Powerless v. Red Queen

⚠️ Warning: This post contains major spoilers for both Red Queen and the Powerless series.

When I started reading Powerless, I was already aware of the ongoing controversy surrounding the series. What I didn't know at the time was that many readers were also comparing it to Red Queen. I hadn't read Victoria Aveyard's series yet, so I couldn't form my own opinion on those claims.

After finishing Powerless, I picked up Red Queen specifically so I could compare the two stories for myself. This post is the result of those comparisons.

This isn't an attempt to determine whether Lauren Roberts committed plagiarism. That's not a conclusion I'm qualified to make. Instead, I'm examining the similarities I noticed between Powerless and Red Queen, discussing where they overlap, where they differ, and whether those similarities feel like shared fantasy tropes, inspiration, or something more. As always, I'll let you decide where you land.

What is the difference?

Stories inspire other stories all the time. Some of the most beloved books ever written were inspired by works that came before them. Wicked by Gregory Maguire reimagines The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding draws heavily from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Even Shakespeare borrowed plots from earlier histories, poems, and plays.

The difference is that these stories take familiar ideas and transform them into something distinctly their own. You can usually recognize the inspiration, but the new work develops its own identity, characters, themes, and voice. The inspiration becomes part of the foundation rather than the entire structure.

Plagiarism is different. Rather than simply borrowing an idea or trope, it involves presenting another person's original expression or creative work as your own. Determining where inspiration ends and plagiarism begins isn't always straightforward, which is why discussions like this can become so passionate.

The Powerless series by Lauren Roberts has been compared to several popular fantasy novels, most notably Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. In this post, I'm focusing solely on the similarities I noticed between Powerless and Red Queen. I've already wrote the comparison article with The Hunger Games. 

Comparing

A Society Divided by Blood

Like many dystopian fantasy novels, both Powerless and Red Queen build their worlds around a rigid class system.

In Powerless, society is divided into Elites, Mundanes, and Ordinaries. Elites possess the strongest and most desirable powers, Mundanes have abilities that are considered weak or undesirable, and Ordinaries possess no powers at all. Simply existing as an Ordinary is punishable by death.

Red Queen simplifies the divide into two groups. The Silvers possess extraordinary abilities and rule over the kingdom, while the Reds have no powers and are forced into lives of labor and poverty.

On the surface, these worlds are remarkably similar. Both stories ask the same question: what happens when power belongs to only a select few while everyone else is expected to accept their place?

Two Heroines Born Into Poverty

Both stories introduce us to heroines who begin at the very bottom of society.

Paedyn grows up in the Slums, surviving by stealing while hiding the dangerous secret that she's an Ordinary. Mare lives in the Stilts, where poverty is just as crushing. She also turns to theft to help provide for her family.

The difference is that Mare has a support system. She has parents, siblings, and friends who stand beside her. Paedyn's world is much lonelier. With her family gone, Adena is the only person she truly trusts.

A small detail I couldn't help but notice: both heroines also have someone close to them who works as a seamstress.

Meeting the Prince

The similarities continue with the introduction of each heroine's primary love interest.

Mare attempts to pickpocket Cal without realizing he's the crown prince. Rather than punish her, he shows her kindness by giving her money and later securing her a position at the palace.

Paedyn unknowingly steals from Kai, who is also traveling without revealing his identity as a prince. After she saves him from an attack, Kai allows her to keep the stolen money.

Different circumstances, but remarkably similar introductions.

Two Royal Families

Cal and Kai share several personality traits. Both initially believe the existing class system is justified, and both begin the story with a limited understanding of the struggles faced by the kingdom's poorest citizens.

Where they differ is in how that perspective changes.

Cal actively seeks out Red villages because he wants to become a better ruler. Kai doesn't begin questioning the system until Paedyn forces him to confront everything he thought he knew.

The brothers also occupy different positions within their kingdoms. Cal is the heir to the throne, while Kai serves as the kingdom's Enforcer beneath his older brother, Kitt.

The Other Prince

One of the strongest character comparisons is between Kitt and Maven, though their roles within the royal family are not identical.

Paedyn builds a friendship with Kitt while secretly using information he unknowingly provides to help the Resistance. Mare becomes engaged to Maven believing that relationship may help the Scarlet Guard. In both stories, the heroine grows close to a prince connected to the throne while also using that relationship for a larger purpose tied to the rebellion.

Both Kitt and Maven begin as compassionate, sympathetic characters before eventually becoming central antagonists. Their paths to villainy are very different, however. Kitt is the older brother and heir to the throne, and his descent is fueled by grief, insecurity, and his desperate need for his father’s approval even after the king’s death. Maven is the younger brother, and his betrayal is far more calculated. He manipulates Mare and the reader from the beginning, making his reveal feel more shocking because we believed, or at least hoped, he was sincere.

The similarity is not that they hold the exact same royal position. It is that both stories use a seemingly kind prince as an emotional trap for the heroine before revealing that his connection to power is far more dangerous than it first appeared.

The Underground Rebellion

Neither Paedyn nor Mare starts the rebellion.

Long before either heroine becomes involved, underground resistance groups have been quietly working to overthrow the ruling class. As the stories progress, both women become symbols of hope and valuable assets to their respective movements.

One notable difference is in the movements themselves. The Scarlet Guard embraces violence from the outset, often relying on bombings and direct attacks against the Silver regime. The Resistance initially focuses on exposing the truth and proving that Ordinaries aren't responsible for the plague before the conflict escalates.

Where the Stories Begin to Diverge

Despite the many similarities, there are several major differences that give each story its own identity.

The biggest is Mare herself.

Paedyn remains an Ordinary throughout the story. She survives through intelligence, determination, and physical skill rather than magical ability.

Mare's journey changes dramatically when she discovers she possesses extraordinary powers despite having Red blood. That revelation becomes the catalyst for the entire story and fundamentally separates Red Queen from Powerless.

The competitions also serve very different purposes. The Purging Trials in Powerless celebrate Elite strength while quietly eliminating weaker competitors. The Queenstrial in Red Queen is a political ceremony where Silver noblewomen compete to become the future queen. While both are public spectacles involving young competitors, only one is designed as a deadly contest.

The Biggest Difference: Mare Has Powers

Despite the many similarities between the two stories, this is where they take very different paths.

Paedyn is an Ordinary from beginning to end. She never develops powers or discovers she's secretly someone special. Instead, she survives through intelligence, quick thinking, and years of learning how to read people. Every victory she earns comes from her own determination rather than magic.

Mare's story couldn't be more different.

During the Queenstrial, Mare falls into the arena and comes into contact with an electrified barrier. Rather than dying, she discovers she can control electricity despite having Red blood. Overnight, she becomes something the kingdom has never seen before, forcing the Silver court to hide her true identity and thrusting her into a world she was never meant to enter.

This single plot point changes the trajectory of the entire story. While Powerless explores what it means to survive without power in a world that values strength above all else, Red Queen asks what happens when someone who should have no power suddenly possesses one of the rarest abilities in the kingdom.

Final Thoughts

When I finished comparing these two books, I came away with a very different impression than I did after comparing Powerless to The Hunger Games.

With Red Queen, it often felt like Powerless started from many of the same ideas. The divided society, the heroine hiding her true identity, the chance meeting with a prince, the romance across class lines, the rebellion already in motion, and even several character relationships all felt strikingly familiar. As I read, I kept adding another similarity to my notes until I had pages of comparisons.

Where the two stories differ is in where they go from there.

As Powerless progresses, it begins carving out its own identity. Paedyn remains an Ordinary, relying on her intelligence rather than discovering hidden powers. The Purging Trials serve a very different purpose than the Queenstrial. Kai, Kitt, and the Resistance all take paths that eventually distinguish themselves from their counterparts in Red Queen. By the end of the series, the stories feel more like cousins than twins.

Does that mean one copied the other? That's not a conclusion I'm making. Stories influence stories all the time, especially within the same genre. What stood out to me wasn't any single similarity, but how many appeared in the opening portions of both books before the stories gradually began to diverge.

Whether you see that as inspiration, coincidence, or something more is ultimately up to you. My goal wasn't to tell you what to think. It was simply to share the comparisons I noticed while reading so you can decide for yourself where you believe the line is.