Switching main characters

[mythique890]

Yes, I got through the red wedding. Pretty well past it, actually. I got to where the girl knight (what was her name?) had been through a ton of crap and then was apparently about to be raped and gave up. Don't know if she was or not, I just couldn't take it any more. At one point I was reading only the Daenerys chapters because they were much more interesting and generally less dark.

 

[ScipioSmith]

I read through all those books pretty thoroughly and don't remember Brienne ever giving up to rape. If it's the bit I'm thinking of she bites the guys ear off. I'd recommend picking them up again. It doesn't get lighter per se (and someone else I thought was the hero dies in an example of the topic, though with a resurrection back door built it) but there are enough good qualities to make it worthwhile; the dawn is not coming yet, but the sky is lightening a little.

 

[DameiThiessen]

I can't think of one that kicked the MC to the curb entirely, but an example might be "Mistress of Rome", I guess. It's all written in first person. Although there is a clear main character (a Hebrew slave girl), sometimes an entire chapter will be written from the point of view of another, such as the gladiator or her owner. It was done well because there were clear breaks in between switches and the reader always knew which character was talking because of their clearly defined character. It can be done.

 

[Seth son of Tom]

i think i'm reading such a book right now: the hammer by k.j. parker

 

[Gryffin]

It's something that I am considering right now. I don't want to do it for my first novel though. I'm going to wait and make sure that I can do it correctly. I have seen it done really well and I've seen it done badly. The worst mistake I think you can make is choosing the wrong character to narrate.