Red Rising (Red Rising Series Book 1)

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 67,319 ratings

Price: 1.99

Last update: 01-22-2025


About this item

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Pierce Brown’s relentlessly entertaining debut channels the excitement of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.

“Red Rising ascends above a crowded dys­topian field.”—USA Today

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—Entertainment Weekly, BuzzFeed, Shelf Awareness

“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 toils willingly, trusting 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 reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds 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.

Praise for Red Rising

“[A] spectacular adventure . . . one heart-pounding ride . . . Pierce Brown’s dizzyingly good debut novel evokes The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, and Ender’s Game. . . . [Red Rising] has everything it needs to become meteoric.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow.”—Scott Sigler

“Red Rising is a sophisticated vision. . . . Brown will find a devoted audience.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch

Don’t miss any of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising Saga:
RED RISING • GOLDEN SON • MORNING STAR • IRON GOLD • DARK AGE • LIGHT BRINGER

From the Publisher

Experience the epic Red Rising Saga

EW calls Red Rising “[A] spectacular adventure . . . one heart-pounding ride . . .”

In a starred review, Booklist calls Morning Star “A page-turning epic filled with twists and turns.

Examiner calls Red Rising a “compulsively readable and exceedingly entertaining . . .”


Top reviews from the United States

  • Angela's Library
    5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning debut with unforgettable characters
    Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2015
    Red Rising is definitely one of those books that improves with re-reading. It’s been touted as the next big thing, a book that will knock you off your feet and fill the void left by The Hunger Games. When I finished my first read of the book, I couldn’t decide whether the hype was justified or not; Brown blew me away in the first few chapters, failed to wow me in the next few, and then alternated between “pretty good” and “outstanding” for the remainder of the book.

    There were times when I struggled with the believability of Brown’s world, when I felt he wasn’t being consistent with his characterization or was losing the thread of his story. At other times, though, there were moments of true greatness, where I glimpsed the tremendous potential of this trilogy.

    When six months had gone by and I still couldn’t stop thinking about Red Rising, I decided to buy a copy and read it again. The second time, I was blown away. I found myself describing it to friends as “epic,” “spectacular,” and “out of this world,” and it's become one of my favorite books.

    Red Rising takes place on Mars hundreds of years in the future, when a person’s station and function are determined by the Color they’re born into. The Reds, for example, are tasked with toiling in the underground mines of Mars to collect the elements that will be used make the planet inhabitable.

    One of these Reds is Darrow, a young man respected and loved by his people for his quick hands and sharp mind. Working conditions may be hellish, living conditions bleak, but Darrow is proud to do his part for the good of humanity. His wife, on the other hand, views the Reds’ toil as slavery and urges Darrow to use his reputation and talents to free their people. Darrow, head-over-heels in love with his wife and unwilling to risk her safety and the life they’ve built together, resists.

    It’s only after tragedy strikes that Darrow is forced to rethink his world view and realize his wife’s dream is one worth fighting for. Transmuted by grief and rage, Darrow joins a rebel force in a plot to bring down the Golds, the elite who rule all the other Colors. Darrow undergoes an extensive and painful transformation to pass as a Gold, the plan being for him to fight the Golds from within and rise through the ranks to a position of influence where he can start a revolution.

    The first step in this ascension is to enroll in the Institute, a training ground for young Golds. Unlike traditional schools, the Institute is less of a college, more of an immense, high-stakes game of Capture the Flag or Risk. The students are divided into 12 houses and thrown into the wilderness, the objective being for one house to conquer all of the others.

    This is where most people begin comparing Red Rising to The Hunger Games. While there are definite similarities, such as the fact that young people are fighting one another in an arena-like field, there are key differences between the two. The principle way Red Rising differs from The Hunger Games is that the game of Capture the Flag is not a free-for-all where only one can be left standing at the end. To succeed in the Institute you need allies, an army. You need to become a leader, bring people to your side, rally and unite your troops. You need strategy and inspiration. Watching Darrow figure out how to become not just a victor, but a leader and a legend, is one of the biggest selling points of the book.

    I would say Red Rising feels more reminiscent of Braveheart than The Hunger Games, mostly due to the setting and to Darrow himself. The game of Capture the Flag is played out in a land of castles, highlands, forests, and vales. There are battle cries, ferocious warriors galloping around on horseback, animal pelts, and war paint. And like William Wallace, Darrow is fighting against oppression and has an inner fire and charisma that win people’s hearts and loyalty.

    Darrow is everything you could ask for in an epic hero. For one thing, he’s self-aware and able to make sacrifices and tough decisions because he knows they are required. He regrets some of the things he must do in order to get ahead but recognizes that those actions must be taken in order to realize his wife’s dream. He’s brilliant and strong but not infallible; a leader, but one who must trust and rely on others for his ultimate success. His victories are epic, but so are his failures. I’m in awe of him and can’t wait to see his meteoric rise continue in the rest of this series.

    The supporting characters in the Institute also played a huge part in winning me over. Darrow may be the grand hero, but don’t let that fool you into thinking the rest of the story's cast are lesser beings. There are some serious power players in this book, and they each feel like real, distinct, memorable people. They’re not just characters, they’re titans, and without them Red Rising wouldn’t be half so successful.

    Were there problems with Red Rising? Certainly. It can be overwhelming at times, slow at others, and there are moments when it feels like Brown is writing not a story, but Ideas, with a capital "I." Ultimately, though, this is a brilliant book. It wowed me, moved me, and left me stunned, and I am rabid to know how the trilogy will proceed.

    This review can also be found on my blog,http://AngelasLibrary.com.
  • Sneaky Burrito
    5.0 out of 5 stars story type is familiar, but I became emotionally invested despite that!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2015
    I have read a lot of books like this one lately. Smashing elements of the first two Hunger Games books together, for example, you'll get something rather like Red Rising. Present-tense, first person POV, someone from the lower echelons of society challenging (or attempting to challenge) the established social order. Naturally, the established social order is unjust -- extremely so. We're supposed to want it to be overturned. And so the protagonist has our immediate sympathy. (Essentially, people are identified by colors: Red, Brown, Obsidian, Gold, Gray, Silver, and several others. People of each color are assigned specific roles in society -- Golds rule, Reds are basically at the bottom of the ladder, Pinks are forced to work in brothels, Violets are artists, and so forth.)

    In this case, our protagonist is Darrow, a young (Red) man who mines helium-3 under the surface of Mars. This is his family trade; they've been doing it for years, eking out an existence on scraps thrown to them by their Gold masters (and the Golds' functionaries of "lower" color classes). Something happens (don't want to spoil it) and Darrow's life changes forever.

    I like Darrow as a character. I think part of this is the emotion the author is able to put into his writing. This is especially true for the first 20% of the book, but you remember that aspect of Darrow throughout the rest of the book. Sometimes he seems heartless, but you know why he does what he does (or why he *thinks* he needs to take certain actions). He's filled with anger and purpose but he also has doubts.

    Naturally, this being first person POV, the other characters are not as complex. But in a way, that's necessary. There are quite a few betrayals and double-crossings in this book. Alliances shift. And there'd be much less tension if you knew what every character was thinking, the whole time. There's something of a pattern to this book -- a series of defeats and/or humiliations for our hero and his allies, but these are followed by triumphs. What I do like is that you never know how big the defeat is going to be. Sometimes, you get nervous about something only for it to turn out to be minor. Sometimes, the problem is much bigger. And you never know which is going to be the case until it happens. So the book is predictable in its overall arc, but you are still surprised by the reading experience. So even though there are many parallel stories out there, told in many other books, somehow I still find this compelling to read. I suppose that's the author's skill involved there (pretty remarkable, as I think this is his first book).

    The setting is Mars, but this Mars has been terraformed. People live there, on the surface, in great cities. So even though a lot of this book involves low-tech warfare, you know things like space travel are possible. There are tablet computers and holographic video playback devices and boots that alter the workings of gravity. Thankfully, this is not explained in detail -- because many of these things are probably not scientifically possible. However, these elements generally just blend into the background. Usually objects are named such that you can kind of figure out what they do without being bogged down in the particulars. I prefer it that way.

    Pacing is pretty good. There is a period in the middle of the book where not much happens for months. But the author doesn't dwell on this; it takes only a few pages. We know what Darrow is doing, and there are a few tense moments and dropped bits of information that further the story. This is a good strategy -- this part builds the relationship between two important characters (not a traditional YA love story, thankfully) but also sets the stage for events later in the book. And it doesn't feel like it's taking too long. It may not be the high point in terms of action, but it works.

    There's a lot of violence in this book, so be prepared for that. Most of the swear words are made up, and there are references to sex and rape although nothing of that nature is described in explicit detail. I would hesitate to call this YA because of the level of violence and gore, but the characters are older teens and I think mature young people could handle it, most certainly. (However, you don't *have* to be young to enjoy the book -- I'm in my mid/late 30s!)

    In the end, although the type of story was familiar, this was something of an emotional roller coaster. Not many books have been able to make me feel that way lately. I read book 2 right after this and now I have to wait along with everyone else for book 3. I hope it's not too long in coming.

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