Science Fiction. It's not my traditional genre that I will devour in a few hours/days, however Red Rising by Pierce Brown was an exception. I was pleasantly surprised by this one, especially when I was initially skeptical about the line on the front of the book cover that says: "Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow." Right... However, I am a HUGE fan of Ender's Game and The Hunger Games, so I felt like I needed to give it a shot. I always do my ratings research on Goodreads too before I read, so I was shocked when I saw the 4.23 star rating on this book and I was even more surprised when I realized that was the average after almost 75,000 reviews. I am definitely glad that I started off my summer reading with this book and the subsequent books in the trilogy. It follows the story of 16 year old Darrow, a young man who is a "Helldiver" and mans the one of the drills on Mars. He, along with other Red "pioneers," is responsible for harvesting gas from below the surface of the Red Planet in hopes of one day making it inhabitable for others. These Reds are on the lowest rung of this futuristic society and within the first few pages of the book, you discover they have been betrayed by their leaders and Mars has been inhabited by their people for hundreds of years. The story follows Darrow's attempt to thwart the government's leadership and the upper class, all while seeking revenge, power, and glory. The thin line between what's right and wrong blurs quickly, and the subsequent challenges and strife will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end. If you are a fan of Ender's Game, The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, City of Ember, and the classic The Man with the Iron Mask, this is definitely a book to pick up. If you refuse to read a series until it's complete, the final book of this trilogy was released earlier this year so IT IS FINISHED! I promise you will not be disappointed and I highly recommend this novel for upper level high school and adults (there is some mature content so I would not readily hand this over to a 14 year old).
**Side note: a movie is in the works and I am telling you this will be better than The Hunger Games film series ever thought about being. I cannot wait to see how they translate this story to the big screen and from what I have heard, Pierce Brown is writing the screenplay so it will stay true to the author's intent.
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August 2018
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