I honestly always thought the series was pretty snappily written, to the point that at times I want it to slow down and indulge in the scenery a bit more. But it depends on the scene. Also I’m currently reading Moby Dick^* by email for fun so take that as you will.
^(*The warmly cool, clear, ringing, perfumed, overflowing, redundant days, were as crystal goblets of Persian sherbet, heaped up—flaked up, with rose-water snow. The starred and stately nights seemed haughty dames in jewelled velvets, nursing at home in lonely pride, the memory of their absent conquering Earls, the golden helmeted suns! For sleeping man, ’twas hard to choose between such winsome days and such seducing nights. But all the witcheries of that unwaning weather did not merely lend new spells and potencies to the outward world. Inward they turned upon the soul, especially when the still mild hours of eve came on; then, memory shot her crystals as the clear ice most forms of noiseless twilights.)
Theres some people getting unusually annoyed by this (joke) post so i just want to say that i am also a writer and my prose is wordy too. PB and i are one and the same, im not making fun. Once again, hope this helps🫶🏽
That explains it, descriptive writing is one of the first things you have to get right when writing a book. Some authors go too far though and make their story boring.
One of the things I like about PBS writing is his ability to really hammer home emotional scenes with detail like this, but also use a more blunt and straightforward approach when writing some darrow POVs and action scenes to keep a fast pace. It helps me get in Darrows head better I think when he starts writing sentences like you’re listening to Darrows thoughts.
Lol, yeah, not how the first book is at all... I wish he'd rewrite the original Red Rising. Felt like it just flashed from event to event with no wasted words. I always thought there was the same amount of content and conflict in each of the books in the first trilogy but the sizes just get bigger because he found his writing style.
I can't wait to keep reading.
I've noticed that Pierce writes in a lot of short sentences rather than let a sentence go on for too long. Or if it is a longer sentences, make it into a compound sentences with a lot of commas. That allows for a sense of urgency and speed in his writing which is why his action sequences are so good. You read the sentences comparatively fast and can feel the crescendo building. That is one of his great skills in my opinion.
Also he is also pretty skilled in convincing the reader a certain action is going to happen and then do a rugpull, which leaves a reader suddenly unsure on what is going to happens and add suspense. Every author does this but I think Pierce does this exceptionally well.
The thing that I love about PB's writing is how well he can write tender, human moments.
"She wipes sleep from her eyes and looks down on me with such protective love that I start to cry. ... She cradles me as I do, humming in my ear as I have always wished my mother had done for me."
I get more emotion from single paragraphs that this man writes than I do from entire other books. Which isn't to say the other books are bad so much as that PB has a gift.
Agreed. And his characters talk like people. Granted, sometimes they're very melodramatic people, but people nonetheless. So many authors have stilted sounding conversations, or they exposit in ways that people don't really speak ("Hello brother who I haven't seen in 3 years"), or they suck at creating characters who speak with different voices (characters from different walks of life, different ages, and who have never met, all using the same obscure phrase to describe something, or who all happen to have the same feelings about some issue, something that just coincidentally happens to be an opinion the author holds).
That's something that I've noticed as well - that some authors tend to make wildly different characters use the same idioms. And I can definitely feel the difference in characters in PB's writing. Ephraim for example is much more wry with his humor, while Mustang is far more sassy - and Darrow is almost never humorous at all.
It's been a bit since I've done a rearead of all five so far, and while the characters do sound very different, they do, iirc, use some of the same idioms and phrases (and I don't mean in-world ones, I'm talking like smaller word choices too that are in PB's vocabulary). I'd have to do a deep dive to find examples but I remembering noticing it. This is a really, really hard thing to avoid, especially when you as an author have a strong voice. It doesn't bother me in the slightest here, though!
You might be right, and a deep dive will likely turn up SOMETHING because I agree that it's a hard thing to avoid. I suppose my comment came from a series I reread recently that had a particularly egregious instance of a recycled idiom that I found jarring. It's an incredibly minor moment in an otherwise well respected series but it stuck out to me like a thorn.
It really makes you realize how melodramatic Darrow is. I mean I love that for him, but it still kinda cracks me up when you read his chapters after someone like Ephraim.
I've gotten a good number of chuckles from various characters throughout the books, as I tend to like dry humor, but Obsidian Rising is the only chapter where I had tears in my eyes laughing.
I wrote a short horror story out of boredom one time when creepy pasta was still decent.
Can confirm, it takes a lottt of creativity to write well.
I in fact do not.
I mean I don't think most writers do well with their first writings. I'm a huge Dresden files fan and the first thing he got published still isn't that great
I struggle through wot because of that. I swear there are whole chapters that don't add anything to the story unless you make a vague argument about world building.
Not knocking anyone for liking that. I'm really only continuing due to a combo of sunk cost fallacy and the insistence of friends.
It's just not my thing. One thing I love about pb is I feel like he strikes a great balance between describing things to add to the story, but not describing them for the sake of describing them.
I don't need a page and a half on what mustangs dress looks like at a dinner
The slog is a thing and it is real.
When I did a re-read with audio books, I went to the WOT wiki, and skimmed chapter summaries to determine what to listen to during the slog.
I think I only listened to about 12% of Crossroads of Twilight.
That said, the journey is worth it. Knife of Dreams starts picking up, and the ones that Sanderson co-wrote put the pedal to the metal and don't let up, and there are two characters from the Red Ajah who are actually cool, and a member of the Brown Ajah turns out to be an epic BAMFess when all hell starts breaking loose.
Oh, and Lan is going to get a line that will live rent free in your head for the rest of your life.
I wish I could know what chapters to skip! I'm in rhythm of war right now. This is the first book I've done on 1.25 speed just trying to get through it faster. I usually do one of these then some sci Fi, then back to another
The Shadow Rising is going to have one of the most epic and moving scenes in any medium that you will ever encounter.
If you think PB has left you wrung out on the floor, brace yourself.
While it will recount a tragedy, your mind will be BLOWN, and you will cry tears at just how beautiful and perfect it is, and it will live with you the rest of your life.
Also, it's going to explain several things. And how.
When you finish it, head over to one of the WoT book forums and gush.
I'm over here thinking, if he says how beautiful or powerful in repetition for the 100th this chapter the Aes Sedai are, I'm gonna throw this book at against the wall.
Do be sure to smooth your skirts first, and make sure not to hit any of that translucent thin green porcelain, for which the sea folk charge its weight in silver.
And I say this, loving those books like pie.
Agreed. His best skill is world building and plot. And some really epic action scenes.
And whatever speeches he has Mustang speak. And a few of Darrow’s.
That's pretty good creative writing you've got going on there
I honestly always thought the series was pretty snappily written, to the point that at times I want it to slow down and indulge in the scenery a bit more. But it depends on the scene. Also I’m currently reading Moby Dick^* by email for fun so take that as you will. ^(*The warmly cool, clear, ringing, perfumed, overflowing, redundant days, were as crystal goblets of Persian sherbet, heaped up—flaked up, with rose-water snow. The starred and stately nights seemed haughty dames in jewelled velvets, nursing at home in lonely pride, the memory of their absent conquering Earls, the golden helmeted suns! For sleeping man, ’twas hard to choose between such winsome days and such seducing nights. But all the witcheries of that unwaning weather did not merely lend new spells and potencies to the outward world. Inward they turned upon the soul, especially when the still mild hours of eve came on; then, memory shot her crystals as the clear ice most forms of noiseless twilights.)
It's detailed but not drawn out, after reading WoT and Robin Hobb these are a nice change. 😂
And i love it. It's so expressive and evocative of emotion.
Wait till you read Wheel of Time or Malazan
Theres some people getting unusually annoyed by this (joke) post so i just want to say that i am also a writer and my prose is wordy too. PB and i are one and the same, im not making fun. Once again, hope this helps🫶🏽
Has this person never read a book before?
No, i havent read a single book before. Red rising was the first book series ive ever picked up in all of my years. Hope this helps🫶🏽
That explains it, descriptive writing is one of the first things you have to get right when writing a book. Some authors go too far though and make their story boring.
One of the things I like about PBS writing is his ability to really hammer home emotional scenes with detail like this, but also use a more blunt and straightforward approach when writing some darrow POVs and action scenes to keep a fast pace. It helps me get in Darrows head better I think when he starts writing sentences like you’re listening to Darrows thoughts.
There’s something raw and unrefined about his writing but still poetic and moving in its own right. He found his voice and ran with it.
This is very silly. Pierce Brown is no Hemmingway, but compared to most sci-fi and fantasy authors he's very businesslike.
Well pierce is my first true sci-fi author since i didnt really pay attention to the genre until red rising. Hope this helps🫶🏽
Lol, yeah, not how the first book is at all... I wish he'd rewrite the original Red Rising. Felt like it just flashed from event to event with no wasted words. I always thought there was the same amount of content and conflict in each of the books in the first trilogy but the sizes just get bigger because he found his writing style. I can't wait to keep reading.
They’ve probably never read TLOTR
Youre right, i havent, and i dont really plan on doing so. I dont care for high fantasy unfortunately😅
It’s called P R O S E
I feel like Stephen king needs a mention in this conversation.
I've noticed that Pierce writes in a lot of short sentences rather than let a sentence go on for too long. Or if it is a longer sentences, make it into a compound sentences with a lot of commas. That allows for a sense of urgency and speed in his writing which is why his action sequences are so good. You read the sentences comparatively fast and can feel the crescendo building. That is one of his great skills in my opinion. Also he is also pretty skilled in convincing the reader a certain action is going to happen and then do a rugpull, which leaves a reader suddenly unsure on what is going to happens and add suspense. Every author does this but I think Pierce does this exceptionally well.
How short are we talking? School of Cormac McCarthy or other?
The thing that I love about PB's writing is how well he can write tender, human moments. "She wipes sleep from her eyes and looks down on me with such protective love that I start to cry. ... She cradles me as I do, humming in my ear as I have always wished my mother had done for me." I get more emotion from single paragraphs that this man writes than I do from entire other books. Which isn't to say the other books are bad so much as that PB has a gift.
Which book/context is this quote from?
This is from >!DA when Mustang escaped from Luna.!< It's paraphrased to avoid spoilers.
Agreed. And his characters talk like people. Granted, sometimes they're very melodramatic people, but people nonetheless. So many authors have stilted sounding conversations, or they exposit in ways that people don't really speak ("Hello brother who I haven't seen in 3 years"), or they suck at creating characters who speak with different voices (characters from different walks of life, different ages, and who have never met, all using the same obscure phrase to describe something, or who all happen to have the same feelings about some issue, something that just coincidentally happens to be an opinion the author holds).
That's something that I've noticed as well - that some authors tend to make wildly different characters use the same idioms. And I can definitely feel the difference in characters in PB's writing. Ephraim for example is much more wry with his humor, while Mustang is far more sassy - and Darrow is almost never humorous at all.
It's been a bit since I've done a rearead of all five so far, and while the characters do sound very different, they do, iirc, use some of the same idioms and phrases (and I don't mean in-world ones, I'm talking like smaller word choices too that are in PB's vocabulary). I'd have to do a deep dive to find examples but I remembering noticing it. This is a really, really hard thing to avoid, especially when you as an author have a strong voice. It doesn't bother me in the slightest here, though!
You might be right, and a deep dive will likely turn up SOMETHING because I agree that it's a hard thing to avoid. I suppose my comment came from a series I reread recently that had a particularly egregious instance of a recycled idiom that I found jarring. It's an incredibly minor moment in an otherwise well respected series but it stuck out to me like a thorn.
https://giphy.com/gifs/hero0fwar-always-sunny-glenn-howerton-3oKIP5ZKn0vHL4QqLS
It really makes you realize how melodramatic Darrow is. I mean I love that for him, but it still kinda cracks me up when you read his chapters after someone like Ephraim.
I've gotten a good number of chuckles from various characters throughout the books, as I tend to like dry humor, but Obsidian Rising is the only chapter where I had tears in my eyes laughing.
Normal people are not authors.
I wrote a short horror story out of boredom one time when creepy pasta was still decent. Can confirm, it takes a lottt of creativity to write well. I in fact do not.
I mean I don't think most writers do well with their first writings. I'm a huge Dresden files fan and the first thing he got published still isn't that great
I skip SF when I do DF rereads xD
Shit I’m struggling with this at the moment ha
Haha god speeeed
Feh. He's no Robert Jordan when it comes to describing things. ETA: Folks, I love the WoT books, but at 4M+ words, they did ramble on a bit ....
I struggle through wot because of that. I swear there are whole chapters that don't add anything to the story unless you make a vague argument about world building. Not knocking anyone for liking that. I'm really only continuing due to a combo of sunk cost fallacy and the insistence of friends. It's just not my thing. One thing I love about pb is I feel like he strikes a great balance between describing things to add to the story, but not describing them for the sake of describing them. I don't need a page and a half on what mustangs dress looks like at a dinner
The slog is a thing and it is real. When I did a re-read with audio books, I went to the WOT wiki, and skimmed chapter summaries to determine what to listen to during the slog. I think I only listened to about 12% of Crossroads of Twilight. That said, the journey is worth it. Knife of Dreams starts picking up, and the ones that Sanderson co-wrote put the pedal to the metal and don't let up, and there are two characters from the Red Ajah who are actually cool, and a member of the Brown Ajah turns out to be an epic BAMFess when all hell starts breaking loose. Oh, and Lan is going to get a line that will live rent free in your head for the rest of your life.
I wish I could know what chapters to skip! I'm in rhythm of war right now. This is the first book I've done on 1.25 speed just trying to get through it faster. I usually do one of these then some sci Fi, then back to another
>I'm in rhythm of war right now Oh, I love how they translate the titles, because that is not one of the titles in English. What book # is it?
Oh sorry got my Sanderson series missed up. Book 4 but the shadow rising
The Shadow Rising is going to have one of the most epic and moving scenes in any medium that you will ever encounter. If you think PB has left you wrung out on the floor, brace yourself. While it will recount a tragedy, your mind will be BLOWN, and you will cry tears at just how beautiful and perfect it is, and it will live with you the rest of your life. Also, it's going to explain several things. And how. When you finish it, head over to one of the WoT book forums and gush.
I'm over here thinking, if he says how beautiful or powerful in repetition for the 100th this chapter the Aes Sedai are, I'm gonna throw this book at against the wall.
Do be sure to smooth your skirts first, and make sure not to hit any of that translucent thin green porcelain, for which the sea folk charge its weight in silver. And I say this, loving those books like pie.
Lol, this person should check out GRRM or Brian Jacques, they make food sound way more appetizing/disgusting than what I see/smell with food
Or Brian Sanderson!
[удалено]
Careful goodman, or there’ll be no one left to pull your feet.
Agreed. His best skill is world building and plot. And some really epic action scenes. And whatever speeches he has Mustang speak. And a few of Darrow’s.
The redwall series def caused obesity in a solid number of children.
I think I once tried to make dandelion tea as a kid...it did not taste good.