Lemme be frank with you. I did find another good "obscure" Book. It was fairly great to read, and I will be uploading my review of it in the near future. When that will be, I have no idea. I have a rather busy schedule, so I apologize for that. Between juggling work, school, and my home life, this blog hasn't exactly been on my mind. I'm hoping to change that, though. But, without further ado, here is today's review:
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
A friend recommended this to me because they knew I liked the Hunger Games. It is fairly similar to the Hunger Games, but honestly, I enjoyed this book much more. The Hunger Games had a large romantic aspect to it, while Red Rising did not include this as much.
While the whole premise of the book is essentially Darrow (the main character) getting revenge for his wife's death and fulfilling her wishes to make their world a better place, it's not a romance. I think this allows for more of the plot and setting to be explained, which is wonderful. That, and you get much more character development instead of just the protagonist and their love interest.
Back to the book, the plot is pretty much what I explained above, but with more detail (obviously). As with the Hunger Games, there are different levels in society. Instead of districts, there are colors. The Reds are at the bottom of the food chain and include Darrow's family. They mine a terraforming agent to transform other planets into livable ones.
The Golds are at the top of the food chain and are akin to the Capitol in the Hunger Games. They are the strongest, brightest, most good looking people there are. They even have freaking wings. But anyways, the higher colors, such as the Golds and Silvers, get preferential treatment while the lower colors are treated like dirt. The Reds have to compete for food and live in terrible conditions.
When I say compete, I literally mean compete. They have teams to mine the terraforming agent, and whoever mines the most gets prizes of food and supplies. Unfortunately for Darrow, the game is rigged and even though his team wins, the other team reaps the benefits. It's infuriating.
So, when Eo, Darrow's wife, rebels and sings a forbidden song, she is hung. Before this happens however, she tells him he needs to stand up for what's right and build a better world for them. She wants things to be better and fair for everyone. Darrow then buries her body, which is illegal, and is "hung" himself.
However, he isn't really hung. He's saved by an organization that wishes to overthrow the order and make things fair for everyone. They recruit Darrow and turn him into a Gold. They give him a new face, new bones, wings, and so on. Then they train him up to be as strong as them, talk like them, and more until he can pass for a Gold.
He is then sent into a competition between Golds where they are pitted against each other on teams to "take over" the arena and seize power over the others. They have to enslave the other teams and survive obstacles they meet. Once again, the odds are not in Darrow's favor, and the proctors, who oversee the competition, attempt to thwart him at all costs, in order for the ArchGovernor's son to win.
That's about all I will give you. It seems like a lot, but there is so much more than what I've shown you. It is definitely a book worth reading and I would recommend it to anyone that enjoyed the Hunger Games or Ender's Game. I really loved it and it has quickly become another favorite of mine.
The plot and characters were developed so well, as were the surprises in the book. I found myself getting very emotionally invested in this book, and so, when things went wrong, it killed me. It's very easy to get lost in this world, so be aware of that. Carve out some time to read it all in one sitting, cause you'll need it.
The plot is well developed, but maybe a little too much, as there are moments in the book where it just seems to drag on. Also, while I know this book is fiction, some of the aspects of it seemed very far fetched, especially concerning Darrow's surgery. Finally, the ending pissed me off a bit, as Darrow's character seems to do a one eighty, going against his morals and all that he has worked for.
However, the world that Kristen creates is unbelievable. It's very interesting and constantly changing. I also fell in love with some of the characters she created (mostly Sevro). So, for these reasons, I will give this book a seven and a half out of ten.
Buy it here: Red Rising
Books like this one:
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Battle Royale - Koushun Takami
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Steelheart - Brandon Sanderson
Until next time.
While the whole premise of the book is essentially Darrow (the main character) getting revenge for his wife's death and fulfilling her wishes to make their world a better place, it's not a romance. I think this allows for more of the plot and setting to be explained, which is wonderful. That, and you get much more character development instead of just the protagonist and their love interest.
Back to the book, the plot is pretty much what I explained above, but with more detail (obviously). As with the Hunger Games, there are different levels in society. Instead of districts, there are colors. The Reds are at the bottom of the food chain and include Darrow's family. They mine a terraforming agent to transform other planets into livable ones.
The Golds are at the top of the food chain and are akin to the Capitol in the Hunger Games. They are the strongest, brightest, most good looking people there are. They even have freaking wings. But anyways, the higher colors, such as the Golds and Silvers, get preferential treatment while the lower colors are treated like dirt. The Reds have to compete for food and live in terrible conditions.
When I say compete, I literally mean compete. They have teams to mine the terraforming agent, and whoever mines the most gets prizes of food and supplies. Unfortunately for Darrow, the game is rigged and even though his team wins, the other team reaps the benefits. It's infuriating.
So, when Eo, Darrow's wife, rebels and sings a forbidden song, she is hung. Before this happens however, she tells him he needs to stand up for what's right and build a better world for them. She wants things to be better and fair for everyone. Darrow then buries her body, which is illegal, and is "hung" himself.
However, he isn't really hung. He's saved by an organization that wishes to overthrow the order and make things fair for everyone. They recruit Darrow and turn him into a Gold. They give him a new face, new bones, wings, and so on. Then they train him up to be as strong as them, talk like them, and more until he can pass for a Gold.
He is then sent into a competition between Golds where they are pitted against each other on teams to "take over" the arena and seize power over the others. They have to enslave the other teams and survive obstacles they meet. Once again, the odds are not in Darrow's favor, and the proctors, who oversee the competition, attempt to thwart him at all costs, in order for the ArchGovernor's son to win.
That's about all I will give you. It seems like a lot, but there is so much more than what I've shown you. It is definitely a book worth reading and I would recommend it to anyone that enjoyed the Hunger Games or Ender's Game. I really loved it and it has quickly become another favorite of mine.
The plot and characters were developed so well, as were the surprises in the book. I found myself getting very emotionally invested in this book, and so, when things went wrong, it killed me. It's very easy to get lost in this world, so be aware of that. Carve out some time to read it all in one sitting, cause you'll need it.
The plot is well developed, but maybe a little too much, as there are moments in the book where it just seems to drag on. Also, while I know this book is fiction, some of the aspects of it seemed very far fetched, especially concerning Darrow's surgery. Finally, the ending pissed me off a bit, as Darrow's character seems to do a one eighty, going against his morals and all that he has worked for.
However, the world that Kristen creates is unbelievable. It's very interesting and constantly changing. I also fell in love with some of the characters she created (mostly Sevro). So, for these reasons, I will give this book a seven and a half out of ten.
Buy it here: Red Rising
Books like this one:
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Battle Royale - Koushun Takami
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Steelheart - Brandon Sanderson
Until next time.
