Today I’m honored to have Jeremy Szal here to talk about a SF series that he loved. I’m a fan of Jeremy’s work — I’ve sometimes described his book STORMBLOOD as similar to PLANETSIDE, but darker and with cooler tech. Here’s a bit about it:

Vakov Fukasawa used to be a Reaper: a bio-enhanced soldier fighting for the Harmony, against a brutal invading empire. He’s still fighting now, on a different battlefield: taking on stormtech. To make him a perfect soldier, Harmony injected him with the DNA of an extinct alien race, altering his body chemistry and leaving him permanently addicted to adrenaline and aggression. But although they meant to create soldiers, at the same time Harmony created a new drug market that has millions hopelessly addicted to their own body chemistry.

Vakov may have walked away from Harmony, but they still know where to find him, and his former Reaper colleagues are being murdered by someone, or something – and Vakov is appalled to learn his estranged brother is involved. Suddenly it’s an investigation he can’t turn down . . . but the closer he comes to the truth, the more addicted to stormtech he becomes.

And it’s possible the war isn’t over, after all . . .

When Jeremy said he wanted to talk about RED RISING by Pierce Brown, I knew I had to have him on. I loved the series, and the beginning of that first book is something I show writers as an example of how you can start a book well before the inciting even if you have a cool enough situation (which it does).

Here’s Jeremy.

I don’t know if I can truly express what the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown means to me. Any attempt to do my feelings justice are going to feel inadequate.

But I’m going to attempt it anyway.

The Red Rising series feels like it was written just for me. It’s got sweeping, intricate world-building. It’s crammed with frenetic, mind-blasting action sequences that are insanely fun to read. It’s layered with a multitude of plot twists and unexpected turns and betrayals and moments that turn your spine to ice, and moments that warm your heart. Sometimes at once. It’s dark. It’s brutal. It’s unforgiving towards the characters. But it’s never without hope.

But it’s the journey of the characters, and their emotional narrative arc, that’s the highlight for me. These books fundamentally altered the way I read, and what I read for. And that is primarily the characters.

It’s impossible not to be utterly spellbound by Darrow as he goes undercover among an empire of terrible, but empathetic people, trying to tear their oppressive system down, free his people and fulfil his wife’s dying wishes. His doubts, his anguish, his ambitions, his rage, his fierceness, his love, and his darkness are all laid bare on the page like open, throbbing wounds. Those messy, unapologetic thoughts that we all have, the ones that make us human and raw and real, are delivered in spades. The writing and emotional layering is so tight and visceral that I almost feel my consciousness merging with Darrow as he rages, fights, schemes, conquers, and falls.

Seeing these characters evolve and change as their relationships develop and sour isn’t just satisfying, it’s heart-wrenching. Gutting. Those moments of betrayal aren’t just a good plot twist; they’re a knife in the gut.

I cared about these messy, broken, confused characters so much as if they were real people. Their moments of heightened emotion, their moments of anguish and loss and rage, were all echoed inside me as I was reading. There’s one scene towards the end of Book 3 that always has me in tears, no matter how many times I read it.

And I don’t cry over books. Ever.

Except for here.

Enough said.

A few chapters into Golden Son there’s a body count of almost one thousand. And that’s before the true events of the book start.

There’s a brutality, to Brown’s savage little world that I adore. For me, I want my worlds to be dark and savage and in your face. I want to feel the real fear, the intensity. The rawness. Don’t tickle me with a few vague threats. Punch me in the chest. Take my arm and break it in half. Kick my teeth down my throat. Dump gasoline on my face, strike a match and dare me to dare you to drop it.

That’s these books.

But it works. When these things befall the main characters, there’s a tangible, very real sense of threat. These people that you’ve come to love and admire and empathise with are facing some very real peril, and we as readers get a front-row seat to having our sense of trust and sanctity violated. That can’t possibly be happening. Not to the main character. Not at a time like this. Not in this way. He wouldn’t dare.

But he would dare.

And it feels like we’re personally being punished, too.

Which is exactly what I love about these books.

But it’s a credit to Brown’s prose that the book never sinks to pitch-black hopelessness or bleakness. There’s always hope on the horizon. Those setbacks can have a sliver lining. There’s always a reason to keep fighting. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, if you can reach it. No matter how dark and savage the journey, there’ll be friends to brave the dangers beside you. Always.

And ever since then, I’ve always strived to achieve the same level of heightened emotion in my own writing. To have those moments of bleakness and darkness mixed with hope and empathy. To show the character’s inner emotions, all the raw wounds and scars and traumas, and lay them bare, in a hope they can be patched up again.

Suffice to say, I owe Pierce Brown and the Red Rising books. I owe them a great deal.

But don’t take my word for it. Dive in and treat yourself to my favourite science-fiction series of all time.

Thanks Jeremy. You can also check out the second book in his series. Here’s a bit more about him:

Jeremy Szal was born in 1995 and was raised by wild dingoes, which should explain a lot. He spent his childhood exploring beaches, bookstores, and the limits of people’s patience. He’s the author of the Common trilogy from Gollancz, which includes STORMBLOOD, BLINDSPACE, and WOLFSKIN, about a drug harvested from alien DNA that makes users permanently addicted to adrenaline and aggression. He’s the author of over fifty science-fiction short stories, translated into six languages. He was the editor for the Hugo-winning StarShipSofa until 2020 and has a BA in Film Studies and Creative Writing from UNSW. He carves out a living in Sydney, Australia with his family. He loves watching weird movies, collecting boutique gins, exploring cities, cold weather, and dark humour. Find him at http://jeremyszal.com/ or @JeremySzal on twitter.