Short answer: when an epic fantasy shifts between characters, keep track of who is speaking, where their immediate problem lies and what they know. You do not need to memorise every name or map detail on page one. John Gwynne’s Maldad, the Spanish edition of the opening volume of The Faithful and the Fallen, offers a timely example: its publisher’s synopsis introduces four character threads, each with a different position and concern.
A recent feature in El Debate brings the book to readers’ attention. The more useful question for anyone curious about epic fantasy point of view is what to do when a story opens several doors at once. Multiple viewpoints can make a large conflict feel broad and human, but they ask the reader to keep a few threads distinct while the world comes into focus.
Why does epic fantasy use several viewpoints?
A conflict on a large scale can affect people in different roles. One character may want to serve; another may seek power; another may be navigating a place in someone else’s company. A shifting point of view lets a novel move among those concerns rather than explaining the whole world from a single vantage point.
The publisher’s synopsis for Maldad names Corban, Evnis, Veradis and Nathair, and gives each a separate starting situation. It describes Corban’s wish to become a warrior, Evnis’s pursuit of power, Veradis’s place in Prince Nathair’s host and Nathair’s disagreement with his father over a proposed assembly of kings. Those are useful orientation points: motivations and relationships, rather than a demand to learn every detail of the setting immediately.
How can you keep the threads straight?
Try a compact reading note. For each viewpoint, write only three things: the character’s name, their immediate aim and the person or problem currently shaping their choices. Update it only when the story gives you a reason. A single line per character is enough.
| Keep track of | Ask yourself | |---|---| | Character | Whose perspective is this section following? | | Immediate aim | What does this person want right now? | | Connection | Who or what is influencing that aim? | | New information | What changed since their previous section? |
This is a personal aid, not a test. If you enjoy piecing together connections, leave some notes unfinished and let the novel answer them. If switching viewpoints disrupts your momentum, pause at a chapter break and glance at your three-column list before continuing.
Do you need to understand the whole world first?
No. Start with the situation in front of the viewpoint character. Ask what they want, what stands in their way and what they believe is at stake. A place name or historical reference can wait until it matters to that person’s choices.
That approach also helps distinguish deliberate mystery from confusion. If a name appears without explanation, mark it lightly and continue. If it returns, the surrounding scene may give it meaning. If it does not, it may not have been essential to your first encounter with the book.
The publisher’s material establishes the broad premise of Maldad: the Exile Lands have a history of conflict between humans and giants, and the synopsis points to renewed upheaval. It also sets out the four character introductions. That is enough to begin asking how the different perspectives relate without pretending to know how their stories develop.
What should you try before committing?
Read a sample if the author or publisher provides one. In the opening pages, notice whether the viewpoint changes are easy for you to follow, whether the character’s immediate goal interests you and whether new terms arrive at a pace you enjoy. These questions tell you more about your fit with a book than a promise that every reader will find the world “easy” or “accessible.”
DRAKHTHAR also invites readers into epic fantasy through a larger world and its regions. If you want to compare how different fantasy settings present their worlds, begin with the Book I reading page and explore the Codex when you want setting material alongside the story.
For your next multi-viewpoint fantasy, try this: after each chapter, write the character’s name and one sentence about what they want. When the viewpoints meet or echo one another, you will have a clear record of how the book connected its separate threads.