Image credits at the bottom of the review.

The Red Rising series by Pierce Brown is one that is well loved. It currently consists of 4 books: Red Rising, Golden Son, Morning Star, andIron Gold. The concluding book, Dark Age, is set to be released on July 30th, 2019. This review will cover the first three in the series, as it was originally intended to be only a trilogy.

The first of the three books, Red Rising, throws the reader head first into the world of Darrow, a helldiver in Lykos, part of the clan Lambda. Darrow has not had it easy. Being a Red, he has to fight for everything, from food to fun to freedom. He is tethered to this world only by his family and his love for Eo, his wife. The two were married at the age of 16, which is middle age for the Reds. The hardness of their lives leads to short but often happy lives. But when his world ends, he makes a choice that changes everything. He chooses love.

When his world turns, he makes the most of it fighting to keep the dream of his dear wife alive and burning bright.

During the many tribulations that he is faced with, Brown does an excellent job of showing the constant inner turmoil felt by the Red in a Gold’s world. The book never seems “easy.” Nothing is ever handed over to Darrow, nothing is every what it seems.

And in the end, when his life turns even further on its head, the struggle remains, but moments of peace are added back in, showing the little bits of love being reintroduced to Darrow when he thought all was lost, and there was only fight left.

Out of the three books Golden Son was my least favorite. This book dealt a lot with the political aspect of the world of Golds. It focuses on the Politicos and tricks of hand, while also having blind side after blind side.

And that was my issue with this book. It felt more like an episode of Survivor than what I expected from the way the first ended. And I knew it wouldn’t be fields of flowers and happily ever afters, but the changing alliances made my head spin. I guess that’s how the world works, but I had issues keeping up.

Besides from all the politics, the book did have some good aspects. Nothing felt rushed but nothing also felt completely out of placed. I never one hundred percent missed something that was coming (up until the very end…like the last chapter or two). Brown did a good job of keeping the momentum up, which often falls in the second book. It was just a relatively dense book compared to the first. It made me think.

The third book, Morning Star, was by far my favorite. So much happened and there was almost never a dull moment. The fact that worlds blended, in a way that the characters had been fighting for, for two books already, made me so happy to see. But, of course, there were difficulties. Brown did not just make it work. He made there be logical and expected issues, as well as ones that I did not think.

He also did an amazing job of leaving the reader in the dark. I am a relatively well-versed reader. I have read numerous books of the same genre, and a lot of the time, I can pretty much figure out what was going to happen, or at least have an inkling about it. But with this book, there were multiple times where I was so shaken about what had just happened that I had to put the book down. The effects would have been a lot worse if I was not a glutton for punishment and had not looked up the fates of some characters (oops).

This trilogy is one that I love. I will definitely be reading Iron Gold and Dark Agewhen it hits the shelf. Brown did an excellent job at creating a world among the worlds, and he took full advantage of the vastness of our universe. Throughout reading, I could never tell who his intended audience was. There was nothing guiding it away from the young adult audience, but it was also mature enough that adults could read it and be very entertained. I think, being 19, that this hit the sweet spot for me. It was not too easy to read, like a lot of young adult books are starting to become, but I am still a teenager, relatively naïve, and have a lot to learn in this world. Because of this, some adult books tend to go straight over my head. This series kept me entertained and definitely on my toes. Pierce Brown masterfully worked the world of his own into our universe and beautifully developed these characters, making it devastating when losses occurred and overwhelming when something finally goes their way.

Red Rising Cover Image from: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Rising-Pierce-Brown/dp/034553980X

Golden Son Cover Image from: https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Son-Book-Rising-Saga/dp/0345539834/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2/139-2906844-4410244?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0345539834&pd_rd_r=8f3292b8-8263-11e9-b0f3-5fc5494b71c2&pd_rd_w=5aTdp&pd_rd_wg=iEz97&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=4J5ACA6EVYFYF3MYP219&psc=1&refRID=4J5ACA6EVYFYF3MYP219

Morning Son Cover Image from: https://www.amazon.com/Morning-Star-Book-Rising-Saga/dp/0345539869/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2/139-2906844-4410244?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0345539869&pd_rd_r=7a93558a-8263-11e9-9c4a-ff62a9822dac&pd_rd_w=y7DmH&pd_rd_wg=GWeU6&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=TRMMBRZH8FJEX5FG1BD4&psc=1&refRID=TRMMBRZH8FJEX5FG1BD4