Red Rising

I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war.

 

Summary
As a Red – the lowest member of the society – Darrow has to risk his life every day by extracting precious Helium-3. That doesn’t bother him, because he knows that his hard work, his sweat and blood, will mean a better life for the next generations. That is, until the day he finds out that everything he believed in is nothing but a lie.

Writing
I have to say that I  enjoy Pierce Brown’s writing style. It feels very informal and natural, while somehow still maintaining certain, almost poetic, lightness. I was really impressed by that, especially since it’s his debut novel.

However, there was something that really annoyed me. The descriptions, mostly those of the surroundings, were really confusing. Because of that I had a really hard time getting into this book. I really struggled with the first couple of chapters, since I was unable to picture what was happening or had to read the same part over and over again. Though I have to say that it gets better as the book progresses.

Characters
The main character, Darrow, is wonderfully complex and three-dimensional. He is everything a good book protagonist should be. He definitely isn’t perfect. He has his faults, he does questionable things (and not always for the right reasons). But he is a good person. It’s easy to understand his motives and relate to him.

When it comes to the rest of the cast, they are just as delightful. Each character got a chance to show their depth. It makes them feel very real. And that is why this book is so damn good. It makes you care

Plot
I love the fact that even though this book does what many other dystopian novels have done before, it took me for a really exciting ride. The story went into places I would have never expected it to go. I predicted a few minor things, but most of the really big revelations were a mystery to me until the very end. It was surprising, it was exciting, it was FUN. What more could you possibly want?

Overall
Even though at first I had minor problems with getting into this world, I am glad I didn’t give up. After I overcame the initial problems, I had a wonderful time reading this book. I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.

 

You can find this book on Goodreads and Book Depository