The SA has too many "main characters"

[Torol Sadeas]

Probably not the first one to make a thread like this, but in my opinion it would be a lot better to just keep Dalinar, Kaladin and maybe Shallan as the main characters for the entire series. Instead of having 10 different ones. The biggest reason why I fell in love with the series was not the worldbuilding (though for some reason I find the Heralds very intriguing) but the way these amazing character handled increasingly tough situations. I loved the way Kaladin gained the loyalty of Bridge Four and led them out of slavery. And I loved the way Dalinar did his best to understand his visions and live his idealism while having to deal with the disgusting Alethi elite. (also being quite bad at politics) I loved everything having to do with Adolin, especially when he starts detesting said Alethi elite more and more throughout the first two books. Even Shallan is a character I care about. ( particularly during/after Words of Radiance, where her chapters were pretty good) 

I just don't see why they should play a less important role in the last five books. These guys are awesome and I want to see them win. I do trust Sanderson, but in my opinion Rhythm of War and even Oathbringer already suffered from Dalinar (in RoW) and Kaladin (in Oathbringer) taking a backseat. The main characters were what hooked me to the series in WoK, them becoming less important takes away a large part of what makes the SA great. Characters like Jasnah just aren't on the same level yet. Furthermore, the story and world is complex enough as it is, having so many different PoVs only makes the plot less stringent. 

I am very curious whether other readers share my concerns  

[IcaroRibeiro]

Can't relate 

 

The problem  lies in the fact a Radiant journey is about struggles and growth. If you have those characters going for another 5 books of struggles this will be such a drag... I just can't imagine it working in the back 5

They can still be POV characters, but other characters needs to surpass their own struggles and grown to keep in the center stage. I'm truly excited to read about MORE important characters coming for part 2, characters we might not even seen yet 

Edited April 8, 2022 by IcaroRibeiro

[Anomander Rake]

I certainly felt a bit of that at the start of Way of Kings - I'm sure I'm not the only one that wanted as many Kal PoV chapters as I could get - but once the world and story was established and I had my foothold I found I enjoy all the PoV's.  Kal is still King, ofc, but I'm not bummed when I turn to a new chapter and he isn't the focus.

16 minutes ago, IcaroRibeiro said:

I just can't imagine it working for another 5 books

Very valid point.  I've gotta believe Kal and some others are hitting the 5th Ideal in SA5, meaning the back 5 hes already a max level radiant, on top of what is likely to be a lot of plot threads wrapping together - Kal has been said to have "turned a corner" with his mental health and seems to be on a path to what he wants to do with his life, Shallan is confronting her past and identity, so on and so on - no more (or at least, far less) juicy progress for them!  Lift, Jasnah, and all the storming Heralds are all comparatively closed books, once that I'm absolutely curious to get into

Edited April 8, 2022 by Anomander Rake
tense

[Returned]

I don't mind the large cast of main characters in general. I think that they have interesting stories, and as long as they have enough screen time for them to develop I'm ok, even if I don't like all characters an equal amount. It's reasonable that not every major plot event or worldbuilding detail needs to happen around the same 3-5 people. I like it less when characters get reduced to something instantly recognizable but shallow, just to have them on-screen and showing their characteristics. My main example of this is Lift, whom I like a lot as a character, but if all she does is hear some exposition and say something about eating others' dinner she's not really there as a character at all, just a prop. These don't seem to have come up all that much so far though, at least in my estimation.

Where it's more of an issue for me is big, flashy sequences where a lot of the characters participate at once. It's always going to be hard to do because it makes the sequences more complicated and slower to play out since you need so many different perspectives. But the issue is that every character needs to get their due, which can tip things towards the overdramatic and written with a heavier hand; every character needs to get a moment to strike a cool pose, say some cool lines, and do some flashy, cool thing. I'm totally onboard for that generally, but when it happens 6-8 times within the same sequence the pacing slows to a crawl and each character's own moment feels a bit less special. The battle at Thaylenah in Oathbringer is so far the biggest example of this in the books, and RoW managed to shy away from it by splitting the characters (and the events they dealt with) up into totally separate pieces.

[Frustration]

I think that the plot has gotten too attatched to Dalinar Kaladin and Shallan that it's starting to choke out others who should be given focus.

Venli is largly overlooked in her own book, Kaladin and Navani got slotted in instead. We've barely spent any time with Szeth and Book 5 is for him.

Imagine an alternate RoW where Kaladin is entirely without powers and has to help Venli repell the invasion without comprimising her position. But we couldn't have that because Kaladin is hogging the spotlight.

1 hour ago, Torol Sadeas said:

I just don't see why they should play a less important role in the last five books. These guys are awesome and I want to see them win. I do trust Sanderson, but in my opinion Rhythm of War and even Oathbringer already suffered from Dalinar (in RoW) and Kaladin (in Oathbringer) taking a backseat. The main characters were what hooked me to the series in WoK, them becoming less important takes away a large part of what makes the SA great. Characters like Jasnah just aren't on the same level yet. Furthermore, the story and world is complex enough as it is, having so many different PoVs only makes the plot less stringent. 

Books 6-10 can in many ways be considered a sequel series, so I think them taking a back seat would be a good thing.

[King-A-Train]

1 hour ago, Frustration said:

Venli is largly overlooked in her own book, Kaladin and Navani got slotted in instead. We've barely spent any time with Szeth and Book 5 is for him.

Imagine an alternate RoW where Kaladin is entirely without powers and has to help Venli repell the invasion without comprimising her position. But we couldn't have that because Kaladin is hogging the spotlight.

I wish that Venli had had more involvement in the Urithiru plot, the Willshaper book did not flesh out the character enough for me. I am sure that Brandon will develop the Listeners more.

Regarding the back five, adding in characters we don’t know as well, in different orders and who may be earlier in their Oaths will help freshen the series and give even more perspectives.

Although Jasnah is a different take as she is already at least the fourth ideal, and the Heralds will add a great deal of history, but them presumably becoming radiants will be interesting versus their previous powers, especially Ash, as she is presumably gaining powers from a different order than she was granted by her blade.

And who knows what Dalinar and Kaladin’s fate will be at the end of stormlight 5. They could be ascended or dead or anything in between. They may not be there at all, although I hope they are.

Edited April 8, 2022 by King-A-Train

[Jerfier]

I agree with your every word.

[Lego Mistborn]

17 hours ago, King-A-Train said:

the Heralds will add a great deal of history, but them presumably becoming radiants will be interesting versus their previous powers, especially Ash, as she is presumably gaining powers from a different order than she was granted by her blade.

 

[Isilel]

On 8.4.2022 at 8:20 PM, Torol Sadeas said:

 The main characters were what hooked me to the series in WoK, them becoming less important takes away a large part of what makes the SA great. Characters like Jasnah just aren't on the same level yet. Furthermore, the story and world is complex enough as it is, having so many different PoVs only makes the plot less stringent.

 

IMHO, on the contrary, the narrative suffers somewhat due to Kaladin hogging the limelight and continuously saving the day. I like him well enough, but I really would have preferred a more equal 5-6 PoV ensemble cast. In such an epic tale it feels very contrived when a single character or a couple of them are present and essential for every important event. IMHO, after him having the lion's share of "his" book WoK and an equal part of supposedly "Shallan's" book WoR, the space he had in OB would have been perfect for the remainder of arc 1. But then, Jasnah instantly became my favorite in book 1, despite her limited space on page, and I don't really like how much we saw the singers through human PoVs, with their own ones being relegated to an after-thought. Now Kaladin is set up to take over much of Szeth's plot in the book 5 too... I really, really hope that he finally takes a backseat in the second arc and doesn't stifle the projected PoVs for it to the same extent.

I am not worried about Dalinar and Shallan - Sanderson has no problems dialling them back when appropriate and I think it likely that either or both of them may actually die at the conclusion of arc 1. But it looks like he just can't help himself re: Kaladin. Here is to hoping that he ascends to a Shard or something, so that he can't get plugged everywhere again to the detriment of the new main characters of arc 2...    

[+robardin]

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