Pierce Brown

Pierce Brown (born January 28, 1988) is an American science fiction author best known for writing the Red Rising series. This exciting series includes six books: Red Rising (2014), Golden Son (2015), Morning Star (2016), Iron Gold (2018), Dark Age (2019), and Light Bringer (2023).

In addition to his novels, Brown also created a six-issue prequel comic book series called Red Rising: Sons of Ares, which was published in 2015. His stories often explore themes of power, rebellion, and what it means to fight for justice in a world where some people are treated unfairly.

Personal life

Pierce Brown grew up in seven different states. His mother, Colleen Birdnow Brown, was the President and CEO of Fisher Communications and the Chairman of American Apparel's Board of Directors. His father, Guy Brown, is a former local banker.

Brown finished his studies at Pepperdine University, where he studied political science and economics. After that, he had many different jobs in politics and tech companies. When he published his first book, Red Rising, in 2014, he was working for the NBC Page Program in Burbank, California and staying in his old political science professor's garage.

Career

Pierce Brown wrote six novels but faced many rejections before publishing his first book, Red Rising, in 2014. He wrote it in just two months in his parents' garage in Seattle, Washington. The book became very popular, reaching #20 on the The New York Times Best Seller list. The next books in the series, Golden Son and Morning Star, also did very well and were praised by many readers.

In 2014, a big movie company, Universal Pictures, wanted to make Red Rising into a film. Brown was going to write the script, but the movie project took a long time. Later, the rights went back to Brown, and he decided to turn the story into a television show instead. He shared that his writing grew because of the feedback from his readers, and many people loved his stories. By 2021, more than 2 million copies of his books had been sold in the US, and by 2024, that number grew to 6 million. In 2025, Brown announced a new story called The Book of Lorn, which will mix writing and artwork and be shared online.

Reception

People have said nice things about Pierce Brown's books. One writer from Entertainment Weekly said Brown fills his stories with exciting action and surprises. Another from NPR liked the characters but said the story is Brown's strongest part. A review from Kirkus Reviews liked the third book, Morning Star, and compared it to Frank Herbert's Dune.

Brown has won awards, including the Goodreads Best New Novelist Award in 2014. He also won the Goodreads Best Science Fiction Novel Award in 2015 for Golden Son and in 2016 for Morning Star.

Published works

Pierce Brown has written several books and stories. His most famous series is called Red Rising, which includes six novels. He also created a comic book series called Red Rising: Sons of Ares, with three volumes released so far.

He contributed a short story titled "Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View – "Desert Son"" to a special Star Wars book in 2017.