Red Rising- What's a little revenge among friends?

So this week I finished a book called Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I would have to put this one as one of the better books I’ve read so far this year.

I knew going in that it was the first book of a trilogy and so I was sort of leery.  Stories don’t tend to hold up through a three book set very well. Of course, there are notable exceptions to this rule. And having said that, usually the first one is good, so I went ahead. 

I’m glad I did.

There are pieces that are pulled from other sources, such as kids fighting kids (a la the Hunger Games), but the underlying story is new and solid. I'm sure there will be comparisons to the Hunger Games books but I felt this book was better that those books in every way. I am not one who bashed the Hunger Games in any way but I enjoyed this one more. There are pitfalls and plot twists enough even for me. Comparisons to other books do a disservice to this book.

There is an old saying that revenge is a dish best served cold, but the protagonist, Darrow, seems to run too hot to be able to hold out for the end game and his final revenge. It kept me engaged because I was ready for him to abort his careful planning at any time and just jump in with all guns blazing. It suited his temperament much better than the long, patient revenge that he had planned. 

You knew, throughout the book, that he wanted to just say, "What plan? Let's blow them all up!". You were just waiting for it to happen.

That was part of the author's gift in this book. He had me on the edge of my seat waiting for it to happen and at the same time begging the hero not to let it happen.

You know I love twists and turns and this book has plenty of them. 

The story is rich and imaginative. I loved where the author took the story. The concept was well thought out and executed. The plot is tight and believable which is always good for Sci-fi/fantasy books. The characters are deep and multi-layered.

I hope the rest of the series holds up as well. It was well executed and worth the read. 

But, that's just my opinion.

~Jeff

No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished. My best read of the year so far.

Okay. I know what I like and it doesn't always match what everyone else likes. I can't help that. I like what I like.

I'm sure you are the same.

So far this year, my favorite book has been a book called No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished, by Rachel Aaron.

It is the third book in a series that I found in November of last year and I am really enjoying.

The main character, a young dragon named Julius, is in the process of trying to reorganize the way his ruthless family does business. Sometimes I find his methods go a little beyond credibility but the story is good and the action keeps you going.

One of the things I like about this book, and the series as a whole, is that I don't see the plot twists coming. I read A LOT of books so it's hard to not see the plot twists coming most of the time. That makes it fun to read a book that I can't quite predict.

So back to my opening statement. I know what I like. I tend to like books where the protagonist is young and naïve. I like the traditional coming of age stories. This series started out that way but, as I said, had a few twists and turns along the way.

I'm not going to go into a bunch of spoilers or write a synopsis of the story here in this blog. Hey, I hate writing those for my own books, but I will say, there are times when I get very annoyed with Julius and wish he were more in touch with the real world.

You can't make the world turn out the way you want just by wishing hard enough. There are really bad people out there and no matter how many time you explain to them how the world would be a better place if we all just get along, they are still going to say, "So what?" and shoot you in the back.  Having said that, the world isn't changed by reasonable people, either. So what do I know. So far he keeps getting away with it. No one has shot him in the back yet. Though I'm sure they all want to.

This is a series worth reading, if you haven't checked it out yet. I recommend it.

But that's just my opinion.

-Jeff