Red Rising is what I've considered the worst book I've read in this past year, which is actually quite saying a lot when I've completely hated The Women by Kristen Hannah as well.
There is probably not one aspect of the book that I did not dislike, except maybe the characterization of the SOME of the non-protagonists.
The book was recommended to me by a friend of mine, who is quite well read, so I thought I was in for a treat. She did say that it was the worst book in the series, but I could not believe how empty and hollow the book was, to the point I was close to DNF, but I stuck to it because I wanted to know the depths of my dislike for the book.
The prose is in repetitive short sentences, with a tendency to be melodramatic. The book likes to set-up things haphazardly like the martyrdom, trickster protagonist, and romances without actually earning that characterization whatsoever. Basically claiming credit for payoffs with little set-up and no actual pay-offs.
Plus, it was quite obvious what time period the book itself was written in, right after the popularity of the Hunger Games, but it lacks even the moderate depth of what makes the Hunger Games popular. The book is incredibly 'small-ball' in the overarching plot, and I know this despite not having read the rest of the series.
Darrow is a Gary Stu who is so full of himself at every step of the way that he doesn't really have an internal struggle whatsoever. He does literally nothing different from what an actual Gold would have done in his position, which creates such a huge narrative dissonance from his stated goal of breaking the empire from within, and doing it by thinking outside of the box. Again, completely unearned characterization, with no payoff or set-up.
The women are just pieces to move the plot forward by being killed or raped. Incredibly insane how popular this first book is.
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