The Mortality Doctrine
science fiction
Series · science fiction
Red Rising
The Red Rising series by Pierce Brown has 7 known books (6 published; 1 with an undated publication record) and is best read in publication order, starting with Red Rising (2014). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Light Bringer.
- Books
- 7 known books (7 novels)
- Published
- 6
- First published
- 2014
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Science Fiction
- Last checked
Start here: Red Rising (2014) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Red Rising
Red Rising opens the saga in 2014, introducing Darrow, a Red condemned to mine helium-3 beneath Mars, whose wife's execution drives him into an underground resistance that transforms him to infiltrate the ruling Golds' brutal war-games academy. At 416 pages, it launches the first trilogy's blood-soaked space opera of revolution from the inside.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Red Rising - Book 2:
Golden Son
Golden Son, the second book in Red Rising, published in 2015, pushes Darrow deeper into the Gold ruling class he's infiltrating, as the political stakes and betrayals of Pierce Brown's caste-system space opera keep escalating. At 464 pages, it continues the first trilogy's singular focus on Darrow's rise.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Golden Son - Book 3:
Morning Star
Morning Star closes out the original Red Rising trilogy in 2016 at 672 pages, following Golden Son to complete Darrow's arc as a satisfying, standalone three-act story before the saga jumps forward in time for its second trilogy.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Morning Star - Book 4:
Iron Gold
Iron Gold opens the saga's second trilogy in 2018, jumping forward in time and multiplying viewpoints to trade Darrow's singular rise for a wider, grimmer look at what revolution costs the people who win it. At 672 pages, it sits between Morning Star and Dark Age and assumes readers have finished the first trilogy.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Iron Gold - Book 5:
Dark Age
Dark Age, the longest Red Rising novel at 800 pages, arrived in 2019 as the second entry in the saga's darker second trilogy. It falls between Iron Gold and Light Bringer, continuing the ensemble-cast, morally compromised story Pierce Brown builds after Darrow's original rise.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dark Age - Book 6:
Light Bringer
Light Bringer, published in 2023 at 682 pages, is the sixth Red Rising novel and the penultimate entry in the saga, advancing the second trilogy's ensemble story ahead of the announced final book, Red God.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Light Bringer - Book 7:
Red God
Red God is announced by Pierce Brown as the seventh and reportedly final novel in the Red Rising Saga, meant to close out the story that began with Darrow's infiltration of the Golds. It follows Light Bringer in the reading order, but no confirmed release date has been set as of this curation.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Red God
About the Red Rising series
Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in a brutally stratified solar-system society, born to mine helium-3 beneath Mars so that the ruling Golds can terraform the surface his people are told doesn't exist yet. When his wife is executed for a minor act of rebellion, Darrow is recruited by an underground resistance, surgically and genetically transformed to pass as a Gold, and sent to infiltrate the ruling class from within its most brutal proving ground: a war-games academy where students kill each other for standing. What follows across two trilogies is a blood-soaked, propulsive space opera about revolution from the inside — equal parts Roman-mythology-flavored empire, Hunger Games-style survival contest, and long-game political thriller, as Darrow claws his way up a caste system built on color-coded genetic castes (Reds, Golds, Obsidians, Pinks, and more) that Pierce Brown renders with real invented culture rather than window dressing.
The appeal is velocity and scale: brutal set-piece battles, betrayals that land because the political stakes are constantly moving, and a protagonist whose methods get darker and more morally compromised as the revolution grinds on. The second trilogy (starting with Iron Gold) jumps forward in time and multiplies viewpoints, trading Darrow's singular rise for a wider, grimmer look at what revolutions cost the people who win them — a shift that rewards readers who want their space opera to interrogate its own hero as much as celebrate him.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Red Rising Saga?
Six novels are published across two trilogies (Red Rising, Golden Son, Morning Star, then Iron Gold, Dark Age, Light Bringer), with a seventh and reportedly final novel, Red God, announced to complete the series.
What order should I read Red Rising in?
Publication order: start with Red Rising. Finish the first trilogy (through Morning Star) before starting the second trilogy (Iron Gold onward) - the second trilogy is a direct continuation with a wider cast, not a separate entry point.
Can I stop after the first trilogy?
Yes. Red Rising, Golden Son, and Morning Star form a complete three-act story. The second trilogy continues the same world and characters years later but is a genuinely separate arc.
Is Red Rising finished?
Not quite. Six of a planned seven novels are published; Red God is confirmed as the concluding book but has no announced release date as of August 2026.
What is the next Red Rising book?
Red God, the announced final novel, has no confirmed release date yet.
If you like the Red Rising series
Reading order last verified .