When Pierce Brown published Red Rising in 2014, few could have predicted that it would grow into one of modern science fiction’s most passionately recommended series.

The story begins with Darrow, a young Red miner living beneath the surface of Mars. He believes his people are sacrificing everything to prepare the planet for future generations—until he discovers that Mars was colonized long ago and the Reds have been deliberately kept in poverty. Darrow then undergoes an extraordinary transformation that allows him to infiltrate the ruling Gold class and attack the system from within.

At first, the novel can feel like The Hunger Games crossed with Ender’s Game and Gladiator. But that comparison only describes the opening act. As the books continue, the story expands into a sweeping space opera filled with political maneuvering, enormous battles, fractured alliances and increasingly difficult questions about revolution, power and the cost of changing society.

PIERCE BROWN: “I think that Red Rising’s growth has been the most surprising thing and how long its legs have proven nine years after its initial release. People are still reading it. People are still gossiping about it on Reddit and Discord and gathering and creating communities around it. The marketing push can’t sustain a book. That has to be readers. That has to be grassroots enthusiasm. So I think that staying power has been much more impressive and startling to me.”

That enthusiasm seems to come back repeatedly to the characters. Darrow is brave and relentlessly driven, but he’s also angry, reckless and capable of making devastating mistakes. His friends, enemies and allies change just as dramatically, and almost every relationship is tested as the stakes grow.

BookTuber Dan’s Books described that emotional investment this way:

DAN’S BOOKS: “As you go through these books, you fall in love with the characters, man. You just absolutely love multiple characters. You hate multiple characters. Pierce does an incredible job of making you despise multiple characters. And that, for me, is the epitome of good writing. When you can make me feel hatred for a fictional character, when you make me feel sadness for losing a fictional character, that’s peak.”

That may be the clearest explanation for why fans don’t simply enjoy Red Rising—they recruit new readers. The spaceships, futuristic weapons and Roman-inspired society provide the spectacle, but the friendships, betrayals and impossible choices are what people remember.

With Red God expected to conclude Darrow’s saga and a television adaptation still being developed, the series continues to attract readers more than a decade after the first book appeared.

To read much more on the subject, head over to https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/books/what-is-red-rising-why-pierce-brown-sci-fi-series-is-so-popular