Red Rising: A Review
Introduction
I remember not too long ago when I download the e-Book version (sacrilege!) of William Golding's 1954 "classic" must-read book Lord of the Flies. It was a rather short affair. When you're used to 600-page fantasy word-fests, 200 pages seems flimsy in comparison. I went into it fully expecting to fall in love with it from page one. After all, what was not to love? It offers a sensational critique of groupthink (much like one of my favorites 1984) and offers a crystal-clear view into the primordial instincts of man and asks the reader to dig deep into their conscience and face their own sense of morality. For those of you unfamiliar with the work, the big question that one needs to ask oneself having read the book is this:
“Is man inherently evil?”
I remember having finished reading the book, feeling a sense of incredulousness. That the author would portray our race as being so selfish and prone to violence. That, mere children, would find it in themselves to be such savages when provided the right set of circumstances. After all, these are schoolyard kids who know not how to take the life of another. Strongly repulsed by the conclusion that Mr. Golding had to offer, I promptly remember 3 starring the book (excellent description of the visuals and I was quite a fan of the pacing) and decided to never give the book another glance.
That was until now.
Having eschewed dystopia in my late teens after faithfully binging it up until the age of fifteen, I picked up Red Rising by Pierce Brown after hearing much hype about it online. The synopsis also appealed to a more belligerent and rebellious side within me, a side that had lain dormant in me and chose the current political climate around the world to rear its head once again.
If you're new to dystopian fantasy or for some reason you've never heard of this series before, the series (yes, it is a 6 part series with the 6th one yet to come out) follows Darrow our protagonist, a lowly Red class miner living under the Martian surface who is responsible for aiding the terraforming efforts of Mars to make the planet habitable for future generations since Earth is a dying planet. (Where is the fantasy element you ask me?) He is told that he is a daring pioneer to risk his life so, that despite him occupying the lowest rung in the social strata his obedience and his willingness to sacrifice so much for the future of humanity will be rewarded by making him a hero amongst men.
Falling prey to this propaganda Darrow suffers humiliation and toils under the boot of the Gold class (the upper-class nobility) until one day his life is upended by the knowledge that everything he knows to be true is a lie. He is shown how Mars has already been successfully been colonized centuries ago and that his people are all toiling away so that the colors (classes) on the surface enjoy the luxuries afforded to them by the labor of his people.
Joining forces with a rebellious anarchist group he decides to infiltrate the Gold training academy pretending to be a Gold citizen himself so that he may expose and tear down the system from the inside. The academy as it turns out is a Hunger Games crossed with Sid Meyer's Civilization kind of arena where the different student tribes fight each other and form alliances and wage wars until one tribe rules over all others. There is an added layer of complexity here that the ruler of the winning tribe gets special favors, so one has to watch one's back not only for enemy attacks but also for tribe schisms and civil wars. All this while he is forced to stay true to his mission and not be led astray. Not to mention that there are plenty of other students in the academy with their own hidden agendas and secrets.
What I enjoyed about the book
The biggest thing that this book has going for it is its characters. Each character is fleshed out well and Pierce Brown does well not to skimp out on giving each character their own fully formed arc. There are some instances especially towards the end where you feel that some of the characters who came off as resourceful and domineering in the beginning suddenly feel reduced to side characters and love interests all to glorify our supreme protagonist. This is the unavoidable curse of the "chosen one" narrative but to be fair this is not that big a shortcoming and I feel the author will do all his characters justice in the future parts of the series. (Stay tuned for those).
The pacing is something that I truly love about this. Every chapter ends in a cliffhanger that leaves you clamoring for more and plenty of twists and revelations keep you glued to the pages. Nowhere in the book do you feel that there is a wasted paragraph. The entire plot is tightly written but amazingly this does not come at the cost of world-building or character growth moments.
The prose is terrific especially when you think of how YA literature is not known for its use of language. Certainly, this is no Oscar Wilde story with its aestheticism but fans of flowery prose will have something to look forward to as they pick this one up. Here are a few out of context snippets that I particularly enjoyed:
“I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war.”
“Promises are just chains," she rasps. "Both are meant for breaking.”
Last and in no way least, the larger questions that this book manages to ask. The author makes it abundantly clear how much this series is inspired by the Lord of the Flies. We see similar if not the same themes of factions breaking out among teenage kids and them fighting and squabbling over pittances and power. We are treated to our characters navigating the same scruples as their counterparts did in Lord of the Flies but in a much better way because we are made privy to their inner monologues and the thought process behind every action is explained in excellent detail. Readers who wish to spend time in the psyches of their characters and ponder over questions of philosophy and morality, do check this one out.
What I wish the author did better
The biggest shortcoming this book has is that it is not the most original of stories. Especially if you're a connoisseur of YA dystopia it becomes abundantly clear to you the different ways in which other kindred series have influenced Pierce Brown. At times, the author himself pays too much of an homage to the classics that came before him that you can't help but feel like you've heard this story before.
Another change that could have greatly benefited this book is the introduction of multi-person PoVs. There are enough well fleshed out characters here that they all deserve their own thoughts and feelings to take center stage at times. I wish more authors took the time out of their day to do this as it would greatly improve the reader's experience and help readers to better identify and attach themselves to their favorite characters.
Lastly, the world-building in this book is not the best, in the sense that given that the entire book is set in a futuristic Mars colony in space, we rarely if at all see any cool and futuristic weapons and tools. The few that are introduced are not given good enough descriptions. If you're expecting a pioneering work of science fiction and fantasy like Dune then I'm going to have to ask you to lower your expectation.
Parting Thoughts and Predictions
(SPOILER SECTION)
*THIS SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS PLEASE LOOK AWAY NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK*
The moral strife that Darrow goes through in the book, both as he is forced to reckon with the realization that he has been lied to and as he is made to come to terms with the fact that the love of his life Eo has died is interesting and entertaining to read about. As power seduces dear Darrow it is interesting to see his shifting allegiances. I would not be surprised if at one point Darrow decides to fully enmesh himself into the Gold hierarchy and turn his back on the Reds.
After all, power corrupts.
At the same time, I am not fully comfortable with the way Darrow found himself so easily falling for Mustang/Virginia. After all the beautiful scenes we had with Eo, it seemed rather anticlimactic to have him canoodling in caves with Virginia with nary a worry. Will he beat himself up as he falls deeper in love with Mustang is something I'm especially interested in knowing about.
The Passage was in my opinion an absolute genius concept. Till then I was afraid I was just reading some Hunger Games fic and I think the Passage really upped the emotional attachment I had with the characters. For Darrow to murder Julian and then to call Cassius a brother for so long just goes to show his commitment to duplicity and his hatred towards the Aureate. But I did feel that he developed a bit of a soft spot for Cassius again towards the end, so I am extremely excited to see where his loyalties will lie at the end of it all.
Sevro easily deserved his own PoV and I am really hoping that we get a good peek into his inner thoughts and why he chose to follow Darrow so faithfully despite being a capable leader himself.
At the same time, I am not fully comfortable with the way Darrow found himself so easily falling for Mustang/Virginia. After all the beautiful scenes we had with Eo, it seemed rather anticlimactic to have him canoodling in caves with Virginia with nary a worry. Will he beat himself up as he falls deeper in love with Mustang is something I’m especially interested in knowing about.
(END OF SPOILERS)
Final Rating
Here are my final category wise ratings so that you may see for yourself if this is something you’d be interested in reading.
Plot: 4 / 5 (Fast paced and exciting throughout, derivative at certain points)
Characters: 3.5 / 5 (Well fleshed out, many characters worthy of having their own PoVs, sadly towards the end they all seem to pale just to make our star burn brighter)
Prose: 3.5 / 5 (Surprisingly refreshing given the quality of prose this genre is used to.)
World Building: 2.5 / 5 (Wanted more, imagery is extremely monochromatic and leaves you lacking for some nuanced and delicate picturization, technology is extremely commonplace and hackneyed)
Overall Rating: 3.75/5
Read if you are a fan of: Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, 1984, Roman History, Greco-Roman Mythology, Lord of the Flies, Age of Empires
