Pierce Brown

This review refers to the whole Red Rising trilogy (Red Rising, Golden Son, and Morning Star). It's about a future society that spans the whole Solar System, with a rigid system of castes, including the Golds, who are the ruling class, and the Reds, who are slaves without rights and perform the more menial grunt work. The trilogy tells the story of a revolutionary leader who infiltrates the Gold caste to gain power and bring the system down.

It has a lot to recommend it. It's very readable and entertaining. The first book reminded me in some ways of the Hunger Games, only on a bigger, more strategical scale. The worldbuilding is interesting, although implausible at times, with the elite Golds basically acting as a pantheon of Roman gods of war. I was engrossed but at the same time I had the nagging sensation that this is one of those stories where you have to disconnect your brain and go along with the ride. Our hero will be taken prisoner repeatedly by the most ruthless enemies, who inexplicably will fail to kill him when they can... The way people act is often too extreme and larger than life... I'm sure future battles would not work in the way the books describe... But if you are willing to overlook things like that you have very compelling characters, intense relationships, often not romantic, and a ripping story.

For entertainment value it gets 5-stars easily, but I will withhold one for the eye-rolling moments. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it, though.… (more)