Too Many Conflicts?

Use this forum to discuss the September Book of the Month "Apollo's Raven" by Linnea Tanner.
jahagen
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Re: Too Many Conflicts?

Post by jahagen »

I think that multiple conflicts within a story help add depth to both the narrative and to the characters, especially when a character is struggling with multiple things at one time. It helps the reader determine how this character deals with and handles stressful and intense situations, and in so doing, develops this character. I don't think this story had too many conflicts, but I don't necessarily think they all developed properly, as usually the reader can tell which conflict is the main issue to be dealt with even though the others are just as important. It makes it a bit difficult to determine what exactly the purpose of the book is when so much is happening without being properly balanced.
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Post by KMSingh »

CommMayo wrote: 20 Sep 2018, 20:18
KMSingh wrote: 16 Sep 2018, 21:51 I think there was a good mix of subplots that supported the main plot and gave it complexity. That being said, I think the motives of a couple of the characters could have been a little clearer, especially Rhiannon and Trystan. Their relationship was pretty clear, but sometimes the motives got a bit muddled.
I mostly agree with you on this. Do you think the subplot of her sister, Vala, was dropped on purpose so she could have a larger role in a future book? Or do you think she was treated as a minor character who was just taking out of the way when she was sent with the Roman soldiers?
It's hard to say what she intends with Vala. I had a similar problem with the character of King Camren. He just disappeared for the bulk of the book and reappeared at the end. Maybe she didn't think she had the space to develop the characters fully. I think she did have the space and a lot of repetition should have been cut and the narrative refined. I gave the book 4 out of 4 simply because the metrics and guidelines don't allow for a half score, but I thought it was far from perfect. I also gave the writer the benefit of the doubt on some of it because it's not really my genre. (I expected history and no fantasy.) I appreciate your comments because they make me stop and examine my assumptions. You notice things that zoomed under my radar.
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Post by Sympathyodeh »

Yes! I think the conflicts add more improvement to the book, it's make the readers to have a luxury time while reading the novel.
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Post by CommMayo »

KMSingh wrote: 21 Sep 2018, 00:28 It's hard to say what she intends with Vala. I had a similar problem with the character of King Camren. He just disappeared for the bulk of the book and reappeared at the end. Maybe she didn't think she had the space to develop the characters fully. I think she did have the space and a lot of repetition should have been cut and the narrative refined. I gave the book 4 out of 4 simply because the metrics and guidelines don't allow for a half score, but I thought it was far from perfect. I also gave the writer the benefit of the doubt on some of it because it's not really my genre. (I expected history and no fantasy.) I appreciate your comments because they make me stop and examine my assumptions. You notice things that zoomed under my radar.
I agree with you about the level of repetition. I got to the point where I just wanted the book to end. I even had to take a break and move on to something else for a little while. I'm also at a disadvantage because I had the audiobook version to review. I think that might have a bit of an impact on my feelings for the book and characters. The narration was pretty awful.

The fun part about reading a book in such a large group format is the multitude of opinions that crop up; however, I feel like the lone detractor on most of these forums!
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Post by Rodrigo Niguez »

The conflicts aid in character growth and plot development. I do not think they hampered on the books plot development.
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Post by sarahmarlowe »

I didn’t mind the subplots. I felt that they were connected well. I hope they will continue to come together in the second book.
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Post by Allisunny »

There were quite a few, but I didn't think it was a bad thing. It made the world feel very real. I think that most people are juggling several conflicts at any given time in their day to day lives. Characters who have to overcome many obstacles are more compelling, in my opinion.
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Loverboi33
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Post by Loverboi33 »

:wink2: i think the conflict was useful and i supposed so is to be so nice one so interesting and nice summary
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Post by jhalwix »

I think that the amount of conflicts within this story was a bit much at some times. While most of the time multiple conflicts aid the story in keeping the plot interesting. I felt in this particular story though, the amount of conflicts towards the end detracted from the story as a whole.
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Post by Shalomsamuels1 »

I believe there were many conflicts to distract from the one dimensional-ness of the characters.
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Post by CommMayo »

Based on some of the comments I'm reading in this and other threads, it seems as if us readers are trying to pick out a lot of subplots that the author admits to not really considering following. Vala seems to be a good example. Perhaps we are reading too much into some aspects of the book.
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Kendra M Parker
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Post by Kendra M Parker »

This wasn’t anywhere close to as complex as something like Game of Thrones. Tanner did a fine job of managing the conflicts that she created with her characters, though I found myself less invested in the characters and conflicts than I did in anything that George R. R. Martin.
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Post by jjmainor »

They were necessary. There was a lot of political parlance, and all the conflicts were pieces of that - everyone was trying to manipulate the situation for their own gain, and we got to see it unfold from all sides.
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Post by Isaiah Lokeno »

Conflicts in the book are too many such that it is hard to figure out which conflict is much important than the other in the story relevance.
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Post by frumiousreads »

I think showing those different conflicts allowed us to gain insight to the different perspectives of the characters. I'm all for the conflict.
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