Pierce Brown - Golden Son and Morning Star

These are books two and three, respectively, of the Red Rising trilogy, which as a whole are a very entertaining piece of science fiction. Taking place about a thousand years from now, people have colonized other planets and the human species has h group: ideal specimens of physical and intellectual prowess that dominate the rest of the race through an entrenched aristocracy. On the other end of the spectrum are Reds, laborers who mine helium to support the vast network of planets. In between you find specializations in each color, Silvers (bankers), Blues (pilots and navigators), Greens (programmers), Greys (soilders), Yellows (doctors), etc. The story follows Darrow, a Red, as he seeks to infiltrate Gold society and topple the system that oppresses his people.

I won’t go beyond the above synopsis because I think this is a great series and much more would spoil these three entertaining books. From a style perspective I would say this is a blend of Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, with a sprinkling of A Song of Ice and Fire. The book out does Hunger Games because it is more “gritty” and its lead character has much more agency within the story and makes more pragmatic choices.

The series as a whole outstrips Ender's series because it doesn't lose momentum in the way that Ender's did I don't think I made it past the third book in the Ender Game series. . The third book is just as good as the first, and these two specifically you can finish in a few days.

Strong recommendation on these series for any SF lover, and general fiction enthusiasts should enjoy it as well.