Bloody dam good

Absolutely bloody mint, hooked from start to finish. Can't wait to listen to the rest of the series.

Best narration I have heard on audible.

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2 people found this helpful

A familiar concept in a cleverly different guise

What if the world you thought you knew was only a tiny part of a much larger one, one which had been hidden from you? That's the premise behind Red Rising which heralds the start of a roller-coaster tale with familiar elements from similar stories mixed with great characters and new worlds. Highly recommended!

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Tell a Book by it's Cover?

Any additional comments?

Yes, I admit it - I was drawn to this book by the beautiful and very striking cover. Rather shallow, perhaps, but in this case the visuals did not fail as the contents were exactly that: a remarkable and vividly told story beautifully written. The rise of Darrow, a Red, one of an enslaved class of peoples, into one of the Gold, the elites, is at times harrowing and does not always show our hero in a favourable light. Which is why this book is so successful. It is human nature pushed to extremes, of love, of hate and the need to survive not just for oneself but for an ideal, even when that ideal is sometimes elusive.

The narrator, T.G.Reynolds performs an epic interpretation, also. For the first few minutes I found his voice uncomfortable to hear but it very quickly translated into THE voice, Darrow's voice and added immensely to the pleasure. He even manages to sing sweetly, briefly, a song forbidden, too gentle to be called an anthem of rebellion yet this is what it is. And this, too, summarises the book for me. It is a tale of violence in an extreme world but told without recourse to prolonged description of gore and body hacking, though some of this occurred, of course. A story of trying to right wrongs but, in the doing, committing these same cruelties oneself. And confusion over the how's, the where's and even, sometimes, even the why's of life.

A rattling good read, and an excellent narration all wrapped up in a pretty package to leave the reader thinking and wanting more. All there just by opening the eye catching cover.

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Cracking story

Really enjoyed it, characters, storyline and the guy reading it. Sort of predictable in places but that makes for a nice easy listen 😊

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Exceptional story telling for any genre

The voice performance is flawless capturing the soul of the book. A grand epic of history and sci-fi combine into a fantastic book the first sci-fi I have listened to but will definitely not be the last (I will be going straight on to the second book!). Pace is perfect world building is subtle and not intrusive to the story. Battle royale meets Greek and Roman gladiators in a rise from the mines to pinnacle of society.

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Absolutely wonderful!

After debating whether or not I should have got audible, I decided to get it. As my first audio book from audible, I am really happy that I got this amazing book as my choice. It was an amazing story and will definitely be getting the other four books.

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Couldn't Stop Listening

Love it. What a ride. Great twists and turns. Could picture the whole lot. Can't wait for the next one.

Edit:Just finished it for the second time. This series is fantastic! I have got all my friends on it now and we are obsessed. It is truly a must-read book!

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not YA

Excellent Scifi story. The broad storkes of the of the plot & world building have some mild parallels with the hunger games. But they no more similar than any two genre stories. Narrator is really excellent.

Only mild criticism I have is that it can be hard to keep track of the large cast of characters. but I won't knock it down a star. I listening while driving and doing daily tasks so it's probably more to do with my own inattention. The narrator should be on way more audible productions. He is better than 9 out of 10 narrators.

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Fantastic

Not my normal type of book… but really enjoyed it..
I couldn’t recommend it enough…

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A modern classic

I couldn’t stop listening to this.

A great story, with loads of depth but plenty of urgency.

Classic fantasy tropes made to feel fresh and vital, with a compelling main character and so beautifully narrated I immediately bought all the other books in this series after listening to just an hour of this first one.

I loved this book and imagine I’ll listen (and read) it again and again.

If you like Robin Hobbs, Joe Abercrombie, Tolkien, Orwell, Adams, Stephenson, Landy, Sanderson, Tchaikovsky, or Herbert you’re in for a real treat.

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