Review: Red Rising (Red Rising #1) by Pierce Brown

4.5 stars for Red Rising (Red Rising book 1) by Pierce Brown.

This novel is labelled under the Science Fiction genre, but with the exception that it takes place on Mars, there is hardly any science in this fiction. Nevertheless, I have a great time trapped in the layered society of Colours, the Golds, Silvers, Bronzes, Coppers, Obsidians and Reds to name a few. The initial 15-20% of the story is slow moving but hints of potential and great things to come. Boy, am I glad to have persisted beyond because after that, I willingly hold myself captive between the pages of this book.

Oppression. Lies. Rebellion. Freedom. Every sin, every death, every sacrifice, is for freedom. This story is a study of humanity; of political, psychological and behavioural science, how human beings react to one another, how armies function and how tactics win battles but strategies win wars.

I like the placement of Roman mythology in the story even though it is loosely based upon. Twelve Houses, each named for one of the gods of the Roman pantheon. But somehow I feel the need to voice out that the author fails the Mathematics test. When I finally decide to do a count, I find out that there is one extra House to account for. Shouldn't it be twelve Houses in twelve castles based on twelve great Roman deities? And don't get me started on where the twelve Roman Gods reside in - Mount Olympus. OMG! Mount Olympus is the dwelling of the Olympian Gods according to Greek, not Roman mythology. Well, it seems to me that the author wants the best of both mythologies, Roman and Greek. But please, get them right and don't confuse readers by blending them together.

Jupiter-Juno
Neptune-Minerva
Mars-Venus
Apollo-Diana
Vulcan-Bacchus
Mercury-Ceres
Pluto

Now, here comes the irony. Regardless of all the above grievances, Red Rising, with the adult-centric themes of justice, power and war, is a book worthy of my time.


Publisher: Del Rey; Reprint edition
Publication date: 15 Jul 2014

@}--->>--->>-----

"I live for the dream that my children will be born free," she says. "That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them."

"I live for you," I say sadly.

Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more."

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.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

Add to:


Links to purchase: