Red Rising
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''Red Rising'' is a 2014
dystopian A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
novel by American author
Pierce Brown Pierce Brown (born January 28, 1988) is an American science fiction author who writes the ''Red Rising'' series, consisting of '' Red Rising'' (2014), '' Golden Son'' (2015), '' Morning Star'' (2016), '' Iron Gold'' (2018), '' Dark Age'' (2019), ...
. It is the first book and
eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
of the series. The novel, set in the future on
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
, follows lowborn miner Darrow as he infiltrates the ranks of the elite Golds. ''Red Rising'' has received generally positive reviews.


Plot summary

Seven hundred years before the story's start, humankind colonized
Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin, Spanish and other languages * Luna (goddess) In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin ''Lūna'' ). She is often presented as t ...
, where the Society—a rigid social hierarchy of 14 Colors with specialized roles—was developed for efficiency and order. The Society, harshly ruled by certain families of mentally and physically superior Golds, conquered
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
and colonized moons and small planets. Reds are the Society's lowest-status laborers.
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
's underground Red mining colonies compete in rigged contests that sow discord and are lied to that Mars is not yet
terraformed Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make ...
. At the story's outset, 16-year-old Darrow is a rash, intelligent, dexterous, newly-wed Red
helium-3 Helium-3 (3He see also helion) is a light, stable isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron. (In contrast, the most common isotope, helium-4, has two protons and two neutrons.) Helium-3 and hydrogen-1 are the only stable nuclides with ...
miner. Darrow and his wife Eo are publicly whipped for visiting a restricted underground forest. With Mars's ArchGovernor Nero present and the event being filmed, Eo sings a song protesting the Reds' enslavement. Nero has Eo publicly hanged. A grieving Darrow illegally buries Eo and is hanged too, but survives due to his uncle Narol drugging him. Narol then delivers Darrow to the Sons of
Ares Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...
, who aim to overturn the Society's hierarchy. The Sons used footage of Eo's song and execution as propaganda. Dancer, a Red, wants Darrow to infiltrate the Society as a Gold. Darrow is physically transformed by Mickey (a Violet) via a "carving", physically trained by Harmony (a Red), and taught Gold customs by Matteo (a Pink). Under the fabricated Gold identity of "Darrow au Andromeda", he excels in testing and is accepted into Mars's Institute. He is drafted into House Mars, one of 12 school Houses, where he befriends Cassius. The Institute begins with the Passage where students are beaten, then paired off (a high test scorer with a low test scorer) to fight to the death barehanded. Darrow kills Cassius's brother, Julian, and lies about it. Sevro unexpectedly kills high-status Priam. Next, in the
Valles Marineris Valles Marineris (; Latin for ''Mariner program, Mariner Valleys'', named after the Mariner 9 Mars orbiter of 1971–72 which discovered it) is a system of canyons that runs along the Mars, Martian surface east of the Tharsis region. At more than ...
, each schoolHouse is assigned a castle and told to conquer the other SchoolHouses. Each schoolHouse's flag can enslave other schoolHouses' students. House Pluto, led by Nero's son Adrius ("the Jackal"), resorts to
cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well document ...
to survive. Darrow wields a
scythe A scythe (, rhyming with ''writhe'') is an agriculture, agricultural hand-tool for mowing grass or Harvest, harvesting Crop, crops. It was historically used to cut down or reaping, reap edible grain, grains before they underwent the process of ...
; he is nicknamed "Reaper". House Mars fractures into factions: Darrow and Cassius's, Antonia's, Titus's. Sevro operates alone. Quinn saves Darrow from Titus's faction. The bloodthirsty Titus rapes enslaved peers and captures Quinn; Cassius challenges Titus but Titus's group assaults Cassius. Darrow manipulates House Minerva, led by "Mustang" (Virginia), into defeating Titus and retreating. Sevro saves Darrow and Cassius from House Minerva. Darrow speaks to a captive Titus and realizes he is a Red that has also undergone a "carving" as an agent of the Sons of Ares. To maintain his cover, Darrow sentences Titus to death. Cassius duels and kills Titus, thinking Titus killed Julian. Darrow outwits and enslaves House Diana and most of House Minerva but lets Virginia escape with her flag, leading the sadistic Vixus away. Adrius's subordinate, Lilath, declares a bounty on Darrow and passes Cassius a pouch that Darrow asks Sevro to steal; Cassius thwarts this and watches the pouch's video of Darrow killing Julian. Antonia, Vixus, and Cassandra use Lea to ambush Darrow. He hides; they execute Lea and flee. Cassius stabs Darrow in a duel and leaves him for dead, usurping House Mars, but Virginia rescues Darrow. As he recovers, they develop romantic feelings. Virginia falls gravely ill. Fitchner, House Mars's Proctor and Sevro's father tells Darrow that Nero manipulated the Proctors to help Adrius. Darrow obtains medicine from Fitchner to cure Virginia. Darrow and Virginia amass an army by freeing slaves using House Minerva's flag. When Tactus tries to rape Nyla, Darrow has both Tactus and himself whipped, earning his army’s loyalty. Darrow conquers Houses Ceres and Apollo. Sevro rejoins Darrow, who incapacitates Fitchner for his flying boots. Darrow traps Adrius, who amputates his own hand to free himself. The Proctors help Adrius counterattack and escape; Pax protects Darrow; Adrius kills Pax. The Proctors kidnap Virginia. Enraged, Darrow slays Proctor Apollo. With the Proctors' flying boots, Darrow's army storms Olympus, the Proctors' base, freeing Virginia and capturing the Proctors. Sevro deletes evidence that Darrow is a Red. Darrow usurps Cassius, who declares a blood feud. Learning that Virginia is Adrius's sister, Darrow fears her betrayal, but Virginia dutifully delivers Adrius, and Darrow wins the Institute's title. Many Golds covet Darrow. Nero proposes to help Darrow join the fleet-commanding Academy and rise to power if Darrow hides Nero's game-rigging and becomes his Lancer ('' aide-de-camp''). Darrow agrees, publicly joining House Augustus.


Characters

* Darrow, a Red who is remade into a Gold named "Darrow au Andromedus" to infiltrate and destroy the Society. He is later called "The Reaper" by his classmates, for the
sickle A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting or reaping grain crops, or cutting Succulent plant, succulent forage chiefly for feedi ...
-shaped blade he carries as his weapon. * Eo, Darrow's wife whose hanging for treason ignites his desire for revenge against the Golds. * Nero au Augustus, the ArchGovernor of Mars who orders Eo's execution. * Virginia au Augustus, daughter of the ArchGovernor and leader of House Minerva at the Institute. Initially not knowing her given name, Darrow calls her "Mustang". * Adrius au Augustus, Virginia's vicious twin brother, leader of House Pluto at the Institute. His cruel and violent tactics of conquest earn him the nickname "The Jackal". * Cassius au Bellona, Darrow's friend and ally in House Mars before he discovers that Darrow killed his brother. * Roque, Darrow's friend and ally in House Mars, a self-styled poet. * Sevro, Darrow's friend and ally in House Mars, a lowDraft with an antisocial attitude. * Antonia au Severus, a ruthless Gold whom Darrow alienates almost immediately. * Titus au Ladros, a violent and tyrannical member of House Mars. * Pax au Telemanus, a massive warrior aligned with Virginia in House Minerva. * Tactus au Rath, a duplicitous member of House Diana. * Fitchner, Proctor of Mars at the Institute, Sevro's father. * Narol, Darrow's paternal uncle, rescues Darrow after his execution and sends him to the Sons of Ares. * Dancer, Darrow's mentor in the Sons of Ares who first reveals to him the lies of the Golds. * Harmony, Dancer's half-disfigured, female partner and Darrow's contentious drill instructor. * Mickey, a Violet Carver who remakes Darrow's body and physically transforms him into a Gold. * Matteo, a Pink who educates Darrow about the society, its history, politics, and arts. * Octavia au Lune, the Sovereign of the Society. * Evey, a winged-Pink who nurses and cares for Darrow during The Carving.


Development

Brown said of writing ''Red Rising'', "I started with the main character
arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
and shaped my world around him. I was inspired by the plight of Irish immigrants in the 19th century and by the disenfranchisement of working classes." Brown also explained:


Reception

''Red Rising'' was well received by both readers and critics, and hit #20 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list in February 2014. Marc Snetiker of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' gave the book an A−, writing, "Brown writes with cinematic grandeur, cleverly fusing Roman mythology with science fiction and pacing his action scenes for a slow-burn build to a hold-your-breath final act." Brian Truitt of ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' gave the book 3.5 out of 4 stars, proclaiming, "''Red Rising'' ascends above a crowded dystopian field." Writing for ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'', Britt Michaelian explained, "The morals and values that are explored through the characters in ''Red Rising'' have the potential to inspire a generation of readers to think intelligently about the impact of their decisions on themselves, their family and friends and on their world as a whole. This book is truly a powerful lesson in leadership." Niall Alexander wrote for
Tor.com ''Reactor'', formerly ''Tor.com'', is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on specul ...
: ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...
'' described the novel as "reminiscent of ''
The Hunger Games ''The Hunger Games'' are a series of Young adult fiction, young adult Dystopian fiction, dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The series consists of a trilogy that follows teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and two ...
'' and ''
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...
'', calling it "a fine novel for those who like to immerse themselves in alternative worlds". However, ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' said of the novel, "Pierce offers a Hollywood-ready story with plenty of action and thrills but painfully little originality or plausibility." Brown's ''Red Rising'' fans have dubbed themselves "Howlers" after characters in the novels, and the author has also noted the popularity of his novels among
queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...
readers, saying "One of my favourite things about this tour has been seeing how popular these books have been with the lesbian, gay and transgender community. It's amazing that they have found a home in these books. One reader almost made me cry. He's transgender and identifies as male and he told me that he found a home in Sevro and feels like Sevro was the friend he never had."


Prequel comic

A six-issue
prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...
comic book series exploring the origins of the rebel group "Sons of Ares" called ''Red Rising: Sons of Ares'' was published by
Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded in 2004 by Nick Barrucci in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, known for publishing comic book adaptations of licensed feature film properties, such as ''Army of Darkness'', '' Terminator ...
in 2017. The series was continued with six more issues published in 2020.


Adaptations


Audiobooks

An
audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...
of ''Red Rising'', the first book in the series, was released on January 28, 2014 by
Recorded Books Recorded Books is an audiobook imprint of RBMedia, a publishing company with operations in countries globally. Recorded Books was formerly an independent audiobook company before being purchased and re-organized under RBMedia, where it is now an ...
.
GraphicAudio GraphicAudio is an audiobook publishing imprint of RBMedia. The GraphicAudio format includes a full cast of actors, narration, sound effects and cinematic music. History GraphicAudio began in 2004 as an independent company. GraphicAudio is loc ...
produced an audiobook of book one in two parts that include full cast, cinematic music and sound effects. Part one was released on March 22, 2023, and part two was released on May 15.


Other media

In February 2021, Stonemaier Games announced their ''Red Rising'' board game. The game got a Recommendation by the
International Gamers Award The International Gamers Awards (IGAs) is an award for strategy board games and historical simulation games. The IGAs "were created to recognize outstanding games and designers, as well as the companies that publish them. The awards are truly i ...
s 2021. In 2014,
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
secured the rights for a film adaptation, but the project was eventually scrapped. Brown began developing ''Red Rising'' as a television series in 2018, and insinuated that the potential series had one of the major streaming services interested in adapting the series in 2021.


References


External links

* {{Pierce Brown 2014 debut novels 2014 American novels 2014 science fiction novels 2014 fantasy novels Debut science fiction novels Debut fantasy novels Debut adventure novels American science fiction novels American fantasy novels American adventure novels Science fantasy novels Dystopian novels Fantasy adventure Novels set on Mars Novels about slavery Novels about war and conflict Novels about women in war Fiction about eugenics Classical mythology in popular culture Novels by Pierce Brown Del Rey books