Lo, Howlers!
Pierce Brown, author of the Red Rising series, took the main stage at Dragonsteel Nexus this morning with Maude Garrett of Maude’s Book Club. After twelve years of Darrow and the Howlers, now he’s writing the conclusion to his story of revolution and rebellion, Red God. When Maude asked about when he expects that book to be finished, Pierce responded “I will write it until I love it.”
The gathering of Howlers in the convention center roared with excitement as the hall darkened and projector screens flared to life to bring us a sneak preview at Pierce’s next pet project: a Red Rising Collectors' Edition. With new art and beautiful covers, fans of Red Rising will want to get a jump on this limited print run when they can. You can join Pierce’s mailing list at www.redrising.com, and see news about these books before their official presale window in March.
Per Aspera Ad Trauma
The rest of the panel was a blend of friendly banter and writing advice, as Maude prodded Pierce for details about Red God and fans asked about his infamous Hat of Death. For the uninitiated, Pierce’s books revolve around war and death, and when he needs a character death to push the story’s momentum, if he doesn’t have a clear plan already he will put the character’s names into a hat and draw from it to see who lives and who dies. For Pierce, it's a way to divorce the decision to kill a character from his attachment to them. For fans, it is a sadistic game that leaves even their most beloved characters balanced on a knife’s edge.
Pierce celebrates his fans’ love for the characters he’s written, and doubly so their reactions to the end of a character’s story. During the presentation, he wore a hoodie with the words “Per aspera ad trauma,” a bastardized quote from Red Rising: through hardship to trauma. (Characters in his books often quote “Per Aspera Ad Astra,” or through hardship to the stars) The back of the sweatshirt was a grisly chart of locations and page references: each one corresponding to a gruesome demise, deaths that Pierce celebrates with a smile.
Other topics of conversation included books that inspired Pierce. Shadows of the Empire, a 1996 exploration of what happened between The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi, showed him that there are stories to be told in the margins of other sweeping epics. This flexibility helped inspire The Book of Lorn, a hybrid prose/graphic novel that has been releasing pages at a time on his Patreon. This story explored Darrow’s time training under Lorn, and gives history and context to the many teachings shared between the characters at the Institute.
The wait for Red God isn’t over, and between convention showings and arcade meet ups, Pierce has the conclusion at the front of his mind. In the meanwhile, Howlers can sate their literary appetites on gorgeous new editions and stories told in the margins of the Rim.
https://www.dragonsteelbooks.com
Comments (5)
Tell me that hoodie is going on sale soon
@Stella brutal indeed. We’ll see who makes it to the end of Red God. Pierce threatened us with two hat pulls in one book ☠️
The Hat of Death!! Brutal.
@Tyson, self aware and with great sense of what the people want; I would have bought that hoodie right off Pierce’s back.
Per Áspera Ad Trauma is actually insane, glad he’s so self aware 😂