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I haven't read Game of Thrones, so this doesn't clarify things for me that much. It's hard for me to think of books I've read where the main character is not no

I haven't read Game of Thrones, so this doesn't clarify things for me that much. It's hard for me to think of books I've read where the main character is not notable in some way, but it's also hard for me to think of books I've read where things simply resolve themselves for the main character as a result of that notability, as opposed to effort on the part of the character. So I guess the answer is "Yes, lots of people are writing those books"?

DanBC 12y ago
> It's hard for me to think of books I've read where the main character is not notable in some way It's a standard plot: ordinary person living an ordinary life feels constrained by that life; boom thing happens, causing ordinary person to go on a journey. Character development happens on the journey. I'm kind of surprised that you can't think of any book like this.
- CocaKoala 12y ago
  Please list some. I can easily think of books which follow the plot you outlined; I have a much harder time thinking of books which follow the plot you outlined where the main character remains normal through the duration (as opposed to finding some innate quality within themselves which helps them triumph over hardship). edit: I mean, Harry Potter fits the bill you outlined, but is explicitly called out by the parent post as a half wizard.
  - bstpierre 12y ago
    In "The Hobbit", Bilbo Baggins is a boring little non-noteworthy hobbit who rises to his circumstances. The same thing applies to Frodo in LOTR. I read James Patterson's "The Beach House" on a pair of short plane flights this past summer. It's a commercial/pulp thriller. The MC doesn't acquire any superpowers during the story except for becoming a badass willing to take significant risks when his life and that of his friends is on the line. Edit to add: Jack Ryan, especially in the early Tom Clancy novels. In any story worth reading the main character won't stay "normal" for the duration. The protagonist's change through the course of the story is part of the point of telling a story.

DanBC 12y ago

> It's hard for me to think of books I've read where the main character is not notable in some way It's a standard plot: ordinary person living an ordinary life feels constrained by that life; boom thing happens, causing ordinary person to go on a journey. Character development happens on the journey. I'm kind of surprised that you can't think of any book like this.

CocaKoala 12y ago
Please list some. I can easily think of books which follow the plot you outlined; I have a much harder time thinking of books which follow the plot you outlined where the main character remains normal through the duration (as opposed to finding some innate quality within themselves which helps them triumph over hardship). edit: I mean, Harry Potter fits the bill you outlined, but is explicitly called out by the parent post as a half wizard.
- bstpierre 12y ago
  In "The Hobbit", Bilbo Baggins is a boring little non-noteworthy hobbit who rises to his circumstances. The same thing applies to Frodo in LOTR. I read James Patterson's "The Beach House" on a pair of short plane flights this past summer. It's a commercial/pulp thriller. The MC doesn't acquire any superpowers during the story except for becoming a badass willing to take significant risks when his life and that of his friends is on the line. Edit to add: Jack Ryan, especially in the early Tom Clancy novels. In any story worth reading the main character won't stay "normal" for the duration. The protagonist's change through the course of the story is part of the point of telling a story.