Conrad making Lyse as the leader was really silly because far as I recall, Lyse didn't do anything as leader. The only one she ever interacted with to any real extent was M'naago, and as cool as M'naago was, she didn't really do anything either.
I mean, I get the feeling that the story was gearing Lyse towards a parallel with Hien, but Lyse really didn't learn anything. She started the story as a young revolutionary bent on freeing Ala Mhigo and ended the story as a young revolutionary bent on freeing Ala Mhigo. There was no transition.
What made Hien a great character was that he was wholly focused on the welfare of his people. Hien was fully willing to consider the idea that revolution was not the best outcome, and that surrender to Garlemald, as harsh as it was, might be the best course of action. Amidst his doubts and his experience as having been born during the occupation, he was equally willing to fight or forfeit.
However, all of these things completely fly over Lyse's head. Not once does she attempt to consider Fordola's perspective. While that mini storyline in Ala Gannha attempts to she some light on it, Lyse responds basically by being a robot that beeps "REVOLUTION REVOLUTION REVOLUTION RESISTANCE RESISTANCE RESISTANCE" over and over again.
Lyse was ostensibly the "main" character and the leader of the Resistance, but she took a backseat to the entire Ala Mhigan revolution. She didn't do anything, plan anything, or make any real significant decisions in her entire time there. She was purely a biased observer, yet the story seems to expect that she be treated as the main actor in everything.
I mean, I get the feeling that the story was gearing Lyse towards a parallel with Hien, but Lyse really didn't learn anything. She started the story as a young revolutionary bent on freeing Ala Mhigo and ended the story as a young revolutionary bent on freeing Ala Mhigo. There was no transition.
What made Hien a great character was that he was wholly focused on the welfare of his people. Hien was fully willing to consider the idea that revolution was not the best outcome, and that surrender to Garlemald, as harsh as it was, might be the best course of action. Amidst his doubts and his experience as having been born during the occupation, he was equally willing to fight or forfeit.
However, all of these things completely fly over Lyse's head. Not once does she attempt to consider Fordola's perspective. While that mini storyline in Ala Gannha attempts to she some light on it, Lyse responds basically by being a robot that beeps "REVOLUTION REVOLUTION REVOLUTION RESISTANCE RESISTANCE RESISTANCE" over and over again.
Lyse was ostensibly the "main" character and the leader of the Resistance, but she took a backseat to the entire Ala Mhigan revolution. She didn't do anything, plan anything, or make any real significant decisions in her entire time there. She was purely a biased observer, yet the story seems to expect that she be treated as the main actor in everything.
