You know how some books center around a set of multiple main characters and spend time in each of their heads? Some books alternate between two main characters, while others have three or more voices. Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s Aurora Rising has seven main characters, and somehow, they manage to pull off enough variety in each character voice so that the reader can easily distinguish between who is narrating at the time.
So let’s dive in and analyze how exactly they do this.
AURORA RISING — Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
From the internationally bestselling authors of THE ILLUMINAE FILES comes an epic new science fiction adventure.
The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…
A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering
And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.
They’re not the heroes we deserve. They’re just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.
Vocabulary
The first thing I noticed was that many of the characters had a unique set of vocabulary that belonged to them, and only them. This is often easily seen in swearing. For example, Auri cusses using tame phrases (e.g. “mothercustard”, “son of a biscuit”), while Cat isn’t afraid to outright swear. Not only does this draw a contrast between them, but it also highlights the uneasy tension between the two characters.
When characters from different cultures are added into the mix, this can also expand the differences between each of them. For instance, Kal will often mix in Syldrathi words and/or phrases in his thoughts and dialogue.
Another way to add to a character’s specific set of vocab is if they have a religion. Ty often refers to the Maker and the United Faith when narrating, and this again adds to the depth of his character. He’s a very optimistic, “have faith”, hero-type character, so his diction accurately reflects his character.
Finally, the use of nicknames and/or names can vary among characters. Scar fondly refers to Ty as “Bee-bro”, while Kal generally refers to each person in Squad 312 by their full name — e.g. “Tyler Jones”, “Scarlett Jones”, “Zila Madran”. Because of Kal’s resemblance to an elf, Auri occasionally refers to him as “Legolas”, while the others nickname him “pixieboy”.
Focus
In addition to a character’s diction, it’s often easy to tell which character is narrating by noticing what they tend to focus on. This links directly to each character’s goals or motivations. When Kal is narrating, for example, he’s often thinking about how much he stands out from both the humans and his own people, the Syldrathi. In his point of view, he is also able to offer the reader pieces of information about his culture and people. This is similar to Fin, who often mixes in bits of Betraskan culture into his narration.
Another aspect of Fin’s narration is his awareness of his disability and his wanting to hide it (linked to his fear of showing weakness to others). As the book progresses and Squad 312 hops from place to place with barely any breaks, Fin begins to reach his limitations and his thoughts return to how much trouble he’s getting into — “it’s hard to move, harder to walk, and my suit’s flashing warning signals at me that I silence with the press of a couple of buttons” (p.395).
Finally, you have Cat, who is almost always aware of Ty’s actions. While she does have an enormous crush on him, however, it’s not always Tyler in her head. She often makes references to her love of flying or spends time briefly going over memories of her late mother.
Stylistic choices
This is a more subtle way to differentiate between characters, but it is an effective one. For example, Kal and Zila don’t often use contractions (note: Zila was kind of brushed over in this book, but I hear she gets more development in the sequel). While Fin and Auri are comfortable with contractions (“it’s”, “I’m”, “they’re”), Kal and Zila prefer to use the full versions of the phrases (“it is”, “I am”, “they are”). In contrast to Kal, however, Zila does use contractions within her narration, only slightly less than the other members of the crew. On the other hand, when talking to others, she generally uses a formal register. These stylistic differences could then perhaps reflect Zila’s deliberate choice to distance herself from the group or Kal’s formality.
Characterization
I’ve already briefly referred to how a character’s narration is linked to their personality and motivations, however, added details can help to make each voice more distinct. While Fin is constantly cracking jokes no matter whose point of view it is, it is only when he is narrating when we see that he often wields humor as a defense.
Additionally, Scar, when looking back into her past, may briefly refer her various exes: “Marc de Vries. Ex-boyfriend #29. Pros: built like a brick wall. Cons: brains like a brick wall” (p.166). Plus, because of her caring nature, she’s also likely to be the first to notice if someone is having trouble with anything — “and as [Tyler] walks past me for the seven hundredth time, I notice a small scuff mark on his normally immaculate boots” (p.36).
Overall, a character’s personality, motivations, and interests will carry over to their voice. Use this to your advantage when dealing with multiple points of view 😉
That’s all for now!
What are your thoughts on books with multiple POVs? What other ways can you use to differentiate between character voices? Have you read Aurora Rising?
Let me know in the comments down below!
