Comments | onyxhawke: Ensemble casts.

onyxhawke

Ensemble casts.

Oct 07, 2007 23:05

I happen to like them. Sometimes. When done right they are able to give the reader a far more complete view of the universe the writer has taken them too than any single character could do. When done wrong, they are just as deplorable as single character narratives that fail to make the grade. Some of the best fiction SF/F has produced in the last ( Read more... )

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Comments 13

jleemoffatt October 8 2007, 03:33:46 UTC

Soon Obi Wan - soon - my rewrite is almost finished.

onyxhawke October 8 2007, 03:37:02 UTC

:-)

::cracks whip ::

melissajm October 8 2007, 03:41:45 UTC

:Counts up POV characters in current WIP:

Four...Hmm...

tcastleb October 8 2007, 04:32:23 UTC

Two ensembles I can think of at the moment--Sharon Shinn's MYSTIC AND RIDER (I think that's the title) has several different POV characters that get their own storylines. It's ensemble because it's a group of magic-users traveling together. Also, Sherwood Smith's INDA series has a bunch of POV's (actually, it's written in omniscient,) but everyone in there is exceedingly well-developed and has a complete storyline of their own.

Oh, and Melanie Rawn's DRAGON PRINCE series, which needs an appendix at the back of the book to help keep track of several dozen characters and their stories.

onyxhawke October 8 2007, 14:09:59 UTC

This is the umpteenth rec' for Inda. I'm starting to think their are subliminal messages hidden in the book. :-)

onyxhawke October 8 2007, 14:12:13 UTC

Oh yeah, i met Melanie Rawn at WFC in 06. Nice lady, and a fantastic disappearing act. We were in the same small overflow hotel, on the same floor, and i still only saw her once.

tinablack October 8 2007, 05:06:15 UTC

You *have* read _A Game of Thrones_, right?

onyxhawke October 8 2007, 14:10:39 UTC

Yes. Way back when it was an ARC.

djonn October 8 2007, 06:30:26 UTC

Not particularly recent, and middle grade/YA, but L. J. Smith's Night of the Solstice is an ensemble piece -- five kids of varying ages who carry the story collectively. And see also parts of the Madeleine L'Engle canon; while there's usually at least a nominal lead in most of her books, she was very good at writing large families and putting the entire family onstage throughout the story.

In terms of "grownup" books nearer the center of the genrescape (is that a word?), there's S. M. Stirling's Nantucketer trilogy, starting with Island in the Sea of Time; the related "Change" books beginning with Dies the Fire are also ensemble pieces, but not quite to the same degree.

The other series I'd recommend looking at is that beginning with Windmaster's Bane by Tom Deitz, and running to nine volumes -- happily, the first book at least appears to be back in print via small press; I just found the new edition in my local library this past week. While Deitz labels the cycle "the tales of David Sullivan", there is a large cast that functions ( ... )

jennythe_reader October 8 2007, 19:29:16 UTC

Harry Turtledove is good at the ensemble thing.