Red Rising Read-A-Long 18 discussion

Chapters 1-6 chats ONLY guys, no spoilers of future chapters PLEASE AND THANK YOU

DID ANYBODY START YET?? JOIN ME and let's chat!!!

I'm going in blind for Red Rising, guys. Just read the prologue and it was so dramatic.

Trying to finish the last 100 pages of a book I've already started, so I only read the prologue today. But man is the hype real! Can't wait to continue tomorrow.

Omg the first time I read it I started it at work on my break and I was so not ready!

I just read the first 7 chapters. I dont like Eo. Maaaaaaaybe that will change, but fuck her for now.

The beginning absolutely floored me the first time I read the book, and it completely snatched me in. And yup, not too many chapters later, I hated Eo's guts

Its definitely gripping I'm hooked but I feel like I already need a cheat sheet to explain some things lol

Anyone else really confused by the first few paragraphs of Chapter 1?
Kinda feel like it's just lazily blurting out backstory about his father.

The first couple chapters are confusing but everything is explained as the book goes on. There is a lot of world building in the beginning and you do get a lot thrown at you but everything is explained.

Your reassurance is appreciated.

The writing does feel sloppy sometimes, but I think that its supposed to be? Almost a stream of consious?

It gets less confusing and more.... gut wrenching as it goes on for sure. And yes, it's basically his thoughts as they're occuring and and things are happening present tense

Okay guys So I just finished up the series I was reading and am fully ready to dive into this one.

Just finished Chapter 6. For spoilers pertaining to these chapters, do we go ahead and post them, or should we throw spoiler tags around them? For the moment I'll tag, just in case.

(view spoiler)[Did anyone else get a major "women in refrigerators" vibe from Eo pretty early on? Maybe it's just the result of a lifetime of comics and action movies (in which this trope's extremely common), but it felt like a typical case of waiting for the love interest to die so she can inspire the male protagonist.

As far as these things go, her death was handled well. It wasn't like the situation the trope's named after, where the hero comes home to discover his girlfriend's been murdered and stuffed into his fridge. In this case Eo has her own agency and martyrs herself, rather than just being a screaming victim. So that was good.

But even so, did anyone else feel a little dubious about it? (hide spoiler)]

Ibrahim wrote: "Just finished Chapter 6. For spoilers pertaining to these chapters, do we go ahead and post them, or should we throw spoiler tags around them? For the moment I'll tag, just in case.

Did anyone els..."

Raises hand in agreement.

I'm not enjoying this book so far. The plot, characters, and writing really isn't my cup of tea. I made a (slightly salty) review of the first six chapters if you want to know my thoughts. Didn't post it here because it's really long. I'm going to keep reading for the hope that it get's better but usually this doesn't work in my favor.

Just finished chapter 6 and while I'm not engrossed in the story yet, I do want to see where it goes. Since Darrow is the main character I want to see gow they turn around the event that happened at the end of 6. If Pierce can do that successfully then this could turn out to be great.

I'm liking what I've read so far. This was really the push that I needed to start this series.

We all hate Eo, right? I'm talking Shakespearean Juliet-levels of loathe.

LeeNichole wrote: "We all hate Eo, right? I'm talking Shakespearean Juliet-levels of loathe."

I'm not sure I'd say I hate her. But because of the stuff mentioned above, it's hard not to see her as primarily a prop.

At the risk of sounding like I'm just wallowing in negativity, does anyone else find the narration uses too many filter words for their tastes? Things like, "I see him coming down the corridor" rather than "He comes down the corridor".

That may just be a pet peeve of mine though.

I find the narrative itself compelling enough. I do want to read on to see what happens next.

I'm a little confused on why everybody hates Eo? ********EO SPOILER ALERT WILL DIRECTLY FOLLOW**********************


I feel like she wasn't around long enough for me to feel anyway about her really

Jazmynn wrote: "I'm a little confused on why everybody hates Eo? ********EO SPOILER ALERT WILL DIRECTLY FOLLOW**********************


I feel like she wasn't around long enough for me to feel anyway about her really"

I just found her to be very mary-sue. The husband and everyone are absolutely enamored with her and it's stated multiple times by the MC how literally everyone loves her. When she sacrifices herself, because she thinks her husband has some grand destiny (gotta love the chosen one cliches) he just gives up completely and her sacrifice (so far) is in vain. I don't hate her character but she was around long enough to just frustrate me to no end. Hopefully now that she's gone the MC, after he somehow comes back to life because of plot reasons, will be motivated to actually do something with his wife's sacrifice. Now that, I'm excited to see.

It makes my little salty heart happy that other people feel this way about Eo because I can not stand her. I found that the entire situation with her felt seriously manipulative and was excessively cruel in that manipulation

Lauren (The Novel Lush) wrote: "It makes my little salty heart happy that other people feel this way about Eo because I can not stand her. I found that the entire situation with her felt seriously manipulative and was excessively..."

It was absolutely manipulative but I feel like that's how all books with a "the cause" organization depict their "soldiers". There are always the revolutionaries that must prove to the reader how important the rebellion is to them by going to any length to see it succeed. I honestly didn't feel anyway about her because I felt like you only get a small depiction of her based on everyone else fawning over everything she does and then it's like boom she's dead

Jazmynn wrote: "Lauren (The Novel Lush) wrote: "It makes my little salty heart happy that other people feel this way about Eo because I can not stand her. I found that the entire situation with her felt seriously ..."

Ah, true, maybe I should wait to see how people feel later lol, because this book is very "Butterfly Effect" with some things and some actions are so far reaching and will keep having consequences pop up. I'm curious to see how you'll feel about everything later.

She totally did fit into that "revolutionary die for the cause" trope, but this was one of the things that I didn't like about this story, I feel like it was... not necessarily far fetched, but it came off as her looking for a sword to throw herself on and the reasoning behind her specific er... "sacrifice" could have come across as "that's a beautiful reason to stand your ground and fight" but I would have preferred to see it over a more substantial issue, for instance getting caught smuggling medicine or stealing food or something.

Lauren (The Novel Lush) wrote: "Jazmynn wrote: "Lauren (The Novel Lush) wrote: "It makes my little salty heart happy that other people feel this way about Eo because I can not stand her. I found that the entire situation with her..."

I agree. I feel like it was just kind of abrupt. Like there really wasn't enough build up to her martyrdom. Also, I didn't understand why she called his dad weak, that was just rude. And can someone please explain to me how they could possibly manage to keep hair wedding rings intact with all the manual labor they do?

Jazmynn wrote: "Lauren (The Novel Lush) wrote: "Jazmynn wrote: "Lauren (The Novel Lush) wrote: "It makes my little salty heart happy that other people feel this way about Eo because I can not stand her. I found th..."

YES! It was very abrupt. Maybe I wouldn't dislike her so much if I got to see more of her being a wife and not this rebel manipulator. I never thought about the rings, tbh, I glazed right over it. I would have assumed the suits would keep the safe, but would only apply for Darrow and the other divers, and even then, you're right, that's a biiiiig stretch

The abruptness and cynicism (let's kill off a woman ASAP to inspire a man...) reminded me of playing Double Dragon II as a kid. The game begins with the bad guys coming along and killing your girlfriend (link), and that provides a reason for the protagonists to then batter their way through the game's stages.

And sure, in a scrolling beat 'em up arcade game from that era, a two-second death at the beginning was an understandable plot device. But it seems bad that male novelists are using female characters that way decades later.

Especially because it was so heavy handed as well. It did bug me that Darrow seemed perfectly accepting, if not content with his standing in society and unfair treatment. 'Oh, we rightfully won, but they're going to cheat us again? Ah well, such is the life of a Red'. I wanted to reach into the book and shake him, but the manner by which he was finally motivated to do something about it just made him look more pitiful than anything. Especially when he said "Eo said I wouldn't show her being a martyr. I will show her that I do."

Yeah, definitely. There's one particular line I found very jarring -- where they're arguing in the garden, and Darrow tells Eo it's better to "live on our knees" (than die on their feet).

It just seemed like such a forced piece of dialogue, rather than something anyone would actually say. Especially because it's already established that Darrow's a somewhat cocky guy with an ego (at least where his work's concerned).

I could totally accept him buying into the propaganda that their terrible lot in life is necessary for the good of humanity. But having him explicitly talk about how it's better to live on their knees?

Ibrahim wrote: "Yeah, definitely. There's one particular line I found very jarring -- where they're arguing in the garden, and Darrow tells Eo it's better to "live on our knees" (than die on their feet).

It just ..."

Oh my god! I completely forgot about that line! I remember laughing so much during that scene in the garden because Eo and Darrow's dialogue was so eye rolling.

Ibrahim wrote: "Yeah, definitely. There's one particular line I found very jarring -- where they're arguing in the garden, and Darrow tells Eo it's better to "live on our knees" (than die on their feet).

It just ..."

I agree I felt like that line of dialogue didn't fit in with the personality type they were giving him. I just can't see someone who is willing to almost have his flesh melted off to win better rations saying he would rather live on his knees.

heyyyyy guys! okay I totally get the Eo hate but, to me, it's less important who she is and more important what she represents for Darrow. It didn't matter to me that I didn't find her obsession-worthy, it only mattered that she was that for Darrow, because that has a huge effect on his psyche and his choices. Love is blind and great loss is universal and she just represents that kind of loss. Also, interesting to note, Pierce Brown said that this whole book series sprang from him reading Antigone and pondering what it would do to a person to be in love with someone that martyrs themselves, so without Eo..... no Red Rising....

Ah, but execution plays a huge part in it as well. It becomes less believable, even more so, if this character is supposed to be the lodestone for all of his changes, thoughts, actions, and triumphs... and it's completely unbelievable. To me that makes it worse, not better.

Liene wrote: "heyyyyy guys! okay I totally get the Eo hate but, to me, it's less important who she is and more important what she represents for Darrow. It didn't matter to me that I didn't find her obsession-wo..."

Ah, the Antigone thing's interesting. I wrote one of my undergrad dissertations on that play. In particular, about whether Antigone would've been regarded as a face or a heel (I actually introduced those pro-wrestling terms within the essay, because I was an awesome and serious scholar).

There's some debate over whether the ancient Athenian audience would've sympathised more with her or with Creon (the ruler she defies). It's possible they would've disliked her, in much the same way a lot of us dislike Eo.

Just finished the first six chapters. Eo was not a character she was a plot device. Darrow is easily the most annoying main chaacter that I’ve ever read and the fact that he’s so young doesn’t really make up for that? If this really is a book marketed for adults I don't understand why anyone would care about him or come to be invested in his story.

Montgomery wrote: "Just finished the first six chapters. Eo was not a character she was a plot device. Darrow is easily the most annoying main chaacter that I’ve ever read and the fact that he’s so young doesn’t real..."

I agree. Darrow is not memorable. Characters are not this story's strong suite, at least not so far, and I'm up to chapter 30. However, the plot is very entertaining and will have you continuing to turn pages.

Agreed. The great things (at least I think so) about the first book in particular lie majorly in the plot, but we start to learn the characters more in book two because the things that happen towards the end of this one re-shape them anyway.

I feel really behind everyone because I just finished chapter six. I do agree that Eo was used more as a plot device then a character in her own right. Especially since she already had a mindset of fuck the system. She could not fake it for Darrow's sake- who even though doesn't always agree with it is still very much in the status quo mindset.

I think you can really tell that this is a first novel from these chapters. I look forward to seeing his writing get better as we go along.

K.M. wrote: "I feel really behind everyone because I just finished chapter six. I do agree that Eo was used more as a plot device then a character in her own right. Especially since she already had a mindset of..."

I would definitely say that both the characters and the author mature as the books go on - the writing in book four is by far the best, and he's (Pierce) talked about how his whole mindset was totally different when he started. He's a very young author - I think he was in his early twenties when he wrote RR....

Just started the audiobook today!! As always, I feel a little overwhelmed just not knowing all of the things yet, but I'm getting into the rhythm. As for Eo, I don't hate her? But it did feel a little rushed to be like - I love Eo. Everyone loves Eo. Eo wants me to rise up and change things for the next generation. Eo dies. THAT CLIFFHANGER THO. How the hell is Darrow gonna live that hanging say what?

I started reading this week and I'm not sure what to think of it so far. These first chaprers are a bit confusing and world building. So far I'm still missing the storyline. I'm not disliking Eo. she seems passionate about her dream of a better world. I do have trouble with Darrows stubbornness and that he's fine with being a slave.

Marion wrote: "I started reading this week and I'm not sure what to think of it so far. These first chaprers are a bit confusing and world building. So far I'm still missing the storyline. I'm not disliking Eo. s..."

I felt the same way when I read it.