Well, I didn’t say anything in the last post about analyzing everyone’s favorite Austrian space pilot, but considering it’s the month of August it seemed only appropriate!

Grace brought it up to me that how could we miss an opportunity to write continue the series with a breakdown of the beautiful character that is August.

And since I would write Firmament fan-fiction for a full time job if I could, I had no opposition.

If you don’t know why you should be in love with Firmament”s young heroine Andi Lloyd, or her father Doctor Lloyd, not to mention the cocky pilot Eagle Crash, then you can go back and read my breakdown of them.

And without further ado, I give you the calm, gentle, fangirl favorite: August Howitz.

Character Type

With August, you have to start with his gentleness. While it can sometimes come off as wimpy or timid, August’s calm, unassuming attitude is very helpful in any dangerous situation, keeping his head and not stirring up arguments unless absolutely necessary.

He’s the kind of guy more likely to sit by and be insulted for hours then insult the speaker back, but if someone was insulting or hurting Andi, he’d step in maybe even fight back if it were needed to save her.

He doesn’t like the spotlight, but values performing well and doing his duty over getting attention or recognition.

He’s very sympathetic and kind, reaching out to people when he notices they’re hurting if he thinks there’s anything he can do.

Relationships

(WARNING: SPOILERS TO BOOK #1)

His relationship to the Lloyd family is a bit complicated, considering he’s Andi’s biological brother but the two were parted as very young kids and didn’t meet again until they were adults. While she didn’t remember her family, he’s always remembered her. She was adopted by the Doctor as a baby, while August was raised by their cold, hardened biological father.

As soon as he realized who Andi was, he felt a connection and a closeness to the sister he’d lost and she was quick to reciprocate the affection. They maintain a trusted confidence and warmth throughout the series that’s really very beautiful.

To others, he’s usually slow to warm up to people, keeping things polite but professional unless there’s a reason to be extra encouraging.

He’s not a big talker, preferring to keep to himself unless someone needs to know something he knows–or if talking is the polite thing to do.

I expect his father’s lack of attention and affection contributed to August’s lack of self-confidence and his methodical, accurate work. Andi seems to bring him out of his shell bit by bit, as her habit of believing in everyone around her ignites trust and confidence in his attitude around her.

Andi and The Doctor were also the ones who reintroduced August to Christianity, which he eventually accepts when he sees it playing out in their lives in a way he”s never seen before.

Habits and Quirks

You’ve got to love August’s hesitation and even occasional stutter. (The exact opposite of Crash’s reaction to a poor father-son relationship, I might add.)

While you root for August to grow more and more confident, his careful gentleness and uncertainty are certainly endearing. It’s clear that doing what is right and expected is so important to him. He rarely seems to think of himself in any situation preferring to see what the people around him need as a sense of duty and instinct.

Character Arc

As mentioned before, his quiet, shy attitude seems to be warming into a quite confidence and even sometimes a challenging playfulness.

It’s pretty clear that belonging to a loving family, especially Andi, is helping him feel more comfortable sharing his thoughts and bringing up his ideas without fear.

I’m frankly enjoying seeing the subtlety of his growth from timid to quietly confident very much, and can’t wait to see him come into his own even further in future books!

Thank you ever so much for reading! This has been A Firmament Fan’s Look at August Howitz! Thank you for visiting Grace’s site! From what you know about the characters, would you say August or Crash is your favorite?

Thank you again for reading and have an epic day



Hope Pennington is a homeschooled manga artist and sci-fi fan who blogs at TheEpicPlace.com, and the author of the soon-to-be-released YA novel Fairytale. In her spare time she enjoys coffee, YouTube, and making new friends ^_^