Red Rising

by Pierce Brown · 2014

In a color-coded society of the future, Darrow is a Red, the lowest caste, who toils in the mines of Mars believing he is helping to make the surface livable for future generations. He soon discovers that humanity has long since colonized the surface and that his people are enslaved by a decadent ruling class known as the Golds. Driven by the memory of lost love and a desire for justice, Darrow infiltrates the Institute, a brutal proving ground for the elite, where he must compete for his life and the future of civilization, eventually seeking to bring down his enemies from within.