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Brizoot t1_ix1du3g wrote

Reply to comment by throwawaffleaway in How many different perspectives is too many? by throwawaffleaway

It's my favourite fantasy series so it certainly works for me. Fewer perspectives would absolutely have diminished the series as there are multiple plot threads and characters that don't even appear in the same books until toward the end. Many characters enter the series half way through their own arcs or stories and one important character is only now having their story completed in a separate book series.

As for your chicken and egg story I think if you don't find the central story interesting then extra POVs won't make it any better. I've been reading big fantasy and sci-fi since I was a kid so jumping POV is something I expect and am totally comfortable with and the book in the OP actually sounds pretty interesting to me.

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throwawaffleaway OP t1_ix1eox6 wrote

Oh, look into it if you like, but it’s not fantasy. It’s a “portrait of a marriage”, more like a portrait of everyone and their third cousin lol.

Yeah, I feel like multiple POV is standard in epics for a reason, and lots of fantasy/sci-fi have complex worlds that need to be explained to the reader. Providing multiple POV probably helps grasp that better, with everyone taking part in some event and the setting being perceived according to that event and the characters role.

I’m thinking for literary fiction, such as this, it’s not working very well depending on how long the masthead is and how relevant each person actually is to the story.

Thanks for getting in the weeds with me!

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Brizoot t1_ix1js3e wrote

I think I'd find a portrait of a marriage to be pretty boring if I only got the couple's POV. Especially as ugly marriages don't always seem ugly from the inside and vice versa.

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