Red Rising
Pierce Brown
If you ever wondered what would happen if The Hunger Games, Roman history, and Warhammer 40K had an extremely violent, extremely ambitious child, congratulations — it’s Red Rising.
At first glance, you think you know the setup: oppressed miner class on Mars, rigid color-coded caste system, scrappy underdog protagonist. Standard dystopian stuff, right? No. Absolutely not. By chapter five, it feels less like YA dystopia and more like "What if a philosophy major and a military strategist co-wrote Gladiator fanfiction and accidentally made it brilliant?"
Darrow, our protagonist, starts as a Red — the lowest class — digging for helium-3 under the surface of Mars, completely unaware he’s basically a cog in the world's most elaborate lie. Spoiler: he figures it out. And then things escalate fast. Think plastic surgery, infiltration, secret societies, and enough backstabbing to make a Shakespearean villain go, “Damn.”
Why I respect Red Rising:
• Pierce Brown doesn’t just write fights and betrayals. He writes entire social, political, and economic structures.
• Darrow’s transformation is insane. This man literally rewires his own body and brain to play a bigger game. I admire it.
• Battle school but make it lethal. Imagine Hogwarts, but everyone has swords and if you lose, you’re buried in the sand. It’s Lord of the Flies meets The Art of War. "All men are not created equal," one character says—and the book means it. There’s no fair game here.
• You never feel safe. Every chapter is a power play, a betrayal, or a hidden agenda coming to the surface.
if you enjoy books where the main character is constantly at 2% health, covered in blood, and still pulling off genius-level strategy? You’ll feel right at home here.
On a personal note:
This is my all-time favorite series—so far. It’s smart, sharp, and impossible to put down once you get into it. If you’re dealing with tough times or feeling stuck, honestly, this is a good book to pick up. It keeps you thinking, keeps you moving.
And yes, it’s long. I wish it wasn’t so long because I want to finish it. And at the same time, I’m glad it’s this long because I don’t want the experience to end.
Now I’m stuck asking myself: how exactly am I supposed to find something that hits the same way after this?
If anyone has recommendations on books that mix philosophy, strategy, war, and soul like this—let me know. I’ll be looking.