Sekaino Megami, the villain of the first Xseed novel. (Combat Frame Xseed © Brian Niemeier)
NOTE: There will be no spoilers for any of the Combat Frame Xseed novels. Also, I had forgotten to link to the Shining Tomorrow Historical Lore in the Robo-Inversions post; the link is now there.
One thing I noticed when reading Brian Niemeier’s Combat Frame Xseed and its sequels was the massive time skip between the first novel and its immediate sequel, Coalition Year 40. Indeed, that book and CY 40 Second Coming were originally intended to be a single book, but Niemeier didn’t want Coalition Year 40 to run too long, so he split it. Second Coming‘s sequel, Combat Frame Xseed S, will reportedly feature yet another large time skip.
Thus I noticed something about Niemeier’s approach to the series: he has no iconic characters.
Because of the time skips between books, there is never a situation where you’re dealing with the continuing adventures of a single character or group of characters. In new books, you’re not getting comfy with a familiar set of heroes or villains, but getting someone new each time. You can’t speak of “the main protagonist of Xseed” because there isn’t a main protagonist across the entire series. That being said, each book takes place further along in the timeline, so they do follow from each other.
This marks a rather unusual approach to series building. Most authors try to create an recurring character or set of characters that the reader can come back to — and that the author can then slap onto merchandise. They try to tell a story of a character’s journey, and sometimes, the series is named for the character. While villains and side characters may come and go, the main character or group of characters remains the center.
Not so in Xseed. The time skips mean that within each novel, Niemeier has the maximum freedom to change characters’ situations — including killing them off. Since each story will last perhaps two books at most, he is not locked in to particular locations, and relationships can change on a whim. One weakness of the typical series approach is that the author is not really free to kill off characters or drastically alter settings because readers have grown attached to those things and the author has to keep delivering if he wants to keep making money; this results in predictable storytelling where a certain status quo remains in place. Niemeier’s approach breaks that mold, allowing him to surprise the reader with twists and turns while maintaining the coherency of his setting.
That simple change in mindset allowed Niemeier to deliver interesting stories that move forward in the timeline without becoming zombie-like. Characters are not kept up past their expiration date, pushed forward on and on because the series must continue to generate income. Instead, he pushes forward with new, fresh characters that complete their arcs efficiently, with little filler.
I’d say he did a good job there. Now go experience Xseed for yourself.
I’m not sure how accurate the statement is though, given that there are about a handful of people from the first XSeed book that carry over to the next two. First we have Browning and Collins, who were opposite sides of the Kazoku War right up until the end. Then Thompson and Phillips, who were with Ritter when he got the OG XSeed. And also have Darving, if his corpse counts.
Honestly, I don’t mind seeing characters from past stories being in others ones, in and of themselves, so long as it doesn’t take time way from the one’s who are actually in focus.
All right, point taken; some characters return, so it’s not a 100% fresh start. However, it is clear that Xseed does not have a recurring protagonist or group of protagonists.