" "Very ambitious . . . a natural for "Hunger Games" fans of all ages."--"Booklist" "Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow: Pierce Brown's empire-crushing debut is a sprawling vision."--Scott Sigler, "New York Times" bestselling author of "Pandemic"" " "A Hollywood-ready story with plenty of action and thrills."--"Publishers Weekly"" " "Reminiscent of . . . Suzanne Collins's "The Hunger Games" . . . ["Red Rising"] will captivate readers and leave them wanting more."--"Library Journal" (starred review) "From the Hardcover edition."[A] spectacular adventure . . . one heart-pounding ride . . . Pierce Brown s dizzyingly good debut novel evokes "The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, "and" Ender s Game." . . . ["Red Rising"] has everything it needs to become meteoric. "Entertainment Weekly" [A] top-notch debut novel . . . "Red Rising" ascends above a crowded dystopian field. "USA Today" "" "Red Rising" is a sophisticated vision. . . . Brown will find a devoted audience. "Richmond Times-Dispatch" A story of vengeance, warfare and the quest for power . . . reminiscent of "The Hunger Games "and" Game of Thrones." " Kirkus Reviews" "" Fast-paced, gripping, well-written the sort of book you cannot put down. I am already on the lookout for the next one. Terry Brooks, "New York Time"s bestselling author of "The Sword of Shannara" Pierce Brown has done an astounding job at delivering a powerful piece of literature that will definitely make a mark in the minds of readers. "The Huffington Post" "" Compulsively readable and exceedingly entertaining . . . a must for both fans of classic sci-fi and fervent followers of new school dystopian epics. "Examiner.com" [A] great debut . . . The author gathers a spread of elements together in much the same way George R. R. Martin does. "Tor.com" Very ambitious . . . a natural for "Hunger Games" fans of all ages. "Booklist" Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow: Pierce Brown s empire-crushing debut is a sprawling vision. Scott Sigler, "New York Times" bestselling author of "Pandemic" "" A Hollywood-ready story with plenty of action and thrills. "Publishers Weekly" "" Reminiscent of . . . Suzanne Collins s "The Hunger Games" . . . ["Red Rising"] will captivate readers and leave them wanting more. "Library Journal" (starred review) "From the Hardcover edition."" About the Author Pierce Brown spent his childhood building forts and setting traps for cousins in the woods of six states and the deserts of two. Graduating from college in 2010, he fancied the idea of continuing his studies at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, he doesn t have a magical bone in his body. So while trying to make it as a writer, he worked as a manager of social media at a startup tech company, toiled as a peon on the Disney lot at ABC Studios, did his time as an NBC page, and gave sleep deprivation a new meaning during his stint as an aide on a U.S. Senate campaign. Now he lives Los Angeles, where he scribbles tales of spaceships, wizards, ghouls, and most things old or bizarre. "From the Hardcover edition.""
M**9
A gripping read
The story:Set in the distant future, where the human race is divided by a rigid class system of colours, colonies of Red miners toil under the surface of Mars, harvesting natural elements that will terraform its surface and make it an inhabitable environment in the future. Sixteen year old Darrow is one of these Reds, born underground and raised to risk his life on a daily basis. Food is scarce and life expectancy is short. The rules are enforced by a strict hierarchical class system that’s preceded over by the Gold’s – supposedly superior to all other colours both physically and mentally. When Darrow discovers that his life is built on a lie, he’s given a dangerous mission to integrate himself into the very heart of Gold society.My thoughts:Darrow is sent to the Institute, where young Gold’s play deadly games to win power. It’s a trial by fire that is designed to push them to the limits and teach them how to wage war and become the leaders of tomorrow. Weakness isn’t tolerated and not everyone will make it through. Parallels could be drawn to the Hunger Games, but it’s a very different type of competition. The aim here is for power and ultimate victory – achieved through intellect and strategy and the ability to command their peers.Darrow is a great character. He’s definitely not perfect – he’s reckless, angry and overly bold. He’s smart but he also shows that he can be ruthless and brutal. This means that he’s not always a particularly likeable character, but you still end up rooting for him all the same. Throughout the book he goes through some intense challenges, questioning his own identity, who to trust and what actions can be justified for the greater good.There are inevitably a lot of the generic running themes that seem to pop up in every dystopian YA – a challenging and brutal landscape, segregated society and a deadly competition, as well as an angry and repressed protagonist rising up against the ruling classes. That said, I think the author does enough to make Red Rising stand apart from the masses.There are plenty of action scenes and the tension remains ramped up all the way through. There are also ongoing political undercurrents as Darrow struggles to keep his ultimate goal of infiltrating the highest level of society within his grasp. Immediately after finishing this book I downloaded and binge-read the next two in the series – and as much as I liked this book, I think they get even better as they goes on.
S**W
An absolute must-read!
So, I'll be upfront here, I loved this book! In fact I loved it so much that I couldn't concentrate on anything else once I'd finished it so immediately bought and read book 2 because it was the only thing I wanted to read. I've also bought book 3 but am holding off on that because I don't want to get into the position of reading book 4 and then having to wait months to find out what happens next.This book grabbed me from the first page and wouldn't let me go. The characters are all richly detailed without extraneous detail used on those who are only in the story for a page or two. I felt like I was with Darrow every step of his journey, felt every emotion he felt and wanted the same goals as he did because I could understand why they were so important to him.The locations, while not obviously places we are familiar with, felt alive to me, the descriptions were so clear and well-written. I read this story on my kindle and have since bought the paperback and therefore seen the map that is in it, something I didn't have in my ebook. The descriptions were so clear throughout the story that my imagined layout that I had in my mind was almost identical to the map in the book, that's how good the writing is.This isn't a non-violent book but I felt the violence there was fitted with the story. It's also not a book with a complete ending as it is the first in the series, however, the ending does tie things up to an extent so there is a feeling of an ending of sorts which I liked and don't always get with books that are part of a series.If you're one of the few people on the planet who have not yet read this book then I would urge you to give it a go. It might not be your usual genre but why not step outside of it and try something different. Life can be boring if we never try new things, at least occasionally.For anyone who wants a fast paced, well-written read that will keep them glued to the book for hours then I highly recommend this one. The only regret I have in reading this book is that I didn't do it sooner.
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