Red Rising 1

I did not expect to be whipped away by this book as much as I was!! From the beginning of the book the whole world building, character and background introduction was immaculate. I was hooked after the first chapter and Dorrow's POV was so captivating that I finished the whole book in 2 days. The society in Red Rising is a brutally hierarchical system and the ruling class is demanding utter obedience. But the protagonist, a teenager of the lowest class, experiences hardship, tragedies and revelations that lead him to try to overthrow the system... The book is brutal, because the system and it's universe is brutal, as well as cunning, because the ruling class play their power games and intrigues with each other and the other classes. It is truly immersive and I cannot wait to read more in the next books!!! I cannot recommend this book enough!

... and give this book 5/5 stars. I am rarely fully happy with the story, but this time my discontents are so unfrequent and insignificant, that the author has turely deserved 5/5 stars. I will not go into details of the story, but I just have to highlight two things: first, the absolute tragic and touching backstory of a main character, it still won't leave my mind after finishing the book. It does not feel forced when the backstory plays small parts in the desicion-making or thoughts of the main character. Second, the story includes multiple (at least for me) not predictable plot twist, that I sat in disbelief of the ingenuity of the main character and therefore the author. (Still, the book belongs to science-fiction, and who doesn't like the genre, will not be entertained.)

Pierce Brown, the author created a whole new world with this book. It shares quite a few similarities with The Hunger Games, but it's still a book that can stand on its own. I liked reading it, because of its dystopian setting, the unusual brutality, which is described in great detail. Also the plot twists made it a book, that is not easy to set down.

Spoiler Alert!!!! I knew it. I knew it. I knew it I swear to God I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. I knew that Mustang was the jackal sister. Okay now that the surprise is gone. I can go into the actual review. I started this book over two years ago. I was still working at lego. I did the audiobook at the time which is 16 hours. I think I stopped around 5 hours in because I lost interest. I know this series is loved by so many people and rightfully so. That’s why I decided to give it a second chance this year. I did the audiobook once again. I think that it is a masterpiece. The world building, the betrayal, the politics, the complexity of the characters is above and beyond. I can truly appreciate the art, but I have to admit that halfway through the games I was thoroughly bored. It felt a little bit unnecessarily long. Maybe my attention span is just much shorter now. Nada if you are reading this I am so very sorry, please don’t block me. I rarely read sci fi as an audiobook because I find it difficult to concentrate, maybe that added to the boredom? It was fight fight, betrayal, blood, more fighting. Again I really to think it is a very good book. The fact that I did not enjoy it very much does not take away from that. I will probably still continue the series. I think it is very poetic, tragic, layered and complex. I can appreciate all these elements but I do not know why I did not grow very attached to the characters. It is absolutely insane that by the end of the book he is bound to the man who killed his wife. Who makes life a living hell for his people. That is not let on me. It is also crazy that the book starts when Darrow is like 16. He is a CHILD, a child who had to go through all of that.

Ich bin kein Soziologie, aber dieses Buch ist nicht nur ein guter Sci-Fi Roman, sondern darüber hinaus auch noch eine interessante Windung von soziologisch-philosophischer Dystopische. Die im Buch gemalte Dystopische/Tyrannei wird in vollem Umfang durchgekaut durch die Augen des Protagonisten, er kämpft, weint, zweifelt, triumphiert und verliert. Vielleicht als Anreiz zum weiter lesen, nach den ersten 8 Kapiteln sieht man wo die reise hingeht oder glaub es zumindest.