Break the Chains!
Between balancing NaNoWriMo, family shenanigans, and homework, I didn’t get as much reading done this month. For all that, reading always happens!
Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown: I read all three books this month. The series needs to be taken as a whole, so I’m doing a review of all three books.
First of all, I have to say how much of a marketing lesson this has been for me. I have heard so much about how great this series is, but the covers just never caught my attention in the bookstore. During a visit to my local Barnes and Noble I saw an exclusive edition the store had, with an absolutely gorgeous cover. I opened the book for the first time and read a few pages. I immediately needed it, and not just for the lovely cover.
Red Rising, Golden Son, and Morning Star have taken their places among my favorite sci-fi. This is a genre I usually don’t find engaging due to a general lack of focus on the human element, but that lack can be found in any genre. In this tale of an interplanetary caste system and a rebellion that’s fought both on the ground of several planets and in large scale space battles, Pierce Brown has created a tale that sacrifices none of the human element.
After the first book, while clamoring for the second, I jokingly described it as Hunger Games meets Percy Jackson in space. Which I stand by still, but it’s so much more than that. The Greek and Roman themes are prevalent. As the story progressed, I realized it comes close to a Greek or Shakespearean tragedy, especially at the end of the second book.
I purchased the third book shortly after starting the second and I am eternally grateful that I had it on hand when I finished the second. I couldn’t have asked for a more satisfying ending to the third, which is why it only comes close to being a Greek tragedy.
I am eager to read the other book Pierce Brown has written in the same setting, but I know that a sequel comes out soon, so I will probably hold off. After my experiences with this trilogy, I know that it’s better to have all the books lined up to be read.
