Victoria Aveyard’s “Red Queen” keeps resurging on Tik Tok
By: Lindsey Pfeffer, Columnist
Views expressed in opinion columns are the author’s own.
4/5 ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭒
If you have a TikTok account, you may have seen Victoria Aveyard floating around recently, giving out tips for new writers and letting us in on the secrets about the publishing industry. This week, I’ll be talking about her bestselling series, “Red Queen.”
Do you like your fantasy to have politics? What about a realistic war centric plot? A chosen one who subverts the trope by not being able to do it all, with a nice love triangle thrown in for fun? If yes to any of the above, this is the book series for you.
For all of the reasons above, this has been one of my favorite fantasy books to come out in recent years. The series first started right as the wave of dystopian book worlds rose to prominence, and I personally think it is one of the only ones to hit the genre without being a complete copycat.
This book succeeds where others fail because it takes a different part of our society to extrapolate from. “The Hunger Games” took on poverty and authoritarianism, while “Red Queen” takes on prejudice and systemic oppression. In this world we see a division of blood: red blood has no magical ability, while silver blood does.
This leads to Reds being at the bottom of society, with Silvers as the ruling class. Throughout the series, we follow Mare Barrow in her pursuit of taking down the Silvers, and eradicating social and economic barriers.
The portrayal of realistic consequences also takes this book up another notch; though there may be magic, there is no easy fix, no waving of a wand to wish it all away. Another point in its favor is it’s depictions of rebuilding. Most dystopian and fantasy worlds defeat the bad guy and skip putting it all back together, but as we know from the world around us, reorganizing governments and fixing cultural attitudes isn’t as easy as taking out one bad person.
The romance in this series is very much like Katniss and Peeta, but has more opportunity than they were ever given. There is no tricking themselves into love, no love of solely shared experience. Aveyard has shown us the trust they build, the betrayals up close, and how easy it can be to fall into love.
I took one star off this book because it can be quite dense material at times. I’m a binge reader, can’t put it down until I’m done, and I found myself having to take breaks to be able to process what was happening in the books.
But it was worth it to read a world so immersive, so easy to fall into. The fantasy parts didn’t pull you out of the story, and you find yourself feeling like you know these people, especially their motivations.
“Red Queen” is one of the only fantasy and dystopian books I have read, had time to think about and absorb outside opinions, and not found flaws afterwards that outweigh the book itself. This was a great read, and I hope you all fall in love with this series as I did.
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TikTok’s ability to spotlight powerful stories like this speaks to the enduring impact of great storytelling. It’s inspiring to see a new generation of readers discovering and falling in love with this thrilling series! You can buy TikTok services from likeshigh.com
Want to learn more about the charm of the Red Queen series? You can use Youtube to Mp4 Converter to download Victoria Aveyard’s interview video and listen to her personally tell the story behind the creation.
Do you think the portrayal of Mare Barrow’s struggles against the Silvers effectively highlights the complexities of social and economic barriers?
Really enjoyed this breakdown of why Red Queen still holds up on TikTok. You touch on something most reviewers skip: the rebuilding after the villain falls, and how Aveyard refuses to hand Mare an easy win. That grounded, systemic view of power is exactly what keeps me coming back to well-built fictional worlds, whether they’re books or games. I’ve been deep in a browser life sim lately, Lagos Life, and the part that scratches the same itch is the economic realism underneath the surface fun. Rent, fuel, weekly tax, business payback times and job pay at every rank are all pulled straight from the game, which makes chasing the best job feel like actual strategy rather than a grind. Anyone curious can dig into the best job pay guide and see how the numbers really work. Anyway, great piece, and it’s nice to see a dystopian series get this kind of thoughtful attention.
Lindsey’s point about dystopian fiction skipping the rebuilding phase is what makes “Red Queen” stand out for me too, and it’s why I keep coming back to stories where the consequences actually stick. The comparison to “The Hunger Games” is fair, but I’d argue Aveyard’s focus on systemic prejudice gives the series a different kind of weight, especially in the later books when Mare has to reckon with what she’s become. For anyone who enjoys that slow, dense world-building and wants something interactive to sink into between chapters, I’ve been spending time with the Drill to Earth's Core class guide lately. It scratches a similar itch for layered progression without the love triangle. Different medium entirely, but the commitment to detailed systems and real consequences feels related.
I loved seeing how “Red Queen” is making a comeback on TikTok! It reminds me of my epic gaming nights with friends on Moto X3m, where we all share our favorite book characters. Have you ever played and drawn your favorite from the series?
The point about rebuilding after the villain falls is what separates Red Queen from most dystopian series for me. Pfeffer is right that Aveyard actually shows the messy aftermath of revolution. One broader tip: the media properties I end up sinking the most time into often get a second life through fan-made technical guides, whether that is fan wikis or something like a Witcher 3 remastered settings guide that documents every patch change and port. It is a nice reminder that a devoted fandom will produce its own reference material, and that in turn keeps the original work circulating on platforms like TikTok. I would love to see something similar built around the Red Queen universe someday.
I appreciated the point about Red Queen actually showing the messy work of rebuilding rather than ending on the defeated villain, since that’s the part most dystopian series skip. Something similar happens with the magic systems people obsess over on TikTok: readers dig into the surface lore, then get genuinely invested once they see how the rules are structured underneath. That’s the appeal of a different kind of obsessive guide, like this wiki for The Outlast Trials rigs and amps, where every entry lists its unlock level and source instead of just vibes. The same scrutiny fans apply to blood hierarchies in Aveyard’s world can be applied to rig upgrades, tier lists, and loadout voucher costs, and it makes the whole thing feel less like a copycat trope and more like a real system worth analyzing.
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Really appreciate that you highlighted the rebuilding angle rather than just the revolution itself — that’s the part most dystopian reviews skip over, and it’s what made Aveyard’s world feel lived-in for me too. I’d push back slightly on the density critique: the slow middle is where a lot of the political groundwork gets laid, and it pays off in Glass Sword and beyond. If you like seeing how systems and stats actually stack up in fantasy-adjacent fandoms, I usually check weapons and tier breakdowns for that kind of structured comparison, and it’s a similar impulse to what Aveyard does with blood hierarchy. Either way, this review nails why Red Queen still holds up years after the TikTok resurgence.
I appreciated the point about “Red Queen” actually doing the work of rebuilding after the villain falls, since so much dystopian fiction skips straight to the victory lap and pretends systemic prejudice dissolves overnight. The comparison to how “The Hunger Games” extrapolates from poverty while Aveyard extrapolates from blood-based caste hierarchy is a sharp way to frame why the series doesn’t feel derivative. One thing I’d add for readers who like this kind of systematic worldbuilding is that games with tiered progression often scratch the same itch, and a resource like this beginner guide for Pokemon Survivor shows how stat scores and matchups get documented transparently. Either way, your review makes a solid case for the series holding up beyond the TikTok wave.
Lindsey’s point about Red Queen taking on systemic oppression rather than just authoritarianism is what separates it from so much of the dystopian wave that followed The Hunger Games, and I think that’s exactly why it keeps finding new readers through TikTok clips rather than fading out. The comment about Aveyard skipping the easy fix is fair too, though I’d argue the density readers complain about is partly what makes the rebuilding arcs land. What stuck with me most is how the class system is legible almost immediately, similar to how game communities map out roles and progression before new players even install. I ran into a comparable breakdown of the ten second-job classes with tiers and trainer towns in this MapleStory Classic class tier list, and the sourced, dated pages reminded me of the citations this column does well.
Enjoyed this take on why “Red Queen” holds up where other dystopian series feel derivative—the point about rebuilding being the hardest part is what stuck with me, since so few YA fantasies bother showing the messy aftermath of toppling a regime. That same instinct for transparent systems is what keeps me coming back to games with visible numbers behind them, and I’ve been spending time with Azeroth Survivors build guides for exactly that reason: every class tier and spell is laid out with the math shown rather than just asserted. It’s a different medium, but the appeal is similar—watching how rules create consequences instead of hand-waving them away. Curious whether Aveyard’s later books lean further into the political reconstruction or pull back toward romance.
Enjoyed this take, especially the point about Red Queen extrapolating from prejudice and systemic oppression rather than poverty like The Hunger Games, and that the series actually shows the messy work of rebuilding instead of rolling credits after the villain falls. That commitment to consequences is what keeps readers coming back. The density you mention is real, though, and it’s the same thing I notice in games that lean hard on class and race systems: the lore is only satisfying when the underlying numbers are legible. I’ve been digging into Pixel Lineage lately and found a detailed Pixel Lineage tier list that breaks down races, talents and weapon scaling with sources and last-checked dates, which scratches a similar itch for readers who like their worldbuilding documented rather than hand-waved.
I appreciated the point about Red Queen earning its place in the dystopian wave by extrapolating from prejudice and systemic oppression rather than just copying The Hunger Games framework. The observation that Aveyard actually shows the messy work of rebuilding after the villain falls is what separates this series from so much of the genre, and it is the same instinct that makes a magic system feel earned instead of convenient. That is partly why I have been drawn to gesture-based music tools lately, where the physical motion has to map meaningfully to the sound rather than just looking flashy. One free browser option, this webcam hand-tracking instrument, turns finger counts into chords and hand tilt into volume, which feels like the same principle of making the mechanics legible. Worth a look if you enjoy systems with real constraints.
I appreciate that you highlighted how Red Queen actually deals with the aftermath of toppling a regime instead of just cutting to credits after the villain falls, which is the same complaint I have with most dystopian series. The blood-division premise also gives Aveyard a cleaner metaphor for systemic prejudice than the usual “district” shorthand. One thing I’d add is how much the book rewards readers who like wordplay and pattern-spotting: the constant shifting of alliances mirrors the way a good puzzle forces you to rethink every step you’ve already taken. Lately I’ve been pairing my rereads with a daily word ladder challenge between sessions, and the parallel between building a valid chain one letter at a time and watching Mare rebuild a society one alliance at a time is oddly satisfying. Worth trying if you want a low-stakes brain break between dense chapters.
This is a solid breakdown of why Red Queen holds up when so many dystopian series from that era blurred together. The point about rebuilding is the one I keep coming back to — Aveyard doesn’t let Mare’s victory be clean, and the aftermath in Glass Sword and King’s Cage is where the series earns its weight. The blood-division premise also feels more pointed now than it did in 2015, especially with the TikTok revival putting it in front of readers who weren’t around for the original wave. Speaking of guessing what a crowd will pick, I’ve been killing time with daily prompt guessing game — seven prompts, 15 seconds each, and the more common your answer the higher your balloon climbs. It’s a surprisingly good exercise in reading the room, which is basically what Mare spends three books doing. Glad this series is getting a second life.
I appreciated your point about Red Queen being one of the few dystopian series that actually sticks the landing on rebuilding rather than cutting to black after the villain falls—that messy aftermath is exactly what makes Aveyard’s world feel earned. The comparison to The Hunger Games is fair, though I’d argue the blood-division metaphor does more heavy lifting than Katniss’s districts ever did. One thing I’d add for readers who like systems-driven fantasy: keeping track of abilities and power tiers across a big cast gets overwhelming fast, and I’ve found that structured reference pages help a lot. The starter and tier guide over at PokeBonk Wiki is a good example of how clear documentation of stats, unlocks and passives can make a complicated roster click. Different genre entirely, but the same lesson applies—good worldbuilding deserves readable reference material.