Review: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

ISBN: 9780345539786
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Series: Red Rising #1
Release date: January 28, 2014
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     SYNOPSIS:

The war begins...
Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars. Generations of Helldivers have spent their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that one day people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left.
Until the day Darrow learns that it is all a lie. Mars is habitable - and indeed has been inhabited for generations by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. The Golds regard Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.
With the help of a mysterious group of rebels, Darrow disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside.
But the command school is a battlefield. And Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda...

     REVIEW:

I read Red Rising back in.. geez, back in March. Here we are in June and I've yet to post a review. Yes, I have been in a bit of a slump. Yes I was on something along the lines of a hiatus. Yes, I am still recovering from said slump in an attempt to get back into my normal groove. But I also took this long because this was the next review I had to write and there are just no words for it.

Usually, I take notes while reading, or post incessantly to Goodreads if I need my screams to be heard, and use said notes and screams to help formulate my reviews.

Yeah, basically my Goodreads went something like this: "I have never read a book like this one. I can't.. I can't.." and that's about all the help I gave myself. Probably because I couldn't, and still can't form words in regards to this book.

I feel like it's something you all need to experience for yourselves. I will say, I don't think this is for everyone. It was reminiscent of... The Hunger Games, A Song of Ice and Fire and Ender's Game. Actually, I'm pretty sure the dust jacket of this book quotes those three books exactly. But it's so true and if you aren't a fan to some degree of these three books, I honestly don't think you will like Red Rising. It has the heart and soul of THG, the intensity and violence of ASoIF, and the intelligence and "out of this world" feeling of Ender's Game.

The world building is brilliant, explaining so much but still leaving so much to be discovered. The characters - God, I loved (and hated) so many of them! What was fantastic was how profound some of the messages in this book were without being over the top. I am in desperate need of the next book, Golden Son, immediately.

For lack of a better explanation on why this was one of the best books I've read so far this year, I shall instead implore you to go read it. That is, if you think you can handle it.

RATING: Loved it! ★★★★ 1/2

Have you read Red Rising yet? If you have, please help me better explain this amazing novel. What was it that you loved (or hated) about the book? If you haven't read it, do you think you will? Does it being described as a mix between THG, ASoIF and Ender's Game make you want to read it, or does that totally turn you off? Let's talk books!

Happy reading :)

A.