Red Rising took me a while to get into. For most of the book, I struggled with the constant hype around Darrow being “the one.” I understood that he was supposed to be extraordinary, but I didn’t always feel that he had actually earned that reputation especially as a leader. For me, his transformation into someone who could genuinely lead only started to feel convincing towards the final part of the book.

That said, Part IV onwards completely changed the experience for me. The story became much more engaging, the stakes felt higher, and Darrow finally started growing into the character I had been told he was.

I particularly enjoyed the twist involving Mustang, which genuinely surprised me. And Darrow apprenticing under the ArchGovernor who responsible for Eo’s death which is added an interesting layer of conflict and made me curious about where the story could go next.

Overall, a good read with a slow build that finally pays off towards the end. I’m still undecided about committing to the entire series, but Golden Son has definitely made it onto my “maybe” list.

slow to start, but the last part made the journey worthwhile.