I finished Red Rising about a minute ago. There are definitely some mixed feelings going on. I expected to be blown away, but it just felt lacking in some ways. Let’s talk about it.
Darrow is a Red, the lowest cast in a color coded society. He believes that the Reds are building a better future. The Reds have been told that they are making the surface of Mars habitable. But soon he discovers that they’ve been betrayed. Humanity has been on the surface for generations and the Reds are nothing more than slaves. Darrow decides to sacrifice himself in a hope for a better future. He will become a Gold.
My Thoughts on Red Rising
I loved the premise of Red Rising and I was excited to dive in. But when I started it that excitement eventually died down. The world building was dense and the plot was slow. It didn’t really pick up until after he became a Gold.
When he became a Gold I thought we were going to get a good spy storyline. He infiltrates the Institute and I was so excited for him to do spy things. I was ready for chaos. But instead we got a Hunger Games-esque test. It felt very similar. It was like if Hunger Games met Percy Jackson.
But here’s where the review gets tricky. In the first chunk of the trial, he played by the rules and became the perfect Gold. But then he started fighting against the system and I loved it. That was what I wanted all along. I loved the army that he build. And I loved the way the plot shifted.
Speaking of plot, there were a few moments that Darrow knew too much about the plot. His inner dialogue would be like, “well since this is going to happen, I’m going to do this instead.” I had a hard time separating the author from Darrow.
There were some things that got on my nerves, and the plot was oddly paced, but I’m interested to see where this series goes. I liked the way it set up for the next book. I think I’m going to enjoy the new plot line. I’m hoping this just had the first book syndrome, and that the other books will improve.
My Rating: 3/5
Stick with the series, although I love the first book it’s simply a setup for the rest of the saga. Enjoy they are awesome
Great! I figured that might be the case! I can’t wait to see where it goes.
This fell just a little bit shy of my expectations, too. I’ve been wanting to pick up the second book since some things were starting to get interesting towards the end of this one, but I haven’t done it yet.
Understandable. I’m not sure how high up it will be on my priority list.