Red Rising is the first installation of the eponymous series. Written by Pierce Brown, the novel was first published in January of 2014 and was well received, reaching number 20 on the New York Times Best Seller list.[1] Red Rising is followed by Golden Son, published less than a year later.
The print contains a map by Joel Daniel Phillips, cover design by Charles Brock of Faceout Studio, with the illustration provided by Sail.
Synopsis[]
"I live for the dream that my children will be born free," she says. "That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them."
"I live for you," I say sadly.
Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more."
Darrow is a Red, one of the miners who toil beneath the surface of Mars as part of humanity's effort to terraform the planet to one day make it habitable for those stuck on a dying Earth. Subterranean life is simple; Darrow spends most of his days mining Helium-3, and any free time he may have with the love of his life, his wife Eo.
But Darrow and his fellow Reds have been betrayed. He discovers that humanity colonized the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wild forests spread across the planet. Darrow - and everyone he has ever known - are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class enjoying every luxury while he and the rest of his Color struggle to fend off starvation.
Inspired by the actions of those close to him and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow leaves his Red life behind and joins the rebel organization known as the Sons of Ares. With his appearance changed, his body and mind enhanced, and his rage harnessed, Darrow is tasked with infiltrating the strict hierarchy of the Golds and rising to a position of power so that he may destroy the Society from within.
Plot Summary[]
Part One: Slave[]
Darrow is the Helldiver of Lykos' Lambda Clan, a colony of Reds built under the surface of Mars that mines helium-3 as a fuel source for terraforming Mars for surface habitation by the other, higher-ranked Colors. The colony is supervised by a security force of Grays and managed by Timothy cu Podginus, a Copper. Darrow's father was also a Helldiver, but was hanged after performing a forbidden dance that he taught to Darrow. Darrow is married to Eo, a beautiful girl who sees Reds as enslaved by the higher Colors and wishes for a better, more equitable world.
Just before Laureltide, a festival in which the Red clan with the highest helium-3 yield is rewarded with food and goods, Darrow risks death to surpass Lambda's quota, and receives a nasty burn through his frysuit, but is sure he will bring home the Laurel for Lambda. Despite his efforts, Lambda is snubbed in favor of the Gamma clan, as has always happened. Eo sneaks Darrow to a window that views the surface of Mars and they make love, but are caught upon return by Ugly Dan, captain of Lambda's Grays. They are sentenced to whipping. While taking their lashings, Eo begins to sing the Reaping Song, a song that directly protests against the subjugation of Reds by Golds, the top caste in the Color system. Eo is sentenced to death by hanging by Mars' ArchGovernor, Nero au Augustus. Due to the low gravity on Mars, Darrow must step forward and pull Eo's legs to complete the hanging. Afterward, Darrow cuts down and illegally buries his young wife, a crime for which he too is punished by hanging. Uncle Narol, his drunkard uncle, gives him some farewell swill, and pulls his legs at the hanging.
Part Two: Reborn[]
Inconceivably, Darrow awakens after his hanging. It is revealed that Uncle Narol faked Darrow's death and delivered him to Dancer and Harmony, members of the so-called "terrorist" group the Sons of Ares, who are waging a guerrilla war on the Society. The Sons take Darrow above ground, letting him to see for himself the lie he and all other lowReds have been fed for generations: they are not readying Mars for the rest of humanity to one day join them, it has been colonized for hundreds of years. The lowReds are simply slaves to the rest of the Society. Promised vengeance for the death of his wife and the subjugation of the Reds, Darrow joins the Sons of Ares.
Darrow is tasked with masquerading as a Gold and infiltrating the highest ranks of the Society to bring it down from the inside. A Violet Carver, Mickey, gives Darrow the physical abilities and appearance of a Gold, while a Pink named Matteo teaches him the culture and customs of the Golds. Darrow also befriends a Pink named Evey, a dancer at Mickey's club who nurses him back to health. Darrow's first test after his training is the entrance exam to The Institute, one of the Gold's most prestigious military schools. Darrow misses only one question on this exam, and is admitted to the Institute. On his way there, he meets Julian au Bellona, whose good nature makes him question whether his boundless hatred of Golds is correct. He also meets Sevro au Barca, a small and antagonizing boy who reminds Darrow of his brother Kieran.
During the Draft, Darrow is the first to be picked for House Mars by Lorn au Arcos, legendary Razormaster and the current Rage Knight. Darrow is tenth overall out of 1200 of the best sons and daughters Gold has to offer. Darrow meets some of his housemates -- his new friends from the bus, Julian and Sevro, Julian's twin brother Cassius, Antonia au Severus–Julii, Priam au Caan, Titus au Ladros, and Roque au Fabii, among others.
Darrow is jerked awake in the middle of the night, stripped naked, and beaten by two Obsidians, who tear him out of bed and take him to a dark, stony room. Darrow is greeted by House Mars' Proctor, Fitchner, who throws a House Mars ring into the center of the room and explains that only one person can walk out wearing it. This is the Passage, the grisly second act of Institute initiation. Darrow's opponent? None other than Julian au Bellona.
Crying and terrified, Darrow kills Julian and puts on the ring.
Part Three: Gold[]
The survivors realize that the Passage matches the top 50 kids from every class with the bottom 50, in hopes of keeping the strongest in the game. Of course, there are always some upsets. Darrow notices Sevro, drafted last into House Mars, as well as many other lowDrafts have made it through. Cassius becomes enraged with grief at the loss of his brother, but befriends Darrow, not knowing it was he who killed Julian.
The remaining 50 Mars draftees meet up with Fitchner, who tells them that they will be given a fortress to go to war with the other eleven Houses, and to win, they must make one House out of many, usually done by capturing slaves using the Standard each house is given. Fitchner explains, howerver, that slaves are only bound by honor, and may rebel or disregard orders from their new House under only the consequence of dishonor. Students are not to kill unless it is inevitable or accidental. In an early encounter with another House, Darrow takes possession of a scythe, leading to his nickname "The Reaper." Due to rampant disagreement, House Mars quickly fractures into 4 'tribes': one led by Titus, one by Antonia, one by Darrow and Cassius, and the last being Sevro alone, who also appears to be the only student with the necessary skills to survive in the Institute wilderness, including starting fires and hunting. Darrow becomes good friends with Cassius and Roque, as well as Lea and Quinn, and insinuates to Cassius that Titus killed Julian.
Relations in House Mars erode even further as violence breaks out between Darrow's faction and Titus'. Titus' tribe, with no access to fire or food, starts brutal raids and sieges on nearby House Ceres. Darrow's men, now evicted from their castle, witness the brutal tactics Titus uses such as torture, rape, and murder.
Unable to defeat Titus with the sliver of House Mars he controls, Darrow tricks Mustang of House Minerva, and her mounted, fed, and well-equipped army into taking Mars' castle and imprisoning Titus and his men. During this raid, however, Darrow and Cassius are trapped in a freezing lake and surrounded by House Minerva, who are more than content to watch them freeze to death. Sevro, who has been missing for some time, reappears clad in a wolfskin and rescues the two from the lake. He then serves as a crucial part in stealing House Minerva's banner and cook. Sevro quickly becomes Darrow's most loyal lieutenant as they form and lead the "Howlers", a group of lowDrafts who copy Sevro's wolfskin attire. With Mustang now trapped in Mars's castle, Darrow wins a small skirmish with the Minervans and trades his new captives and captured standard for Mars' castle and all its members, solidifying himself as the undisputed leader of the House. In parting, Mustang warns Darrow against another student much harder, smarter, and brutal than Darrow currently wreaking havoc in the south, The Jackal.
In talking to the captive Titus, Darrow realizes Titus is also Red re-Carved as a Gold, and allows Cassius to kill him to keep his own cover intact, leading to his troops' image of him as a flawed leader. He makes an alliance with House Diana to capture House Minerva's castle and troops, defeating Minerva's monstrous warrior Pax au Telemanus and enslaving House Diana after their attempted betrayal. During the destruction of Diana, their Primus is killed by her own housemate, Tactus au Valii-Rath. Mustang escapes capture with her house's standard and Darrow gives chase, ultimately finding her, but letting her escape in the wake of the bloodthirsty actions of Titus' retinue.
Bribed by the Jackal, Antonia, along with Vixus and Cassandra (another of Titus' former allies) betray Darrow and try to kill him, but Darrow narrowly avoids this. In an attempt to lure him out, they capture and kill Lea enraging Roque. Later, Cassius is given a HoloCube by the Jackal's lieutenant Lilath au Faran that shows Darrow was the one to kill Julian. Furious, Cassius challenges Darrow to a duel. He defeats Darrow easily and leaves him to die, taking over as Primus of House Mars.
Part Four: Reaper[]
Darrow is rescued and nursed back to health by Mustang, who has been in hiding with her standard since the fall of House Minerva. The two form an alliance and recruit wandering Oathbreakers -slaves who chose to disobey orders and face the shame it will lead to outside of the Institute- to their army. They do not recruit the Oathbreakers as slaves, but as free people, with the aim of building an army bound by friendship rather than honor. During this time Darrow figures out that the Jackal's real name is Adrius au Augustus, the son of the Archgovernor of Mars, the man who ordered Eo's death. The Institute's entire "game" is rigged in favor of Adrius, who also has many corrupt Proctors defending and protecting him to ensure his success.
With a few soldiers standing alongside them, Mustang and Darrow begin their rise in earnest by showing House Mars (and most crucially, Sevro) that Darrow is still alive. They free some of House Mars' slaves (including Pax) and take others (such as Tactus), and then proceed to take House Ceres' fortress and all of their troops as slaves (to be freed upon proving their loyalty). That night, Darrow is awakened by the news that Tactus was caught attempting to rape a House Ceres girl. Learning from the mistake he made with Titus, Darrow first lashes Tactus, then has Pax lash Darrow's own back, saying that whatever crimes any member of the army commits are shared by all of them, instilling fanatic loyalty in all of his troops and instilling reverence of their Reaper.
Fitchner reveals that some of the Proctors have considerable stake in the Jackal winning, and will gladly kill Darrow if he gets in the way of his victory. Fitchner recommends Darrow keep his head down and just focus on surviving. Fitchner also lets slip that if a House is eliminated, the proctor must leave. Darrow takes this chance to attack Fitchner, throwing him in one of House Apollo's cells. Hoping to force the most dangerous Proctors out, Darrow sets his sights on Apollo and Jupiter. Despite the Proctors' attempts at stopping him, including poisoning food, releasing horses, loosing a Carved bear onto him, and threatening his friends with death, Darrow takes House Apollo in a blitz attack that lasts less than an hour.
Darrow's army moves to take House Jupiter, with the hopes of being able to focus fully on the Jackal with no Proctors to sway the fight. They find little resistance at Jupiter's castle due to the bulk of the House's forces laying siege to Mars, and meet Lucian, the garrison leader. Darrow's men celebrate their victory with spirits, where Darrow reveals he knows that Lucian is in fact the Jackal. The Reaper reveals that his men are not at all drunk and that Pax and Mustang are elsewhere in the Castle cleaning up whatever troops the Jackal has hidden. Hoping to prove Golds are self-centered, weak creatures, Darrow asks Lucian whether he would cut off his hand to leave, as he had no problem eating his housemates to survive. To everyone's dismay, he actually removes his hand, and with the help of the corrupt Proctors who refused to disengage after their houses dissolved, he kills Pax and escapes.
During the chase, Darrow kills Proctor Apollo, and learns that the Proctors have kidnapped Mustang. Enraged by the full depth of his feelings for Mustang, Darrow storms Mount Olympus, the floating residence of the Proctors, with his army and the Howlers and captures all of them, defeating Proctor Jupiter in the process. He sets Sevro to editing the tape that is broadcast to the rest of outside world and sends Mustang to capture the escaped Jackal, but learns from Fitchner that Mustang is actually Virginia au Augustus, twin sister to the Jackal. Expecting a betrayal from Mustang, Darrow returns to House Mars with advanced weaponry from Olympus' armory to prepare to fight the combined might of the Augustus twins. The members of House Jupiter besieging Mars are easily defeated and the members of House Mars flock to Darrow, including his friend Roque who he had previously thought dead. Cassius declares a blood feud with Darrow over Julian's death and swears the next time they meet, only one will leave. Mustang returns with a bound and naked Jackal, making Darrow au Andromedus, the Reaper of Mars, ArchPrimus of the Institute of Mars and proving her loyalty to Darrow.
With his newfound victory making him a prime candidate for service to the best family Houses on Mars, Darrow receives an offer from Lorn au Arcos to mentor him. However, Darrow accepts a position as a lancer for House Augustus and the ArchGovernor, knowing it will provide him with a better opportunity for his ultimate goal.
Characters[]
Click on each tab to view the characters from Red Rising.
- Darrow - A Helldiver, and the main protagonist who infiltrates his way into Gold society
- Eo - Darrow's wife
- Uncle Narol - Darrow's uncle, and headTalk of Darrow's drilling team
- Barlow - part of Darrow's drilling team
- Loran - part of Darrow's drilling team, and Narol's son
- Kieran - Darrow's brother
- Leanna - Darrow's sister
- Liam - Eo's brother
- Dio - Eo's sister
- Deanna - Darrow, Leanna and Kieran's mother
- Dancer - member of the Sons of Ares
- Harmony - member of the Sons of Ares
House Mars[]
- Cassius au Bellona - A member of House Mars, Julian's twin
- Julian au Bellona - Cassius's twin, befriends Darrow before the passage
- Sevro au Barca- Nicknamed "Goblin" because of his short stature. Highly loyal, he becomes Darrow's most trusted friend
- Titus au Ladros - A brutal and ruthless member of House Mars
- Roque au Fabii - Darrow's good friend, a self-styled poet in House Mars
- Quinn - a well-liked midDraft girl in House Mars.
- Lea - of House Mars, Roque's lover
- Antonia au Severus-Julii - a beautiful but ruthless member of House Mars who opposes Darrow's ascension to Primus
- Vixus au Sarna - Titus's lieutenant. Enjoys cutting off ears.
House Minerva[]
- Virginia au Augustus (Mustang) - Primus of House Minerva.
- Pax au Telemanus - A massive warrior of House Minerva. Loyal to Mustang
Others[]
- Tactus au Valii-Rath - Of House Diana, one of Darrow's lieutenants
- Milia au Trachus - an Oathbreaker from House Juno, one of Darrow's lieutenants
- Adrius au Augustus (The Jackal) - Primus of House Pluto, ArchGovernor's son. He earned his name after he was forced to cannibalize members of his own House early in the game.
- Lilath au Faran - Second in command to Adrius au Augustus
Chapters[]
Gallery[]
Covers[]
Trailer[]
Reviews[]
Praise for Red Rising
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, BUZZFEED, AND SHELF AWARENESS
"Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow."—Scott Sigler
Pierce Brown's relentlessly entertaining debut channels the excitement of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
“[A] spectacular adventure ... one heart-pounding ride ... Pierce Brown's dizzyingly good debut novel evokes The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, and Ender's Game... [Red Rising] has everything it needs to become meteoric.”—Entertainment Weekly
“[A] top-notch debut novel... Red Rising ascends above a crowded dystopian field.”—USA Today
“Red Rising is a sophisticated vision... Brown will find a devoted audience.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch
“A story of vengeance, warfare and the quest for power... reminiscent of The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Fast-paced, gripping, well-written—the sort of book you cannot put down. I am already on the lookout for the next one.”—Terry Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of The Sword of Shannara
“Pierce Brown has done an astounding job at delivering a powerful piece of literature that will definitely make a mark in the minds of readers.”—The Huffington Post
“Compulsively readable and exceedingly entertaining... a must for both fans of classic sci-fi and fervent followers of new school dystopian epics.”—Examiner.com
“[A] great debut... The author gathers a spread of elements together in much the same way George R. R. Martin does.”—Tor.com
“Pierce Brown's empire-crushing debut is a sprawling vision.”—Scott Sigler, New York Times bestselling author of Pandemic
BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Pierce Brown's Golden Son.
Inception[]
Red Rising was the seventh novel that Pierce Brown wrote, and he completed it in early 2012, so it basically took three years to publish. The first draft was written in about two months.
Errors/Alterations[]
- Some parts of Darrow's carving was removed or glossed over due to their graphic nature
- The word "caldarium" was misspelled as "calderium" in Chapter 42
- The head of House Bellona was referred to as Demetrius au Bellona instead of Tiberius au Bellona
Trivia[]
- The first sentence of Red Rising that Brown ever wrote was about the haemanthus. Amazingly, it was not altered.
- The last book of the Red Rising series will be Red God. The series was supposed to be finished with another trilogy, ending with Book 6, Light Bringer. However, Pierce Brown decided to add another book to finish the series. The upcoming book Red God has not been given a release date yet.