Did you think there were too many characters?

Use this forum to discuss the December 2019 Book of the month, "E-M-P Honeymoon", by Dorothy May Mercer
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James Edwards
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Re: Did you think there were too many characters?

Post by James Edwards »

I was absolutely fine with the number of characters in the book. They all added something to the story, and I think it is part of the reason of why I liked the book so much.
mishkaat
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Post by mishkaat »

not at all .every character has its own importance and explained in a beautiful way.
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siusantos
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Post by siusantos »

I agree. It seems like the main characters become secondary ones as the story progressed. This was also the case on Mercer's other book. The focus eventually becomes blurred.
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Post by nanglada »

AntonelaMaria wrote: 29 Dec 2019, 03:49
B Creech wrote: 28 Dec 2019, 19:52 There were definitely quite a few characters! Too many? I don't think there were too many; I think the author did not focus on the right ones. The title is "EMP Honeymoon" and it is about Tom and Kelly yet they ended up seeming like secondary characters to me. Seems to me Steve had more of a primary role than the rest, at least until the last few chapters. Good question, thanks!
You are right. The book is called after them; Tom & Kelly and yet they were very minor characters especially later on when all the other characters were introduced.
Exactly! I thought Tom and Kelly would be the main characters for sure but as time went by, they faded in the back. I'm very confused about who is supposed to be the main character in this story.
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CherylTegan7
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Post by CherylTegan7 »

The title definitely makes the couple seem like they should be the focus, but when that focus shifts, it is jarring, kind of a letdown. Some authors shift perspectives, focusing more on the storyline instead of the characters. These can be difficult to keep reading because we need characters to care about, hate, root for, etc. Characters are anchors, and when they fizzle out, we can be left floating.
"Maybe life is just an endless series of rooms with puzzles, and then eventually one of them kills you." Dirk Gently (series 1)
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Post by a-b-c- »

No, I did not think they're where too many.
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Post by redhornet0922 »

Agreed that there were too many characters. It seemed like whenever there was an issue, we'd introduce another character. It got kind of pointless to keep up.
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Post by Kemunto lucy »

The characters were not too many. It's just that the roles of the main characters were overshadowed by the developing ones.
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Post by Marty_Kelly »

I've seen so many diverse opinions on this book that my interest in it is finally aroused. I'll definitely read it then discover for myself.
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Post by Official_Sammie »

E-M-P Honeymoon is an interesting book, but truely came with alot of characters. This did not affect the genuity of the story, because each character maintain their lines and structure. Every story doesn't need to begin with it's main characters. This is one of the ways to keep readers attracted to reading the book till the end.
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Post by Weird_Illustrator »

I think there were too many characters we got the same amount of information (or lack of it) about and so as a reader it is really confusing who you should fokus on
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Post by Jajachris »

I don't think there was too many characters in the story, in my opinion, the characters were just underdeveloped therefore making it hard to tell which one was playing the major role.
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Post by Mason Garrod »

Definitely too many characters, but I think the main problem was that the focus was not always put in the right places. Too many minor characters got several scenes from their perspective, whereas other characters such as the scientist who made the error code in the missile were barely in the book at all despite having a significant role. There were a lot of moments when we would cut to a new government character just to hear them relaying exposition, when we really could have stuck with Mike and Cynthia as our main government characters and simply received all the government-based exposition through their perspectives
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Post by Michelle Menezes »

I don't think there were too many characters, but I feel that the ones that were there, especially Tom and Kelly were not given enough importance. There was no character development. They all seemed one dimensional and did not have a personality that the reader could relate to.
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Post by Grace McHardy »

There were way too many characters introduced. Each had their own purpose, but it got overwhelming at a point.
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