Sure, they had potential (except Anita. Always too much of a supposed feminist for my taste) as characters.
Jean-Claude could have been pretty complex if Hamilton ever decided to explore his character... you have his past, his love/hate relationship with Asher, how he came to be in St Louis with Nikolaos, heck how he was made a vampire! Not to mention his ambitions and the thoughts behind his 'political moves' in the vampire scene. When Asher appeared it would have been sweet if LKH had explored the feelings of JC, who obviously loved Asher very much in the past. How did he feel then, did he love Anita and Asher at the same time?
Richard had a lot of potential as well. A brief mention of his past, how he became a werewolf, why can't he kill and why is he strong. It would all be far more interesting if we could read about his inner-thoughts. Instead he comes off as bitchy and stubborn and deluded... because it's Anita's point of view.
Edward would help the series if he appeared more and was more than a two-dimensional supporting character. We saw his present life in OB, but (again), what of his past? Why did he become a sociopath? Trauma or simply a way to survive in his profession?
I could go on... about Jason, Asher (I know Asher is a recent-ish character but he adds to the plot, because of his connection with JC) and a few others of the first books. I'd cut the cast before Nathaniel, Micah, Damien and all the other were animals and vampires came into the picture. Because these last characters are so poorly developed they don't even have interesting pasts, much less personalities. We know next to nothing about Micah, he kind of landed in the books. Same with Nathaniel, all we know is that he is a 'submissive' and a 'victim'.
The books lost a lot with the ridiculous ardUer but in terms of characterization they were never good to begin with. All the potential is lost because we only hear about the other characters through Anita's perception. So the chances of us ever seeing the other characters as truly complex individuals was already slim; with the ardUer they are now non-existent, because there are so many characters that the author can never develop a few of them properly. To write them all, she has to merely give shallow descriptions of them. And also, because in Anita's perception now every woman is a bitch (pardon), every person who doesn't understand a racist and 'not-liberated' and judgmental and every male is 'food'. It's sad, really.
Sorry for the rant, but it's infuriating to see so much potential ruined. In the hands of another writer it would be great. I truly dislike books with a lot of characters. ^___^;;
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Jean-Claude could have been pretty complex if Hamilton ever decided to explore his character... you have his past, his love/hate relationship with Asher, how he came to be in St Louis with Nikolaos, heck how he was made a vampire! Not to mention his ambitions and the thoughts behind his 'political moves' in the vampire scene. When Asher appeared it would have been sweet if LKH had explored the feelings of JC, who obviously loved Asher very much in the past. How did he feel then, did he love Anita and Asher at the same time?
Richard had a lot of potential as well. A brief mention of his past, how he became a werewolf, why can't he kill and why is he strong. It would all be far more interesting if we could read about his inner-thoughts. Instead he comes off as bitchy and stubborn and deluded... because it's Anita's point of view.
Edward would help the series if he appeared more and was more than a two-dimensional supporting character. We saw his present life in OB, but (again), what of his past? Why did he become a sociopath? Trauma or simply a way to survive in his profession?
I could go on... about Jason, Asher (I know Asher is a recent-ish character but he adds to the plot, because of his connection with JC) and a few others of the first books. I'd cut the cast before Nathaniel, Micah, Damien and all the other were animals and vampires came into the picture. Because these last characters are so poorly developed they don't even have interesting pasts, much less personalities. We know next to nothing about Micah, he kind of landed in the books. Same with Nathaniel, all we know is that he is a 'submissive' and a 'victim'.
The books lost a lot with the ridiculous ardUer but in terms of characterization they were never good to begin with. All the potential is lost because we only hear about the other characters through Anita's perception. So the chances of us ever seeing the other characters as truly complex individuals was already slim; with the ardUer they are now non-existent, because there are so many characters that the author can never develop a few of them properly. To write them all, she has to merely give shallow descriptions of them. And also, because in Anita's perception now every woman is a bitch (pardon), every person who doesn't understand a racist and 'not-liberated' and judgmental and every male is 'food'. It's sad, really.
Sorry for the rant, but it's infuriating to see so much potential ruined. In the hands of another writer it would be great. I truly dislike books with a lot of characters. ^___^;;