Book Review: Red Rising, by Pierce Brown

Red Rising has an exciting world and and interesting premise, but some inconsistencies interrupted my enjoyment.

Red Rising begins underground on Mars, where Darrow works in a mine. While he and his family are very poor and suffering, he is convinced their sacrifice will help society. He's helping prepare the planet for terraforming, so others can live on the surface. Darrow doesn't see himself as a slave, but his wife, Eo, has other ideas.

Society is divided into classes, specified by color. Darrow and his family are Reds, the lowest class. The Golds are the rulers. I won't go into details, but Darrow ends up being recruited to work for the resistance, and what he sees makes him realize that the Reds have been deceived by the Golds. Mars is already terraformed, and millions of people are enjoying life on the surface. Darrow must undergo a complete change, physically and intellectually. The plan is for him to infiltrate the Golds; become one of them and start a revolution from within. He must first pass a test to get into a school where he will be trained to be a leader.

I really loved this story, but had some problems with the execution. First, Darrow's excruciating ordeal to physically become a Gold is described in great detail. Once it's over, his physical prowess is never referred to again. I realize that all his competitors have the same characteristics, but you would think this would affect the way they fight and the ease with which they are injured. I needed a connection to the past.

Once Darrow passes the test, he is taken to "school"' where he must pass more tests, and then the students are divided into houses, each led by one of the Gold's. Darrow is selected for the House of Mars. Each house is given a castle, and the task is for one house to end up taking over all the others. Each house has different advantages and disadvantages.

Once we get to this part, it's like we aren't even on Mars anymore. It's a medieval battle on Earth, with horses and swords. Yes, there's 37% gravity. But once again, this is only mentioned a few times, and it doesn't seem to make any difference in the way they fight or give them any advantages. We never return to the underground portion of Mars, where Darrow came from, and although he refers to Eo, I just felt like I was in a different story. I needed a connection to the past.

The book is too long. It takes too long to describe Darrow's conversion from Red to Gold. The battles for the castles seem to just be the same thing over and over. There's deception, lying, changing of alliances, and some different strategies, but it just went on too long. I don't understand why every YA author thinks their book needs to be 400 pages, but it seems to be a trend. (OK, this one is a little less, but it SEEMED longer!)

The writing takes a bit to get used to. There is a lot of slang and unfamiliar words that are introduced in this world. I had to read a little slower, but I love this technique. It really makes you feel like you are IN the world. Once you are immersed, it becomes very easy. The characters are well-defined, although I'm not really attached. I was choked up at about page 50, but after "that" happened, I didn't fall in love. But each character is distinct, and the relationships felt true.

The premise is excellent, but as I said, the pacing a bit slow. I felt like Red Rising was a well-wrapped package, but it was missing the bow to tie it all up. I think it's worth it, though, and I would still recommend Red Rising to readers who enjoy dystopians and war books. Because I would mostly define Red Rising as a war book. Red Rising is the first book in a trilogy, so hopefully the next books will emphasize the world more than the war.

Published by Del Ray, January 28, 2014
ARC obtained from LibraryThing Early Reviewers
382 pages

Rating: 3.5/5

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Book Review: Golden Son, by Pierce Brown @Pierce_Brown

Golden Son, the second book in the Red Rising Trilogy, is nothing short of epic. What an intricate, sophisticated world Brown has created!

I would suggest reading my review of Red Rising or other reviews to get the background for the world and characters of Golden Son.

At the beginning of the book Darrow is participating in war games to prove he is the best warrior and win a fleet of his own. It's only him and Karnus, his arch enemy, left, and Darrow has the upper hand. But things take a turn, Karnus wins, and in the process many lives are lost. This happens in the first few pages, so this isn't really a spoiler.

I didn't understand why so many lives were lost if this was supposed to be a game. And why does Darrow get blamed for it all, when Karnus is the one who killed everyone? But, this episode changes everything for Darrow and so the stage is set.

If you haven't read Red Rising, Golden Son won't make much sense. As a matter of fact, it took me a while to remember what happened and get back into the world that Pierce has created. There's no summary of the previous book, although some reminders are given.

Darrow loses everything. Augustus takes everything away from him and plans to sell him at auction. With no protection, he will surely be murdered by Karnus' family. But an unlikely benefactor offers to help Darrow if he joins up with this man. Darrow doesn't have much choice so, even though he distrusts the man, he agrees.

Things NEVER turn out as expected. No one is to be trusted. There are more twists than you can possibly imagine. And, just like Red Rising, Golden Son is non-stop action. Battle after battle. Each time barely coming out of it alive, but never giving up.

There are a lot of characters, and everyone, every place, and everything has weird foreign names. It's hard to keep track of the characters, their race, and what family they are associated with. I know this book has been compared to The Hunger Games but Golden Son is much more complex and harder to read. I'm not even sure this should be categorized as young adult (I think it is, though, isn't it?)

Golden Son is long (over 450 pages). But, it's not just long in pages, it takes your full attention, and I had to read it much slower than your average YA book. I do think it could have been culled a bit, but I did think it's pacing was better than Red Rising, even though it's longer.

Now that those negatives are out of the way, I want to make it clear that I loved this book. It keeps your attention. Each character is unique, and portrayed with enough detail to make you care about them (or hate them, as the case may be.) Wow, and the world. Down to the tiniest detail, the world is vivid. The politics are complex and totally unique. Golden Son is a dystopian, but it's so far in the future that there are a lot of fantasy elements. Those who enjoy adventure, fearsome battles, and fantastical worlds and creatures will not want to miss the Red Rising Trilogy.

Published by Del Ray, January 6, 2015
eARC obtained from NetGalley
464 pages

Rating: 4.5/5

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Audio Book Review: Morning Star by Pierce Brown

Morning Star is the third book in the Red Rising Trilogy and will whip your emotions around like a tornado.

This review may have spoilers from the previous books, Red Rising and Golden Son, so proceed with caution...

Darrow is a captive at the beginning of Morning Star. But we know he's been in many, many hopeless positions before, so somehow he's going to get out of this one. And he does.

If you read my reviews of Red Rising and Golden Son, then you will recognize some of the same statements in this review.  This is a war book.  There are battles and more battles.  Characters get killed. There is never a respite.  So many betrayals and surprises.

Along with the battles are epic twists and turns. There is never a dull moment.  As I have said about all three of these books, they are bit long and drawn out.  I actually finished this one by reading the ending (rather than listening) because I was getting tired of waiting. There is a lot of brutality and suffering. And, there are so many characters.  It had been so long since I read Golden Son. I had a hard time getting my bearings since Brown doesn't really give you much of a review.

I don't think these books are Young Adult, as I have been saying in my previous reviews.  The world is very complex.  There is nothing to keep teens from enjoying this series, but it's going to take more of a commitment than they are used to.

Morning Star is supposed to be the conclusion.  It even says that on the back of my copy.  But there is a new 4th book that was released January 16 called Iron Gold. Now that the war is over, Iron Gold is about the rebuilding.

The narrator, Tim Gerard Reynolds, does a great job.  He sounds a bit like like Anthony Hopkins. I'll quote from my review of Golden Son: Those who enjoy adventure, fearsome battles, and fantastical worlds and creatures will not want to miss the Red Rising Trilogy.

Published by Del Rey, 2016, audio by Recorded Books, 2016
Audiobook obtained from the library
518 pages

Rating: 4/5

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Book Review: Iron Gold by Pierce Brown

Iron Gold is the unexpected fourth installment of the Red Rising "Trilogy." I'm so glad Brown decided to continue this series because I really enjoy these characters and this world.

*spoilers if you haven't read the first three books*

So, the revolution ended, right?  But apparently, for the past ten years, war continued to ravage this world.  Darrow is determined to end the war -- no matter what he has to give up.

His story is entwined with a few other points-of-view. There is a thief, Ephraim, who ends up working for someone he never wanted to be associated with.  There is Lyria who lives on Mars.  But Mars is even worse than when Darrow was born there -- even though they are supposed to be free now.  She ends up escaping after losing almost everything. And there is Lysander and Cassius who travel together and end up fighting for their lives like never before.

And Darrow, who is a fugitive from justice, is working to overthrow Venus.  All these people come together in unexpected ways in a devastating battle. That is really only the tip of the iceberg plot-wise, but I don't want to give too much away.  Suffice it to say, Iron Gold is exciting and action-packed as usual.

Something about the writing just draws me into these books.  At 600 pages, I was surprised how fast I finished it. There are a lot of characters, and this is a complex story.  Episodes from the first three books are referred to for context, but we don't get a summary.  There is a list of characters at the beginning of the book that was very helpful to me.

This series is worth the investment. I'm so glad I've been able to enjoy it.  At the end of Iron Gold, we are pretty much left hanging, so I can't wait until the fifth book, Dark Age, is released in February.

Published by Del Ray, January 16, 2018
Copy obtained from the library
601 pages

Rating: 4.5/5

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Red Glass, by Laura Resau

First of all, I’d like to thank the unknown blogger who posted a review of Red Glass a while back which prompted me to put this on my TBR.  I’m so glad I did.  This is a story about Sophie, who lives in Arizona with her mom and step-father.  Her step father, who is Hispanic, has helped refugees from Mexico to get to the United States, and they end up taking in a little boy, Pablo whose parents did not survive their escape.  The novel is full of rich, colorful characters, who all have experienced great tragedies.  Sophie’s great aunt, Dika, who is a refugee from Serbia, lives with them and falls in love with a local Hispanic man named Mr. Lorenzo.  Mr. Lorenzo has a son, Angel. Angel’s mother was killed by guerillas in Guatemala.

It ends up that Pablo has relatives in Mexico, and he and Sophie, Dika, Mr. Lorenzo, and Angel go on a long road trip so Pablo can visit his relatives, and possible be returned to them.  This is a big step for Sophie, because she is a worrier.  She worries about getting cancer, being killed by a virus, a car accident, losing her mom, earthquakes, floods--so many things that she doesn’t experience life.  Early in the book she describes herself as “a shapeless amoeba, something that didn’t belong.  Not particularly noticed, definitely not appreciated.” But, Sophie decides to take this adventure on, and it becomes much more of a journey (and a danger) than she ever expected.  She learns much from her companions, about loss, tragedy, and fear that allow her to grow in a very special way. I’m not a big one for quotes, but here’s one I thought worth sharing:

I wondered if he and Angel noticed anything different about me, because I did.  I noticed that the layer of heavy, thick stuff that used to separate me from the world was disappearing, like mist rising and floating away.

There is also a romantic interest that slowly and beautifully develops between Sophie and Angel.  There is adventure and tension, but the end of this book left me with such a good feeling.  It was beautifully written.  The descriptions of Mexico and Guatemala – the flowers, the smells, the houses – made it easy to feel like you were there.  Give this one a try.