Red Rising is a 2014 dystopianscience fiction novel by American author Pierce Brown. It is the first book and eponym of the series. The novel, set in the future on Mars, follows lowborn miner Darrow as he infiltrates the ranks of the elite Golds.
Red Rising has received generally positive reviews.
Plot summary
700 years before the story's start, humankind colonized Luna, where the Society—a rigid social hierarchy of 14 Colors with specialized roles—was developed for efficiency and order. The Society, harshly ruled by certain families of mentally and physically superior Golds, conquered Earth and colonized moons and small planets. Reds are the Society's lowest-status laborers. Mars's underground Red mining colonies compete in rigged contests that sow discord and are lied to that Mars is not yet terraformed.
At the story's outset, 16-year-old Darrow is a rash, intelligent, dexterous, newly-wed Red helium-3 miner. Darrow and his wife Eo are publicly whipped for visiting a restricted underground forest. With Mars ArchGovernor Nero present and the event being filmed, Eo sings a song protesting the Reds' enslavement. Nero has Eo publicly hanged. A grieving Darrow illegally buries Eo and is hanged too, but survives as his uncle, Narol, drugged him.
Narol helps deliver Darrow to the Sons of Ares, who aim to overturn the Society's hierarchy. The Sons used footage of Eo's song and execution as propaganda. Dancer, a Red, wants Darrow to infiltrate the Society as a Gold. Darrow is physically transformed by Mickey (a Violet), physically trained by Harmony (a Red), and taught Gold customs by Matteo (a Pink).
Using a fabricated Gold identity, Darrow excels in testing and is accepted into Mars's Institute. Lorn drafts Darrow into SchoolHouse Mars. Darrow befriends Cassius. The Institute begins with the Passage: Within each of the 12 SchoolHouses, students are beaten, then paired off (a high test scorer with a low test scorer) to fight to the death barehanded. Darrow kills Cassius's brother, Julian, and lies about it. Sevro kills high-status Priam.
Next, in the Valles Marineris, each SchoolHouse is assigned a castle and told to conquer the other SchoolHouses. Each SchoolHouse's flag can enslave other SchoolHouses' students. SchoolHouse Pluto, led by Nero's son Adrius ("the Jackal"), resorts to cannibalism to survive. Darrow wields a scythe; he is nicknamed "Reaper". SchoolHouse Mars fractures into factions: Darrow and Cassius's, Antonia's, Titus's, and Sevro alone. Quinn saves Darrow from Titus's faction. The bloodthirsty Titus rapes enslaved peers and captures Quinn; Cassius challenges Titus but Titus's group assaults Cassius. Darrow manipulates SchoolHouse Minerva, led by "Mustang" (Virginia), into defeating Titus and retreating. Sevro saves Darrow and Cassius from SchoolHouse Minerva. Darrow speaks to a captive Titus and realizes he is a Red. To maintain his cover, Darrow sentences Titus to death. Cassius duels and kills Titus, thinking Titus killed Julian.
Darrow outwits and enslaves SchoolHouse Diana and most of SchoolHouse Minerva but lets Virginia escape the sadistic Vixus with her flag. Adrius's subordinate, Lilath, declares a bounty on Darrow and passes Cassius a pouch that Darrow asks Sevro to steal; Cassius thwarts this and watches the pouch's video of Darrow killing Julian. Antonia, Vixus, and Cassandra use Lea to ambush Darrow. He hides; they execute Lea and flee. Cassius stabs Darrow in a duel and leaves him for dead, usurping SchoolHouse Mars, but Virginia rescues Darrow. As he recovers, they develop romantic feelings. Virginia falls gravely ill. Fitchner, SchoolHouse Mars's Proctor and Sevro's father tells Darrow that Nero manipulated the Proctors to help Adrius. Darrow obtains medicine from Fitchner to cure Virginia.
Darrow and Virginia amass an army by freeing slaves using SchoolHouse Minerva's flag. When Tactus tries to rape Nyla, Darrow has both Tactus and himself whipped, earning his army’s loyalty. Darrow conquers SchoolHouses Ceres and Apollo. Sevro rejoins Darrow, who incapacitates Fitchner for his flying boots. Darrow traps Adrius, who amputates his own hand to free himself. The Proctors help Adrius counterattack and escape; Pax protects Darrow; Adrius kills Pax. The Proctors kidnap Virginia. Enraged, Darrow slays Proctor Apollo.
With the Proctors' flying boots, Darrow's army storms Olympus, the Proctors' base, freeing Virginia and capturing the Proctors. Sevro deletes evidence that Darrow is a Red. Darrow usurps Cassius, who declares a blood feud. Learning that Virginia is Adrius's sister, Darrow fears her betrayal, but Virginia dutifully delivers Adrius, and Darrow wins the Institute's title.
Many Golds covet Darrow. Nero proposes to help Darrow join the fleet-commanding Academy and rise to power if Darrow hides Nero's game-rigging and becomes his Lancer (aide-de-camp). Darrow agrees, publicly joining House Augustus.
Characters
Darrow, a Red who is remade into a Gold named "Darrow au Andromedus" to infiltrate and destroy the Society. He is later called "The Reaper" by his classmates, for the sickle-shaped blade he carries as his weapon.
Eo, Darrow's wife whose hanging for treason ignites his desire for revenge against the Golds.
Nero au Augustus, the ArchGovernor of Mars who orders Eo's execution.
Virginia au Augustus, daughter of the ArchGovernor and leader of House Minerva at the Institute. Initially not knowing her given name, Darrow calls her "Mustang".
Adrius au Augustus, Virginia's vicious twin brother, leader of House Pluto at the Institute. His cruel and violent tactics of conquest earn him the nickname "The Jackal".
Cassius au Bellona, Darrow's friend and ally in House Mars before he discovers that Darrow killed his brother.
Roque, Darrow's friend and ally in House Mars, a self-styled poet.
Sevro, Darrow's friend and ally in House Mars, a lowDraft with an antisocial attitude.
Antonia au Severus, a ruthless Gold whom Darrow alienates almost immediately.
Titus au Ladros, a violent and tyrannical member of House Mars.
Pax au Telemanus, a massive warrior aligned with Virginia in House Minerva.
Tactus au Rath, a duplicitous member of House Diana.
Fitchner, Proctor of Mars at the Institute, Sevro's father.
Narol, Darrow's paternal uncle, rescues Darrow after his execution and sends him to the Sons of Ares.
Dancer, Darrow's mentor in the Sons of Ares who first reveals to him the lies of the Golds.
Harmony, Dancer's half-disfigured, female partner and Darrow's contentious drill instructor.
Mickey, a Violet Carver who remakes Darrow's body and physically transforms him into a Gold.
Matteo, a Pink who educates Darrow about the society, its history, politics, and arts.
Octavia au Lune, the Sovereign of the Society.
Evey, a winged-Pink who nurses and cares for Darrow during The Carving.
Development
Brown said of writing Red Rising, "I started with the main character [Darrow] and shaped my world around him. I was inspired by the plight of Irish immigrants in the 19th century and by the disenfranchisement of working classes."[1] Brown also explained:
Pax's death was capricious and bothered me. I needed the Jackal to demonstrate his nature in Book 1 so I put all the names in the hat except Darrow and Mustang. When I pulled out Pax's name I stood there thinking, "I could just put it back in, no-one would ever know." I had a huge story arc planned with Darrow being with the Telemanuses against the Bellonas and that changed everything. But it was better, ultimately, that Darrow didn't have that shelter to hide behind.[2]
Marc Snetiker of Entertainment Weekly gave the book an A−, writing, "Brown writes with cinematic grandeur, cleverly fusing Roman mythology with science fiction and pacing his action scenes for a slow-burn build to a hold-your-breath final act."[4] Brian Truitt of USA Today gave the book 3.5 out of 4 stars, proclaiming, "Red Rising ascends above a crowded dystopian field."[5] Writing for The Huffington Post, Britt Michaelian explained, "The morals and values that are explored through the characters in Red Rising have the potential to inspire a generation of readers to think intelligently about the impact of their decisions on themselves, their family and friends and on their world as a whole. This book is truly a powerful lesson in leadership."[6] Niall Alexander wrote for Tor.com:
On the surface, Red Rising resembles any number of other genre novels of note, but dig a little deeper ... to reveal real uniqueness: in Brown’s nearly seamless assemblage of several time-tested traditions, if not in a great many of his debut’s myriad threads independently ... Its final act ... is like a heart attack: a no-holds-barred bastard of a finale in which the author gathers a spread of elements together in much the same way George R. R. Martin’s does in the best and most brutal bits of his bestselling saga ... For once I would have loved more in the way of worldbuilding, and Brown could have made the most of a longer novel by exploring a few of his fiction’s most interesting figures further, but it bears remembering that Red Rising is only the beginning of a trilogy—which is to say there’s space and time for this impressive young author to work out its biggest kinks.[7]
Kirkus Reviews described the novel as "reminiscent of The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones", calling it "a fine novel for those who like to immerse themselves in alternative worlds".[8] However, Publishers Weekly said of the novel, "Pierce offers a Hollywood-ready story with plenty of action and thrills but painfully little originality or plausibility."[9]
Brown's Red Rising fans have dubbed themselves "Howlers" after characters in the novels, and the author has also noted the popularity of his novels among queer readers, saying "One of my favourite things about this tour has been seeing how popular these books have been with the lesbian, gay and transgender community. It's amazing that they have found a home in these books. One reader almost made me cry. He's transgender and identifies as male and he told me that he found a home in Sevro and feels like Sevro was the friend he never had."[2]
A six-issue prequel comic book series exploring the origins of the rebel group "Sons of Ares" called Red Rising: Sons of Ares was published by Dynamite Entertainment in 2017.[10][11] The series was continued with six more issues published in 2020.[12]
Adaptations
Audiobooks
An audiobook of Red Rising, the first book in the series, was released on January 28, 2014 by Recorded Books.[13]GraphicAudio produced an audiobook of book one in two parts that include full cast, cinematic music and sound effects. Part one was released on March 22, 2023, and part two was released on May 15.[14][15]
In 2014, Universal Pictures secured the rights for a film adaptation, but the project was eventually scrapped. Brown began developing Red Rising as a television series in 2018, and insinuated that the potential series had one of the major streaming services interested in adapting the series in 2021.[18]
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Golden Son is a 2015 science fiction novel by American author Pierce Brown, the second in his Red Rising trilogy.
Morning Star is a 2016 science fiction novel by American author Pierce Brown, the third in his Red Rising trilogy. Morning Star picks up as the lowborn Darrow escapes capture and resumes his campaign against the tyrannical Sovereign of the Society. Pragmatic as ever, he begins to amass the resources and allies he needs to defeat the forces of the Sovereign.
Iron Gold is a 2018 science fiction novel by American author Pierce Brown, the first of a tetralogy which continues the story of his Red Rising trilogy (2014–2016). Iron Gold takes place ten years after the events of Morning Star (2016), with Darrow "The Reaper" of Lykos and Virginia "Mustang" au Augustus leading the new Solar Republic. It is followed by Dark Age (2019).
Red Rising: Sons of Ares is a six-issue comic book series published by Dynamite Entertainment in 2017. A prequel to the Red Rising science fiction series by Pierce Brown, it was written by Brown and Rik Hoskin, with art by Eli Powell. The series explores the origins of the rebel group "Sons of Ares" from Brown's Red Rising novels.
Dark Age is a 2019 science fiction novel by American author Pierce Brown, the second book of a tetralogy which continues the story of his Red Rising trilogy (2014–2016). Dark Age takes place immediately after the events of Iron Gold (2018), as the remaining Society forces aim to take back Mercury from the Solar Republic. A sequel, Light Bringer, was released on July 25, 2023.
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