"As the years passed, Donald, always aloof and taciturn, withdrew more and more to himself."

-Lord of Samarcand

Howard seemed to prefer writing perspective characters that acted rather than make their way via the spoken word. This is unusual for a writer outside the comic book market, to spend more ink describing the body language, eye expression and dynamic action of a character than on his dialogue.

tac·i·turn.

[ˈtasəˌtərn]

ADJECTIVE

1.(of a person) reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little.

synonyms: untalkative · uncommunicative · reticent · unforthcoming ·

quiet · secretive · tight-lipped · buttoned-up · close-mouthed · silent · mute · dumb · inarticulate · reserved · withdrawn

antonyms: talkative

ORIGIN

late 18th cent.: from Latin taciturnus, from tacitus (see tacit).

RELATED FORMS

taciturn (adjective)