[MattK3]

All the captains or officers in different places... Or "Seren Pedac", which I swear is two different persons in different places, anyway. (One is a rational scholar, one is a witch - one left the city, one stayed! Okay, probably not - but there are more.) But that still leaves two to three more exact carbon copies! Those military commanders/officers, one of which is called Yan Tovis, and the other - who gives a crap: it's one of these "Atri-Predas" (that insufferable title, among others). Edit: she's called Bivatt. And there's the other: actually one of three Seren Pedacs (if we add onto the previous logic), the one who is with Udinaas and Silchas Ruin.

They are all the same person, without exaggeration (same character, thoughts, also mostly function), and this is both tiring and frankly a bit pathetic, from a writing perspective. What do you think?

This post has been edited by MattK3: 28 April 2019 - 01:53 AM

[Abyss]

I think you’re wrong.

[Abyss]

...because Shurq Ellale. Crazy undead pirate sex fiend.
Because Janath. Tortured scholar.
Because Feather Witch, mentally unbalanced former slave turned godbinder.

...because Trull’s mom Uruth, soulbinding scientist Samar Dev, Adjunct Tavore, ex Stormwall soldier Faradan Sort, Lostara Yil agent of Shadow, heavy infantry Uru Hela, ...FFS HELLIAN.

I’ll grant you Bivatt isn’t much developed and could easily be confused with many other female military characters, but Yan Tovis leading the Shake and prisoners isn’t even close.

All the same? ...No.

[Puck]

You know, if you approach the book with an "who gives a crap"-attitude, I am absolutely not surprised you miss half the characterization. I'll give it to you that BIvatt is a bit bland, but not being ablte to tell Seren Pedac and Samar Dev apart, who have vastly different personalities, is a true feat of not reading what the text says.

[Gorefest]

How did you even make it to book 7? All your posts are telling us how poorly written this series is. Why torture yourself so much?

[Aptorian]

If he's like me, he probably just doesn't like quitting a series before it's finished.

[Adhara]

But don't be so hard on the Original Poster! I think he (or she)has a point.At least when I was at MoI I had the impresión that all the female characters but Tattersail were the same. Oh, and there was Envy, of course, who looked so out of place that I was under the impression of I was reading Arthurian lore in the middle of a modern warfare story. This is not a criticism to Erikson,but to myself:you need to read and reread him to catch how much a good writer of characters he is. But there is a hint of true in OP's statement: some female marines are too similar, but I wonder If it is not true about the males. After all, this is a series with loads and loads of characters.

[Puck]

Honestly, my issue is less with their point as it is with their attitude.

[Abyss]

I can almost agree with the point regarding some Malaz and Letherii soldiers, and some Edur as well, but the OP exaggerated the point to encompass “nearly all” and then characterized it as ‘tiring’ and ‘pathetic’. That’s just ignoring the majority of female characters actually in the book, who aren’t marines. I don’t generally argue w opinions, but this is factually wrong.

[Not-So-Great-Raven]

I have to agree with the OP, at least partly. Don't get me wrong, Erikson is a great writer and his books are great (Im in Toll the Hounds atm). But there isn't a single writer who has makes no mistakes.

To me it seems Erikson didn't put much effort at all into writing the female characters in the books, rather he has a short checklist of what traits a female character should have. Or to put it in another way, he has a 50-year-old-guy-imagining-women way of thinking how female characters are.

PS. Sorry for resurrecting an old thread.

This post has been edited by Not-So-Great-Raven: 28 August 2020 - 08:10 AM

[Tsundoku]

Not-So-Great-Raven, on 28 August 2020 - 08:10 AM, said:

PS. Sorry for resurrecting an old thread.

Don't apologise if you have something to add. Besides, a one year and change necro is nothing. Get back to us when you resurrect a 10 year dead thread.

[Kanese S's]

Imagine thinking Hellian and Janath are indistinguishable.