Red Rising: Sons of Ares #2

Sons of Ares #2

by Pierce Brown, Rik Hoskin (Adapter), Eli Powell (Illustrator)

Pierce Brown’s Red Rising continues with Sons of Ares!

While the Sons of Ares are on the run as their mission takes a deadly turn, Fitchner Au Barca’s time at The Institute is revisited. He learned many lessons there, but the most important of all was one of loyalty. The Peerless Scarred stand above all and look down on the rest. Their dismissal of one of their own proves to be a fateful error.

Genres: Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Fiction, Dystopia, Audiobook

30 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 14, 2017

About the author

Hello. I'm Pierce Brown, the author of the Red Rising Saga, a NYT #1 bestseller.
I figured I'd write you myself than have corporate copy pasted below my totally natural author photo.

In my books you'll find stories of men and women finding their inner strength when all seems lost. You'll also find me exploring themes of love, violence, hope, and power--what it means, why people seek it, and how they hold onto it.




IG @piercebrownofficial
Twitter @pierce_brown

Reviews

[Steven]

Also bloody. And gory. Dang, Pierce, I know your books have a lot of "action scenes" but jeez, blood on every page? LOL

[Paras2]

Fitchner was a real badass! no wonder Sevro is like this... like father like son :D

[Sarah]

It's been years since I bought an actual comic but I'm a huge fan of Pierce Brown's Red Rising books so of course I preordered this prequel comic series the moment it was available (I even ordered the two different covers for each issue because I'm a geek and I just had to have them!). Let me start by saying that you really need to read all 6 instalments to get the full story, each issue is around 30 pages so when you combine them all together you're probably looking at roughly a graphic novel sized story (around the same length as a volume of Saga) overall but split into 6 sections.

I bought the comics as they were released because I wanted print copies and it hadn't been announced if there would be a bind up edition but I'm happy to say that there are now 2 different versions available to preorder, a normal hardback and a slightly more expensive signed edition. I think the comics are out of print now unless you want to purchase a digital edition so this is brilliant news for anyone who missed buying them sooner.

Now you've got more of an idea what you're actually getting let's get to the interesting stuff like the artwork and the story. This is a prequel so it's set before Red Rising but I definitely wouldn't recommend starting here - you'll end up giving yourself spoilers for the main books if you do. I do think fans of the series will love getting to see Fitchner's early years, how he met his wife and baby Sevro. It's very easy to see where Sevro gets his attitude from that's for sure!

The artwork is wonderful, quite dark in colour but that fits the gory and violent tone of the story perfectly. I love the added touch that each conversation bubble is coloured to match the birth colour of the character speaking. I really enjoying being back in this world but via a more visual format and it left me wanting to reread the rest of the series again. This is one of my all time favourite series so I'll jump at any chance for more from this world and this was a lovely addition.




A Covers for issues 1-6


B Covers for issues 1-6

[Ana M.]

Esta segunda parte me ha gustado bastante más que la primera y sigo creyendo que las ilustraciones son geniales. ¿Lo malo? Son demasiado cortas estas novelas gráficas.

[Genna]

And so it begins 😭

[Marshal (thebookishhowler)]

Bloody, I'll say!

[Anays]

Con todo lo que paso en Golden Son, es un poco triste leer esta precuela, ya que sabemos *lo que le pasara al prota*

[Rachel]

Better than #1

The story in this one was much better than the first. I'm still not a fan of the artwork, but this sequel is much improved. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

[Jillian Brown]

Gore is fine but no cursewords? Kay.

Almost as good as the last one. I knew the Institute was violent but bloodydamn. Could have used a little more Fitchner with his friend. Also what's with the censorship? Is this unique to the Kindle edition? Still looking forward to the next!

[Jess]

Este cómic debería leerse después del primer libro, red rising, es un TREMENDO spoiler.

[Deil]

BFFs no more :(

[Hank Hutton]

More dopeness from Pierce on the red rising world. Love that it's a Fitchner back story. Think it's the perfect back story to have for such a major character in the original story.

[Ryan Holden]

Another banger dramatized audiobook, 5/5.

[Frank Steele]

Disappointed

Love the coloring, but I just don't understand the choice of artist. Rough sketch forms with little character consistency. No details. Disproportionate limbs. In a couple frames background characters are disjointed. Very short. I was very excited about this series but I doubt I'm going to go any further with it.

[Brittany]

This was quite an interesting volume of the comic! This goes into the backstory of the Son of Ares as he goes through the same Gold competition as Darrow from Red Rising and rises up to become a ruthless and start to harden his heart. The story flips between present and past to explain how he starts to become The Son of Ares. This volume also showed how absolutely ruthless he is when it comes to protecting his friends. There is a few pages of him beating the living hell out of the men coming after him and his men and it’s gory and glorious at the same time. It’s obvious that there is a lot of rage pent up for him because he was betrayed by those he trusted the most and this is how he gets it out. I can’t wait to see where this will go as it has been a lot of backstory up till now and I’m very interested in the Son of Ares backstory as he seemed to have such a complicated and horrible life that led him to this path of bloodshed and anger.

[Eyuel Sentayehu]

We learn more about Quicksilvers motivation for helping the Sons. We find out that he wants to explore space travel outside the solar system. And he was creating creatures or people made for space travel with the help of violets. How does this connect to Oculus and what is going on there? Is Quick doing the same on Oculus? Would love to hear people’s thoughts. It seems like a big hint at what could be going on with Quicksilver as he has been secretive the last two books. Maybe this is where Mickey is at Oculus continuing this work? Any theories about how any of this might be connected to book 6 would be cool

[Ray]

But in darkness, far from light-- even monsters can fall in love.

This was just beautiful. Every issue of this series is turning out to be so brilliant.
The Sons of Ares are up to a conspiracy which seems like a rescue mission for Fitchner's wife. Along with the current events, every issue gives us an insight into Fitchner's past, showing us how he became who he is today. What I want to see, and what I believe Pierce Brown has in mind, is seeing how the Fitchner in this series became the Fitchner displayed in the Red Rising series.

Cannot wait for Issue #3.

[Rodolfo]

But in darkness, far from light-- even monsters can fall in love.

Esta segunda parte continua donde termino la primera con una historia en presente que aún me tiene intrigado y conocemos un poco más del pasado de Fitchner y cómo es que llego a ser el hombre que terminamos conociendo en “Amanecer Rojo” no queiro decir mucho por que al igual que el anterior al comentar cualquier pequeño detalle seria spoiler, un punto negativo es que son muy cortos, necesito más, odio cuando me dejan con ese tipo de finales y el: continuara…

[Ray]

You can always outrun things if you're fast enough... And you turn around only when you can destroy them

This was so violent and bloody and gory... I loved it !!!!!
I really enjoyed learning more about Fitchner's time at the institute, the hardships he went through and the betrayals he faced afterwards (I liked Arturius for a total of one page then he turned out to be an ass).

Through pain and loss, they made me this way. But in darkness far from light... Even monsters can fall in love
And my poor heart shattered to a million pieces

[Robin Pelletier]

So I went with Dan to work for a few days so we could listen to these two audible masterpieces. The sequel picks up right where the cliffhanger ending of the first on leaves off. Fitchner is out for revenge and blood. Who could blame him? I am 💯 cheering for him to burn the system to the ground. Brown isn’t afraid to kill off characters and I respect that. There’s no shortage of death and destruction in this movie in your mind. Highly recommend if you’re a fan of the Red Rising series, Hunger Games or any dystopian literature.

[Rosa S]

This book was much like the previous book 1 for me. It just seems like there's a lot of missing pieces. So, Sevro is probably my favorite character in RR, so maybe my expectations are too high? I think I'd appreciate this book more if we saw a glimpse into Sevro's childhood. Sevro didn't just become who he was overnight, so it would be nice to see more that.
Again, I think this would work better as an actual novel and then have a graphic novel adaptation. As a fan, I'd read both.
I'm so looking forward to Lightbringer this summer!

[Melinda]

Gorgeous

Interesting to see how the author views his own characters and world. Story of the creation of Ares as the head of the resistance brings depth to the Red Rising series. The artwork is strong and visceral - world beautifully for this tale. Two story lines: Fitchner in the past, and how events mold him to become Ares, and Ares in the present, where the Sons of Ares exists.

[Mara]

I loved this. Pierce Brown can do no wrong for me. This is the continuation of the story of the Son of Ares. I love these graphic novels. Especially the artwork. It is wonderful to get to see the vision of the author through this lense.

Please be aware these graphic novels have MAJOR SPOILERS for the first Red Rising trilogy books, so if you have not red the books I recommend reading the books first then returning to the graphic novels afterward.

[Sara Sidwell]

Oh boyo's, this was a good bloodydamn time. I am deeply invested in this backstory of Fitchner and the rise of Ares. No wonder Sevro is a badass. He gets it from his father!
I absolutely love the way Pierce builds his characters and world, and I bloodydamn love this graphic audio.

Speaking of bloody and gory, I might need to pick up the physical comics! I feel like I'm missing out on these graphics.

[Jailyn]

I didn't expect this graphic novel to be so short and I think that may be why the reviews on it have been so low. This seems to be a prequel explaining how Fitchner became Ares and started the revolution. I like the novel, though I wish I'd waited until it was collated into an actual graphic novel instead of just shorter comics.

[Mason Johnson]

The Graphic Audio adaptations continues to deliver. It really brings the world to life in a big way.

That said, Sons of Ares #2 didn’t land quite as well for me as the first. While there were some solid moments (the raid on Arty’s estate, the shipyard sequence, and especially seeing the fallout of Fitchner’s choices) it didn’t hit as hard emotionally.

Still, it’s cool to see the seeds of rebellion continue to take shape, and I’m looking forward to seeing where Volume Three takes it.

[Subbu]

Better than the first


I don't understand why the words​ were censored in this one, it was annoying. This had much more character development than the first. It has a good story and interesting in it's own style. Just hope the remaining 4 are as good as this.

[Stephanie]

I liked it better then issue 1. Still not a fan of the style of artwork (too sloppy). The story is picking up and there was more background story for Fitchner's parents and his time at the Institute. I like the way it left off for the next issue and I am really excited for it.

[Raven Terry]

I love learning more about Fitchner! I'm not sure any illustration can full capture the amazing fight scenes Brown constructs, however, Powell did a pretty excellent job of bringing this story to life. YES! YES! And more YES!!!!!

[Jane Gillette]

Another solid read (or listen). I listened to the graphic audio version of this on my runs. I remain a huge fan of this series, while this wasn’t as groundbreaking to me as Dark Age or Lightbringer, it was still an entertaining book and I enjoyed the depth it added to the Red Rising universe.