Every Book in the Red Rising Trilogy, Ranked
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When it comes to 21st-century science fiction, few books are more popular or beloved than Pierce Brown's Red Rising. The 2014 novel, which blends sci-fi with the dystopian YA tone that dominated the first half of the 2010s, became a bestseller and spawned two sequels, creating one of the new millennium's best and most celebrated trilogies. Three further books have come out since, with a fourth and final one in the works, but that is usually considered a separate tetralogy.
Each of the three Red Rising books is a triumph in its own right, full of solid worldbuilding, riveting political conflicts, and excellent character development, particularly concerning protagonist Darrow. However, there is a clear winner when all is said and done, and we are here to determine which of the three comes out on top. So get ready to take a trip to Mars because we are ranking every book in the original Red Rising trilogy.
3 'Red Rising' (2014)
Red Rising is set in a world where society is divided into colors, with the powerful Golds at the top and the enslaved Reds at the bottom. The story follows Darrow, a Red helldiver from Mars whose wife is killed by the despotic governor. When he defies rules to give his wife a proper burial, Darrow is also presumed dead, only to be saved by his uncle. Darrow is then recruited by the Sons of Ares, a rebel group that transforms him into a Gold, hoping to use him to bring down the structure from the inside.
Red Rising begins the saga with one of the most badass opening lines in sci-fi literature: "I would've lived in peace, but my enemies brought me war." It's a bold statement that lets you know the story you're about to read will be ruthless, frustratingly unfair, and full of suffering, and it delivers on that promise. That said, the book also has a very distinct YA tone that prevents it from being as epic as it could have been: there's a school, a competition, a faction system, a group of rebels looking to overthrow the system — all these conventions are good for worldbuilding, but they also make the story seem a tad more conventional. Still, Red Rising is a terrific first novel with a compelling protagonist, fascinating lore, and an emotional story of rebellion that feels as urgent now as it did back then.
2 'Morning Star' (2016)
The last chapter in the original trilogy brings Darrow's tale of rebellion to its climax. Morning Star picks up months after the end of Golden Son, with Darrow tortured and imprisoned by The Jackal. After being released by his friend, Sevro, who has assumed the identity of Ares and continued the rebellion in Darrow's absence, the Reaper of Mars continues his fight despite being mentally and physically broken. However, his enemies are many and lurk in every shadow.
Like so many other final chapters, Morning Star had the very hard task of bringing the narrative to a satisfying close while delivering the epic, sprawling action expected from such a story. It succeeds for the most part, painting a brutal but engaging depiction of a universe at war, with alliances forming and breaking left and right. The pacing is relentless and the action is explosive, with the book going from one major event to the next, often with such speed that it's a tad jarring; however, with stakes this high, the abrupt shifts make more sense. The fate of most characters also feels earned, especially Darrow's and those closest to him. However, the book's insistence on treating certain characters with so much esteem, particularly Roque, is baffling and one of the few weak parts.
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Collider QuizWhich Sci-Fi Hero
Are You8 Questions · 5 LegendsFive iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.On The Manifest
Paul Atreides
Captain Kirk
Princess Leia
Ellen Ripley
Max Rockatansky
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Question 01LEADERSHIP
01How do you lead when the stakes couldn't be higher?The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.
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Question 02STRENGTH
02What is your greatest strength in a crisis?The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
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Question 03MOTIVATION
03What is the thing you'd sacrifice everything else for?Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
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Question 04PEOPLE
04How do you relate to the people around you?Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
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Question 05THREAT
05You're facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do?How you respond when you're the only one who sees it defines everything.
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Question 06COST
06What has your heroism cost you personally?Every hero pays. The question is what, and whether they'd pay it again.
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Question 07RULES
07How do you feel about the rules of the world you're in?Every hero has a relationship with the system. What's yours?
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Question 08PURPOSE
08When everything is on the line, what keeps you going?The answer is the most honest thing about you.
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Your Hero Has Been IdentifiedYour Sci-Fi Hero Is
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
DunePaul AtreidesArrakis · Dune, 2021The hero who knows exactly what becoming one will cost.
You carry a weight most people would crumble under: the knowledge of what you're capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.Why This Is You
- You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
- You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn't ask for but can't escape.
- Paul Atreides is not simply a hero. He is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
- That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won't, is exactly you.
From The Collider File
- Dune: Part Three closes Denis Villeneuve's trilogy on December 18, 2026, adapting Dune Messiah.
- Messiah is the book that turns on its own hero, which is why Villeneuve waited to film it.
Sees It ComingCarries The WeightArrakis
Star TrekCaptain KirkUSS Enterprise · Star Trek, 1966The captain who refuses to accept that a no-win scenario exists.
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario, because you've always believed there's a third option nobody else has thought of yet.Why This Is You
- You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
- Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you've earned it.
- Kirk's genius isn't tactical, it's human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
- That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
From The Collider File
- Paul Wesley's Kirk took the center chair in Strange New Worlds season 4, which premiered July 23, 2026.
- The producers have confirmed Kirk stays with the show through its final season.
No-Win ScenarioCrew FirstStarfleet
Star WarsPrincess LeiaThe Rebellion · A New Hope, 1977The one who holds the line when the line is all that's left.
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith, not because you're fearless, but because giving up simply isn't something you're capable of.Why This Is You
- You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakable.
- You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you've never looked back.
- Leia is not a supporting character in her own story. She is the moral center of the entire rebellion.
- That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.
From The Collider File
- Carrie Fisher was 19 when she shot A New Hope, and Leia's first scene in the saga is a refusal.
- Lucasfilm ruled out recreating her digitally, so her last appearance was built from footage she had already filmed.
Holds The LineThe CauseRebellion
AlienEllen RipleyThe Nostromo · Alien, 1979No speeches. Just the person still standing at the end.
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone's hero. You just refuse to stop when it matters.Why This Is You
- You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
- Ripley's heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn't have a speech. She has a plan and the nerve to see it through.
- You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn't there.
- When it counts, you don't flinch. That's everything.
From The Collider File
- FX renewed Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth for a second season, pushing the franchise onto the home planet.
- Sigourney Weaver has said she is seriously weighing a return to Ripley after reading a new script.
No SpeechesHandles ItNostromo
Mad MaxMax RockatanskyThe Wasteland · Mad Max, 1979Lost everything, kept going anyway.
You have been through fire that would break most people, and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.Why This Is You
- You don't ask for help, don't need validation, and don't wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
- Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute, but it's earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
- Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
- That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.
From The Collider File
- George Miller has a script for the next Mad Max, The Wasteland, but has said only that we will see whether it gets made.
- The 1979 original was shot for a few hundred thousand Australian dollars and became one of the most profitable films ever made.
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1 'Golden Son' (2015)
Golden Son is the middle chapter of the trilogy, and its undeniable peak. Set years after the end of Red Rising, the narrative sees Darrow fall out of favor with the governor of Mars. However, an opportunity arises when Darrow takes advantage of his growing animosity toward the Bellona family to launch a full-scale civil war on Mars. With the Society broken and Mars in chaos, Darrow and his allies launch an open attack against the Sovereign. Meanwhile, the Sons of Ares slowly reveal more of their plan, forcing Darrow to finally reconcile his Red and Gold identities.
Thrilling, ruthless, and featuring so many twists that it's at points descombobulating, Golden Son is a masterclass in narrative escalation, character development, and strategic worldbuilding. As the middle chapter in the saga, the book officially takes Darrow's story from the YA space into a more mature, introspective side of sci-fi. Here, Brown deals with issues of identity, as Darrow struggles to reconcile his Red background with his Gold legacy, leading to some very insightful passages. Then, of course, there's the expansive and brutal civil war that engulfs Mars: friends die, people betray each other, and the book ends with one of the most devastating betrayals in 21st-century literature. Golden Son is everything a great epic sci-fi should be, a true evolution of Red Rising's story, and a sci-fi gem that remains compelling and impactful over a decade after its debut,
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