Just the first Maldene novel has somewhere around 8 main characters and a dozen or so more secondary ones, and later novels only add to that number. In fact, by the time all 13 novels are finished, the number has topped some 250 characters. So, why so many characters?

When you have such a vast epic, with so many different things going on, so many different places and battles, and what not- particularly once we get to “Maldene VI: The Great War”- then it is important to have characters already established to provide the different points of view required. Using an already established character rather than just some random guy that just happens to be there, allows the reader to have a much stronger connection with that character and hence the scene. So what if some soldier you just met one page ago gets killed? You never knew him. But make it a character you’ve known for two novels, then we feel the threat of the situation a lot more, we feel what he feels when the invading hordes come in over that hill to overwhelm him and his small band of defenders.

Having sufficient characters previously established not only provides the POVs you need to switch from one location to another, but to connect with each situation on a more personal level, and THAT can help make a story seem like reality, like it’s really happening right in front of the reader.