12 Years Later, This Dystopian Sci-Fi Is Still Dominating the Audible Bestseller Chart

Audible is the undisputed leading service for the purchase and stream of audiobooks. The service includes a vast collection of titles in multiple genres, although fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and thriller aficionados will be particularly well served by the site’s curation. The current Top 10 for Science Fiction & Fantasy is occupied nearly in its entirety by the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, but near the end of the list we find a gem from the 2010s that is more popular than ever, twelve years after its initial release.

Of course, I’m talking about Pierce Brown‘s 2014 Red Rising, a dystopian sci-fi story that has endured as a fan favorite for over a decade. The first entry in what has become a series of six (soon to be seven), the book is among the best entries in the science fiction genre in the 21st century, an exhilarating, cinematic space opera that is as timeless as it’s purely entertaining. The audiobook by veteran and accomplished narrator Tim Gerard Reynolds is an experience on its own, and perhaps the definitive way to experience this thrilling space adventure.

What Is ‘Red Rising’ About?

Image via Bastien Lecouffe Deharme

Red Rising is set in the far-off future, where the Solar System is under the control of the Society. People are born into one of 14 Colors that determine everything from their physical characteristics to their roles in everyday life. At the top sit the Golds, who are physically and intellectually superior; on the opposite end are the Reds, who are confined to doing the hard labor. The story centers on Darrow, a 16-year-old Red miner in the underground Mars colonies, harvesting the Helium-3 fuel meant to terraform the planet for humans to colonize.

Life is hard enough for Darrow, but things worsen when his wife, Eo, is whipped and hanged after they both sneak into a restricted underground forest. Darrow illegally buries her and is also hanged, but is saved by his uncle and taken to the rebel group known as the Sons of Ares. The leader, Dancer, comes up with a plan to turn Darrow into a Gold to infiltrate their society, hoping to overthrow the system from within. Thus, Darrow embarks on a transformative journey that will eventually see him enroll in the prestigious Mars Institute, where the elite Golds are trained.

What Makes ‘Red Rising’ A Great Book?

Image via Pierce Brown

Red Rising features many of the classic tropes from the YA dystopian genre, from the sorting into specific groups to the rampant injustice, abuse of power, social upheaval, and institutional corruption. It came out during the waning days of the YA genre, though, and is perhaps the last great entry into this once-dominant genre; it’s also, alongside Suzanne Collins‘ The Hunger Games, one of the few titles from the era that endure to this day. Reading it in 2026 might feel nostalgic, as it captures a very specific time in literary history.

The worldbuilding is quite impressive. The structure based on Colors is inspired enough, a ruthless, perfectly defined caste system with rampant injustice and inequality. It’s admirable how Brown finds such a clever, logical way to pair each color with a certain defined role within society—the ruling classes are, you guessed it, Gold, Silver, and Copper; pleasure workers belong to the color pink, pilots and starship workers are blue, and gray are police officers and military personnel. It all makes so much sense that it almost feels effortless, the mark of truly amazing worldbuilding.

Brown’s story is also eerily prophetic in the way it presents how genetic enhancements and selective breeding lead to an uncanny perfection that values perfection and competitiveness above everything else. Here, equality is non-existent from conception; in colloquial terms, the game is rigged from the get-go. Echoes to our real world are strong, especially today, when technology advancements paint a bleak future and eugenics practices still prevail.

‘Red Rising’s Audiobook Is a Whole Other Experience

Image via Del Rey Books

Audiobooks aren’t for everyone; similarly, not every book is suited for an audiobook version. However, Red Rising‘s inherent cinematic qualities make it a perfect fit for the format, and narrator Tim Gerard Reynolds takes it to a whole other level. There’s a gravity to his voice that adds weight to an already heavy plot. Reynolds reads Brown’s prose with a measured, magnetic, almost weary tone, capturing the severity of the plot while conveying the grandiosity of the story, the scope of the author’s ambitious worldbuilding.

Phrases like “I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war” and “The measure of a man is what he does when he has power” are more powerful when Reynolds breathes life into them. At times, there’s a melancholy to his tone, a sense that he’s told this story before, that he knows how many battles, sacrifices, and blood will need to be won, made, and spent before this brutal tale ends. It’s a remarkably clever approach, one that makes the whole experience far more immersive. By their very nature, audiobooks are already quite absorbing, but Reynolds’ storytelling, which often recalls listening to a quiet story around a campfire, makes it all the more intimate, almost personal.

Particularly noteworthy is Reynolds’ take on Darrow himself. The character is an outstanding protagonist; Brown makes him a spitfire, brash and rebellious, as passionate and intense as the color he was born into. Accomplished performer that he is, Reynolds takes what’s already on the page and elevates it, bringing a vivid, spirited energy to his portrayal of Darrow. It’s not lively per se, not when the plot is so oppressive, but there is an underlying sense of hope to it all, and Reynolds perfectly captures it (the dramatized versions are also pretty good, if you’re looking for a more detailed depiction of the fast-moving story).

Like any other kind of performance, audiobook reading is an art form; some narrators are better than others, and Reynolds is one of the greats. His talent suits Red Rising like a glove, to the point where it doesn’t matter if we never see the saga in live-action; the audiobook is a performance by itself, and by Jove, is it cinematic, somehow. If you have a good imagination, and most of us do, then this enduring audiobook will be all the adaptation you’ll ever need. And if you don’t believe it, just ask the thousands, millions, probably, of readers who have already experienced it and keep making it a success on the Audible charts.

Red Rising is available for purchase on Audible.