Book Review: Red Rising; Pierce Brown.

So I've been pretty busy and it took me a while to get through this one but oh my goodness, I am so glad I did and can't wait to share my thoughts! First though, I'm entering it into the Jumble Your Genres Challenge this month as a Sci-Fi book.

SOURCE: Netgalley
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: Red Rising
AUTHOR: Pierce Brown
SERIES: Red Rising (#1)
PUBLISHER: Del Rey
PAGES: 400
GENRE: Sci-Fi, Dystopia, Young Adult, Adventure

RATING: 3.5/5 Stars

Blurb:
The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope.

Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.


Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.

What I Liked:

• The characters in this story were just written so well! They were complex, likeable and each with their own story. Brown had clearly put a lot of thought into each and every one. Darrow in particular amazed me because he had so much character development. As I read, I saw him turn from a spontaneous, loving man willing to accept his lot in life to an intelligent and deep thinking leader wanting more. The characters that surrounded him were just as good and by the end of the book I wasn't sure who was the enemy and who was a friend.
• The world-building was just spectacular in this one. Brown had obviously put a whole heap of research and imagination into this one because I felt like what I was reading was real. It wasn't just the physical descriptions of the scenery. It went far deeper, into the political, social and historical context of the people of Mars, and how they came to be there. It was well worth the read for that alone!
• The plot just kept me gripped! It was full of dramatic twists that happened so frequently that I never left the edge of my seat. The story has a pretty huge change in direction about halfway through, but I found it interesting and loved every second. 

What I Disliked:

• I have one small issue with this book. Pierce Brown is very fond of using short sentences. One after the other. Over and over again. This happened especially in the latter half of the book, and because of it, I missed a few key moments. It just felt like some elements to the plot were a little brushed over. 

Overall Conclusion:

For anyone looking to read a masterpiece in the making, look no further than here. I haven't read too much Sci-Fi before, but this is one of those books that definitely makes me want to get into this genre! It was masterfully crafted and had only one minor niggle that I think will definitely be ironed out by the next book. I can't wait to see what young Darrow gets up to next!