Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.
But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.
Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies... even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.
This book took some time getting into it. The setting up of
this futuristic world was tricky to take on and anyone who is not very fond of
sci-fi might have difficulty getting past it to the more interesting bits of
the dystopia/character building/plot.
There are things I enjoyed very much reading this book and
things that made me feel less interested in it. The things I didn't care for
are that it trods in the path of many previous sci-fi books with a male lead
who must save the world. That wouldn't be so bad because, after all, one of my
favorite books is Ender's Game, buuuut, the fact that this book
has that and that the catalyst that starts the whole thing is the death of his
wife. A woman has to die to give Darrow the rage and drive he needs to take
down the system. I feel like this is such an overused trope that it makes me
depressed when I read it these days. Of course a woman has to die to give the
main character the start he needs. Of course, of course, of course.
Aside from that, once the story really gets going there is a
lot of violence, rape, and anger that is not my cup of tea. So many people are
brutally maimed or killed, the mention of "pissing" on people happens
at least a dozen times. I don't really care for that aggressive, animalistic
stuff. It's not interesting to read and it's also gross.
Things I did like were the characters. I think Mustang, Pax,
Roque, Sevro, and many others are really what makes this book strong. The
building of a team, an army, what makes them all work together and trust their
leader, Darrow, unconditionally is what really gets you interested in where the
story will go. It reminded me a lot of Ender's Game. And the name
"Wiggin" is even used, as if that story were an actual part of
history. It made me smile.
The plot is strong, once you get past the first twenty or so
chapters. That's where the book really hits its stride. If you can wade through
the beginning to get this far, it is worth the time. It's action packed, the
characters are finally becoming whole people, building off each other, and the
plot is full of neat surprises and twists. It is enough of crest to ride till
the end. I will definitely finish reading this series. The story captured me
enough for that.
I would recommend this book to those who are fond of sci-fi,
in addition to liking dystopias. There's also a lot of Greek/Roman mythology
mixed in there, so if that's something you're into, it's a neat little feature
in this book. Cheers.
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