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When did people start thinking it was ok to assume that the viewpoints of characters in a work of fantasy are what the author actually believes? Why is this so common in modern literature criticism? what is going on?

> and the overt assumption that emperors are a good thing was unsettling

God forbid a piece of literature explores a concept you find unsettling.

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Fair points. But it wasn't so much the viewpoint of any individual character as the assumptions underlying the entire cast.

But you're right - I should read her other works precisely because this one unsettled me

I’m not sure why you seem so interested in vetting the beliefs of the author of a fantasy series. Just engage with the text.

It's not so much vetting their thoughts, as dealing with my own inner voice ranting at the beliefs I see in their writing.

There's a few other books that I've been unable to finish purely because I disagree with the author so much that I just can't read their work. I end up shouting at them (sometimes actually shouting at the book) so much that that forms my engagement with the text and it becomes pointless trying to read any more. At least I managed to finish Terra Ignota.

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