Discussion of Writing Style

Use this forum to discuss the July 2020 Book of the month, "Zona: The Forbidden Land" by Fred G. Baker.
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Brenda Creech
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Re: Discussion of Writing Style

Post by Brenda Creech »

I agree with everyone! The writing style is unique and increases the intrigue of the story.
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Post by kathy2705 »

I think the author is a bit intentional with the writing style, which makes the book even more interesting.
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Post by Nelson Reviews »

This book is well-written, I believe the author is a Pro in this sphere. He captured my Imaginations to its full extent. He vividly Lifted my thoughts in many plots of this novel.
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Post by Nkoo »

The writing style seemed elusive and could not be immediately identifiable. Fantasy, fiction, thriller, or any other made it more interesting.
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Post by Edwin Amah »

I agree with your description on the writing style. The author did a peculiar and unique job.
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Post by David_Kariuki »

kdhutchinson wrote:
> While reading this novel, I was quite taken by the writing style of the
> author. It seemed to me to not quite fit a usual "fantasy" style,
> but it also wasn't quite as alluring as a thriller or mystery.
>
> The closest thing I think I could compare it to, as strange as it sounds,
> is an Interactive Fiction game... one of those Text Adventures where you
> type the directions and the narration moves you through the game :lol2:.
> And I have to say, once I reached the realization that that is what it
> reminded me of, I loved it! I've never read a novel before that felt that
> way to me.
>
> I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on how they felt about the writing
> style, what they would compare it to, and if you think I'm crazy for my
> comparison! :techie-reference: :tiphat:
Well articulated. I especially enjoyed the mystery around it. The book is very uniquely written.
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Post by B00kN1nja »

kdhutchinson wrote:
> While reading this novel, I was quite taken by the writing style of the
> author. It seemed to me to not quite fit a usual "fantasy" style,
> but it also wasn't quite as alluring as a thriller or mystery.
>
> The closest thing I think I could compare it to, as strange as it sounds,
> is an Interactive Fiction game... one of those Text Adventures where you
> type the directions and the narration moves you through the game :lol2:.
> And I have to say, once I reached the realization that that is what it
> reminded me of, I loved it! I've never read a novel before that felt that
> way to me.
>
> I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on how they felt about the writing
> style, what they would compare it to, and if you think I'm crazy for my
> comparison!

I did appreciate the first-person perspective. I do not find it is particularly common in fantasy books, they tend towards the omniscient third person (which is generally my preferred actually). I find that often the 1st person books very easily be kind of awkward to read.

Baker’s choice of first person narration paired with his concise but effective descriptions did make for a very immersive book, as if you yourself were Grant. So, I think the comparison to an RPG is pretty accurate. There is an obvious level of separation between you and the character, yet a level of familiarity and immersion.

I think this style of lightly descriptive, narrative writing is most common in mystery novels (eg. Janet Evanovich novels, as leafs some of Jeffery Archers novels, a couple of the Jack Reacher books). I also recall it to be pretty prevalent in youth-fiction books I’ve read (eg. [i]The Hunger Games[/i], [i]Percy Jackson and the Olympians[/i]...). Classic books, such as [i]The Great Gatsby[/i] and [i]Catcher in the Rye[/i] (highly recommend this one if you also enjoyed some of the humanity in [i]Zona[/i]) often use a narrative style, but often I find them to be more descriptive or driven by dialogue.

If you wanted to try another narrative fantasy writer, maybe try Robin Hobb. I hear a lot of good things, and from what I know he writes exclusively first person. He more high-fantasy (elves and castles and dragons) though, so not quite the verging sci-fi/thriller that [i]Zona[/i] is.
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Post by readsbyarun »

I love the way the facts are described in the book. the writing style is very lucid.
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Post by Patrick Maina1 »

Quite a unique start.I like it.
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Post by Patrick Maina1 »

I always go for authors with a peculiar and signature style of writing.This one qualifies.
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Post by Ada Ling »

I think the author's writing style is very special. The author has strong background on the topics in the book. These set solid foundation for this book - an interesting read.
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Post by Beckygithui1994 »

This author's writing style is not easy to describe. It transverses several genres and in my opinion, that is what makes it unique and interesting.
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Post by Wesley Friday »

It is quite difficult to say what writing style it is but for a start it can be said to be the opposite of the chronological order of narration. Where the writer essentially creates a puzzle in the writing and by the end of the book you're supposed to logically figure out some important details. I'd probably say more like Christopher Nolan's style of writing his movie scripts.
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Post by Clorinda Donovan »

I do like and am used to straight forward writing, but the author made the strange writing style work.
One of my favourite author's writes stories with a mix of a comic book feel to them and I love the style. I cannot say the same about this writer's style.
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Post by Charity Damaris »

I agree with you. The author writing style makes it captivating and interesting to read.
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