Darrow's life is not an easy one, but it's filled with the love of his family and his wife, Eo. Darrow is a miner, part of the Red caste on Mars, and his job as a Helldiver is one of the most dangerous. Darrow and his fellow Reds are pioneers who work to aid in a better future where everyone can live on the surface of Mars. Unfortunately, everything Darrow and the other Reds have been told is a lie. Will Darrow join the resistance to fight the Golds who have enslaved them? And what will it cost him?

RED RISING is a dark, disturbing, and violent book that tackles the theme of political oppression and enslavement. The world building is phenomenal, as we are immersed into the daily lives of the various castes and we see the discrimination and cruelty that prevail. Darrow believes the Golds live a life of ease but soon learns otherwise as the testing that the Golds undergo is harrowing and consumes quite a bit of the storyline.

Unfortunately, I just didn't love the character of Darrow and we spend a great deal of time with him. He's understandably full of anger but he's also just too perfect. Despite the horrors he experiences, I couldn't feel any sympathy for him- and I dearly wanted to. I wanted to empathize with both his plight in life as well as the fight he was facing. Perhaps it was the mind-numbing amount of violence in the storyline that overshadowed his character development.

RED RISING is an unsettling science fiction tale that will appeal to many adult fans of The Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies. The level of violence is far more than I expected from a young adult novel and I'm not sure I'll read this series any further despite the spectacular world building.