One of the greatest selling points of novels, particularly those in the genre fields as opposed to literary works, is the power of atmosphere, which here means the quality to take readers into another world in an immersive and engaging fashion. Perhaps more notable in the world of fantasy, sci-fi and horror fiction at first, atmosphere is actually a quality that all good novels ought to possess, and it’s an important factor to consider when reviewing them. Let’s look at some crucial do’s and don’ts for this element:

1. The use of a multi-sensory approach.

When you encounter a place for the very first time, there are a series of sensory reactions which happen in the body all at once. If the place has a distinctive smell or taste in the air, this will kick in almost immediately, as will the first visual cues to the furnishings, moving objects and general colour palette of the scene. Clever writers can give these signals with nicely painted images and metaphors, but then expand further into elements such as temperature, small sound effects and the details which come into focus as you observe a place more and more. A bombardment of all this setting in one paragraph is not the best approach, but rather a picture that builds in layers in time with the scene unfolding.

2. The character situated in atmosphere.

Often overlooked but highly effective and visceral is the element of remembering that your character is interacting with this particular atmospheric space. Good writers will use the character’s physical reactions and narrated thoughts to enhance atmosphere, for example by having them rub at the gooseflesh on their arms when entering an eerie, abandoned cabin, or allowing them to smell the crackle of charcoal and feel the coarse but warm blankets at a family cookout. These little reminders help us to feel what the character is feeling, bringing us closer to both them and the scene itself.

3. Matching atmosphere to emotion.

A wonderful trick that authors can employ, and one that really sweeps us away as readers, is to work the atmospheric setting of the scene alongside the emotional state of the character. As a reviewer, comparing these scenes to the cinematic choices in movies can give you a good indication of whether they have been done well or not, for example the scene of a tempestuous sea with crashing waves as a character mourns for the loss of someone they loved, or the fresh blossoms in a historical garden when a character is about to meet their true love for the very first time. The best authors will give you atmospheric clues as to the plot and character moods which they are also creating.

Writing It Up:

When writing your reviews and talking about atmosphere, it’s good if you can use a few different adjectives to pinpoint exactly how the book made you feel in crucial scenes. Rather than explaining a ‘tense atmosphere’, you can comment on the use of description to indicate a character’s thumping heartbeat or heavy breathing, and how that made you feel the tension more effectively. For more obvious genres like horror, pinpointing and quoting some of your favourite uses of the senses, like touch or sound, could be a good way to express your admiration for author’s skills.

When you discover a book that doesn’t give you as much on the atmosphere front, try to constructively explain why you think that might be. It could be that the author hasn’t given enough of a visual description for you to imagine the kind of room in which a conversation takes place, or perhaps that, despite the sunny beach setting, your character doesn’t seem to engage with the heat or the feeling of sand between their toes. With these elements in mind, it should be easier to explain and review atmospheric choices in the books that you read from now on.