How would you feel?

[Paul_Tromba]

Consider this... you read this book series for years and think the MC you are rooting for is doing the right thing and trying to defeat the villian. However, during what you thought was the climactic ending of the series, it is revealed that the MC is actually the bad guy who manipulates everything while the villian is actually the hero. Because the MC is the narrator and the lense which you view the story, you couldn't see it the entire time. Even the other characters couldn't see it. Now that is has been exposed though, the MCs true villian arc can happen and you get to finally understand things from the one who you thought was the villian. All the breadcrumbs from previous books start to make sense and the story continues with the roles in their proper order so it's not like it came out of nowhere. The heroes saga you thought you were following is actually the villians journey to get the hero to leave them alone.

Would you hate that, love that, or would it make you drop the series entirely? What are your thoughts on this kind of story shift?

[slurtle_ovo]

I think that's a good plot twist I would love that

[Oriflamme]

You mean like Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans?

[kyupol]

I'd love it. Because not everyone who looks like good guys are really good guys.

[MelancholicOtaku]

That is a top tier plot twist, would definitely have me re-read the story over.

[Lensing]

It depends on how it´s done but it definitely sounds like a good idea
I´m not much interested and classic hero characters and the villains
are usually the more interesting characters for me. Being a hero
also doesn´t automatically make me "root" for a character.

In the story what are the motives of the hero and what are the motives
of the villain?

[NickRowler]

That’s just an “unreliable narrator”. I think this type of story telling is interesting but can be frustrating to some readers. I feel often these stories have imperfect protagonists who are prone to bias, contradictions, and lying. Maybe I feel like modern day criticism tends to over analyze these types of characters while sort of missing the whole point of the story.

[jwabeasley]

It tends to work better for games - like Revan in KOTOR. I've done it several times in TTRPGs. In those games, the player inhabits the protagonist, and finds out slowly that things aren't adding up, there are too many hints and weird things going on, the results of their righteous actions keep on turning out badly. That village they saved is all ashes when we go back to it, because the monster we killed was actually its guardian, but nobody knew.

If it happens in a non-interactive story, it had better be communicated very well early on. I've read several stories where the 'hero' does horrendous things but they're portrayed as good - and usually when that happens it comes down to a fundamental disagreement between me and the author rather than the author setting up someone who is themselves a villain. Handling the narrative split between the hero's bad actions and the narrative's own judgement is a delicate thing to finesse, but it is doable.

[Algae]

Hmmmm depends on the ending!! I always want good to win (because we live in a world where that doesn't always happen and I'm tired of awful people getting their way) so if the villain was built up through the book series to be the lovable villain type, and if the author managed to keep me thinking that despite the villain being lovable they are sadly doing something very bad, I would absolutely be DELIGHTED to realise the villain IS a good guy, reward the reader for having that hunch! Tell me I was right, he is a good guy. One thing though, I should know the villain well, maybe not on the first book, but throughout the story, because if you shift heroes and I'm not attached enough/know enough about the new hero it will make me kinda wanna drop it. Maybe, idk. Maybe I'd keep reading to see if the side characters manage to defeat their old friend. I think a good resolution is a bittersweet ending where old hero gets "peace of mind" maybe (if they deserve it) but ultimately they don't reach their evil goal. Yeah, if done well, its totally an awesome read :]

[Algae]

Oh yes I absolutely love that turn in games, I like it when a player is slapped in the face after carelessly murdering people because they thought that was all the game is about: shooting.
And yeah I agree on the second thing as well, it'd be tough not to come off as a psychopathic author but in case of more complex stories like those that involve politics, it could be more tough to tell which actions are good and which are bad, giving more leeway for the author.

[Algae]

Yep, I'm one of those people who'd go "man this protag totally sucks" and drop the book instead of realising I'm on the villain's pov lol.

[feuersichel]

Oh, I would love to read that but I think, it's easyer said than done.

[Ayumi]

I absolutely love these kind of stories. Villains motivations are always interesting, and this way you can learn the most about it. It's also a good way to make readers think morally which side they can relate to.

[Amalockh1]

Like jwabeasley says, I think this should be foreshadowed early on.
On paper, it sounds like a nice twist, but it also could be badly executed, especially if it is done for the sake of taking the audience by surprise instead of being at the service of the story.

[AshanaArt]

It’s an interesting twist but I think you’d have to hint throughout the story that the character is an unreliable narrator, so it doesn’t feel like it came out of nowhere.

[Ayumi]

It's true. I've just watched a movie in these days (The tutor) where they didn't foreshadowed it (or I wasn't aware of it), and it was kinda weird, when the character roles changed.
The idea was great, but the twist didn't work.

[Steffie_Musings]

I think it depends how it's done. If it's foreshadowed over the course of the story, that'll be a good twist.

If it just comes out of nowhere and doesn't make sense, it feels frustrating.

[dimsum_y]

If it's executed right, with a combination of foreshadowing like what others had commented--and at least a couple of other characters questioning the narrative or showing suspicions toward the MC (without giving everything away but it would pique even the reader's curiosity), I would enjoy this story, actually. I remembered reading something like this before.

Everything was perfectly foreshadowed, the characters who suspected the MC did a phenomenal job on not spoiling anything, and it wasn't until toward the end, when the other narrative clashed with what I was told--I started questioning the MC myself.

And it was beautiful. I wasn't mad at all. And I would love to go back and re-read everything as though it was my first time reading it again.