The book involves only a few female characters: Is it justified?

[Rodel Barnachea]

just because the book's set in a medieval setting, doesn't mean we have to import literally all of the characteristics of medieval settings. Moreover, this book isn't even set on medieval Earth, which makes this explanation even more of a flimsy and poor one.

Wow, you had me thinking hard with your reply! It would make sense if the book is set in medieval Earth, but it isn't. It's set in fictional land and even has magic in it. I also thought that it's possible to include more female characters like when Game of Thrones included the ruthless antagonist Cersei and the powerful protagonist Daenerys.

[Sou Hi]

Beth's character is very interesting, in my opinion Also, let us not forget about the Lord Eldus' housekeeper. She is very intriguing. She holds all the keys and knows all the secrets. Also, she would close her eyes to many evil things just to survive. She is quite memorable.

Beth was introduced at the later part of the book, so I understand if she didn't create a tremendous impact to the plot.

I agree that Beth is very interesting since she's the first character who came from Caromentis, which is still not yet explored in the first book. However, she was introduced at the later part of the book, so not much time is given to explore her character. I believe that she has a huge potential and could be a pivotal character in investigating Caromentis.

As for the housekeeper, what's her name again? I honestly cannot remember her name or if she survived Riva Rohavi's attack. Though, I do remember Lord Eldus' son escaping and probably surviving.

Yes, the housekeeper Beverly did survive. What's more, she was back to serve Meldorath. I just wonder if she knew how to save herself, why did she not help the others too? Is it fun that you are the only survival?

[Teletha]

There was no major female character yet, but the ones introduced to us like Charlotte and Isla, regardless of their fates, were written wonderfully. I hope to meet one along the series.

[Rodel Barnachea]

Beth's character is very interesting, in my opinion Also, let us not forget about the Lord Eldus' housekeeper. She is very intriguing. She holds all the keys and knows all the secrets. Also, she would close her eyes to many evil things just to survive. She is quite memorable.

Beth was introduced at the later part of the book, so I understand if she didn't create a tremendous impact to the plot.

I agree that Beth is very interesting since she's the first character who came from Caromentis, which is still not yet explored in the first book. However, she was introduced at the later part of the book, so not much time is given to explore her character. I believe that she has a huge potential and could be a pivotal character in investigating Caromentis.

As for the housekeeper, what's her name again? I honestly cannot remember her name or if she survived Riva Rohavi's attack. Though, I do remember Lord Eldus' son escaping and probably surviving.

Yes, the housekeeper Beverly did survive. What's more, she was back to serve Meldorath. I just wonder if she knew how to save herself, why did she not help the others too? Is it fun that you are the only survival?

Yeah, I just jogged my memory and remembered that Beverly survived.
I think the only reason she is serving Meldorath is that she is being manipulated by him. Either that or she's just a self-serving person. Anyway, I believe her personality is quite interesting, and I would like to see more of here in the later books.

[xsquare]

When I was reading the book, I noticed that there are no major female characters involved in the storyline. The protagonist, the protagonist's friends, Voulhire's leader, Riva Rohavi's leader, Hillport's leader, and the magical antagonist are all males. Many people say that given the book's medieval setting, it is only common that the book also follows medieval norms: decreased roles for women and bigger roles for men.

What is your opinion on this? Does the above explanation completely justify the book's lack of female main characters?

Not at all. As I've said in my review of the book – just because the book's set in a medieval setting, doesn't mean we have to import literally all of the characteristics of medieval settings. Moreover, this book isn't even set on medieval Earth, which makes this explanation even more of a flimsy and poor one. It would have made literally zero difference to the plot if the king is replaced by a queen, his son is instead a daughter, the Eiodi female instead of male – of course, I can't say for certain that it won't have a difference in the sequels, but if your plot honestly depends on your characters being male, then I think your plot has problems in the first place.

Moreover, Beth isn't even human. 'She' is an entity from Caromentis, and (hope I'm not spoiling it for anyone) if I'm recalling correctly they don't even have physical forms.

I've only read the second book of this series so far, but this is an issue that persists even in the second book. I think it's a pretty poor track record if 2/9 of your books don't feature female characters.

I really like your argument. Especially your stating that Beth is but an entity (having no form) in Caromentis. I hope this is not a spoiler, but the series doesn't continue in this style (of having no active female characters). There is a refreshing introduction of female character(s) in the 4th book, and curiously, Beth, is still a side-bag.

I don't mind the spoilers! But seriously, I have to wait until the fourth book just to see any female characters (who don't suffer a horrific end)? That's a bit of a tall ask, I'm not that patient

It's odd that Beth is still just a side-character, considering literally all of the other (male) characters we were introduced to in the first book have a bigger role in the rest of the series (Eiodi, Meldorath, Galen & trio, King & his son, and even that weird biomage).

[xsquare]

just because the book's set in a medieval setting, doesn't mean we have to import literally all of the characteristics of medieval settings. Moreover, this book isn't even set on medieval Earth, which makes this explanation even more of a flimsy and poor one.

Wow, you had me thinking hard with your reply! It would make sense if the book is set in medieval Earth, but it isn't. It's set in fictional land and even has magic in it. I also thought that it's possible to include more female characters like when Game of Thrones included the ruthless antagonist Cersei and the powerful protagonist Daenerys.

Thanks! I haven't actually read Game of Thrones myself yet but agreed, there's nothing wrong with having a queen / princess rule over your fictitious land

Even if the book were set in medieval Earth, I still think it's possible to include strong female characters. They might not be necessarily powerful in the eyes of the law, but I still think they are fully capable of driving forward a plot. My gripe with this book (and the rest of the series) is that there seem to be no remarkable female characters, and even when female characters do appear, they don't seem to have any agency of their own and exist just to pander to the male characters (see: that judge who was sentencing the biomage who got humiliated in front of an entire courtroom of witnesses).

[xsquare]

There was no major female character yet, but the ones introduced to us like Charlotte and Isla, regardless of their fates, were written wonderfully. I hope to meet one along the series.

To be honest, I didn't feel the same about them. I didn't even remember their names, and I actually spent a good few minutes wondering who Charlotte and Isla were (granted, it's been a while since I read the first book). I remember that Charlotte was mentioned as having an illustrious career as a lawyer (?) back in Soulhire, but this was mentioned in a very off-handed way; the rest of the book was just talking about how great Lord Eldus was and his grand plans for Hillport.

I think the way their characters were written was quite tragic. Charlotte went from having a great career in the city to playing housewife in the middle of nowhere. It would have been cool if she actually assisted with Lord Eldus in his plans – that definitely would have made her end more impactful.

[Manang Muyang]

Charlotte did play a nice "first lady" role. And Isla was no pushover, either. Beverly is one character to watch, I think. She might be the "butler" here.

[Teletha]

To be honest, I didn't feel the same about them. I didn't even remember their names, and I actually spent a good few minutes wondering who Charlotte and Isla were (granted, it's been a while since I read the first book). I remember that Charlotte was mentioned as having an illustrious career as a lawyer (?) back in Soulhire, but this was mentioned in a very off-handed way; the rest of the book was just talking about how great Lord Eldus was and his grand plans for Hillport.

I think the way their characters were written was quite tragic. Charlotte went from having a great career in the city to playing housewife in the middle of nowhere. It would have been cool if she actually assisted with Lord Eldus in his plans – that definitely would have made her end more impactful.

They were not major characters, its understandable if they're easily forgotten. I love Eldus' family. His wife might have chosen to be the basic housewife, but I believe she did well. She held her own opinion, her husband knew them, and they did work together for the family. She did not hold an official position to help Eldus, but I felt that he considered her opinions in his decisions.

[AnnOgochukwu]

Not at all. As I've said in my review of the book – just because the book's set in a medieval setting, doesn't mean we have to import literally all of the characteristics of medieval settings. Moreover, this book isn't even set on medieval Earth, which makes this explanation even more of a flimsy and poor one. It would have made literally zero difference to the plot if the king is replaced by a queen, his son is instead a daughter, the Eiodi female instead of male – of course, I can't say for certain that it won't have a difference in the sequels, but if your plot honestly depends on your characters being male, then I think your plot has problems in the first place.

Moreover, Beth isn't even human. 'She' is an entity from Caromentis, and (hope I'm not spoiling it for anyone) if I'm recalling correctly they don't even have physical forms.

I've only read the second book of this series so far, but this is an issue that persists even in the second book. I think it's a pretty poor track record if 2/9 of your books don't feature female characters.

I really like your argument. Especially your stating that Beth is but an entity (having no form) in Caromentis. I hope this is not a spoiler, but the series doesn't continue in this style (of having no active female characters). There is a refreshing introduction of female character(s) in the 4th book, and curiously, Beth, is still a side-bag.

I don't mind the spoilers! But seriously, I have to wait until the fourth book just to see any female characters (who don't suffer a horrific end)? That's a bit of a tall ask, I'm not that patient

It's odd that Beth is still just a side-character, considering literally all of the other (male) characters we were introduced to in the first book have a bigger role in the rest of the series (Eiodi, Meldorath, Galen & trio, King & his son, and even that weird biomage).

I know it (the 4th book) is a long time to wait before seeing an active female character, but I think it's worth it. At least, the story doesn't loose its interesting and intriguing savour (despite the lack of active female characters). So please, I beg you to be patient (you'll love the female characters when you finally meet them, and they'll be worth the wait).
As for Beth, I'll patiently wait to see what becomes of her.

[Dentarthurdent]

I sort of feel like the whole idea of equality allows one to write from the perspective he/she is most comfortable with. There is no indication from the books that Matthew Tysz's perspective towards women is a negative one; he doesn't represent them in a pejorative way, so I'm thinking that he doesn't have a specific issue with them. Maybe he's better at writing male characters. Maybe as the story unfolds in his mind these characters he creates are more male than female.
Deciding that this is wrong would be like judging a painter for only painting subjects of one gender. Some painters prefer the male form, others the female one. Others paint according to what they are better at.

[luchi123]

I think that the inclusion of only a few female characters was based on the writer's volition. Although, the book was set in medieval times, he could also create another story with the same settings having female protagonists.

[ArriettyClock]

I honestly think that there is always space to put more female characters in novels. It is usually due to the author's decision to not put female characters in. Even in medieval settings, there would still be women in society at every level. For example, romantic involvements (although this is a different feminist issue), character's family, friends' families, servants (if the main character is high class), maybe even a governess/nanny which they would be very cloe to, and definitely some form of connection between these characters. In some medieval countries, women featured prominently even fighting in wars, or holding their own land, or holding influence.
If the author wanted to be realistic, there should actually be more female characters than men, as men often died younger due to war.

[xsquare]

They were not major characters, its understandable if they're easily forgotten. I love Eldus' family. His wife might have chosen to be the basic housewife, but I believe she did well. She held her own opinion, her husband knew them, and they did work together for the family. She did not hold an official position to help Eldus, but I felt that he considered her opinions in his decisions.

I suppose that's fair – I just wished we could have had more of the 'behind-the-scenes' interactions between them, if that's really the case. As I mentioned somewhere in this thread, it would have made her end much more impactful and would have made the fabric of the story more interesting as well.

[xsquare]

I know it (the 4th book) is a long time to wait before seeing an active female character, but I think it's worth it. At least, the story doesn't loose its interesting and intriguing savour (despite the lack of active female characters). So please, I beg you to be patient (you'll love the female characters when you finally meet them, and they'll be worth the wait).
As for Beth, I'll patiently wait to see what becomes of her.

Everyone is hyping up the series, but I actually feel like the more people talk about how great it is, the more disappointed I'll be if the book doesn't actually live up to expectations! I think part of what makes a book interesting is having a diverse cast of characters. But thank you for your words, I'm slightly more motivated to start on the third!

As for Beth, we have supposedly three more books to go (since I think 6 have been released?), but it'd be really neat if she has a great arc, especially as the oldest (surviving) chronologically introduced character.