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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on Mars? For our 16 year old main character Darrow, this has been his entire life. He is a Red, the lowest caste in this society, and already has a wife. His wife, Eo, wants him to join her in fighting back against their oppressive overlords. The next day, she gets hung for singing a forbidden song and Darrow is forced to watch her slow and painful death. He cannot stand to walk by her limp, dead body everyday as he goes to work, so he buries her in a secret grove. Darrow gets caught and hung, just like his wife, but he somehow wakes up in a shallow grave. The Sons of Ares find him and his troubles have only just begun.
Red Rising is a different take on the classic sci fi book. It takes a darker look at what the future may hold and reflects back at you the problems that our current society holds that are only exacerbated in this future. I love how the author takes you to the darkest depths with Darrow where you are not sure how he is going to move forward. The relationships that are formed and the tight web of alliances made is beautiful.
If you like this book, the next in the series is Golden Son. Other books like this one are: the Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo because of the same gritty feeling that it gives you while you’re reading it, the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas because they both feel like they can never rely on others, Seven Devils series by Laura Lam and Elizabeth May because both characters go through many trials, and Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard because both of them are fighting back against their societies.