Ask Pierce Brown discussion
RED RISING Trilogy re-reads
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GOLDEN SON re-read (HAS ENDED)
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Important Details:
Dates: The re-read officially starts today (1/11) and will run for 4 weeks, ending on Friday, 2/5. Each week a new section will be covered:
1/11-1/15: Part I BOW
1/16-1/22: Part II BREAK
1/23-1/29: Part III CONQUER
1/30-2/5: Part IV RUIN
We'll post a new topic for each section.
During the re-read we want to hear from you! Post your reactions to pivotal moments, post memes, ask questions, and of course - talk to each other!
Also - feel free to ask Pierce questions. He will definitely be taking part, answering questions, and commenting on your posts!
Happy Reading and Break the Chains!
I have started re-reading Golden Son , and I've already have a couple of questions but I also have questions about Red Rising. Should I post them here ?
Is it bad that my favorite part of the whole book is Julia Au Bellona's speech? It is clear I am unloved...
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It's possibly quite telling about your personal life...
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Duh. Hit me with them.
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Thanks for participating in the re-read. I can't wait to dig back into the book with you. And yes. I will be reading along, no matter how vain you think that is. Leave me alone. I like this story.
I may not be able to answer all questions, but I would love to be part of the conversation. So lets start burning through the chapters and slap down your questions when you've got them. Can't wait to dig in.
Much love.
pb
I'm pretty behind and actually haven't finished Golden Son (thanks to school not believing in free time), so I suppose now's a good time to return to it, haha!
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Yeah, you can pace yourself with us or race to the end. Your call
How much of Golden Son did you have written by the time you released Red Rising?
Whenever I get to certain parts where I know Darrow is making a bad decision I keep yelling (out loud in my room) "No don't do it it's a trap!!! Why Darrow why?!?!" I may just be a tad emotional...
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Because Darrow never listens to Admiral Ackbar.
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If memory serves, a little more than half. I remember writing the opening sequence (which was later scrapped) back in 2013 before RR had been picked up.
Karnus and Darrow used to be on the same team. Perish the thought.
Pierce wrote: "Cole wrote: "Whenever I get to certain parts where I know Darrow is making a bad decision I keep yelling (out loud in my room) "No don't do it it's a trap!!! Why Darrow why?!?!" I may just be a tad..."This. This right here is why you're my favorite author. But what inspired you to create the character of The Jackal?
I have read and reread and will reread again. I love the details and nuances that appear with each reread. However, I am anxiously awaiting a POP FUNKO set of Howlers and other such merchandise so I can fully embrace my obsession with this trilogy. Commencing with reread #3 till the release of Morning Star!
Pierce wrote: "Sara wrote: "Is it bad that my favorite part of the whole book is Julia Au Bellona's speech? It is clear I am unloved..."It's possibly quite telling about your personal life..."
Thanks? When I first read it, I was like Yes! Loving the subtlety of this lady. Her and I could be friends.
I'm going to do my damnedest to only read one section per week, because every time I read this book I inhale it. It's time to really savor it... before inhaling Morning Star.
Awesome to be a part of the reread.So happy to be able to ask questions.So here goes.
1.Where you ever tempted to make book 2 about Darrows time in the Academy?Thsts what i expected after book 1 but you threw me a curve ball.
2.Why do you like writing in 4 acts?
I may or may not have accidentally inhaled my reread of Golden Son by audio immediately after finishing the reread of Red Rising. I'll still follow along and jump in though. ;)
How sad do you feel right now that Red Rising is coming to an end? Not going to lie I'm finding it hard to cope
How long did it take for you to write down Red Rising, did you know ending of it (i mean on whole series) even before you started writing it or you kept developing story as you wrote it ? And how much of your writing gone into trash folder during drafting and editing ?
Best regards.
Pierce wrote: "Julie wrote: "I have started re-reading Golden Son , and I've already have a couple of questions but I also have questions about Red Rising. Should I post them here ?"Duh. Hit me with them."
Cool, thanks ! here's my comments and thoughts about RR:
The Institute: I find hard to swallow that nobody knows about the Institute when it goes on annually and about half of the students go out of it feet first. I understand that it's a BIG world but still... What are your thoughts about that ?
Eo: I think she knew that she was gonna die and that Darrow was gonna live, she was part of the plot. When they meet one last time just before the whipping, she kind of gives that away, anyhow, that's how i felt it. I think she was supposed to be saved and choose not to maybe because she was pregnant and she's a dramatic girl ? Am I right ?
Mustang: When Darrow gets stabbed and Mustang saves his life, somebody helps them, gives him medication. He doesn't wonder who it is. I do. :-)
Ares - no I'm not gonna ask, I'll wait. Spoilers are not good. :-)
I love this series so much. Please don't let them make a 2 hour movie and ruin the greatness that you wrote, Pierce!Get with Netflix or AMC and make a badass show! Have episodes to cover all the gorydamn details. I know a movie deal was signed but I'm worried Hollywood will mess this beloved story up!
In other words, did you know at the end of Golden Son how you wanted to end it? I'll never forget listening to the last 10 min.. Tim Gerald Reynolds is phenomenal btw..
I love this series so much. Please don't let them make a 2 hour movie and ruin the greatness that you wrote, Pierce!Get with Netflix or AMC and make a badass show! Have episodes to cover all the gorydamn details. I know a movie deal was signed but I'm worried Hollywood will mess this beloved story up!
In other words, did you know at the end of Golden Son how you wanted to end it? I'll never forget listening to the last 10 min.. Tim Gerald Reynolds is phenomenal btw..
I can't wait for the other books in the red rising universe...the black rebellion, the rise of the golds, the battle for earth, the howler initiation alone could be nice short story.....I mean you can't honestly be done with the red rising universe right? Just saying there's a lot of holes you could fill
I re-read both books just DAYS before the Red Rising re-read started . . . but I'm contemplating whether or not I can squeeze both books in this month. But the stiff competition is an 18-inch high stack of library books.
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The scary answer: he was always in my head, gnawing to be let out.
The tactical answer: I needed an inverse to Darrow. Someone with little to no physical power, who could be a foil to our hero. I very much dislike most of Superman's enemies. I very much adore most of Batmans--because they are usually the antithesis of Batman
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It's possibly quite telling about your personal life..."
T..."
haha she's quite the handful. I had a friend whose mother inspired me
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Get with Netflix or AMC and make a badass show! Have episodes to cover all the ..."
I always knew how I wanted GS to end. I wanted all the physical action to drive towards the Iron Rain, but the underlying emotional weight and thematic weight of the story only came to a head at the Triumph
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Duh. Hit me w..."
Imagine the Institute to be Santa Claus.
Even better, imagine the Institute to be the Skull and Bones Society or any secret society for that matter, except if you talk about it, you get killed or put in prison.
What you might be failing to take into account is that this is the upper .000007 of humanity we're talking about who attend the Institute. This is not a wide segment of the population. These are human beings you and I would never meet, would never be in the same restaurant with. Out of 18 billion humans only 134,000ish are Peerless Scarred.
If it was general admittance, you'd have a point.
Imagine, as well, top secret weapons that our government has. Do you know about them? Probably not. But thousands and thousands of people have helped develop them, build them, catalog, test, store them. There is a whole world behind the curtain. We get a peek simply because we're with the wolves, ya feel?
Pierce wrote: "Cole wrote: "Pierce wrote: "Cole wrote: "Whenever I get to certain parts where I know Darrow is making a bad decision I keep yelling (out loud in my room) "No don't do it it's a trap!!! Why Darrow ..."That's...slightly terrifying. But you gotta do what you gotta do I guess.
But honestly, one of my favorite characters that you've written, aside from Darrow obviously, is Tactus. He's honestly a character who is so much deeper than he seems, and I wanted so badly for him to come together with Darrow again. So I guess my real question is, how do you continue to develop these off-beat and many-layered characters AND....why do you have to make me feel all these things?!
I love what Roque says to Darrow when he goes to see him before the gala: "Tactus always thinks because I'm reading, I'm not doing anything. There is no greater plague to an introvert than the extroverted" ... I relate, I relate.
First off, phenomenal job Pierce! I have a question for you. Will Morning Star pick up immediately following where Golden Son ended ? Or will it be explained through flashbacks? I'm going crazy waiting to find out what happens next!
Thanks for answering, Pierce! Can't wait for Morning Star (and the rest of your books moving forward. I heard you mention something at a book reading about an idea where people fly around on Griffins and Pegasi fighting each other? That would be really cool because you would make it a gorydamn mess of blood and emotions and all the inbetween)
Thanks Pierce. I had question for part one. Darrow's cunning and strategy of book one seems a stark contrast to his short-sightedness in part 1 of book 2. How did he not know Pliny was destroying his reputation, or if he knew, how and why did he let him? "PAX AU TELEMANSUS! PAX AU TELEMANSUS! PAX AU TELEMANSUS!"
I would love to see your books as graphic novels .. I could see the vividness of a razor beinging drawn... Sevro's twisted unicorn pictures... Gravboots... Stained ... I re-read the books about 2 weeks ago.. I couldn't pass up conversations with the author and fellow fans though...
I once had a hatred for the ArchGovernor and Karnus.. But they are just blunt instruments.... Predictable .... It's the people that are "close" to Darrow that I ended up disliking most.. Betrayers ...
Thanks for every twisted turn.. For every raw emotion...
Pierce wrote: "Cole wrote: "Pierce wrote: "Cole wrote: "Whenever I get to certain parts where I know Darrow is making a bad decision I keep yelling (out loud in my room) "No don't do it it's a trap!!! Why Darrow ..."Ha HA! :Sevro cackle: That's flippin awesome. I've found the most talented authors are the ones with a real dark side. Maybe that's part of the reason why writers drink... That and the stress.
Towards the beginning of RR, before the plot really developed and before I got to know and love the characters, the thing that really drew me in was the rough, staccato sentence structure of the beginning. When I write, I put words on the page in the way I feel most sense at the time of writing, doing it instinctively rather than with any set writing style in mind. To do otherwise would feel difficult and awkward, even if the end result might be better. When you wrote RR and GS, did you have to focus on keeping your writing uniform, or were you able to focus on the world building and let the structure flow naturally?
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The how--I try to find the insecurities of each character before I discover their strengths. Our flaws mark us more deeply than do our triumphs.
Tactus was probably my favorite character to write, even more so than Sevro. He just breathed indolence and largesse. It was like writing for a very wicked, sleek township cat
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I have a question for you. Will Morning Star pick up immediately following where Golden Son ended ? Or will it be explained through flashbacks? I'm going crazy wa..."
It picks up one year later. You'll have to see how it's explained.
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Good memory! Haha. Requiem For Light. It was my first book---so pretentious and fun 800 pages of Knights riding through a medieval world called Aravel (ive got about 123 maps) on huge winged beasties.
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I would hazard to say it's because he was so long amongst the Golds that he was becoming a Gold. That's what book 2 is about.
Pierce wrote: "It picks up one year later. You'll have to see how it's explained. "Believe me, we are more than ready to see and to finally read Morning Star :)
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I re-read the books about 2 ..."
How true in real life as well
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I believe writers drink because they're trying to find some way to get out of their own heads, to let the words flow and feel confidence.
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Kinda variable. Certainly the staccato structure felt naturally how a 16 year old helldiver would think--all absolutes and declaratory. But as the series progresses, the writing style has morphed to reflect Darrow's exterior world. The style follows his mental evolution, and in book 3 you see a much more nuanced, fair, empathetic thought process----after all, what's the point in writing a character if he doesn't change. Part of the fun of a 1st person narrative is seeing first hand how your character changes.
Dear Pierce, I have always wanted to ask you about Darrow & Sevro. Was this duo inspired by Frodo & Sam from LOTR trilogy? Because Darrow and Sevro reminds me of Sam & Frodo and their super strong bookish friendship.
Wait a minute, you guys re-read Red Rising back in November and I had no idea???!!!!!! How did that happend?? You throw a party and you don't invite your friends :/
Pierce wrote: "Brady wrote: "Towards the beginning of RR, before the plot really developed and before I got to know and love the characters, the thing that really drew me in was the rough, staccato sentence struc..."To me, that's one the strenghts of your books, Pierce, the characters evolve and adapt whith each turn of events. That's rare ! I tried to have my husband read RR and GS and he's like: "what? a teenage book ?" and I answered " read on, honey, he becomes a man"
The GOLDEN SON re-read will begin this MONDAY, 1/11 and will run through Friday, 2/5, right before MORNING STAR is available!
Similar to the RED RISING re-read, we will be covering 1 chapter per week, with full details on Monday.
More soon!
Del Rey & Pierce