Break the Chains: Red Rising and the Truth About Truly Living
What a war-torn sci-fi universe can teach us about identity, grief, and becoming whole.
What are the chains that hold us back?
Who forged them?
Society? Our families? Our own expectations?
And what does it truly mean to break the chains that take us captive?
Whether they’re shaped by our upbringing, ambitions, or the silent stories we carry inside, we all reach a point where we must choose: stay bound… or break free.
Over the past 6 weeks, I’ve been absolutely immersed in the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown (listening to the graphic audio versions, I highly recommend!).
The level of psychological depth in the character development is exquisite, so much so that it’s often only moments before (or after) a plot twist hits that you realise what’s about to unfold. The emotional nuance and internal conflict are woven into the storyline in a way that makes the otherworldly feel profoundly personal.
Not to fangirl, but I might be fan-girling a little over here.
Of course, I’ve never been enslaved.
Never led a rebellion.
Never wielded a sling-blade or flown a ship through space.
And yet…
Red Rising offers the kind of creative distance that allows us to see ourselves more clearly.
In Darrow’s identity fracture, Mustang’s unflinching loyalty, Sevro’s uncontainable wildness, and Cassius’s aching shame… I can recognise my own inner wars.
It’s a story of rebellion, yes. But also of the far quieter revolutions that take place inside us all:
We’ve all been betrayed.
We’ve all broken trust.
We’ve all tried to prove ourselves while hiding our pain.
We’ve all stood at the edge of who we were and wondered: Who am I becoming?
For me, the world of Red Rising has come to feel like a vivid and intricately fictionalised expression of the Hermetic principle:
As above, so below.
As someone who’s spent over a decade exploring the human psyche, co-creating a personality assessment, and dedicated her professional life to helping people dismantle, heal and remove the experiences and internal blocks keeping them stuck, I see this series not just as epic fiction, but as psychological allegory.
So, I’ve decided to write a 12-part series on Red Rising, using the Sons of Ares, and the society of Golds, Reds, Pinks, Silvers, Obsidians and more, as a map of the inner world.
To unpack power, pain, and the psychological battles we all face.
To use story as both mirror and map.
To explore the questions:
Who could I become if I were truly free?
Who do I want to become and what are the chains that hold me back?
This will be part literary analysis, part psychological deep-dive, part invitation to courageous self-inquiry.
Admittedly, I’m only 3/4 of the way through Morning Star as I write this, so some insights may evolve. Characters in this world are rarely static, and loyalty is anything but predictable.
If you're not yet deep into the series, consider this your spoiler warning. ;)
Each week for the next three months, I’ll publish an article diving in to some of our favourite characters, story themes, or plot twists to unpack the hidden parallels to our own human journeys. Inviting us to explore not just the fight for freedom in the solar system… but the quieter one happening inside each of us.
Because as Eo says,
“Emptiness is living chained by fear, fear of loss, of death"
And if that’s true, then perhaps…
We rise by breaking the chains within.
This is my favorite series. I have read through all of it multiples and listened through it just as much. Very excited to read long this journey with you!