pet peeves

[Chimeco]

I picked up a book by Peter Hamilton called Pandoras Star. I'm about a hundred pages into it and I'm finding it incredibly difficult to continue. The reason for this is that he isn't sticking to any one character. Every chapter introduces a new character, and follows that character around.

I skimmed ahead, which is a considerable break from my reading patterns. I found that he does go back and continue the story from the viewpoint of a certain few characters but this starts at around page 400 or so, then prevaricates for another 300 pages introducing new characters and then returns to a couple formerly introduced ones again.

I HATE when authors do this. I have to tell you that I'm one of those people that absolutely refuses to put a book down once I start it, and find about 99.9% of books that I read enjoyable in one way or another. But this is the One Thing that provokes enough irritation in me to set a book down unfinished, for the remainder of it's dusty days.

Does anyone else feel this way? I believe there should be some general rule of thumb, an Authors Caution that forewarns a serious author from ever doing this.

I read to immerse myself in the story. Not to marvel at an authors ability to create a new character every 30 pages. I have just enough time to start liking a character and then a new one gets introduced, and I have to re-associate myself with him or her each new time. It's maddening!!

May I have the patience to persevere. I'm done with my rant.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

It depends, really. I myself get fed up of this sort of head-hopping, but when it's an intrinsic part of the form of the novel - as in a David Mitchell book, or Jeff VanderMeer's Veniss Underground (which is just 3 POVs anyway) I don't mind. What I hate is constantly hurtling between the minds and thoughts of a cast of about eleventy-gazillion characters. Although I will tolerate this at times - like in Erikson's books, where the fascinating settings and incidents keep me hooked.

But I disagree that there's any sort of formal rule of thumb that a serious author should follow - each story finds the writers that suit it best, I suppose. Some people cannot stand fiction written in any form of present tense, while I find it rather engaging and refreshing.

 

[rune]

I actually found Erikson's jumping from character stories stopped me from continuing with his series. He had some great ideas but I got fed up of having to learn about new characters.

Why can't we grow attached to characters, why do authors feel the need to include so many

I tend to find my favourite authors don't load a lot of characters and their development into their stories.

 

[Rane Longfox]

As I suppose is to be expected, I hold a completely different opinion
I am also currently reading Pandora's Star, and I think he's introducing just the right number of characters. I love seing authors look at the same event from different viewpoints. And I've seen some books with a hell of a lot more characters than Pandora's Star. Try George RR Martin...


Why do you find this annoying? I think its quite a healthy practice. Seeing the entire story through the eyes of just one or two characters is something only a very small minority of authors can pull off effectively without it going stale towards the end...

 

[Fort]

Most of the time when someone introduces a new character with a chapter. I often feel a bit apprehensive because I'm whisked away somewhere else and I have to be reabilitated to see if this character should be liked, etc.
The only diffrence I will allow is with George R.R. Martin, because I find that often in his writings, he slides the person smoothly along into the world. (Plus he breaks your old reading habits down so much you're eating every word out of his hand.)

Thats right George R.R. Martin fan over here!

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

You and a whole clankety army.

My biggest pet peeve - I hate authors who, simply by virtue of writing in the fantasy genre, will not tell you ONE story in ONE book. Ever!!!! Even as a debut! Some authors I actually kinda like, such as Erikson, are guilty of this too, but really. It's the primary reason this boy will never be a hardcore fantasy fan. Not that it matters of course.

 

[rune]

I also stopped reading G R.R Martin because of the same reason. I loved his horror but his fantasy is just so widespread with the story I feel I should be taking notes to keep a track of all the storylines.

I'm not saying he's not a good writer, same with Erikson. They are very imagnative. But the scope, detail and amount of information put into their books (which happens when you have so many character storylines) is just too much for me to be able to enjoy.
I'm studying with the OU and that's enough hard work for me without having to work hard again at following a story

 

[Rane Longfox]

ooh, doing an OU degree? can be very hard work, my dad tried to do a spanish one a couple of years back in his spare time. couldn't cope with the workload...

 

[Chimeco]

caladanbrood
Allow me to give you an example of why this irks me: I am 200 some pages into the story now and I still don't know who the main character is.

I enjoy some sort of congruence in a story. Some consistancy as well. I'm not disputing whether his characters are interesting. In fact, I find them interesting. My problem is that there are too many of them. The difference between this and any story George RR Martin writes is that there is a continuing emotional investment. While his cast may be broad, it is not enormously so, so that you lose touch with the "feel" of the story.

I'm certainly not saying that others should feel the way I feel. You may (and do it seems) enjoy such a magnanimous cast. But it's certainly my biggest pet peeve.

 

[Rane Longfox]

I would certainly say that I've read all three books of aSoIaF and have no idea who the main character is... Same with Malazan. I wouldn't have really thought that the number of characters in Pandora's Star was so vast. I guess if you're only 200 pages in, you've only seen a lot of the characters once. They all do re-appear for later PoV sections, though he's just intruduced another new PoV at page 400ish

I suspect if he intruduces many more new ones at the stage I am at I would start to get a little annoyed. But introducing up to, what, 8 or 9 PoV characters in the first 300-odd pages is pretty healthy for the book, imho. Too few and it gets a bit stale. I would agree that too many more now would get excessive, but after the initial rush, there really aren't many new ones

 

[Chimeco]

I believe 8 or 9 point of views throughout a 1000 page novel is fine. 8 or 9 point of vews in the first 200 pages is excessive. And it's more like 12 right now. I just flipped to the next chapter and another new character is waiting to be introduced.

Sry to be so picky by the way. I'm fustrated with this book but I'll keep delving if what you say is true and the introductions peter out.

 

[Neon]

LoL Chimeco. Sounds like you should just put this book down and start a different one. No point in letting something like this frustrate you when there are hundreds of other great ones out there.

 

[rune]

LoL Chimeco. Sounds like you should just put this book down and start a different one. No point in letting something like this frustrate you when there are hundreds of other great ones out there.

I agree with this thought. I dont waste time on books I can't get into or find difficult to get into. There are so many books I do want to read and so many authors I've yet to try and that life is too short to waste it

 

[Brian G Turner]

I picked up a book by Peter Hamilton called Pandoras Star. I'm about a hundred pages into it and I'm finding it incredibly difficult to continue. The reason for this is that he isn't sticking to any one character. Every chapter introduces a new character, and follows that character around.

Heh heh heh

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