Red Rising

Red Rising

File:Red Rising (2014).jpg First edition cover
Author	Pierce Brown
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Science fiction
Publisher	Del Rey Books (US)
Publication date	January 28, 2014
Media type	Print (hardcover) E-book Audiobook
Pages	382
ISBN	0-345-53978-8
Followed by	Golden Son

Red Rising is a 2014 science fiction novel by American author Pierce Brown, the first of his Red Rising trilogy. A sequel, Golden Son, was released in January 2015, and the third novel, Morning Star, was released in February 2016.

Set on Mars, the novel follows lowborn miner Darrow as he infiltrates the ranks of the elite Golds.

In February 2014, Universal Pictures secured the rights for a film adaptation, to be directed by Marc Forster.

Plot summary

It has been 700 years since mankind colonized other planets. The powerful ruling class of humans has installed a rigid and color-based social hierarchy, where the physically superior Golds at the top rule with an iron fist. Sixteen-year-old Darrow is a Red, a class of workers who toil beneath the surface of Mars mining helium-3 to terraform the planet and make it habitable. His wife Eo sings a forbidden folk tune in public as a protest against their virtual enslavement, and is arrested and hanged by Mars' ArchGovernor, Nero au Augustus. Darrow cuts down and buries his wife's body, a crime for which he is also hanged. However, Darrow awakes to find that he has been drugged and delivered into the hands of the Sons of Ares, a terrorist group of Reds who fight against the oppression of the "lowColors". They have adopted the video of Eo's song and execution as a rallying vehicle for their cause. Darrow joins the Sons when he learns that Mars was already terraformed centuries before and that the Reds have been tricked into perpetual servitude and subjugation.

Darrow is conscripted to impersonate a Gold and infiltrate the Society to bring it down from within. He is physically transformed by Mickey, a Violet "carver", who gives him the abilities and appearance of a Gold through painful surgeries, treatments and implants. Using a fabricated identity, Darrow is accepted into the Golds' elite Institute, where he befriends the charismatic Cassius au Bellona and alienates the arrogant Antonia au Severus. Darrow is selected for House Mars by its gruff Proctor, Fitchner. To continue to the next stage, Darrow must complete the Passage, a test in which the 100 newly chosen students in each House are paired and tasked to kill each other as a means to eliminate the weaker half. Darrow is forced to murder Cassius' brother Julian to survive, but Cassius can only guess who may have killed him.

Each House is assigned a fortress to defend within the Institute's confines, with the goal of warring with each other until one House dominates all others. Mars fractures into factions: one led jointly by Darrow and Cassius, one by Antonia, one by Titus au Ladros, and the antisocial Sevro going off on his own. To neutralize the violent and tyrannical Titus, Darrow enlists House Minerva, led by the young woman he met briefly upon his arrival at the Institute and whom he has dubbed "Mustang". Mustang and her troops take the Mars fortress and imprison Titus. Sevro helps Darrow escape and capture Minerva's standard, which he trades to reclaim Mars' castle. Darrow takes over as the Primus (leader) of Mars, and Sevro and his group of "Howlers" declare their loyalty to him. Darrow realizes from the captive Titus' manner of speech that he is a fellow Red impersonating a Gold. To maintain his troops' discipline, Darrow allows Titus to be executed. Darrow captures Minerva's fortress and defeats their strongman Pax au Telemanus. Before she escapes, Mustang reveals the existence of "the Jackal", the leader of House Pluto who is terrorizing other Houses. Antonia and some of Titus' former followers attempt to overthrow Darrow, but he manages to thwart their plan. Lilath, a messenger from the Jackal, secretly reveals to Cassius that Darrow killed Julian. Cassius challenges Darrow to a duel outside Mars' fortress, severely wounding him and leaving him to die in the snow.

Darrow is rescued and nursed back to health by Mustang. They begin to develop romantic feelings for each other as they flee to avoid discovery by Cassius, now Primus of House Mars. Conquered students are systematically "enslaved" by other Houses, forced by their honor to serve their conquerors. Darrow and Mustang begin to amass an army by recruiting many Oathbreakers, the wandering slaves who have chosen to disobey orders. Darrow prefers that his captured foes swear their allegiance and join him, rather than serve him. Learning from his previous mistakes, he frees these slaves and takes responsibility for their actions to gain their allegiance. He gains the loyalty of the duplicitous Tactus au Rath when he accepts physical punishment on himself after administering the same to Tactus for unruly behavior. Sevro, who has led his team of Howlers to escape from Cassius, meets up with Darrow again to join forces. Darrow takes the fortresses of Houses Ceres, Apollo and Jupiter, enslaving their members until the prisoners prove their loyalty to him. Fitchner reveals to Darrow that the other Proctors have been conspiring to assist the Jackal, who is actually Adrius, the son of ArchGovernor Augustus. Darrow exposes Lucian, a prisoner taken during the battle with Jupiter, as the Jackal after impaling his hand with a razor. The Jackal pretends to negotiate with Darrow, but then slices off his own hand to escape. He later murders Pax.

Enraged by the Proctors' deliberate efforts to hinder his victory, Darrow slays Proctor Apollo, and his army storms Mount Olympus, the floating palace of the Proctors. With the remaining Proctors subdued, Darrow sends Mustang to capture the Jackal, only to find out from Fitchner that she is Virginia au Augustus, the Jackal's twin sister. Darrow expects a betrayal, but she returns to deliver her captive brother, and Darrow wins the exercise. Before he departs, Cassius promises Darrow revenge. Darrow's reward is his choice of a patron to sponsor his future. He accepts the hated ArchGovernor Augustus' offer to serve as one of his lancers, knowing that the powerful man will offer him the greatest opportunities to acquire the power he needs to destroy the Golds.

Characters

• Darrow, a Red who is remade into a Gold named "Darrow au Andromedus" to infiltrate and destroy the Society. He is later called "The Reaper" by his classmates, for the sickle-shaped blade he carries as his weapon.
• Eo, Darrow's wife whose hanging for treason ignites his desire for revenge against the Golds.
• Nero au Augustus, the ArchGovernor of Mars who orders Eo's execution.
• Virginia au Augustus, daughter of the ArchGovernor and leader of House Minerva at the Institute. Initially not knowing her given name, Darrow calls her "Mustang".
• Adrius au Augustus, Virginia's vicious twin brother, leader of House Pluto at the Institute. His cruel and violent tactics of conquest earn him the nickname "The Jackal".
• Cassius au Bellona, Darrow's former ally and friend in House Mars who later turns on him.
• Roque, Darrow's friend and ally in House Mars, a self-styled poet.
• Sevro, Darrow's friend and ally in House Mars, a lowDraft with an antisocial attitude.
• Antonia au Severus, a ruthless Gold whom Darrow alienates almost immediately.
• Titus au Ladros, a violent and tyrannical member of House Mars.
• Pax au Telemanus, a massive warrior aligned with Virginia in House Minerva.
• Tactus au Rath, a duplicitous member of House Diana.
• Fitchner, Proctor of Mars at the Institute, Sevro's father.
• Narol, Darrow's paternal uncle, rescues Darrow after his execution and sends him to the Sons of Ares.
• Dancer, Darrow's mentor in the Sons of Ares who first reveals to him the lies of the Golds.
• Mickey, a Violet carver who remakes Darrow's body and physically transforms him into a Gold.
• Matteo, a Pink who educates Darrow all about the society, its history, politics and arts.
• Octavia au Lune, the Sovereign of the Society.

Reception

Red Rising was well received by both readers and critics, and hit #20 on The New York Times Best Seller list in February 2014.

Marc Snetiker of Entertainment Weekly gave the book an A-, writing, "Brown writes with cinematic grandeur, cleverly fusing Roman mythology with science fiction and pacing his action scenes for a slow-burn build to a hold-your-breath final act." Brian Truitt of USA Today gave the book 3.5 out of 4 stars, proclaiming, "Red Rising ascends above a crowded dystopian field." Writing for The Huffington Post, Britt Michaelian explained, "The morals and values that are explored through the characters in Red Rising have the potential to inspire a generation of readers to think intelligently about the impact of their decisions on themselves, their family and friends and on their world as a whole. This book is truly a powerful lesson in leadership." Niall Alexander wrote for Tor.com:

On the surface, Red Rising resembles any number of other genre novels of note, but dig a little deeper ... to reveal real uniqueness: in Brown’s nearly seamless assemblage of several time-tested traditions, if not in a great many of his debut’s myriad threads independently ... Its final act ... is like a heart attack: a no-holds-barred bastard of a finale in which the author gathers a spread of elements together in much the same way George R. R. Martin’s does in the best and most brutal bits of his bestselling saga ... For once I would have loved more in the way of worldbuilding, and Brown could have made the most of a longer novel by exploring a few of his fiction’s most interesting figures further, but it bears remembering that Red Rising is only the beginning of a trilogy—which is to say there’s space and time for this impressive young author to work out its biggest kinks.

Kirkus Reviews described the novel as "reminiscent of The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones", calling it "a fine novel for those who like to immerse themselves in alternative worlds". However, Publishers Weekly said of the novel, "Pierce offers a Hollywood-ready story with plenty of action and thrills but painfully little originality or plausibility."

Film adaptation

In February 2014, Deadline.com reported that Marc Forster had been selected to direct a film adaptation of the book, with Joe Roth, Palak Patel and Renee Wolf producing and author Brown writing the screenplay. A subsequent article reported that Universal Pictures outbid Sony Pictures for screen rights in a seven-figure deal. As of February 2016, the film was still in development.

External links

• Official website