I read a book recently where a major plot twist came out of nowhere and smacked me in the face. Three quarters of the way through the novel a major character died – a love interest in what I thought was a romance, but turned out to be more of a psychological paranormal thriller. In retrospect, I should have seen it coming. The character’s development was a bit flat, but in all honesty, none of the characters had particularly deep levels of development. That wasn’t all though. The “bad guy
debradunbar
Very true Peter! I’m way too Type “A” to hop in the car with someone without knowing a hint or two about our journey – even if it’s just “drive around and see what we find”.
peter
Being quite a simple person who tends to skim through books (smug smile), I actually prefer the journey rather than hidden clues that take brain work. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that there are many varied readers out there, so lets us not make all novels end up the same. After all, variety is the spice of life. Now who was it that said that?
debradunbar
In movies, I love a big surpise, but also love to look back and say “ahhh, I should have seen that one coming!” With books, I’m more into the journey. Love plot twists, but love them even more if I feel that sense of dread that something big this-way-comes! Yep, those two levels would be perfect for me!
Shuvom Ghose
An interesting conundrum! I actually hate movies that give a bit of foreshadowing, and love ones that have unexpected but totally possible black swans (I’m looking at you, Tarantino).
But a book is a much bigger investment for the reader, maybe a ten times longer journey. So maybe you’re right- and more warning is needed?
When I write, I try to give three levels of warning- a really obscure clue that only the super clever will get, then, a while later, one for the mainstream readers, and just before it’s too late (or when the twist is happening), a level that makes sure EVERYONE knows what’s going on. It sounds like you would have been happier with your read if at least two of those levels were added!