The Hugh Howey's Silo series has long been beloved by readers of the sci-fi dystopian genre, and its compelling storyline — which examines life in a bleak future that has the remnants of humanity willingly living below ground, believing Earth's surface to be toxic — has always captured attention.
The themes of societal corruption, the destruction of history, and the fallout of nuclear war are common in novels categorized as sci-fi or dystopian. While it has been done time and time again, many authors are capable of differentiating their storylines from others, continuing to popularize the genre. There are several amazing sci-fi books to read after Silo, but there's one particular 11-year-old series — that has yet to be completed — that makes for the perfect replacement.
2014's Red Rising Makes A Great Follow-Up To Hugh Howey's Silo Trilogy
Both Series Center Around Dystopian Societies Set In The Future
Similar to Silo, Red Rising takes place in a future society that heavily explores class and power structures, focusing on uprisings. However, the setting of the Red Rising Saga is different, as instead of remaining on Earth, the novel's society has moved the human race to the planet Mars. The first book introduces Darrow, a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the dystopian society. Darrow has worked and lived underground his entire life, believing the Reds are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. But this itself is a deception of the worst kind.
15 Best Sci-Fi Books Of 2024
As 2024 comes to an end, readers are tallying up their favorite books of the year, and these sci-fi novels are definitely worth keeping on your radar.
As it turns out, civilization reached the surface generations before, but wishing to continue to take advantage of the Reds' lack of education and brutal manual labor, the Society kept them in the dark to serve those who lived above. Red Rising's society is separated into 14 color-coded castes, with Red being the lowest, and Gold the highest. After learning of his society's betrayal, Darrow s the Sons of Ares — a group that has been working to uproot the oppressive government for decades — and becomes a Gold to dismantle the corruption from within.
However, the quickly revealed societal plot in no way takes away from the engaging world Pierce Brown has built throughout his seven-part saga.
While the truth of societal corruption and governmental betrayal in Silo takes a while to be discovered, Red Rising reveals it almost immediately, setting up the seven-book series to engage in an uprising on a massive scale. However, the quickly revealed societal plot in no way takes away from the engaging world Pierce Brown has built throughout his seven-part saga, and instead helps the reader understand the societal structures, different colored castes, and just how complex executing a successful uprising will be.
The Red Rising Saga Gives Readers Plenty To Look Forward To With 7 Books
The Final Book, Red God, Is Highly Anticipated
While still unfinished, the Red Rising Saga will occupy readers at length, with six published books — and a seventh on the way — to keep them engaged and brilliantly immerse them into the series' universe. The Red Rising series is broken down into two parts, with the original trilogy, Red Rising, Golden Sun, and Morning Star, all told solely from the perspective of Darrow. These first three novels create the foundation for the narrative in the latter four books, which change course a bit and offer multiple character POVs, picking up 10 years after the events of Morning Star.
Title |
Book # |
Publication Year |
|---|---|---|
Red Rising |
1 |
2014 |
Golden Sun |
2 |
2015 |
Morning Star |
3 |
2016 |
Iron Gold |
4 |
2018 |
Dark Age |
5 |
2019 |
Light Bringer |
6 |
2023 |
Red God |
7 |
2026 |
While there's no official release date for Red God, the seventh and final book in the Red Rising Saga, it's rumored to be published sometime in 2026. This novel will officially conclude Brown's impressive seven-book sci-fi fantasy epic, and it's almost bittersweet knowing the series will officially come to an end. The Red Rising Saga is easily one of the best sci-fi dystopian series of the last decade and is perfect for fans of the Silo series.
Your comment has not been saved