An epic sci-fi adventure best enjoyed without any large breaks between volumes.
Reviewing a series is tricky. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I do want to give you an idea what this series is about. So here’s the blurb for book 1 only. If you want to read those for the others, click on the cover images below to go to their Goodreads pages.
Red Rising (Book 1) blurb: Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.
Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.
But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.
Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies… even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.
My take:
I read Book 1 back in late July 2016 and thoroughly enjoyed it. When I got to the end I thought, “Well. That was a great combo of Ender’s Game and Hunger Games. Hey, that sounds good. I’ll put that in my review.” And then I saw the dust jacket blurb which said the book is: “a mixture of Ender’s Game and the Hunger Games”. Damn those clever marketing people. And it also goes to show I don’t bother reading dust jacket copy!
Suffice to say, if you enjoyed either EG or the Hunger Games series, Red Rising is worth checking out.
I was eager to roll straight on with the series, so I bounded back to the library and got volume 2…
Oh dear. After my enthusiasm for Red Rising, Golden Son was a disappointment. The story starts well, setting off at a good pace, but it isn’t long before things begin to drag a little. And then some more…until it became a hard slog to get through. I found the events described repetitive: fighting, pause for plot exposition, fighting, pause for exposition, fighting… etc.
However, I’m a compulsive completist and often find the middle book of a trilogy is the weakest, so I tripped back to the library to pick up the third book. They didn’t have it. No library in the county had it. Apparently they were waiting until it came out in paperback. When they finally got a copy in November, I put a hold on it. And a couple of weeks ago my copy of Book 3 finally showed up…
I’m pleased that Book 3 is a return to form. This rattled along at a good pace with more than just fighting/plot exposition. All the plot strands get brought together and tied off nicely.
I was also impressed that I enjoyed the book despite the fact that I had forgotten a lot of what had happened previously (there was a 5-month gap between books 2 and 3). To get the most from this series, I’d recommend reading the books as close together as possible. The cast is large, there are many settings, the scope is epic. Unless you have an excellent memory it’s tricky to keep track of everything that’s gone before.
The world-building, the sheer work that went into putting together the detail of Pierce Brown’s solar system-wide society, is breathtaking. On the other hand, his characters tend to either be great or flat. This two-dimensionality even extends at times to the main character, Darrow. In fact, the best character in the whole series is Sevro who, in book 3, is elevated to scenery-chewing greatness. If this series is ever adapted for film or television, Sevro is the role actors should scramble for.
Overall: fans of epic sci-fi should consider investing their time in the Red Rising Trilogy, particularly if they’re able to read the books (almost) back-to-back.
Claire Huston / Art and Soul
Art and Soul 
My bf loves this series. He will now lord this over me until I read them!
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You could always point out that I’d said you’d have to struggle through book 2 and so you’d rather spend you time reading something else!! That could work… 😉
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Oh thank you! I just gave him the new Kim Harrison book so he’s backed off bugging me about it. But I am using that second book!! lol
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I still have the last one to read and now I wish I hadn’t waited so long to finish the series!!
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It’s very good, but my poor memory has let me down again! There were so many references to things that happened in book 1 which by now are just a faint memory for me 😦
I dread to think what I’m going to have to do if George RR Martin ever publishes another Game of Thrones book. I can hardly remember a thing from the ones I’ve read!
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I’m going to be so confused because the Game of thrones series veered off from the books, and that’s what is fresh in my mind!
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Oh man, this is one of my all time favorite series. I absolutely love Brown’s writing! I know a lot of people had trouble with Golden Son but it was my favorite of the 3, mostly because the climax was soooo good.
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I just found out that Pierce Brown is only 29! I can’t imagine how brilliant his writing will become in future if he’s started out at this level 🙂 I can’t wait to see what he writes next!
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Yeah, it’s crazy! I’m really excited for Iron Gold to come out in January. I got to read a chapter of it and it was really good!
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I’ve been saying this for way too long already, but I need to read this series ASAP! I’m going to stick to your advice and get a copy of both sequel first though so I can read them together… Especially if the second book is a bit of a disappointment. Great review!
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Thank you 🙂
It starts out strong and recovers. It’s just a shame to second suffers from “second book syndrome”. I’ll be interested to see what Pierce Brown writes next – he’s only 29 and has written these books!! That’s crazy!
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Wow I didn’t realize that! Definitely promises a lot for the rest of his career.
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I’m not a sci-fi fan, but I do want to read these after hearing how excellent Pierce Brown’s writing is. Maybe I’ll listen to them.
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That would be a great idea!
I should have said in my review how pleased I was I could get them from my library. It’s a good idea just in case you don’t enjoy them 🙂
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Ah yes this is like Enders Game meets Hunger Games! oh it’s a shame you found the second one harder to get through- but I’m glad you liked it overall!! Agree with you about the characters and Darrow in particular! I especially loved the world-building because it so accurately reflects Roman culture (well except that it’s set in space 😉 ) Great review!!
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Thank you!
That was another thing which I appreciated: the research he must have done. Not only into Roman culture, but also into astronomy, chemistry and other branches of physics.
I look forward to seeing what he’ll come up with in the future. I can’t believe he’s only 29 – it’s ridiculous! 🙂
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You’re welcome!! Yes- it was phenomenal- I don’t know much about science, but half my degree was in Classics and this was very accurate. Me too!!! Yes- so impressive!
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Fun fact, Pierce is working with some screenwriters to make Red Rising into a movie. They are taking their time though, because they really want to do this right.
Are you going to read Iron Gold too?
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I only found out about Iron Gold today but it’ll go on my list 🙂 (as long as the library get a copy!).
For me, the success of a movie will all come down to who gets the part of Sevro. He’s the lynchpin!
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I hear you. I’ve tried to think about casting for a loooong while. I had someone in mind, but I am not sure that’s the kind of person you would be looking for. Do you have a go to actor for now that you would like to see in the role?
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Not yet. It’s a really hard part to get right and he’d have to be young (I think there’s 17/18 at the start?) or at least look young at the beginning. Imagine casting Sevro as well: “Oh yes, you’re the one who is generally described as being odd-looking/disgusting/a runt, but don’t take offence!” 🙂
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I have no idea if this works, but that’s sort of how I imagined him … so … not that disgusting? hahaha
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I have book one and two and I’m waiting for book three to come in and then I’ll be bingeing this season in April or May (depending on my TBR ;P)
Great review as always, Claire. I love how you tackled all three together! 🙂
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Thank you!
Reading them all in one go is definitely the way forward. I’m sure you’ll get a lot more out of them than I did because you’ll understand all the references in book 3 that I struggled to get! 🙂
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These keep popping up on my Goodreads Giveaway lists and so I’ve requested them but haven’t read them yet. I’ve been curious about them though!
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This would be a great series to win. I’m pleased I got them at the library because although it’s a good series, I didn’t love any of the characters quite enough (well, apart from Sevro, perhaps) to want to read it again.
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I love Sevro – the awesome little goblin howler! I am so thoroughly excited for the new Iron Gold series in this world. I can’t wait. I loved the Red Rising series.
Rebecca @ The Portsmouth Review
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I just thought Sevro leapt off the page more than the others. Everyone else is so busy playing their role or calculating their moves, they can lack a little in personality. Sevro has bags of it! 🙂
I hope the Iron Gold series is good. There are so many Red Rising fans waiting for it!
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I keep hearing good things about Red Rising! I’d love to say I’ll get to it this year but I’m not sure my tbr list allows it.
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I know what you mean. And with it being best to read the three books close together, you’d need quite a bit of time free to get through it all. Which is tough when there are so many other books to read!
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I’m glad it recovered after the dip in the middle! Especially after such an investment. 🙂
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I know! And the final book is enormous (as tends to be the way with sci-fi and fantasy trilogies); if it had been a struggle, it would have been awful! 🙂
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Daniel is going through something similar with the Expanse series that he’s reading now. I’m deterred to start it because he’s six books in and apparently the last two have all been build up. Yikes! The TV show is great, though, so I might stick to that until I know if it ends well or not. 🙂
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I’ve been dreading to start this series, first because a trilogy often means the middle book is a letdown, and because there is so much hype around it!
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I think I’m in a minority finding the second book hard-going. I’m just pleased the 3rd book didn’t let me down or I’d have been seriously miffed!! 🙂
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That’s interesting that you thought the second book lagged/was disappointing, because it was my favourite of the series! I loved the first book, but the second book really blew me away and went in directions I didn’t expect from quite early on. I did listen to it as an audiobook though which I think sometimes changes my perception of pacing. I also listened to the second two books back to back so am a little hazy on where the second book ends and the third book starts…
Anyway, I’m really glad to hear another opinion because I keep telling people the second book is the best when I recommend the series, so maybe I shouldn’t get their hopes up in case they have a similar experience and feel disappointed enough not to continue to the third!
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I’m really glad I didn’t give up and continued, because book 3 was a definite return to form for me 🙂
Audiobooks make a huge difference. They can completely change your view of a character and how invested you are in them. I think that could well have helped me have a more positive experience of book 2 🙂
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Ah yes, I do really love audiobooks and how they can make you more invested in a character or give you a certain picture of them, but I do often wonder if it means I judge books I read more harshly than books I listen to… or how much the quality of the narrator influences my opinion of a book!
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