Red Rising: Sons of Ares #4

Sons of Ares #4

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

Pierce Brown’s Red Rising continues with Sons of Ares! The mystery that is Fitchner au Barca continues to unfold when he is forced to take action to protect those he loves. The weight of his mission is revealed and Fitchner’s past unfolds as he faces the consequences of his actions!

Genres: Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Dystopia, Fiction, Young Adult

29 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 16, 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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kinda wish he'd written these as a novella or even a prequel book. It would have been cool to read. The graphic novels are decent, but they're over too quickly, pretty pricy ($4 for like 12 pages each!!), and have to quickly run through a lot of the story instead of taking their time like a novella or book would.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Okay. So this volume of the comic reminded me of one of the characters in Red Rising lineage but I shall not divulge that for fear of spoiling anyone who hasn't read the original trilogy. This is such an interesting story and I got to the end of it and I literally gasped I was shocked by the end and was actually surprised. I get so immersed in this world and it's in part due to Pierce Brown's amazing writing but also due to the beautiful artwork done in this comic. The artwork really brings the story to life and makes it even more compelling to read because it shows so much more of the characters through expressions and not just words. I thought this volume was fantastic and I can't wait to read the next one!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the background!

Same review as issue #3: I'll never be a fan of the artwork, it's just not my style, but I love the additional detail about Ares. Here, we see the beginning of the relationship between Fitchner and Quicksilver. Ready for issue #5!

[Rodolfo · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!! Cada vez está más cerca el final de este fantástico spin off de Amanecer rojo y por fin en este tomo conocemos la misión de Fitchner que nos han ido mostrando por partes en los anteriores tomos, así mismo por medio de flashbacks conocemos más sobre la vida de este último antes de ser parte de los Hijos de Ares, y conocemos su primer encuentro con Quicksilver y como fue la concepción de Sevro, sin duda es fantástico el ver a través de las imágenes como Pierce Brown se imaginó este mundo distòpico que tanto nos ha cautivado y las muchas historias que aún tiene por contar, sin duda el final de esta serie de comics es prometedora…

[Kirsty Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still don't like the artwork and wish the curses weren't blocked BUT we see the beginning of Fitchner's relationship with Quicksilver.

Lol at the panel of Mateo jumping in the air begging Fitchner not to shoot Quicksilver. That was unintentionally funny, I think.

Finally Baby Sevro!!!!

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

These issues are just so short! cool to see Quicksilver enter the picture! and once again, this whole prequel is making me love Fitchner more

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah. Here comes another perfect issue of this series. It is really turning out to be pretty damn awesome! After Red Rising, I was very skeptical about a prequel. It could go either way. It could either tarnish one of the most amazing series I had ever read, or build upon it further. The latter seemed far-fetched, considering how high Red Rising had set the bar. And yet here we are.
Fitchner is turning out to be a brilliant character and unlike in Red Rising, his character is actually flourishing. The plot is slowly getting revealed, with sidelines of action and long, intense flashbacks.
Really need the next issue now.

[Jillian Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

BABY. SEVRO.

Once again Sons of Ares manages to top itself. Razor duels! Zombie-like creatures! BABY SEVRO!! And he's playing with a lucky wolf's paw in one panel. Awww... We also meet Quicksilver for the first time, which is cool. And the last panel sets up a big conflict for Fitchner. Four stars because the artist made some odd choices. Still, as always, can't wait for the next one.

[Gareth · Rating 5 out of 5]

We're going to get bloody on this one

The art catches some amazing action scenes on this one. Both the duel and the fight with the underground mutants are brilliantly rendered. More fascinating world building as Fitchner lives a double life and we learn more about the social inequalities of the empire. Love the relationship between the sisters. Another excellent issue of the quality mini-series.

[Paul Franco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still in flashback, Fitchner and his companions move to Mars, where he’s now in a corporate environment. But because he married a woman below his station, he’s easily blackmailed into becoming an assassin.
“I’m going to be an aunt!” Funniest moment in what is really a dreary depressing tale.

[Loren Dillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fitchner becomes a hired killer and starts a family with his red wife after modifying her to be able to have a kid with a gold. She gets kidnapped and questioned about the identity of the father of her son and Fitchner has to rescue her.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaaaahhhhhhhhb

[Anays · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me da tanta impotencia como tratan a los rojos... >.<

Creo que en la continuación llorare un poco. U.U

[Xander Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy the Red Rising world, but it's hard to really get into it in a short, graphic novel form.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh
My
God

Gorydamn! I know Sevro will survive and all but I swear if those quality control bastards dare hurting baby Sevro I will be Pissed!

[Emily Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

😭😭😭 Sevro!

[Ana M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

No ha estado mal.

[Jailyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too short. Again, interesting to learn about Sevro's birth.

[Enrique Sebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

BUENÍSIMO. Me ha gustado bastante. Parece algo predecible, pero igual, me ha gustado mucho.

[Deil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story's getting better each volume but I'm still not a fan of the art style :(

[Samantha Glass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooh. Now the getting is really good. Layers upon layers.

[Kimberly Hines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a different vibe from the novels, but it was so interesting to get a little into the mind of Ares and how it all began

[Mina]

I listened to the audiobook I didn't know this was a prequel I thought it was the first one

[Linda Qunbar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby Sevro
So all this time they were trying to save them

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard getting so little of the story at a time. But little bits of this world at a time is better than none at all.

[Giovani BP · Rating 4 out of 5]

me gusta el estilo del comic, pero esto debería haber sido un libro, estos números son muy cortos
#PrayForAuBarca D':