Some books you recommend calmly. Red Rising makes that difficult.
This guide is here because I love this series. Pierce Brown gives you impossible odds, fierce friendships, and plans so audacious you want to cheer and panic at the same time. The reading order is easy. Putting the books down is the problem.
A human race built into a hierarchy
In this future, humanity has been genetically engineered into fourteen specialised castes called Colours. Your Colour determines your work, your status, and even your physical traits. The Society calls this order. For the people at the bottom, it is a cage. Our way into this world is Darrow, a young Red miner on Mars.
- Gold: the ruling elite.
- Silver: financiers and business leaders.
- Copper: administrators and bureaucrats.
- White: priests and ritual officials.
- Blue: pilots and navigators.
- Yellow: doctors and researchers.
- Green: programmers and tech specialists.
- Orange: engineers and mechanics.
- Violet: artists and body-sculpting Carvers.
- Gray: soldiers and police.
- Brown: cooks and domestic workers.
- Obsidian: warriors bred for war.
- Pink: people bred and enslaved for pleasure.
- Red: miners and manual labourers.
And the people running it all have a serious Roman Empire obsession. Gold culture borrows classical names, Latin, grand houses, and the language of conquest and honour. Imagine an imperial aristocracy with spaceships, convinced its superiority is a law of nature. That mix of ancient grandeur and futuristic brutality gives the series so much of its flavour.
Why I love it
The people make the spectacle matter
The battles are enormous, but you care because you want these people to come home. Friendships are fierce, trust is expensive, and a quiet conversation can hit as hard as a battle. Then there is Sevro. I will let you meet Sevro yourself. You will have opinions.
Darrow makes you want to follow him. And argue with him.
He is angry, clever, and capable of a decision so outrageous you almost forget the consequences. Almost. You can root for him with your whole chest and still want to grab him by the shoulders. That tension makes the early books absolutely fly.
Golden Son opens the universe
Book one has a contained, survival-driven shape that invites comparisons to The Hunger Games. Then Golden Son lets the ambition loose: bigger stakes, tangled politics, and glorious, terrifying momentum. If the first book leaves you intrigued, give the second a chance. Read book one first; those relationships are why the escalation lands.
A fair warning from an enthusiastic fan: this gets brutal. Expect graphic violence, torture, sexual violence, slavery, and grief. There is warmth and humour, but it is not comfort reading.
Start with one book. Let the trilogy win you over.
Pick up Red Rising, then follow with Golden Son and Morning Star. The original trilogy gives you a complete first arc and a natural breather. You do not have to commit to the whole saga today.
After that, Iron Gold widens the perspective beyond Darrow and takes more time setting things in motion. Give those new voices room. For plenty of fans, the later books are where the series becomes a favourite: the characters get more complicated, the consequences hit harder, and the bigger scope really pays off. There is so much ahead of you, and I am very excited on your behalf.
The books, in order. No homework required.
Read the main novels in publication order, with an optional Sons of Ares detour after Morning Star.
- Red Rising (2014) · Amazon
- Golden Son (2015) · Amazon
- Morning Star (2016) · Amazon
- Sons of Ares (Graphic novel volume 1) · Optional · Amazon
- Sons of Ares (Graphic novel volume 2) · Optional · Amazon
- Sons of Ares (Graphic novel volume 3) · Optional · Amazon
- Iron Gold (2018) · Amazon
- Dark Age (2019) · Amazon
- Light Bringer (2023) · Amazon
As checked on October 25, 2026: six published novels, with the wider saga still unfinished.
Avoid later-book blurbs and character wikis until you catch up!
Questions before you dive in
Do I need to read the Sons of Ares?
No. Sons of Ares is an optional three-volume graphic novel prequel about the rebellion’s beginnings. Read it after Morning Star to protect the original trilogy’s surprises. Start with Volume 1, then continue with Volumes 2 and 3 if you want more. You can go straight to Iron Gold without missing anything required.
Can I stop after Morning Star?
Yes. The original trilogy tells a complete first arc, so Morning Star is a satisfying place to pause. Iron Gold begins the next arc with a wider cast and a different rhythm. Come back when you want more of this world.
Is the Red Rising series finished?
The original trilogy is complete, but the wider saga is not. As checked on October 25, 2026, six main novels have been published, through Light Bringer. You can enjoy the first trilogy without committing to the unfinished later arc.
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