Red Rising reading order at a glance

Start here
Red Rising (2014). Follow publication order through the six published main novels.
Is it finished?
The original trilogy is complete. The wider saga is ongoing: Red God is the announced seventh and final novel; no confirmed publication date was found in the checked author and publisher sources.
What is optional?
The three Sons of Ares graphic novels and The Book of Lorn are companion stories. Reissues, box sets and audiobooks do not add main-series volumes.
THE SHORT ANSWER

Where should I start?

Start with Red Rising, Golden Son and Morning Star. Then continue with Iron Gold, Dark Age and Light Bringer. Save the prequel comics for a later visit.

Go to the reading list ↓

Red Rising starts with Darrow, a miner whose place in society has supposedly been settled before he is born. Its colour hierarchy makes status feel as physical as the rock above him. The first novel gives you a close, urgent view of that world; the later books pull back until individual loyalties and decisions can change the fate of entire populations.

For a first visit, the useful question is not “What happened earliest in this universe?” It is “What does the story want me to know next?” Publication order answers that cleanly. Begin with the original trilogy, let its discoveries arrive in sequence, then decide whether you want the wider canvas of the later saga.

Reference: Pierce Brown’s guide to the six published novels ↗

SEE THE CONNECTIONS

One universe, several ways to spend more time there

Open a panel to see where each part belongs. The main novels form a continuing sequence; the companion stories are optional branches.

Open each chapter of the map to explore.

MAIN NOVELS / BOOKS 1–3The original trilogy

Red Rising, Golden Son and Morning Star form the first arc. This is our recommended entry point and a manageable three-book commitment. The setting grows with the story, so the experience of the opening novel is not a promise that every later book will use the same structure.

Explore the original trilogy ↗
MAIN NOVELS / BOOKS 4–7The later saga

Iron Gold begins a later phase with a broader set of viewpoints, followed by Dark Age and Light Bringer. Read these after Morning Star. Red God is the announced finale, but is not counted among the six published novels in this guide. An online label such as “Iron Gold Tetralogy” describes the intended four-book arc, not four currently available books.

Explore the published later novels ↗
PREQUEL COMICS / THREE COLLECTED VOLUMESSons of Ares

These graphic novels tell an earlier story around Fitchner and the origins of the Sons of Ares. They are written by Pierce Brown and Rik Hoskin, with art by Eli Powell in the first two volumes and Kewber Baal in the third. Although they come earlier in the fictional timeline, we recommend finishing the original trilogy before exploring them, to preserve its introductions and reveals.

Explore the three graphic novels ↗
COMPANION / PROSE & COMICSThe Book of Lorn

Brown describes this as a hybrid of prose and comics, with art by Giannis Milonogiannis. Darrow’s sections take place between Red Rising and Golden Son; the comic sections explore Lorn’s earlier life. It is being released through Brown’s Patreon, with a bound volume planned. It is optional companion material, not a replacement for Golden Son or another numbered main novel.

Read the author’s introduction ↗

Reference: The Book of Lorn: format and placement from the author ↗

YOUR NEXT CHAPTER

Choose your reading route

Our recommended route: all six published main novels in publication order. Red God will follow Light Bringer; it is not yet a published checklist item.

  1. Red Rising

    Pierce Brown

    2014 · Main novel 1. Begin beneath Mars, with Darrow and the world he has been taught to accept.

    View in the library ↗

  2. Golden Son

    Pierce Brown

    2015 · Main novel 2. Stay with the sequence as its alliances and ambitions expand.

    View in the library ↗

  3. Morning Star

    Pierce Brown

    2016 · Main novel 3. The conclusion of the original trilogy, and a natural place to pause.

    View in the library ↗

  4. Iron Gold

    Pierce Brown

    2018 · Main novel 4. The later saga begins, with a wider cast of viewpoints.

    View in the library ↗

  5. Dark Age

    Pierce Brown

    2019 · Main novel 5. Continue directly from Iron Gold; this is not an independent starting point.

    View in the library ↗

  6. Light Bringer

    Pierce Brown

    2023 · Main novel 6. The latest published main novel in the checked author and publisher lists.

    View in the library ↗

Main novel numbering at Penguin Random House ↗

BEYOND THE CHECKLIST

Give the first arc room to surprise you

The most useful way to begin is also the least complicated: read Red Rising, then keep going in order. You do not need a prequel, a character biography or a detailed timeline before opening it. In a story that relies on changing loyalties and incomplete knowledge, learning the world alongside its characters is part of the pleasure.

Morning Star gives the original trilogy a stopping point. Iron Gold is a deliberate widening of the lens: more viewpoints, competing priorities and a world shaped by what came before. Give that transition time. If you prefer to take a break between reading projects, the gap between those two books is an easier place to do it than the middle of either arc.

For a return visit, the comics offer another visual language for the same universe. The Book of Lorn adds a different kind of companion experience. Neither is required to understand the main six-book route, and our suggested placement after the original trilogy is an editorial recommendation for protecting surprises, not a claim that their events happen later.

When choosing editions, check the title and format before the cover. An anniversary edition is still the same novel. A five-book box set does not contain the complete published six-novel sequence, and a Sons of Ares collection belongs on the comics branch. Audio releases and dramatised parts should be matched to the underlying novel rather than counted as extra story volumes.

Explore the Red Rising saga ↗
BEFORE YOU SET OFF

A few reader questions

How many Red Rising books are there?

There are six published main novels in the sources checked on 27 October 2026: Red Rising, Golden Son, Morning Star, Iron Gold, Dark Age and Light Bringer. Red God is announced as the seventh and final novel. The three Sons of Ares graphic novels are separate companions.

Is there a confirmed release date for Red God?

No confirmed publication date was found in the checked author and publisher sources. Brown’s note to readers identifies it as the finale of a seven-volume saga. We do not turn retailer placeholders or fan estimates into a release date.

Is Red Rising a trilogy or a longer series?

Both descriptions refer to different scopes. The original arc is a complete trilogy. The saga continues with Iron Gold, Dark Age and Light Bringer, with Red God announced to conclude it. Completing the original trilogy does not mean you have read the whole saga.

Should I read the prequel comics first?

For a first read, we recommend the original trilogy before Sons of Ares. The comics take place earlier, but knowing more of that history in advance can change how the novels’ introductions and reveals work. Their chronological position is not our recommended starting point.

Is this young adult fiction?

The early competition and young protagonist can suggest that comparison, but this is a violent science-fiction saga with war, coercion and increasingly complex political conflict. Choose it for those elements rather than expecting a gentle school adventure.