BOOK: Morning Star (2016)

Morning Star Year: 2016 Author: Pierce Brown Length: 1,310 minutes / 21.83 hours After the disappointment of Golden Son, I was leery of starting on the last part of the Red Rising trilogy. Oddly enough, this book was actually somewhat interesting, but in a way that made the first two books seem unnecessary. There was definitely a lot of action in this book, which is part of what made it more exciting than the others. And as far as a book that’s supposed to wrap up a trilogy, Morning Star certainly doesn’t leave too many loose plotlines when it ends. I still think the world-building is forced with all the Roman imagery and sci-fi tech, but at least now it’s over. As with the previous books, I still had trouble with keeping track of all the different characters and their motivations. The main character was pretty straightforward (if not bluntly so) and his love interest just felt like she wanted to do whatever he was...
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BOOK: Golden Son (2015)

Golden SonYear: 2015Author: Pierce BrownLength: 1,143 minutes / 19.05 hours After reading this book (or more accurately, listening to it), I'm on the edge of whether I'll continue this series. I thought Red Rising was OK for what seemed like a Hunger Games rip-off. Perhaps my problem with this one was trying to listen to it while caring for an infant. Or it was that it's been three years since I read the last book. Maybe the genre (or what's become of it) really doesn't appeal to me. At any rate, I had trouble engaging with this book at all. It didn't help that I only vaguely remembered the main character and what his goal was. This sequel didn't seem to have any of the recurring characters from the previous book, or at least it didn't pull from that cast of characters very much. I understood the need for a revolution against the higher classes via infiltration, but the motivation of the...
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BOOK: Red Rising (2014)

Red RisingYear: 2014Author: Pierce BrownLength: 400 pages It is difficult to review a book like Red Rising without noting the heavy comparisons to The Hunger Games. Perhaps this speaks to the strength of The Hunger Games’ format, but there are almost too many parallels to ignore. Dystopian class-separated society? Check. A skilled lower-class individual who defies the odds? Check. Violence and a romantic subplot? Check and check. About the only difference between the two is that Red Rising takes place on Mars and over a few years instead of a week or so. Of course, it’s hard to tell the timespan since important details always seem to be missing from the first-person narrative. If anything, I’d peg Red Rising as the gritty, over-violent, and over-sexualized version of The Hunger Games. If The Hunger Games appeals to girls and women, Red Rising should appeal to boys and men. A lot of the content in this book felt a bit over the top and...
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