👶👶👶👶 Red Rising, by Pierce Brown

In the oh-so-crowded Dystopian genre, Pierce Brown has certainly made a mark for himself. I appreciated this intelligent Dystopian novel, an imaginative blend of The Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies. The fusion of Greek and Roman mythology into the story makes for a literary treat, and the continuous opportunities for the young characters to determine their moral philosophy in unimaginable situations makes for impactful life lessons. Though the eugenically engineered teens struggle with their God-complexes throughout the novel, they are time-and-again brought to their knees when they realize that they are fallible human beings, not unlike those in the rest of the social classes. Even the protagonist has moments of imperfection, albeit few. The pacing was somewhat uneven; at times I was on the edge of my seat, while at others, I was a bit disinterested. Unfortunately, the violence was somewhat overdone. I struggled with the setting, partially because it was so reminiscent of the Hunger Games arena and was therefore difficult not to draw comparison, but also because it was incredibly disorienting (unlike the Hunger Games). Also, there were a barrage of secondary characters introduced, making for information overload for this feeble mind of mine. Overall, however, it was an enjoyable read and will make a terrific movie!

Read 9/26/14