 Hey guys, it's Liana and I'm here today to talk about rereading the Red Rising trilogy. I just realized these are out of order. Oh, I'm a fake fan. Okay, there we go. Red Rising trilogy in the correct order. Yeah, so if you've never seen my channel before and you haven't seen Michelle's, then you may not know that I'm a fan of Red Rising. When I say I'm a fan of Red Rising, I mean I'm a fan of the Red Rising saga of it in general. And it is called Red Rising, both the book and the series, which can be confusing. I'm not actually a big fan of Red Rising. That's the tea. Good night everybody. Okay, for real though, I feel like I've told this story, which isn't much of a story, so many times at this point, but I read Red Rising and the beginning, I was like, this is super good. I'm into this. And like, when I was like a fifth of the way through was already messaging people like, you must read Red Rising. It's so good. And then as soon as Darrow gets to the Institute, I was like, what is this? What is any of this? And I was pretty bored, frustrated, annoyed, confused, bewildered for the rest of the book. And at the end I was like, I think I gave it four stars because the beginning was so solid. For me, I really was hooked by the beginning. I cried on page two. It wasn't page two, but like pretty close. Because the beginning was so strong, I was like, maybe it was me. Maybe I just like was zoning out and it's my fault. So like, give it four on good faith. And then I was like, yeah, I don't know. Like I started something. I don't know what's serious for me. And then friends of mine had Buddy Red Red Rising and were then going to pick up Golden Sun. They're like, you just read Red Rising. Would you care to join us for Golden Sun? And I had bought the trilogy like all in one go before reading it as I do. And was like, sure, why the fuck not? I own it. Let's do it. And Golden Sun is a total fucking game changer. I've said that so many times now is my remains my favorite book in the saga. I haven't read Dark Age yet. It is just so holy fuck. Like the only phrase to describe Golden Sun is holy fuck. I was completely gobsmacked and just like every page was just like holy shit. And after Golden Sun, I became a huge, huge fan of Red Rising. So when people pick up the series, I'm usually like, some people love Red Rising. The first book, a lot of people in fact love the first book. So I always I don't want to make people think they're going to hate it. But I'm just like word of like warning or encouragement. Read Red Rising because you can't skip it. But if you don't, it doesn't click with you. Like if you don't love it, maybe still read Golden Sun because I didn't love Red Rising all that much. But I am a Red Rising fan. So read Golden Sun because you may end up like me liking the series. You just got to kind of push through Red Rising. Not everyone takes my advice and some people again adore the first book. And that's great. I'm really happy for you. I've been rereading Red Rising because I wanted to reread all these books before reading Dark Age because it has been so long since I read them. And I wanted to get maximum enjoyment out of Dark Age. So I wanted all of the character interactions and history and the politics and all of that to be fresh in my brain before I picked up Dark Age. So I've been rereading the Red Rising saga and I will be reading Iron Gold very soon, but I just finished Morningstar. So I have now reread the trilogy and how do I feel about it? I was hoping that because I have heard people who like me said that they read Red Rising didn't care for it that much. Then read Golden Sun and became fans of the series. There are other people like me who felt this way. And then they told me that then they reread Red Rising now that they did fall in love with the world and the characters and got to know everything a bit more in Golden Sun and Morningstar. So then when they reread Red Rising, they liked it much better. And I was really hoping that I would feel that way. And I didn't. It was the exact, precisely the same experience reading Red Rising started so strong. I was like, oh, yeah, this book is so fucking good. Oh my God, yes, the Reds and like the carving and all of that. I was just like so here for it, crying even more the second time because this time I knew it was coming. Now it's just like not ready for it. And then it happens that I was just like a weakly mess. And then there was the Institute and I was like, Lana, last time it didn't go good. So pay fucking attention to this. You know, these characters now pay attention. I just hated it so much. I was just like, just gotta get through this and get the Golden Sun. And once again, picked up Golden Sun even though I knew all the twists and Golden Sun. The second time through, I was like, oh man, I was like, I wonder if it's not going to pack that punch. Because I just remember Golden Sun being the one where I was just like, huh, what? What? So I was like, I already know all those twists now. So is Golden Sun going to be boring the second time? Is it one of those where like an M Night Shyamalan movie where like the first time you're just like, what? And the second time through, you're like, yeah, well, okay, I already know all that now. So like, whatever. Nope, Golden Sun second time through. I was just like, oh, holy fuck, this is good. And like slightly different enjoyment just because I did know stuff was coming. But now I could watch it on, like watch the, like, you know how like if you like ride a ride at like Disneyland or something, one of those ones that has like a lot of like, like optical illusions and a lot of like tricks that it pulls to like make things seem like something that they're not. So the first time through, you're just like, whoa, wow. And then if you've ridden it like 10 times, then you're not surprised and amazed anymore by what it pulls off. Now you can watch it and be like, try to figure out how they did that. So it's kind of like that. So reading Golden Sun the second time, like I knew, like there's a couple things that I kind of forgot, like littler stuff that I was like, oh yeah, I forgot about that. Oh yeah, that's so good. But the bigger stuff, I was like, all right, let me watch now. Like let me see where the seeds are being planted for this. Let me try to find those moments when something's being foreshadowed that like I did not notice the first time. Like, like watch the thing happening from that perspective rather than being in the moment. And it's so fucking good. So fucking good. The Golden Sun. Golden Sun man. It is the fit. Then a lot of people, Morningstar is their favorite. And I, when I read Morningstar, I read it half like reading reading and half in audio book form. And I have complained many times that I don't like the audio books for Red Rising because I don't feel that the narrator is the right choice. I actually really like the narrator, like the person, like as a narrator. I have a lot of audio books that he's narrated before that I like. I just don't think he's the right choice for Red Rising because he's like this older Irish sounding storyteller man. So I think he's the perfect voice for a lot of sort of third person high fantasy, like telling you about these elves in this world kind of thing. I think he's perfect for that and he's a good narrator. Like he's got good like a dramatic reading like he's good at it. Like I think he's quality. I just don't think a close first person present tense narrator from the perspective of a 16 year old later like early 20s year old is I don't think I can't believe that this man is Darrow and it's very much Darrow telling you the story. I just like it doesn't work for me when Darrow sounds like he's 60 years old and he's smoking a pipe in the shire, you know what I mean? Like it doesn't work for me. So I think it's an odd choice for the Red Rising trilogy. So that I was reading it and doing it on audio just for time sake because the month that I was reading Morningstar back when I first read it like I was crunched for time and I decided I needed to finish it that month so I did part in half and half kind of and so I was wondering because again I've heard a lot of people say that Morningstar is their favorite and I was like for me it's not Golden Sun is my favorite but maybe it's because I read part of Morningstar as an audio book. So I read Morningstar entirely as a book this time around to see if that would change and there was a lot of scenes that I liked more or that affected me more emotionally that stuck with me that I enjoyed more reading it as a physical book for sure but I maintained that Golden Sun is the best one. Morningstar it still has all the flaws that I felt that it had back when I first read it so I feel like Morningstar because it's wrapping up the trilogy it's taking a lot more time to like grandstand and soapbox and to kind of try to wrap things up and a lot of that is some of what I suppose is necessary but a lot of it isn't. I feel like all there's things that it's necessary and it's not which bear with me on this analogy. I've learned a lot about editing footage over the years that I've been booktubing and there's a lot of clips a lot of footage that early me would have left in a video thinking it was necessary and now me I'm savage. I cut everything that I possibly can cut out of a video because I don't want to waste my audience's time because I don't like when my time is wasted. I've seen so many even really high quality videos where they let a joke play for too long or like a clip of them making a face at something for too long and I know that when you're editing it you feel like you need to leave that in to make sure your audience got it but your audience gets it. You can show like something for literally a split second and your audience will get it and you can move on. So I feel that way about Morningstar as a book where moments are dragged out too much because this is the final book in the trilogy so we're like making sure to make that point and like emphasize this moment and I'm like you know keep it keep it brief like Golden Sun it packs the most punch and it doesn't do it that ever. It doesn't almost ever grandstand or soap box or take a moment to really do that and it leaves the biggest impact and packs the most punch. So Morningstar maybe could have been my favorite if it had not done that it just kind of makes it drag more when every battle and every epic moment and every death is like we pause to like super duper feel it and I'm like you're making me not feel it. You're making me go I get it let's move on. So I still I mean I gave it five stars Morningstar is still fantastic and I still love a lot of things about it but Golden Sun remains my favorite. So my takeaway is that my opinion did not change whatsoever. Some things I hoped would change and some things I hoped wouldn't and neither happened. I feel exactly the same way re-reading it as I did the first time through. Red Rising was like great and then Golden Sun was what and Morningstar was like good let's let's wrap it up both the same way both times reading it. So I find that that's true unless it's something I read as a kid or like I'm really truly a different person now I find for the most part re-reading books does not change my mind but you know I'll keep doing it to see if it happens. So I still recommend the Red Rising trilogy we'll see if I feel differently about Iron Gold when I first read Iron Gold and I continue to say this because that's my only experience of it is that first time reading it and then Golden Sun remains my favorite reading experience I think the best written one is Iron Gold so far. I've not read Dark Age so maybe that is. I feel like in Iron Gold, Pierce Brown really demonstrated his writing chops that he has grown as a writer that he can grow his world that he can tell a story from a perspective that is not Darrow so I think Iron Gold it's just it's so painful to see where these characters have ended up but I'm also so like like applauding Pierce Brown for going there because um that is so easy to fuck up well looking at new Star Wars sequels I would be so here for a story about Luke Skywalker crumbling under the weight of his own legacy but those movies are shit come at me. So I think in Iron Gold Pierce Brown is showing how to do that right because Darrow is crumbling under the weight of his own legacy and that is tragic to see it is painful to see but it is also realistic to see so I just I think he did such a good job of writing Darrow the way Darrow would be 10 years later as well as showing other parts of this world and other people who have been affected by Darrow's legacy both positively and negatively and I just think he did such an amazing job expanding the world and growing his world and growing his characters and growing as a writer and Golden Sun is a lot more fun but Iron Gold is it's meaty and it's it's good so I'm looking forward to re-reading that but the Red Rising trilogy I feel exactly the same way so like I guess I like that because I don't have to like so everything I've said about Red Rising let's just delete those videos because I feel differently now I feel the same way so I can continue to tell people that same thing I've been telling them this reaffirmed all of my Red Rising opinions so let me know in the comments down below what your experience has been re-reading books not necessarily Red Rising but if you find that you feel differently when you re-read a book or if you feel the same or you hope to feel differently or you hope to feel the same if you have read and re-read Red Rising if you felt differently, you felt the same if you feel the way that I do that Red Rising is the weakest Golden Sun is the most incredible and that Morningstar is a bit long let me know I post bookish videos on Saturdays so I can subscribe and I'll see you when I see you bye