For folks finding this video later, I absolutely adored book #2. I just haven't made a video for it yet. So, easy with the torches and pitchforks, please!
Hey I’m finding this review “later” here in mid 2022. Thanks for these videos. I’m about to read golden son, and then I’ll catch your video for that. Thanks again!
Just finished Red Rising the other day and loved it! The final 3rd of the book I couldn't put down. Now I have not read the hunger games so my opinion might be different if I did. Picked up Golden Son today and can't wait to get into it. Love your reviews, especially the ones involving King. Have a great new year!
I picked this up after watching your video when you met Pierce Brown! I thought this books was really fun and worth the read. It might take a few things from many books but I dont think thats a negative criticism. Other authors do the same. I mean I see the same tropes and plots in fantasy books repeated over and over. Judging from then video where you met Pierce Brown, he wears his influences on his sleeve. Those are just my quick two cents! Glad we both enjoyed the book! I'll be reading the second book soon! Thanks for making these videos!
Thank you for talking so much about this series Mike! I finished the book last night and now I'm really exited to continue with Golden Son. Gonna read it together with Memories or Ice
I totally I agree Pierce Brown hooked me in the beginning with the mystery and dark morbid sci-fi vibe. Then the more action there was the more bored I got, strangely. Thanks for helping me out my finger on why I was so diesgaged the last half of the book-I couldn’t figure it out but first person was getting to me, and that’s a big part of it. Great review!
years late lol but i did a reread recently to finally finish this trilogy and i agree! i think the first person perspective does a disservice to the book, esp bc personally i couldn’t stand darrow and being in his head with his monologues had me making faces. on the cassius situation about him not knowing who killed his brother i also agree, like it wouldve been such a good element to the plot later on in the books to build some tension, it was kinda disappointing for him to find out so soon🫠 planning to read golden son and morning star soon, hoping itll get better and watch ur reviews as i go!!
Mike, I finished Red Rising about an hour ago. I saw your WYSR video for this series and decided to give it a shot. I really enjoyed this book. It had a bit of a slow start, but to me, it got better as it progressed. I debated on giving this a rating of 5 stars. I need to give it time and think it over. I may come back and adjust this rating at some point, but for now it is a strong 4 out of 5 for me. I am not a fan of first person, but I found that it did not hamper my experience of this story. Overall, it was a very good read, and I am looking forward to the next book, which I've heard you say is much better experience. Thanks for the recommendation, and if it were not for the August group read of Traitor's Blade, I would immediately jump into Book 2. One more thing. I red the Hunger Games because my sister recommended them to me. She couldn't stop gushing over them. Yeah, I didn't care a whole lot for that series. It was just ok. I didn't feel like that for this book. I felt it was more Lord of the Flies)ish. Anyway, cheers!
I've finished the trilogy, I just haven't done a review for it. Golden Son was terrific and Morning Star was really good. Both were leaps and bounds better than this book.
This is encouraging, I read the first book and had the same thoughts as Mike. I'm very reluctant to take a break of WOT and give Golden Son a go, but I think i just might now.
I just finished this a few minutes ago, mostly because I saw your WYSR video a while back and added it to my TBR. I had pretty tempered expectations, so I was surprised how much I ended up liking it. Gonna jump right into GS
I just bought the series because of this review. I’m about to finish book 1 and though its a fun read, it’s definitely YA for me. Not that I don’t enjoy the genre but was hopping for something different.
I had a similar experience with the book loved the first third and the world building. But the rest of the book that was consumed with winning the adult killing game or w/e was way too drawn out for me. Starting the second book because of all the comments about it being better than the 1st, looking forward to it.
Ha. I liked HG #1. But, also, this was recorded immediately after I finished the book and I was frustrated with it. This is why I wait now before I record.
@@mikesbookreviews I actually like the first HG as well, felt she wrote herself in way over her head for the followups. And i also agree RR was a little frustrating, really uneven pacing most of all i think (for me). It's also fun seeing a Mike vid from the dark ages
Mike, ever since I started my channel I've had people telling me I need to read this book. At the very beginning I thought this whole book was going to be about Communists taking over a planet LOL. But in the end I really did like it. I can see what you mean about him smashing a bunch of different stories together
The RR saga is so much better than hunger games in every way. Katniss is one of the most annoying characters ever created and and the world is so limited in comparison. Now, 5 books in, I’ve completely forgotten hunger games ever existed.
Mike's Book Reviews & Geek Media Corps Podcast re reading my comment - it came off a little aggressive ! Didn’t mean it to , just feel strongly that hunger games is rubbish in comparison IMO.
One thing I think should be mentioned is that The Jackal only turned to cannibalism because most of his house was sealed in an underground mine at the start of the institute. An amazing book all round I say.
I really don't remember. When I decided to start doing the book reviews, I searched UA-cam for "royalty free music" for sci-fi, horror, and fantasy. I don't think I'd be able to find them again.
Do you have a philosophy about ranking the books you read on a scale of 1-10? It's totally cool if you would rather not simplify it down to a number, but it's hard to tell if you actually liked the book sometimes 😉 I'm guessing you did since you're going to read the next three real quick!
I avoid ranking like that because folks these days consider anything less than a 9 out of 10 a good score. I had problems with the book, more because it wasn't what I wanted, but liked the world enough to see where it went next. I just finished book 2 and loved it.
Skip the first 4 chapters and just start on chapter5. That’s where it gets good. I promise you aren’t missing much from the first 4 chapters. Oh and read the prologue. Best one I have read. Quick and thrilling 👍
Why do people compare this to Hunger Games? I just finished the third book in this series and it has ZERO in common with Hunger Games, what’s so ever! Red Rising, was SOOOOO much better especially the second. The second book Golden Sons, was probably one the best sequels ever written! Give this a try and you will certainly like it unless you like easy story where the MC just walks over the “bad guys”.
Love the series but I don't like the amount of Sci Fi references. Multiple star wars references (never tell me the odds) and the like just completely take me out of the immersion. I don't understand why authors like doing this. When you reference another IP or borrow dialogue from it the audience notices and it pulls them out of the immersion.
For folks finding this video later, I absolutely adored book #2. I just haven't made a video for it yet. So, easy with the torches and pitchforks, please!
Hey I’m finding this review “later” here in mid 2022. Thanks for these videos. I’m about to read golden son, and then I’ll catch your video for that. Thanks again!
Guys, I'm aware of the audio sync issues and I apologize. I will try to get it fixed before the next review. So sorry!
Just finished Red Rising the other day and loved it! The final 3rd of the book I couldn't put down. Now I have not read the hunger games so my opinion might be different if I did. Picked up Golden Son today and can't wait to get into it. Love your reviews, especially the ones involving King. Have a great new year!
I picked this up after watching your video when you met Pierce Brown! I thought this books was really fun and worth the read. It might take a few things from many books but I dont think thats a negative criticism. Other authors do the same. I mean I see the same tropes and plots in fantasy books repeated over and over. Judging from then video where you met Pierce Brown, he wears his influences on his sleeve. Those are just my quick two cents! Glad we both enjoyed the book! I'll be reading the second book soon! Thanks for making these videos!
I wish I had went into it with a different set of expectations and I would have enjoyed book 1 more. But book 2 is amazing.
Thank you for talking so much about this series Mike! I finished the book last night and now I'm really exited to continue with Golden Son. Gonna read it together with Memories or Ice
I totally I agree Pierce Brown hooked me in the beginning with the mystery and dark morbid sci-fi vibe. Then the more action there was the more bored I got, strangely. Thanks for helping me out my finger on why I was so diesgaged the last half of the book-I couldn’t figure it out but first person was getting to me, and that’s a big part of it. Great review!
Aw no, are all the books first person? Can't read those any longer...
years late lol but i did a reread recently to finally finish this trilogy and i agree! i think the first person perspective does a disservice to the book, esp bc personally i couldn’t stand darrow and being in his head with his monologues had me making faces. on the cassius situation about him not knowing who killed his brother i also agree, like it wouldve been such a good element to the plot later on in the books to build some tension, it was kinda disappointing for him to find out so soon🫠
planning to read golden son and morning star soon, hoping itll get better and watch ur reviews as i go!!
Mike, I finished Red Rising about an hour ago. I saw your WYSR video for this series and decided to give it a shot. I really enjoyed this book. It had a bit of a slow start, but to me, it got better as it progressed. I debated on giving this a rating of 5 stars. I need to give it time and think it over. I may come back and adjust this rating at some point, but for now it is a strong 4 out of 5 for me. I am not a fan of first person, but I found that it did not hamper my experience of this story. Overall, it was a very good read, and I am looking forward to the next book, which I've heard you say is much better experience. Thanks for the recommendation, and if it were not for the August group read of Traitor's Blade, I would immediately jump into Book 2. One more thing. I red the Hunger Games because my sister recommended them to me. She couldn't stop gushing over them. Yeah, I didn't care a whole lot for that series. It was just ok. I didn't feel like that for this book. I felt it was more Lord of the Flies)ish. Anyway, cheers!
The next book is a thrill ride. Enjoy, my man!
I felt the same when I read the first book, but I can tell you sequel books are all the "sci-fi goodness" we all want.
Keep up the good work, Mike.
I've finished the trilogy, I just haven't done a review for it. Golden Son was terrific and Morning Star was really good. Both were leaps and bounds better than this book.
This is encouraging, I read the first book and had the same thoughts as Mike. I'm very reluctant to take a break of WOT and give Golden Son a go, but I think i just might now.
I just finished this a few minutes ago, mostly because I saw your WYSR video a while back and added it to my TBR. I had pretty tempered expectations, so I was surprised how much I ended up liking it. Gonna jump right into GS
I just bought the series because of this review. I’m about to finish book 1 and though its a fun read, it’s definitely YA for me. Not that I don’t enjoy the genre but was hopping for something different.
I had a similar experience with the book loved the first third and the world building. But the rest of the book that was consumed with winning the adult killing game or w/e was way too drawn out for me. Starting the second book because of all the comments about it being better than the 1st, looking forward to it.
Book 2 is just fantastic. It fixes almost all of the problems I had with book 1.
It never occurred to me until now that I might like those books because they were SO MAINSTREAM
They’re so good.
did i hear you say hunger games is a better book than this one?
i don't know if we can be friends...
Ha. I liked HG #1. But, also, this was recorded immediately after I finished the book and I was frustrated with it. This is why I wait now before I record.
@@mikesbookreviews I actually like the first HG as well, felt she wrote herself in way over her head for the followups. And i also agree RR was a little frustrating, really uneven pacing most of all i think (for me).
It's also fun seeing a Mike vid from the dark ages
Mike, ever since I started my channel I've had people telling me I need to read this book. At the very beginning I thought this whole book was going to be about Communists taking over a planet LOL. But in the end I really did like it. I can see what you mean about him smashing a bunch of different stories together
I view first person as more of an autobiography or journal written by the main. Like, I even consider them to be lying or embellishing.
Omg Mike. The video/audio has come so far!
Man, I just re-watched it today and holy hell. It's shocking this channel EVER took off.
Percy Jackson vibes?? What!! 😂😂😂 that couldn’t be farther from the truth!
The RR saga is so much better than hunger games in every way. Katniss is one of the most annoying characters ever created and and the world is so limited in comparison. Now, 5 books in, I’ve completely forgotten hunger games ever existed.
As you should. It was just Stephen King's The Long Walk & Battle Royale for tweens.
Mike's Book Reviews & Geek Media Corps Podcast re reading my comment - it came off a little aggressive ! Didn’t mean it to , just feel strongly that hunger games is rubbish in comparison IMO.
@@ajwebb220587 I agree with you.It was a recycled idea done better by better authors.
Horse guts? In Braveheart? You meant Revenant :) No, worries, I still love your reviews, mate. Cheers!
I'm looking to get into some series and I sense we have similar taste...Do you a ranking of your top books by chance?
Listening to this book ritenow so Im not gonna finish ypur review for fear of spoilers.
Good choice. This one is a full spoiler review.
It gets better.
One thing I think should be mentioned is that The Jackal only turned to cannibalism because most of his house was sealed in an underground mine at the start of the institute.
An amazing book all round I say.
great opening theme, where is it from?
I really don't remember. When I decided to start doing the book reviews, I searched UA-cam for "royalty free music" for sci-fi, horror, and fantasy. I don't think I'd be able to find them again.
@@mikesbookreviews great channel man, great videos and super theme
@@rubygalili4493 Thanks a ton!
@@rubygalili4493 its been a year but I think this is the song ua-cam.com/video/zIRo7NJ4uLE/v-deo.html
I just read this book, so a little late in the game here. I have exactly the same feelings.😅
Do you have a philosophy about ranking the books you read on a scale of 1-10? It's totally cool if you would rather not simplify it down to a number, but it's hard to tell if you actually liked the book sometimes 😉 I'm guessing you did since you're going to read the next three real quick!
I avoid ranking like that because folks these days consider anything less than a 9 out of 10 a good score. I had problems with the book, more because it wasn't what I wanted, but liked the world enough to see where it went next. I just finished book 2 and loved it.
My problem with Red Rising is the middle part. The pacing is wack. That’s my experience, at least.
Red Country > Red Rising
Ha ha I'm reading it in July.
Skip the first 4 chapters and just start on chapter5. That’s where it gets good. I promise you aren’t missing much from the first 4 chapters. Oh and read the prologue. Best one I have read. Quick and thrilling 👍
Sup Mike!
Thought you'd appreciate that.
Roque is a great character and such a good friend to Darrow. 🙂
I DNF this book. Just didn’t like it.
It reminds me of that book that a teenager wrote about a dragon. I forgot the name but it feels like a high-schooler wrote red rising
Are you talking about Eragon by Christopher Paolini?
😍😍
Why do people compare this to Hunger Games? I just finished the third book in this series and it has ZERO in common with Hunger Games, what’s so ever! Red Rising, was SOOOOO much better especially the second. The second book Golden Sons, was probably one the best sequels ever written! Give this a try and you will certainly like it unless you like easy story where the MC just walks over the “bad guys”.
Love the series but I don't like the amount of Sci Fi references.
Multiple star wars references (never tell me the odds) and the like just completely take me out of the immersion.
I don't understand why authors like doing this. When you reference another IP or borrow dialogue from it the audience notices and it pulls them out of the immersion.