Review: Court of Fives by Kate Elliott

Title: Court of Fives

Author: Kate Elliott

Information on series: First in Court of Fives trilogy

Audience: Teens, though some adults will enjoy as well

Rating (scale of 1-5, with 5 being highest): 4

TL;DR: A novel about presumptions, prejudice, and incredible athletic feats (think Ninja Warrior). A good mix of action and character-development that should appeal to dystopian fans, despite it's fantasy setting.

Longer review: If you love action-packed dystopian novels, especially those featuring rebellious teens in a battle against repressive societies, but you're feeling burned out on futuristic wastelands, this might be the book for you. Court of Fives is set in a world based in part on the societies of ancient Egypt, the Aztec empire, and ancient Rome. This is Elliott's first young adult novel, but she's written several popular series for adults.

I loved the setting, and the complex relationships between the different cultures. The city of Saryenia is ruled by a rigid class structure, where the elite are conquerors from a foreign empire (or refugees from an empire shattered by Civil War) and the commoners are the remnants of a once powerful, darker skinned native society. Intermarriage between the two groups is strictly forbidden, which puts the main character's, Jessamy's, family in a precarious position. Jessamy's father is an accomplished military commander, and her mother is a low born commoner, placing Jessamy and her sisters somewhere in between.

The story is told from Jessamy's perspective, as she struggles between her love for her family and her dreams to be a champion at the Fives, a dangerous sport similar to Ninja Warrior. If you're not sure what Ninja Warrior is, I recommend checking out this video. The fact that we see Jessamy's world so tightly from her perspective sets up some nice surprises later in the novel as we learn that Jessamy's assumptions about her sisters and their goals were not always based on truth.

There is a romantic sub-plot to the novel, and of course it is a forbidden romance. Some readers will enjoy the lack of a love triangle (at least in this first volume), but I found that the love story added a layer of distraction to a fairly packed plot. It's likely that, were I still a teen reader, I would've loved this element of the book, but as an adult, I was rolling my eyes.

Read alikes:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: The big name action-packed dystopian novel, with a capable female lead on a quest to save her family.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman: Seraphina's incredible musical talents bring her to the attentions of the royal palace as murder and political intrigue threaten to collapse the fragile peace between humans and dragons. SPOILER ALERT: Everything becomes even more complicated as Seraphina realizes she is the child of a forbidden romance between a human and a dragon.

~Sarah, Carnegie-Stout Public Library

Review: Rat Queens: Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe & Roc Upchurch

Title: Rat Queens: Sass and Sorcery

Author: Written by Kurtis J. Wiebe, Art by Roc Upchurch

Information on series: Volume 1 of an ongoing series

Audience: Adult. Very adult.

Rating (scale of 1-5, with 5 being highest): 5

TL;DR: A crazy thrill-ride of blood and feminism.

Longer review:

Betty, Dee, Hannah, and Violet are The Rat Queens, a party of brawling, boozing, sexing, swearing adventurers in the vaguely Euro-fantastic town of Palisade. In this first volume, they defeat an army of orcs and save the town. But the orcs were only there because they were friends of an ogre the Rat Queens viciously murdered. But the Rat Queens only murdered the ogre because the mayor of Palisade sent the ogre to kill them. But the mayor only wanted the Rat Queens dead because they kept getting drunk and starting fights. At first glance, it’s hard to figure out who the good guys are.

Ultimately, we end up siding with the Rat Queens for the simple but very compelling reason that they are a band of complex and flawed but sympathetic characters who, despite all other failings, display a sincere and contagious affection for each other. I cannot stress how rare and enjoyable this is. As a rule, filthy, bloody, drug-fueled adventure comics do not feature an all-female case. Or, if they do, the women are adolescent sex fantasies first and actual characters second. And their stories certainly don’t feature a sincere emotional core.

Rat Queens shows a mix of humor, violence, vulgarity, and heart that is absolutely atypical for fantasy comics, and I suspect it had a rough road to publication. But its reception has been great. It was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best New Series in 2014 (that’s essentially an Oscar for comics) and a Hugo for Best Graphic Story in 2015. It also picked up a 2015 GLAAD Media Award for its LGBT representation (that, more than anything else I’ve said, should quiet your worries about whether a comic with this much crass-ness can also manage some compelling character work).

The series has seen a couple artist changes since it started (for a variety of disappointing reasons that I won’t get into here). For this first volume, all the art is by co-creator Roc Upchurch. First off, his character designs are great. He splashes in modern touches like Hannah’s rockabilly-inspired hair, but melds them with more traditional fantasy elements for a good, consistent aesthetic. All four of the Rat Queens are presented as sexy at times, but they’re far from the chainmail bikini cliche of so much fantasy art.  

Upchurch also does a good job laying out his pages and staging action. He’s got enough restraint and faith in the writing to stick to a fairly simple panel grid when drawing dialogue, which gives more impact to the times he throws the grid out for a splash page or action sequence. As in a movie, action in comics really falls apart without a visual storyteller who can subtly guide the reader’s eye, making sure the follow the sequence of events.

Read-alikes:

• Dungeons & Dragons by John Rogers - This comics series, published by IDW starting in 2010, matches Rat Queens’ sense of fun and adventure, but dials back the adult themes. As you might expect from an official tie-in to a large media property, these comics are very well made but ultimately play it a little safe. Start with volume 1, Shadowplague.
• Skullkickers by Jim Zub - An unlikely pair of adventurers seek gold and glory while facing down ever-more strange and deadly foes. Skullkickers matches the weird humor of Rat Queens but loses the emotional core.
• Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set by Wizards of the Coast - Not a book so much as a box that contains several booklets, some loose sheets, and an assortment of dice. If you’re this far into fantasy about parties of heroic adventurers, maybe you should just take the plunge and give D&D a try. One of the best things about Rat Queens is the bond of friendship between the four leads. D&D is all about cooperating with your friends to tell grand stories and defeat hideous villains.

Review: California Bones by Greg Van Eekhout

Title:  California  Bones

Author:  Greg Van Eekhout

Series:  Book one in a trilogy

Audience:  Adult

Rating on scale 1-5: 4

TL;DR: California Bones  is a combination urban fantasy and caper novel set in dystopian California.

Longer review:
Daniel Blackland, a  thief and osteomancer, is hired by a crime lord to break into a supposedly impenetrable stronghold and steal a sword. The sword was made by Daniel’s Father, a powerful magician, and  possesses the magical essence of Daniel himself. Daniel’s Father was killed by the the Hierarch, the ruler of the Kingdom of Southern California. Daniel puts together the best thieves to steal the sword.

When I saw that it was an urban fantasy and a caper I was pretty excited. Since it is a caper book, it is fairly action packed. This book is gritty and a little gruesome (it’s not for the faint of heart).

Read-alikes:
Kraken: an anatomy by China Miéville. This urban fantasy also has group of magicians stealing an object.  (A giant squid fom the British museum.  It also described as gritty.

Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia. This urban fantasy is described as action packed and gruesome.  The main character gets a job hunting monsters because monsters are real.

Dresden Files series  by Jim Butcher. This action packed urban fantasy series has a Wizard private detective as its main character.

Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic

Author: V.E. Schwab

Information on series: First of Darker shade of magic trilogy, second book expected 2016.

Audience: New Adult/Adult; possibly YA though there is some language and violence, but nothing gratuitous

Rating (scale of 1 – 10, with 10 being the highest): 9.5

Recommended to: Historical fiction readers; fans of political/royal thrillers

Tl;dr:  A gritty urban fantasy set against a backdrop of parallel Londons where dark magic threatens to overtake and destroy everything, and there may be only one person who can stop it.

“Some thought magic came from the mind, others the soul, or the heart, or the will. But Kell knew it came from the blood.
     Blood was magic made manifest. There it thrived. And there it poisoned. Kell had seen what happened when power warred with the body, watched it darken in the veins of corrupted men, turning their blood from crimson to black. If red was the color of magic in balance—of harmony between power and humanity—then black was the color of magic without balance, without order, without restraint.
     As an Antari, Kell was made of both, balance and chaos; the blood in his veins, like the Isle of Red London, ran a shimmering, healthy crimson, while his right eye was the color of spilled ink, a glistening black.” 

Review:
Kell is Antari, which means he possesses special magic that allows him to pass between parallel worlds acting as courier to each of London’s different crowns. There are three Londons to which he travels: Grey, White, and Red. Grey London is the one we know with Parliament and Westminster and the Thames flowing through the city. It is a drab place with no magic, though there are those who believe it exists. White London’s river is called the Siljt and the palace is an icy fortress ruled by evil twins (literally, evil twins). In White London magic is a rare commodity, highly and viciously sought after, hoarded by those in power and taken from others at any cost. Red London has an abundance of magic and its people live in lavish luxury. It is there where Kell lives at the palace with the King, Queen and the High Prince Rhy, and is treated by others as royalty himself, though he doesn’t feel as if he truly belongs. There’s a fourth London, Black, but no one comes or goes from there anymore. When Kell journeys to White or Grey London he returns with small keepsakes and trinkets, amassing a private collection of odds and ends. Like a magpie he hoards these objects, despite Rhy’s warnings that dire consequences will come from Kell’s habit…

Lila has been surviving on her own in White London’s rough streets, stealing to stay alive and dreaming of the high seas. She wants nothing more than to be the commander of her own pirate ship, but she can barely stay afloat on land. When her path crosses Kell’s she knows there are greater adventures waiting, and she will do just about anything to be part of them.

Holland is like Kell; he can travel between the Londons and does so at the behest of White London’s rulers, Astrid and Athos Dane. Unlike Kell, Holland has little freedom even though he is Antari, and is at the mercy of the ruthless Danes who will stop at nothing to satisfy their desire for magic.

 A darker shade of magic will appeal to readers of historical fiction and political thrillers who are perhaps interested in Fantasy but aren’t quite ready to submerse themselves in a completely new world.  Though there are elements of more traditional fantasy, including a new language, the fantastical elements and the magical system are not overly complex.

 Read alikes:

• A Study in Silks by Emma Jane Holloway, (see RART review)
• A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Grey
• Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Reviewer: Jillian Rutledge, Waverly Public Library

Review: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Title: The Lightning Thief
Author: Rick Riordan
Information on series: First of five books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
Audience: Middle grade, though with plenty of appeal for readers of any age who love a good adventure story
Rating (scale of 1-5, with 5 being highest): 4
TL;DR: An action-packed quest story whose young hero was written off as a bad kid, but really he has supernatural abilities straight out of Greek myth.

Longer review:
On a recent road trip, we started and abandoned several audiobooks, nothing quite working for both of us. That is until we started The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (as read by Jesse Bernstein). In fact, we loved it so much that when we got home before finishing the last disc, we moved from the car straight to the couch. Neither of us had been terribly excited to listen to this book, I'd started and abandoned the print edition, he'd seen the underwhelming movie adaptation, but in the end it was a highlight of our very long drive. We were looking for a book that combined adventure and humor, and that is exactly what we got.

The Percy Jackson series is based on the idea that the Greek gods of ancient myth are not only reality, they are active forces in the modern world, who still have the bad habit of having half-god children with mortal men and women. Percy Jackson (spoilers) discovers that he is the son of an unknown god, which gives him unusual powers and mark him out as a target for evil forces. That some of his special abilities (a natural aptitude for ancient Greek, hyperaccelerated reflexes) manifest as learning disorders (dyslexia, ADHD) that mark him out as a "bad kid" in the mundane world is an inspiring touch. While your average reader isn't likely to be a demigod, the message that sometimes our strengths lie in what makes us different, even if that means we can never be normal.

While I know this book, series, and author has a very large fan base, I never would've considered suggesting this series to adults before checking out the audiobook myself. That's the magic of a skilled audiobook narrator, they can take a good book and turn it into something even better.

Read alikes:
Rick Riordan: The obvious read alike, he expands on Percy Jackson's world in the Heroes of Olympus series, explores Egyptian mythology, and his newest series, Magnus Chase, which takes on norse mythology.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins: Before she wrote The Hunger Games, Collins wrote a series about a young boy's adventures in a secret kingdom under the streets of New York City (warning: there are rats, cockroaches, and other creepy crawlies).

Hounded by Kevin Hearne: Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles are NOT for children or young readers. This is a decidely adult urban fantasy series set in an Arizona overrun by the gods of Celtic mythology.

~Sarah, Carnegie-Stout Public Library

Review: The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

Title: The Rook

Author: Daniel O’Malley

Information on series: First in a series (book two will be released January 2016)

Audience: Adult

Rating (scale of 1-10): 8

TL;DR: Endlessly entertaining and engrossing, The Rook has a great set-up that the rest of the book almost entirely lives up to.

Longer review:  She gains consciousness in a park, shivering in the rain, bloodied and bruised, surrounded by a ring of lifeless bodies, and with no knowledge of who she is.  In her pocket is a letter with only a large number one written on the outside.  “Dear you,” the letter says, “the body you are wearing used to be mine, … and along with this body you have inherited certain problems and responsibilities.”  

She, it turns out, is Myfanwy Thomas, a member of the Checquy, the secret organization that keeps Britain safe from the supernatural, the paranormal and the just plain weird.  In her position as a Rook, a high-ranking member of the Checquy leadership, Myfanwy discovered a traitor in the ranks but was unable to expose them before being attacked and having her memory obliterated.  Thankfully she’s the sort of person to think ahead, hence the letter in her pocket - and that’s not the only one.  Further letters direct the new Myfanwy to a safehouse and provide information about the Checquy and her own past. If she wants to survive the traitor's next attempt on her life, Myfanwy will have to go into work as if nothing happened, and find a way to expose them.

But when you work for the Checquy, even a normal day means fighting all sorts of weirdness: like a cult that unleashes a man-eating fungus, or a hatching dragon egg.  Few of the crises she faces, however, are more terrifying than her co-workers. There's the vampire, the guy who can excrete nerve gas, the one being that inhabits four separate human bodies, and even Myfanwy herself, who finds that in times of great stress she can disrupt the bodily functions of other people - make them go blind, or stop moving, or even stop their hearts beating.

Normally, amnesia as a plot device leaves me cold, but the letters that Myfanwy reads from her past self provide a great way for the author to outline the Checquy’s history, and provide details about how his world works.  Myfanwy goes into each new situation with just as much ignorance as the reader does, so even though the world of The Rook feels complex and deep, you get to experience it for the first time right along with the main character.

The tone of the novel is rather light and fun; if this were a Bond movie, it would be from the Roger Moore years and have lots of bad puns and innuendo.  The dialog is snappy, sometimes a little too unrealistically crisp, and Myfanwy is thrown from crisis to crisis fast enough that she doesn’t do much in the way of seriously connecting with other characters.  Hopefully the second book will see Myfanwy build some relationships and experience some development to go along with battling whatever new supernatural horror may threaten the British Isles.

Read Alikes:

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett:  Con-man Moist von Lipwig is saved from deserved execution for his crimes and is subjected to a punishment that amounts to a fate worse than death - he’s put in charge of the decrepit post office system.  This is the first of Pratchett’s Discworld novels featuring Moist who, like Myfanwy, is thrust into an inscrutable government institution and just has to learn as he goes along.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde: Thursday Next is an officer in the government department of Literary Detection, where she chases forgers and plagiarists.  But one conniving baddie is bent on messing around with classic novel Jane Eyre, by kidnapping characters out of the original manuscript.  To preserve England’s literary heritage, Thursday must jump into the pages of classic literature where, it turns out, she finds a shadowy agency which polices books from the inside.

Reviewed by Seth, Ames Public Library

Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

Title: Burn For Me: A Hidden Legacy Novel

Author: Ilona Andrews
Information on series: First in series
Audience:  Adult
Rating (scale of 1-5, with 5 being highest): 4.5

TL/DR: Nevada Baylor is a small time PI faced with the most challenging case of her career.  In modern day Houston, many humans have been blessed with magical powers.  It is common knowledge and some are more powerful than others.  Can Nevada work with her unlikely ally, Mad Rogan, to bring in a dangerous being?  The first book in this Urban fantasy series pairs a smart, savvy female protagonist with a dark, brooding anit-hero.  Burn for me is fun and engaging, with a dash of romance. 

Longer Review: I must confess, my favorite sub-genre of Fantasy is Urban Fantasy.  I’m a sucker for well written fantasies that take place in real world settings, with strong female characters, magic, and some romance.  Ilona Andrews (the husband and wife writing team of Ilona and Gordon Andrews) is one of my top 3 favorite authors in this genre.

In Houston, Nevada Baylor has taken over her family’s detective business that is mortgaged out to a much larger firm.  In this modern day alternate world, magic equals power and none are more powerful than Mad Rogan.  Nevada is tasked with bringing in a fire mage and she needs to work with Mad in order to complete her assignment.  Nevada isn’t powerful, but she is essentially a human lie detector.  A skill that comes in very handy in her line of work.  She is smart, scrappy, loyal, a very well rounded woman. 

Thoughts on Mad Rogan:  Is he a good guy? Is he a bad guy?  I just don’t know!  I mean, he helps Nevada, but is he putting her in more danger?  Is he even capable of real feelings?  There is a bit of romance in this book, but as this is the first in a series the main characters are really just getting to know one another.  No insta love in this book (yay)! 

Thoughts on Nevada’s rag-tag family:  Her cousins seem like normal teenagers caught in a not so great situation.  Nevada is barely older than her cousins, yet she seems to be in charge of the entire family, including her mom and grandmother. Speaking of her grandmother,  I LOVE this women! She kind of reminds me of the grandmother in the Stephanie Plum books, but not quite as wacky.  She is a weapons expert so I guess the two grannies do have the love of guns in common. I suspect we will be getting more back story on Nevada's family in future books. 

The twist at the end, wow!.  I totally did not see that coming.  I read an advanced readers copy of Burn for Me before its October, 2014 release date.  Fortunately the new book in the series "White Hot" will be out in October of this year, I honestly can't wait to read the continuing saga of Nevada and Mad.   

I would call this a gateway book to Urban Fantasy.  Light on the world building because it takes place in modern times, and no vampires, werewolves, shape shifters etc.  If you've wanted to try Urban Fantasy but have been hesitant for some reason or another, this is a great choice for your first book.  

Read A-likes:

The Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin

When a serial killer descended from the fiend known as Grendel is let loose on the world, Makenna Fraser and Ian Byrne, who work for Supernatural Protection and Investigations, must race against time to stop him before more innocent lives are lost.

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

While trying to live a so-called normal existence, mechanic Mercy Thompson, a shape shifter raised by werewolves, gets into trouble with the gremlins, witches, and vampires with whom she deals on a daily basis.

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

On the eve of her marriage, Elena Michaels learns that her fiancé has been concealing his secret life as a werewolf, and, as a bonus, he has made her into one also.

Amy Muchmore, Carnegie-Stout Public Library

Review: Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire

Title: Rosemary and Rue

Author: Seanan McGuire

Series: October Daye

Audience: Teen/Adult

Rating: 5 stars

TL;DR: October Daye, a changeling P.I., is compelled under threat of death to solve the murder of Countess Evening Winterrose.

Longer review: Half-fae private investigator October “Toby” Daye is building her life with her husband and daughter in the mortal world, when a case she is working for her liege goes south, and the bad guys turn her into a fish.

Fourteen years later, the spell has worn off and Toby has reappeared in the mortal world. Her mortal husband and daughter want nothing to do with the wife and mother who they think abandoned them, and Toby wants nothing to do with the Summerlands.

Understandably bitter, Toby is keeping her head down and just trying to readjust to life. But when Countess Evening Winterrose, one of Toby’s few friends from Fairie, is viciously murdered shortly after she calls Toby begging for help, Toby is drawn back into a world she hates.

What makes this book incredible is McGuire’s easy writing style, her well-developed characters, and the depth of her world-building. Once you sink into this book, you’ll have to be dragged out of it. Better yet, there are currently eight books in the series, with at least five more planned.

McGuire is a prolific author, with two series under her own name, and another two under her pen name Mira Grant.

Author’s Website: http://www.seananmcguire.com

Read alikes:

Marie Brennan’s Onyx Court series: Set in Elizabethan London, the first book in this series, Midnight Never Come, follows Michael Deven, a mortal courtier in Elizabeth’s court and Lune, a fairie lady sent to manipulate Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster. Although this book is set in a different time and place than McGuire’s series, there are similarities in the court politics and the interaction between the Fae and mortal worlds.

Kat Richardson’s Greywalker series: Set in Seattle, this series features P.I. Harper Blaine, who, after a near fatal accident, develops the ability to see and move through the Grey – the realm of ghosts, witches, vampires and magic. Like October Daye, Harper Blaine is a tough woman dealing with both real and otherworldly problems.

Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series: Set in a post-epidemic Cincinnati, bounty-hunter and witch Rachel Morgan must contend with elves, vampires, werewolves and demons. This series has a lighter feel than McGuire’s, and is a little faster-paced, but both series have a strong and resourceful female protagonists.

Teresa Dahlgren

Waterloo Public Library

Review: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Title:  Red Rising

 

Author: Pierce Brown

Information on the Series:  First in a planned trilogy

Audience: Adult, with YA Crossover

Rating: (on a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the highest)  4

TL;DR:  A tale set in a bleak future society torn by class divisions follows the experiences of secret revolutionary Darrow, who after witnessing his wife's execution by an oppressive government, joins a revolutionary cell and attempts to infiltrate an elite military academy.

Longer Review:  Pierce Brown’s debut novel Red Rising has drawn comparisons to The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones.  Full disclosure, I read The Hunger Games trilogy and thought it was okay, and I never finished Game of Thrones.  After reading the book I can see similar themes and story elements in Red Rising, but I feel that the book stands on its own merits. 

Brown has created a richly detailed fantasy world that takes place in a dystopian future, on Mars.  There is a distinctive class system, based upon colors.  Darrow is a Red, the lowest class on Mars.  The twist is that Darrow doesn’t actually live on Mars, he lives in Mars.  Reds are miners, they were sent to Mars to work below the surface in an attempt to make the planet habitable for humans because Earth is dying.  This process has been going on for generations.  The majority of Reds have been kept in the dark about the fact that there is a thriving community on the surface, they still believe that what they are doing is important for the future of colonization on Mars.  The life expectancy of a Red is very short due to the dangerous nature of their jobs. As a result, Reds marry quite young.  Darrow, and his wife Eo, are teenagers, 15 or 16 years old. Through a series of events, including the execution of his wife, Darrow ends up living on the surface with a rebel organization called the Sons of Ares. This organization is determined to bring down the elite Gold ruling class by any means necessary.  Darrow is reinvented and gains admission to the Institute, an elite military academy where the Gold families send their teenagers. 

Far from a posh school where students are pampered, the Institute is brutal.  Essentially every child at the academy is fighting to survive.  In order to do so they must create alliances, betray friends, commit unspeakable acts, including killing the other students.  While this is similar to The Hunger Games, it seemed more violent.  Everything that happens at the school is manipulated by the Gold ruling elite.  Politics play a huge role, and power can change in the blink of an eye.  It will take every ounce of strength and wit for Darrow to survive. If his subterfuge is discovered, he will be killed immediately.  Even if he isn't discovered his life is constantly in danger.  Red Rising walks a fine line between YA and Adult.  While the main protagonist (and antagonists) are teenagers, what happens in the book, in terms of violence and political intrigue, is decidedly adult. 

Darrow is a sympathetic hero initially, as the book progresses and he has to make difficult decisions, he becomes less likeable. He has to survive the academy in order to infiltrate the upper echelon of the Gold class.  Along the way he loses pieces of himself and at times even he is shocked and disgusted by his behavior.  The Darrow we meet at the beginning of the book is very different from the Darrow at the end of the book, but I found myself still rooting for him to survive and succeed.  The story starts slow and the transformation of Darrow before he enters the Institute drags on a little bit too long.  Once he enters the school the story moves at a much faster pace.  If you haven’t read Red Rising yet, you are in luck.  Golden Son, the second book of the trilogy was released in January.  You won’t have to wait a year, like I did, to find out what happens after the conclusion of Red Rising.  Given the success of The Hunger Games movies, I’m sure it will come as no surprise that Red Rising has been optioned as a movie by Universal Studios. Whether the project moves beyond the “in development” stage remains to be seen. 

Why the 4-star rating?  As I said earlier, the beginning of the book is slow.  Brown also uses slight differences in language to differentiate between the classes.  At times that was confusing.  Additionally, there are so many characters introduced as the story progressed, I found it difficult to remember who was who, and why they were important. That being said, I can't wait to read Golden Son. 

Readalikes:

Wool by Hugh Howey 

In a future toxic landscape, a community that lives in an underground silo is rocked by the desire of Sheriff Holston, who has upheld the group's rules for years, to go outside, setting in motion events that kindle the fire of revolution. Like Red Rising, the protagonists in this fast-paced, dystiopian science fiction book question the authoritarian government and find out that only through bloody rebellion can they achieve a better world.

Mind Storm by K.M. Ruiz 

Centuries after an apocalyptic nuclear war, the world's survivors compete for dwindling resources as the wealthy secretly plan to depart for another planet, while soldier-slave Threnody Corwin uses her super-powers to rise against a syndicate that is murdering her fellow psions. For those interested in bleak, gritty, far-future worlds where members of the oppressed underclasses challenge the ruling elite.  

Review by: Amy Muchmore, Carnegie-Stout Public Library