Red Rising: The Book That Started It All

I finished the original Red Rising trilogy this weekend, and I’ve already decided I want to write about each book individually. There is just too much to say about all three at once. But before I get into Golden Son and Morning Star, I want to go back to where it all started: Red Rising.

I’ve always enjoyed reading, but it’s something that comes and goes for me. I’ve read some fantastic books over the last few years — Project Hail Mary, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Sunrise on the Reaping, and plenty of Harry Potter rereads — but it’s rare that a book completely takes over my brain. The last time I really remember being that addicted to reading was Harry Potter, especially when I was younger and would tear through the later books in just a few days. I’m also a huge gamer, so there are always plenty of other things competing for my attention. Red Rising eventually gave me that feeling again. I finished the trilogy, and almost immediately started listening to the audiobook of the first book because I already missed the world. I haven’t been swept up in an IP like this in a very long time.

When I first picked up Red Rising, I didn’t know much about it. Someone had recommended it to me probably a year or two earlier, but I’d completely forgotten about it. I eventually just decided to give it a shot. I was interested right away. The concept was cool, Darrow was an immediately compelling protagonist, and the world was fascinating, but I wouldn’t say I was blown away at first. There were a lot of names, Colors, Houses, Proctors and new concepts being thrown at me, and because I was reading the book relatively slowly, it was sometimes difficult to keep track of everyone. House Bellona, House Augustus, Cassius, Roque, Mustang, Sevro, Pax, Titus, Antonia — there was a lot to absorb. I think the moment the book really started clicking for me was Darrow’s Carving. That’s when I remember thinking, Okay, this is getting interesting. Then came the reveal that Titus was a Red, and I remember thinking, Whoa, okay, this book is getting juicier.

Looking back now after finishing the entire trilogy, what’s most impressive is how much Pierce Brown was already planting in that first book. The characters are easily the strongest part of Red Rising for me. I’ve rarely cared about a cast of characters as much as I came to care about these people. Darrow, Sevro, Mustang, Cassius, Roque, Pax, the Howlers — even the characters you’re supposed to hate are fascinating. Antonia is an absolutely horrible person, and the Jackal is basically Joffrey Baratheon turned up another level, but you can’t look away from either of them. Cassius might be the best example of all. His relationship with Darrow becomes this incredible emotional roller coaster, and even though that relationship changes dramatically throughout the trilogy, you can look back at the first book and see the seeds being planted immediately. Darrow respects Cassius even when he hates him, and I think Cassius respects Darrow too, even when he has every reason to want him dead.

That’s one of the things I love most about Darrow as a protagonist: he sees the person underneath the circumstances. He understands that people like Cassius, Roque and eventually Victra are products of the Society that raised them. He doesn’t excuse the terrible things they do, but he doesn’t believe that their worst actions are all they are either. That’s a huge part of what makes Darrow such a compelling leader. The Golds are taught that your Color determines your worth, but Darrow constantly challenges that idea. He sees people as individuals, and eventually people follow him not because they have to, but because they trust him and believe in him.

The Institute is obviously where this really starts to take shape. It’s almost like The Hunger Games at first — Houses fighting, taking standards and slaves, trying to conquer each other — but then it becomes so much more. Darrow constantly breaks the rules of the game. The Golds are supposed to take slaves, but Darrow says that if someone wants to follow him, they can follow him. They’re not his slaves. When one of his people breaks the law and is punished, Darrow chooses to take the same punishment himself. His message is essentially, if you’re going to get punished for fucking around, then so am I. He doesn’t ask his followers to endure things that he isn’t willing to endure himself. That’s the beginning of the leadership style that eventually defines him.

The Howlers are probably the coolest expression of that. Sevro, Pebble, Thistle, Weed, Clown, Screwface and the rest become so much more than soldiers. They’re friends and eventually family. The image of these absolute lunatics wearing wolf cloaks, smelling like shit and charging into battle together is just incredible. And Darrow doesn’t build that loyalty through fear or hierarchy. He earns it. That’s what makes the relationships so powerful. A Red is not supposed to command Golds, let alone have Golds genuinely love and trust him, but Darrow slowly breaks down those barriers simply by treating people like people.

Pax is another great example. He starts out as this enormous, intimidating Gold, but eventually becomes one of Darrow’s first genuine protectors and friends. His death is such a gut punch because Brown makes you care about him so quickly. Pax becomes one of the first people who truly believes in Darrow, and his death shows just how much Darrow’s mission is going to cost him. Even after he’s gone, the name Pax continues to carry meaning throughout the series. He’s almost the first in a long line of people who sacrifice themselves for Darrow and the cause.

And of course, none of this happens without Eo. The entire story begins with Darrow wanting revenge for her death, but one of the most important developments in Red Rising is that revenge eventually stops being enough. Darrow gets his chance to take revenge on Nero, the man responsible for Eo’s death, and chooses not to do it. That’s such an important moment because it shows that he’s beginning to understand what Eo actually wanted. The image of Darrow pulling on the feet of the people he loves as they’re taken away is heartbreaking, and that idea of people being chained to a system they didn’t choose becomes the foundation of the entire trilogy. Eo’s dream ultimately becomes bigger than Eo’s death.

By the end of Red Rising, Darrow has the opportunity to simply go to work for Nero and continue pursuing his revenge, but instead he chooses the long game. He decides his best chance is to become the ArchGovernor’s man and infiltrate the Society from within. Even after discovering that the Institute was rigged for the Jackal, that the Jackal is Mustang’s twin brother, and that there is something much bigger happening behind the scenes, Darrow keeps moving forward. He isn’t just trying to avenge Eo anymore. He’s trying to break the chains.

That’s why I think Red Rising works so well as the foundation for the trilogy. When you’re reading it for the first time, the Institute can feel like the entire story. But after finishing Golden Son and Morning Star, you realize it’s really just the beginning. It’s where Darrow learns to lead, where the Howlers are born, where his relationships with Sevro, Mustang, Cassius and Roque are established, where he begins to understand the Golds, and where Brown establishes so many of the themes that carry through the entire series: loyalty, friendship, love, sacrifice, identity and the idea that people are more than the circumstances they were born into.

And that’s why I’m so excited to listen to Red Rising again. I finished the book only a couple of months ago, but I already appreciate it so much more after experiencing the entire trilogy. I’m not listening now wondering what’s going to happen. I know these characters. I know where their relationships go. I know which little moments are going to become important. I’m getting to experience the foundation with the benefit of hindsight, and it’s making me appreciate just how much Pierce Brown built into this first book.

Red Rising didn’t completely blow me away when I first started it. It took me some time to get there. But by the time I finished it, I was ready to see what came next. And then Golden Son and Morning Star took that interest and turned it into something much bigger. That’s where this series really sunk its teeth into me. And that’s what I’ll get into next.

Red Rising = 4.5 ⭐️ /5