Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Discussion for Part 3!

This part of the book definitely kept me engaged. I've always quite liked the whole war games / survival test thing, from Heinlein's Tunnel in the Sky onward. Especially when things break down Lord of the Flies style, and all the inner savagery comes out (at least in some of the characters).

My only qualm would be whether it felt a bit disjointed from the first part of the novel. I know in plot terms it makes sense, because it's established Darrow needs to become an elite-level Gold. And this is part of that process. But there was almost a videogame vibe to it.

In a lot of RPGs, the game opens with something dramatic and world-changing (e.g. a huge battle that kills a king, or some cosmic threat to the whole planet). Then the next hours of the game will be spent doing random quests to build yourself up and pad out the game time. And I'll be sat there thinking, "Okay, this quest is fun. But aren't I supposed to be avenging my father or saving the world, instead of stealing a barmaid's handkerchief so I can give it to the goblin and... (etc.)"

Especially because Darrow and the others are taking part in a literal game, at certain points I did think, "Wait... Wasn't this novel meant to be about an uprising on Mars?" But fair enough, it's a trilogy, so there needs to be a lot of stuff between A and Z. And Darrow's role was presented to us as part of a long-haul strategy. So it's not as though it doesn't make sense.

Either way, I enjoyed reading this section, and do want to find out what happens next.

Ibrahim wrote: "This part of the book definitely kept me engaged. I've always quite liked the whole war games / survival test thing, from Heinlein's Tunnel in the Sky onward. Especially when things break down Lord..."

"Okay, this quest is fun. But aren't I supposed to be avenging my father or saving the world, instead of stealing a barmaid's handkerchief so I can give it to the goblin and... (etc.) <--- Good Lord, YES that always drove me insane! This was my favorite part of the book the first time I read it. It reminded me both of Lord of the Flies (I think I used to call it that a lot) and of The Stanford Prison Experiment in the 70s where everyone went in on equal standing but soon the "guards" started torturing the "prisoners".

Lauren (The Novel Lush) wrote: "Ibrahim wrote: "This part of the book definitely kept me engaged. I've always quite liked the whole war games / survival test thing, from Heinlein's Tunnel in the Sky onward. Especially when things..."

Yah, I totally agree with those comparisons. Red Rising is so different from the rest of the series because it all takes place in the microcosm of the institute. it is the foundation that shapes the characters and their relationships moving forward, but its totally surreal and nothing like the rest of the universe you see in the rest of the trilogy.

on ch 20. :)

I have so many feelings!!

This section man, just all of the things happen, let me highlight some of my notes:

The Passage?! Like woah did not expect that. At first I thought it was one of those mind games where killing the other is one of the options, nope.
Priam died! I mean, never got to know the fella, but was surprised.
I seriously love the whole representation of this game. These kids have to fight and learn how to come to power the way the og Golds did back in the day. Which has me thinking, were the og Golds on Luna like the Reds now? Were they the guinea pigs to start living in space, and got sick of being used and came together to conquer Earth? - just a thought here.
lol at them getting their first zits
The Proctors, like wth? Why is Mars just not helping at all, and it seems the others are getting information and weapons and horses and all of the things. I also like that they call each other Mars and Apollo like they are the actual gods and just hover over the battles and eat and drink.
OMG THE HOWLERS IN THE DEAD HORSES...
Fucking Antonia?! The Jackal?!
And seriously these cliff hangers after each section are just top level.

Anyways, I am having a good time.

OH and Titus! I knew someone else had to be a Red, I didn't think it was him. Yikes. So wild how they all went from zero to savage in like five days.

I must say it finally starts to get interesting from this part on. Things are finally happening!

ch 33. i can see where others may not like it, but overall i like the book. im definitely going to be reading on in the series.

It totally makes since that there would be other reds masquerading as golds. I think it adds a layer of paranoia to the story. Like how many reds are golds? Will they cause problems for Darrow in the future? I guess I'll just have to keep reading.

omg. this book.ch 25.... making progress. just might finish this on time :)

posted this on the wrong book. oops.