SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW: Red Rising Trilogy 1: Red Rising - Pierce Brown

Release Date: 28/01/14
Publisher:  Hodder

SYNOPSIS:

Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars, generations of people who spend their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that, one day, people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left. Until the day Darrow learns that it is 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 at Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought. Until the day 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. Ender's Game meets The Hunger Games in this, the first in an extraordinary trilogy from an incredible new voice.


REVIEW:

OK, you want something that is not only different but really hits the spot. You also want something new that you’ve never seen before and all wrapped up with a debut author so that you’re not sure what to expect. Sound a little bit too far-fetched to achieve? Well normally I’d say yes, but for me Hodder have pulled a blinder by obtaining what I think could and will be a title to set your standards by with this debut that just blew me away.

What you get within is a hugely complex tale with characters that are not only realistic but make choices that have huge repercussions for all involved be it for good or ill. Add to this a world that feels wonderfully real and one that the reader can step into and lose not only hours within but will also be left emotionally drained upon completion. All in, and whilst this may seem like a wild claim for many but all round, I feel will do for Science Fiction what George RR Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice series has done for Fantasy. You really have to read this book this year.