They must bring something to the table that contributes to the story as a whole, like a unique perspective or connection to the plot. But for that tactic to work, the extra characters have to be important. A larger cast can help alleviate this feeling of emptiness. This is understandable, as many fantasy worlds feel like they’re populated entirely by a tiny handful of main characters. My assumption is that Ahmed included these characters in an attempt to make the setting feel more alive. Then, presumably to rub salt in the wound, Dawoud and Litaz go out and recruit some of their friends to be side characters, taking up even more screen time. They have no special connection to either the supernatural or political conflict. Remember, this is also a major trait of Adoulla’s, one of the actual main characters. Otherwise, most of Litaz’s and Dawoud’s screen time is spent angsting about how they really need to leave the adventuring life and retire before old age claims them. If it were important, other side characters could have done the job just as well. Litaz briefly serves as a confidant for Zamia, but it’s not clear why Zamia needs that. Dawoud has a mild disagreement with Adoulla over politics, but Adoulla and Raseed were already having that argument with more passion. Neither Dawoud nor Litaz add much to the story as a whole. But it’s okay, Adoulla probably just needs their help for a scene or two and then they’ll be on their way… Oh, wait, no, they actually stick around for the entire book. Like Adoulla, they’re both getting too old for the adventuring life, and they have fairly similar outlooks on life, along with occult abilities. Plus, they look great together on the cover.īut as the story goes on, we meet two of Adoulla’s friends, Dawoud and Litaz. Their distinct personalities allow for strong contrast – so far so good. Finally, Zamia is an outsider with animalistic powers who just wants vengeance for her clan. Raseed is young swordsman with a strong sense of duty. Adoulla is an aging ghoul hunter with untold knowledge of the occult. Each of them brings a unique perspective to the story. Saladin Ahmed’s debut novel opens with three main characters, which is a reasonable number of main characters for a book of this length. When a storyteller gets a neat idea like this but there isn’t room for it in the story, the idea should be put aside for later use, not shoehorned in at the plot’s expense. That’s certainly novel, but it isn’t worth spending so much time away from the plot. They’re like a cross between an elephant and a motorcycle, and they use large seed pods as natural wheels to get around. The only reason to include this section seems to be that the aliens she meets are really cool. Mary isn’t even a particularly important character. Otherwise, Mary’s chapters are nothing but a distraction from the actual story, and they can be easily skipped over. This information could have easily been delivered elsewhere, since the same problem is happening in literally every world of the multiverse. The only relevant thing that happens is when Mary makes a special instrument * that lets her see the Dust draining out of the world, which will be a problem if it continues. So, what did Mary and her alien friends have to do with the plot? Nearly nothing. This goes on for quite some time before Lyra and Will finally show up to conclude the story. She’s there long enough to get absorbed into the aliens’ culture, weave baskets with them, and learn about their mortal enemies. Mary Malone can hang out with some weird aliens for a while. In the middle of this, the book pauses so that Dr. What’s at stake? Why, the very fate of the multiverse! As the armies of Heaven and Lord Asriel’s * Republic clash, our heroes Lyra and Will search for a way to stop the all-important Dust from flowing out of the world entirely. Let’s take a look at some of the worst offenders running free in the wild.Īs the third book in a trilogy, The Amber Spyglass is the capstone to an epic conflict. This distorts the story, taking the audience’s focus away from where it belongs and likely boring them to tears in the process. But sometimes a storyteller forgets these best practices and gets enamored of a side character, piling way too much attention on someone who isn’t actually that important. Whether a story has multiple protagonists or just one, they should receive the lion’s share of screen time and development.Īt least, that’s how it’s supposed to go. They have the most interesting problems, and the conflict’s outcome depends on their actions. The protagonist is a story’s most important character.
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