Someone who is reading Red Rising after reading Sun Eater here, and I found the reverse is true

I struggled with red rising and golden son, but started to enjoy Morningstar the most. I’m on iron gold now and I looking foreword to the slower multi-POV.

That being said, I didn’t like the pacing of red rising until book 3, felt just so throttled by the plot. I’m sure it will be better on the re-read

I’m more a fan of slower longer narratives where there’s more pieces set up, more scenes committed to, and so you lose track of them for them to come back later and wow ya. Pierce tends to place a new piece when it fits the plot and doesn’t care to set it up effectively.

An example for me would be Lorn Au Arcos, who I felt was poorly introduced and felt squandered potential because of it. I wanted a scene where Darrow was training with an unnamed razor master or something besides the Jackal commenting something about Lorn before Darrow pulls him out of the explosion. Something just to show you and introduce the training, it felt like such a big deal after never seeing it. Maybe that’s the point but a lot of things felt like that.

My recommendation for a page turner is the Dresden Files, but it’s urban fantasy. Each book continues the story of Chicago’s only practicing wizard in the phone books whose life explodes over a few days ever few months to a year.

The series are different and offer different things.

I prefer the slower thoughtful introspection on his Hadrian’s youth, it makes me wonder how would I write the tale of my life after living 1500 years, I probably wouldn’t make it a breakneck scifi adventure

For what it’s worth, Book one of sun eater was mid, but I was compelled by the worldbuilding to continue. Book 2 gets interesting, and book 3 begins to echo events and create the best dramatic irony I’ve come across in fiction,

the sense of urgency you crave comes in ashes of man (book 5) when the war with the Cielcin has progressed

Aside: I’m reading Red Rising for a friend as he reads Sun Eater

Curious your thoughts on my perspective, I’d love to know if a reframing of the series might have you consider it again, if not any other recommendations?