Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to revisit all the important moments of Red Queen. Maybe it’s just been a few months since you’ve read and are finally ready to dive into Glass Sword, or maybe you just miss the days of Mare and Cal dancing in the moonlight. If it’s the latter, well, we have good news, Scarlet Guard: we’re kicking off a Red Queen series reread!
To get us started, we think it’s high-time to go back to the book that started it all. Want even more Red Queen action? Join your fellow Scarlet Guard operatives in the official Red Queen Series Facebook Group. Whether you’re rereading to fall in love once more with all of your faves or joining the Scarlet Guard for the very first time, we’ve got you covered with this Red Queen recap.
But first…
Okay, we’ve warned you. Let’s get started!
What Happened in Red Queen?
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
• Reds: Reds are the lowest members of society. They have red blood and no special abilities, and are oppressed by the high-and-mighty Silver elite. Many Reds in the kingdom of Norta are sent to fight in the nearly-constant war with The Lakelands. The war is essentially a death sentence for Reds. Since most Reds are poor, many rely on theft to survive, like Mare Barrow and her family.
• Silvers: Silvers are essentially seen as gods in the world of Red Queen. Silver-blooded, they have a myriad of abilities, from superhuman strength (Strongarms) to the ability to blow things up (Oblivions), and everything in between. There are several royal Silver Houses that each have a particular power, and are ruled by House Calore (Burners) in the kingdom of Norta.
• The Scarlet Guard: The Scarlet Guard is an undercover resistance group of Red rebels, bent on toppling the Silver elite and restoring justice to the world. Run by Command, the resistance operates throughout Norta and the surrounding kingdoms, shrouded in secrecy and labeled as terrorists by Silvers.
• Mare Barrow: As a Red girl born into a poor family, Mare relied on stealing to survive until the day she gets a job in the palace. Not long after, she discovers she can, somehow, control lightning. Mare is then drawn into the world of the Silvers under the guise of a long-lost royal and finds herself beholden to the schemes of others—namely Queen Elara. Not one to forget her people, she also swears an oath to the Scarlet Guard.
Memorable Quote: “I have lived that life already, in the mud, in the shadows, in a cell, in a silk dress. I will never submit again. I will never stop fighting.”
• Gisa Barrow: Mare’s soft and clever younger sister. Though she is a talented seamstress, Gisa loses her position when an attempt to help Mare steal from the Silver palace results in her hand being smashed. This loss of income prompts Mare to take a position at the palace.
• Shade Barrow: One of Mare’s older brothers, Shade was conscripted into the army. He is believed to have been executed at war.
• Prince Tiberias “Cal” Calore VII: The firstborn prince of Norta and future king. Like all the members of House Calore, Cal is a Burner and can control fire. Following the Queenstrial, he is betrothed to Evangeline Samos, a Magnetron (a Silver able to control metal) who believes Mare is hiding something.
Memorable Quote: “I see a world on the edge of a blade. Without balance, it will fall.”
• King Tiberias Calore VI: The current king of Norta.
• Coriana Jacos: The former Queen of Norta and Tiberias Calore VI’s first wife. Cal’s mother.
• Julian Jacos: Coriana’s brother and Cal’s uncle. Julian is a curious and wise man who harbors resentment toward the king for failing to save Coriana’s life and marrying someone so cruel after. He often says that his only friends are books.
• Prince Maven Calore: The second prince of Norta and Cal’s half-brother. Like Cal, Maven is a Burner and is often in Cal’s shadow. After Mare’s powers are revealed, she and Maven are engaged.
Memorable Quote: “The truth is what I make it. I could set this world on fire and call it rain.”
• Queen Elara: The second wife of King Tiberias, mother of Maven, and step-mother of Cal. She is a Whisper, meaning she can control people by entering their minds and reading their thoughts.
Memorable Quote: “If you know someone’s fear, you know them.”
• Captain Farley: A leader of the Scarlet Guard faction infiltrating the Kingdom of Norta.
Memorable Quote: “You don’t see us, and so we are everywhere. And we will rise up, Red as the dawn.”
• Kilorn Warren: Mare’s best friend, a war orphan, and the apprentice of a fisherman in the Stilts. After his master dies, Kilorn will be sent to the war, but instead, joins the Scarlet Guard.
Memorable Quote: “Let them ruin each other. They’re not our people.”
• Enter the Scarlet Guard: Mare is at the marketplace when a news broadcast announces that the capital has been bombed by a rebel group called the Scarlet Guard. A video then plays of Captain Farley, with her trademark scarlet bandanna covering her face, delivering the chilling speech inspiring Reds to rise up, Red as the dawn. Mare later meets the bada#& that is Captain Farley when trying to find a way for her and Kilorn to escape.
• Cal’s Queenstrial: It’s Nortan tradition for girls from each of the Silver High Houses to compete to be the next queen by showcasing their abilities. The winner of Cal’s Queenstrial is Evangeline, a fierce Magnetron who can control metal. But most importantly, this is the moment where Mare falls into the electric field surrounding the arena and displays her ability to control lightning in front of a room full of Silvers. Oh s#&t.
• Silver Bootcamp: Mare needs plenty of training if she’s going to live the rest of her life as a Silver. Her days in the palace are spent in practice sessions using her new ability, learning the proper etiquette of being a lady (shoutout to Lady Blonos, you were Not That Fun to Be Around), and taking special lessons with Julian, Cal’s uncle. Julian is the one who reveals to Mare that there are other Reds like her, with a mutation in their blood that allows them to develop Silver abilities. Spoiler alert: We love Julian.
• The Betrayal: Mare and Maven help orchestrate a Scarlet Guard attack on the palace but are captured by Cal and taken before the King as prisoners. But then, HOLY PLOT TWIST, we find out that Maven has been using Mare all along and took advantage of the Scarlet Guard attacks to eliminate his Silver enemies and clear a way to the throne. Queen Elara then forces Cal to murder his own father, aka the King, branding Cal as a traitor. NOT cool and we are still NOT over it.
• Battle in the Bowl of Bones: Mare and Cal are sentenced to death and must fight off five of the most powerful Silvers, including Evangeline. Mare cannot use her lightning power for most of the battle so Cal vows to protect her as long as he can (awww). This battle scene is beyond epic and Cal and Mare take down three Silvers before Maven calls off the fight and brings in a firing squad. Luckily the Scarlet Guard shows up just in time and sweeps Cal and Mare away to a secret location.
• Shade’s Alive! Mare thought her brother Shade died in the war but it turns out he faked his death to hide his ability to teleport and has been working with the Scarlet Guard ever since! This bit of good news makes Mare even more determined to save the people around her by taking down Maven once and for all.