Sometimes enough is enough. I think to myself, ok random author, do you really need to add another character?!
I know I can’t be the only one out there who thinks there are sometimes one character too many or one created for convenience. One need to simply look at any mystery spoof and see the case of the character you never met before committing all of the murders. While this may be a style, I find the abundant character motif to be a growing trend, especially in fantasy.
I like ensemble casts like the next person. Many a book turned tv show/movie has kept their fanbase because they focused on the characters at large rather than just one. I love this!
But here’s what I don’t love. Every new page, every new chapter comes with at least one new character, making the cast list well over 100 by half way through the book and the main characters around the two dozen mark. Half the time they have similar names, as if even the author couldn’t come up with more material and the characters all started to blur together. Worse yet than the confusion, occasionally writers choose this add another character method to make each one simple and one dimensional.
Why??!!
There’s no need for it. Is it simply the lack of an editor to guide the process and give advice or is it a conscious decision. I remember I got so jumbled in one book that I was convinced it was a test of wills to see if you remembered who was who by the end.
What do you think dear LE readers?
Ahhh, this is one of the reasons why I couldn’t get through A Game of Thrones! I think I have an easier time remembering multiple characters in TV/movies, but when it comes to books, I tend to over-analyze about the reasons why certain characters have been included, or what their role is in the grand scheme of things…