Red Rising Series Review

Red Rising is a dystopian series by Pierce Brown that separates classes by color, red being the lowest and gold being the top tier. Whether you’re a leader, soldier, engineer, slave, etc. is all determined by what color you’re born. I found it interesting that everything in each class was just one color. If you’re a red, you have red hair, eyes, and clothing. If you’re a gold, you pretty much just glow.

These books are intense, to put it mildly. Darrow, a lowly red, discovers everything he knows about his life is a lie and is given the opportunity to infiltrate the government as a gold. His process of transforming into a gold, physically and mentally, and being put in a deadly test shows the survivor instinct of human nature. People fight for what they believe in, especially the ones who no one expects to succeed.

The complexity of the plot kept me constantly surprised. It’s heavier science fiction than I usually read, with impressive world building. It’s not a relaxing read, that’s for sure but it’s engaging and fresh. The characters are interesting and complex, stuck in a world like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

I loved the exploration of human nature. What drives us to help people? What truly motivates our actions? Darrow thinks he is motivated by revenge, but I think he is motivated by hope. He hopes for a better world, and is willing to put himself through the darkest corners of his mind to give the reds a chance at happiness.

Golden Son picks up after Darrow finishes his gold tests top of his class and is working for his biggest enemy, to the dismay of Virginia au Augustus AKA Mustang AKA the reason Darrow always makes it out alive. Darrow reforms his little army of underdogs, the Howlers, and makes the tragic mistake of trusting Mustang’s brother, the Jackal.

Ametuer move.

Morning Star does not start off quite as triumphant, in fact Darrow is barely hanging on at this point. Thankfully, Mustang and Sevro are both smarter and sneakier than him and willing to save his sorry hide. It’s a story full of war, desperation, and hope, as well as just the right amount of ironic humor and love.

The ending is truly exquisite. I cannot say how perfect it is, it’s just stunning. Iron Gold, a story taking place ten years after Morning Star, is on the cusp of release and Pierce Brown is touring the US to visit his Howlers.

This is going to be epic.

Pierce Brown and Marc Forster are working on the film right now, here’s my dream cast:

Darrow: Alex Pettyfer                                     Mustang: Saoirse Ronan

Jackal: Bill Skarsgard                                     Eo: Dove Cameron

Pax: Liam Hemsworth                                    Antonia: Elle Fanning

Daxo: Chris Hemsworth                                 Victra: Dakota Fanning

Sevro: Thomas Brody Sangster                      Lilith: Sophie Turner

Roque: Lucas Till                                               Lea: Bella Thorne

Tactus: Will Poulter                                          Quinn: Lili Reinhart

Cassius: Ansel Elgort                                        Julian: Nick Robinson