The Red Rising: Sons of Ares books must be read in publication order, by following this sequence:⁠[1]

Order Cover Title First published Notes
1 Book cover of Red Rising: Sons of Ares #1. Red Rising: Sons of Ares #1 2017⁠[8] Introduces the Society, Fitchner, and the first hostage operation.
2 Book cover of Red Rising: Sons of Ares #2. Red Rising: Sons of Ares #2 2017⁠[9] Continues the operation and expands Fitchner’s past.
3 Book cover of Red Rising: Sons of Ares #3. Red Rising: Sons of Ares #3 2017⁠[10] Follows the team while revealing Fitchner’s life on Triton.
4 Book cover of Red Rising: Sons of Ares #4. Red Rising: Sons of Ares #4 2017⁠[11] Links Fitchner’s family life to the present-day crisis.
5 Book cover of Red Rising: Sons of Ares #5. Red Rising: Sons of Ares #5 2017⁠[12] Connects the abduction to the assault on the medical facility.
6 Book cover of Red Rising: Sons of Ares #6. Red Rising: Sons of Ares #6 2017⁠[13] Resolves the rescue sequence and completes Fitchner’s turn toward Ares.
Reading order of the Red Rising: Sons of Ares.
Reading order of the Red Rising: Sons of Ares.

1. Red Rising: Sons of Ares #1

Main bookRequired reading
Book cover of Red Rising: Sons of Ares #1.
Book cover of Red Rising: Sons of Ares #1.

Red Rising: Sons of Ares #1 (2017)⁠[8] establishes the color-coded hierarchy that governs the solar system and introduces Fitchner au Barca through a present-day operation. It also begins the retrospective account of Fitchner’s childhood, his rejection within Gold society, and his survival through the Passage.⁠[2]

This issue forms the foundation for the political setting and Fitchner’s history.⁠[2]

2. Red Rising: Sons of Ares #2

Main bookRequired reading
Book cover of Red Rising: Sons of Ares #2.
Book cover of Red Rising: Sons of Ares #2.

Red Rising: Sons of Ares #2 (2017)⁠[9] continues from the first issue, as Fitchner’s team faces the consequences of their hostage operation being discovered. Its flashback material follows Fitchner after the Passage, showing his uneasy place among the Gold elite and his break from Arturius’s world.⁠[14]

This issue expands the contrast between Fitchner’s formal status and his outsider position.⁠[14]

3. Red Rising: Sons of Ares #3

Main bookRequired reading
Book cover of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Sons of Ares #3.
Book cover of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Sons of Ares #3.

Red Rising: Sons of Ares #3 (2017)⁠[10] moves the infiltration team into the deeper levels of a dangerous facility while returning to Fitchner’s earlier life on Triton. There, his role as a Gold administrator puts him in contact with the Red workforce and Bryn.⁠[15]

This issue is central to understanding how Fitchner’s loyalties begin to shift away from his caste’s assumptions.⁠[15]

4. Red Rising: Sons of Ares #4

Main bookRequired reading
Book cover of Red Rising: Sons of Ares #4.
Book cover of Red Rising: Sons of Ares #4.

Red Rising: Sons of Ares #4 (2017.⁠[11] continues the present-day fight against hostile forces while showing Fitchner and Bryn’s move to Mars. It introduces the pressures placed on their hidden marriage, Fitchner’s coerced work for Quicksilver, and the dangerous steps that lead to the birth of Sevro. The issue brings Fitchner’s private life and political danger into direct contact.⁠[16]

5. Red Rising: Sons of Ares #5

Main bookRequired reading
Book cover of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Sons of Ares #5.
Book cover of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Sons of Ares #5.

Red Rising: Sons of Ares #5 (2017)⁠[12] ties together the family crisis and the current assault on the Board of Quality Control facility. Fitchner’s effort to reach Bryn and Sevro is intercut with the events that made the rescue mission necessary, including the raid on the safehouse and the search for access codes. It is a direct continuation of the previous issue’s cliffhanger.⁠[17]

6. Red Rising: Sons of Ares #6

Main bookRequired reading
Book cover of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Sons of Ares #6.
Book cover of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Sons of Ares #6.

Red Rising: Sons of Ares #6 (2017)⁠[13] concludes the immediate facility sequence, following Bryn’s attempted escape, Fitchner’s rescue effort, and the confrontation with Arturius. It also shows how the losses and choices surrounding Bryn and Sevro reshape Fitchner’s next purpose.⁠[18]

As the final issue in this sequence, it completes the origin arc leading to the name Ares.⁠[18]

References

  1. Red Rising Comics. Pierce Brown.
  2. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #1. Dynamite Entertainment.
  3. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #2. Dynamite Entertainment.
  4. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #3. Dynamite Entertainment.
  5. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #4. Dynamite Entertainment.
  6. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #5. Dynamite Entertainment.
  7. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #6. Dynamite Entertainment.
  8. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #1. Dynamite.
  9. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #2. Dynamite.
  10. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #3. Dynamite.
  11. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #4. Dynamite.
  12. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #5. Dynamite.
  13. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #6 (Of 6). Dynamite.
  14. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #2. Dynamite Entertainment.
  15. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #3. Dynamite Entertainment.
  16. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #4. Dynamite Entertainment.
  17. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #5. Dynamite Entertainment.
  18. Pierce Brown’s Red Rising: Son Of Ares #6. Dynamite Entertainment.