It was a slow week for tidings, but the Wayward Herald found one post by author Jane Lebak quite interesting. The post, titled No Protagonist? No Problem (but don’t try this at home), starts with the premise that a protagonist is critical to any good story. And by “protagonist,” she means the character who “faces the main story question and in solving the main story problem, changes in ways that are good for him or her.”
She notes that the reason The Phantom Menace failed as a story is because it lacked a true protagonist. Think about it, and she’s right. But then she takes up the case of The Avengers, which was a great movie. It too appears to have no true protagonist, so why does it succeed where the Phantom Menace failed? Her explanation is worth reading – and I agree with her wholeheartedly.
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| Who is the Protagonist? |
Ms. Lebak also released a new novel this week titled The Wrong Enemy, with a very interesting premise!
In other tidings, as of this weekend Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell remains the #1 fantasy novel on Amazon, and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is still the #1 novel in historical fantasy. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter holds the sixth spot in that subgenre, and right before it, at #5, is one of my favorite stories, William Goldman’s The Princess Bride.
Until next week, good tidings and good day!