Overwhelming background information

Use this forum to discuss the July 2021 Book of the month, " Worldlines: A Many Worlds Novel" (Many Worlds, #1)" by Adam Guest
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Abi McCoy
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Re: Overwhelming background information

Post by Abi McCoy »

It can be difficult to find a balance between over-describing the background and not providing enough details to make the setting feel real. I think in this case it did distract from the story and the plot, slowing it down unnecessarily. The focus could have been on the characters and increased character development rather than in-depth details of the background. But I know this is just a personal preference and it varies between readers.
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Post by Valerie Garske »

I loved the background information. I thought that was the glue that held it all together. With so many possibilities and several characters, it was clever how he used the lorry as a pivot point. The juxtaposition of characters and their relationships created interesting layers. Without the background, the minor details of who was with whom and relationships between Father and Son would be misssed.
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Post by Shannon Ruane »

jomana_3 wrote: 01 Jul 2021, 11:33 The detailed description didn't really bother me. Actually, I enjoyed reading these parts, and they helped me understand the characters better. Moreover, I didn't feel that the details were excessive or boring.
Hi! I agree with you about not being overly bothered by overwhelming background information. My exception, however, is the beginning of the story. Describing the lorry accident is necessary, describing they went to lunch at an outside restaurant rather than the school cafeteria is a waste of time. The professor endlessly analyzing the story was not necessary to introduce the Many Worlds Interpretation. It should have been woven into the plot rather than shouting a bunch of information they would repeat multiple times in the first worldline. I am not talking about different worldline repetition, which is necessary to explain new worldlines and their differences/similarities.
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Aniza Butt
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Post by Aniza Butt »

These overwhelming details are distracting and annoying at the same time. A reader can understand a background without overflown info.
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Post by Katie Blackmore »

Personally, I love the details. For me, that is where the beauty lies and how the story comes alive in my head. I do completely understand why someone would not enjoy that and prefer to the author to focus more on the plot.
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Post by Laney K »

Reema Aydieh wrote: 01 Jul 2021, 06:43 I did notice that too, I feel like the author could have focused more on the story and how the plot progressed than describing things that didn't move the story forward. Maybe that would've worked if things were equally described to draw readers into the world.
I agree. The book was a bit repetitive in regards to background information such as the accident. It was described extensively in the different lines.
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Post by Josie Wert »

I personally really enjoyed the way the plot was repeated in some ways. I like the idea that while different circumstances can lead to drastically different events, some things remain the same. I noticed that in multiple different worldlines, Gary never liked the bar that Sinead had her birthday party at. I appreciated the thought that had to go into the little details like that. It also gives you such an insight into the characters. For instance, when Michelle rejected Gary, he ended up with Sinead, but in a different worldline, the idea of being in a romantic relationship with Sinead was even laughable. She was still always there for him, though. Sinead’s loyalty was able to shine through the repetition of plot, which was necessary for her development as a character.
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Post by Arthur Tobenna »

In a book of this nature, it is important that the author engages in extensive worldbuilding so as to paint a clear picture for the audience. Adam makes the story alive in the minds of the readers through an expert use of imagery. I do not think the background information is too much.
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Post by Wesley Friday »

I don't think the descriptions constituted overwhelming background information. Some of the places are used in more than one timeline and so is necessary to put down a description of once and for all. On the other hand, you found a problem with it being unnecessary, not the presentation or how it is merged into the story. I think that does give the author some credit as to creating smooth running plots as compared to others who offload background information in rough-edged chunks that create some discontinuity in the flow of the plot.
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Post by Wesley Friday »

I don't think the descriptions constituted overwhelming background information. Some of the places are used in more than one timeline and so is necessary to put down a description of once and for all. On the other hand, you found a problem with it being unnecessary, not the presentation or how it is merged into the story. I think that does give the author some credit as to creating smooth running plots as compared to others who offload background information in rough-edged chunks that create some discontinuity in the flow of the plot.
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Post by Harshi4 »

Yes, I do feel that the book was overwhelmingly filled with a lot of details But to my surprise, I liked those details very much. Initially, the details really helped me imagine and understand the scenarios. But towards the end when I just wanted to know what was going to happen I just skipped the details, as I felt they were not necessary.
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Post by mohamed benziane »

personally, I agree, I also dislike when the author goes overboard in describing unrelated scenes, it is very confusing and leads you off-topic, I prefer direct related and minor descriptions, leave space for the reader's imagination.
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Post by Hugo_W »

I think that the author generally did well at describing things, but there was a point where I had to pause and ask if this was seriously necessary. Specifically, that was when he packed paragraph after paragraph into the skiing trip. It wasn't even relevant to the story, it was just about the technicalities of the sport and how Gary struggled to learn them, and it was so longwinded. There were a few more parts where I felt like the author explained way too much, so yeah, I agree.
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Post by Dzejn_Crvena »

Most classic books tend to have too many details. However, since this is a contemporary sci-fi story, I agree that the background descriptions should have been more concise. This story is very plot-oriented, so I would consider the over-explanation as part of the hints provided by the author.
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Post by Drew Davis »

I do not think the details were too much, in fact, I loved the descriptive details. The author paints a picture of the scenes that draw my attention and imagination to the book's world. I love fiction stories that have descriptive details of the scenes, whether or not the details move the story forward. It's important to set the scene for readers.
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