Bookish Musings: Imagining Scenes from the POV of a Non-POV Character

 
 

Have you ever read a book that was written from the POV of one character, but you imagined what certain scenes or moments or even the whole book must’ve been like from the POV of another character? I guess we all must to a certain extent or we wouldn’t ever empathize with or feel the emotions of other characters when things happen to them. But there was one specific situation in a book that got me thinking about this, so let’s discuss!


As I said, I think we all must do this to a certain extent. It’s why we’re able to feel the emotions of side characters and love interests and anyone who’s not a POV character. And oddly enough, I sometimes find that I feel even more emotion from non-POV characters. Maybe it’s because, when I’m reading about a POV character, especially if it’s 1st person, I’m told, “This is what the character is feeling,” so maybe my brain just doesn’t extrapolate beyond that. Whereas, when there’s a non-POV character, I have to put in the effort to put myself in their shoes and infer all the emotion myself, so my brain extrapolates a whole lot.

But it’s not just that. There was one thing in particular that sparked the idea for this post. I read a lot of urban fantasy, especially about vampires. And you know what vampires do? They kill. In many cases, the reader experiences these scenes from the POV of the vampire. And when we do, we root for them because we know they need blood to live, and we want them to live. But have you ever considered the POV of the person being attacked in those scenes? It would be terrifying. That person was a human being with a life that they probably wanted to continue living. And so in this particular book (which happened to be the second book in the Real Vampires Don’t Sparkle series by Amy Fecteau), the vampire main characters had been attacked and were dying, but one of them managed to feed and carry the other one into a nearby mausoleum since they were in a cemetery. Cops showed up, so the awake vampire went and snatched one for the unconscious vampire. And the poor cop was terrified, tried to fight back, tried to get away, until he was finally knocked unconscious. And even though I understood why the vampire did it, I also really felt for the innocent cop who was attacked and then ended up dead.

I know there are plenty of books in which we do get the POV of the one being attacked (like when the MC fights supernatural creatures), but it’s funny how quickly we forget it and jump to the side of the attacker, all depending on whose POV the scene is being told from. Except, for some reason, I’ve started thinking of the victim’s POV more lately. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I still want the vampires or whoever to survive and therefore understand that they need the blood, but it’s still interesting to think about things from another POV. And now that I am thinking about it, I’m starting to wonder if the main difference between urban fantasy and horror in some cases is just the perspective.

Of course this can apply to other situations too. In 27 Hours by Tristina Wright, *SPOILER* I was struck with sadness when the dragon was killed because yeah, it was big and scary and trying to kill the MCs, but it wasn’t the dragon’s fault that it was big and scary and being used for attack. *END SPOILER* And in The Shadow Weave by Annette Marie, *SPOILER* I experienced sadness yet again for a dragon because this one too was attacking the MC’s, but only because they intruded upon its home, and the dragon didn’t know that they didn’t mean to; it was just protecting its home and people. *END SPOILER* In Rises the Night by Colleen Gleason, *MAJOR SPOILER* I figured Max must’ve just been undercover, and so a lot of the emotion I felt while reading that book came just from me imagining how tough that must’ve been for him, what he was going through knowing Victoria and the others thought him a traitor. *END SPOILER*

Anyway, it’s interesting sometimes to try and imagine things from the perspective of characters whose side of things we don’t get to see. And now I’m wondering if anyone else ever considers the POV of other characters in a scene or book like I do.

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Do you ever consider the POV of non-POV characters in books?
Have you ever specifically thought about the victim's POV if you read books with murderous/supernatural POV characters?

 
 
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64 thoughts on “Bookish Musings: Imagining Scenes from the POV of a Non-POV Character

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  1. Krysta @ Pages Unbound

    I don’t think I’ve ever thought about what a book would be like from the POV of a non-POV character. The thing is, that character isn’t starring in the story that’s being told. They’re just a side character in that. If we changed the POV to them, we’d probably be reading a different story–one where they’re the star.

    As a concrete example, I don’t think I’d wonder “What is LotR like for Rosie Cotton?” because Rosie Cotton is only tangentially involved in the War of the Ring. Her story is all about suffering under Sharkey and his men. That’s an interesting story and I do wonder what’s going on in other parts of Middle-earth (we know there are battles in Erebor and Lothlorien, for instance, but not much about them).

    If we’re talking about something like “What is LotR like from Legolas’s perspective?” I probably wouldn’t wonder that because it’s basically still LotR since he’s present for most of the action. We might get more insight into what the journey is like for an Elf, but I guess I’m not overly interested. At least not interested enough to have one of those rewrites like Twlight from Edward’s perspective. That seems boring to me, actually, since we already know everything that happens in Twilight. (Or I would, if I’d read it.)

    1. Kristen Burns

      I don’t think I’d actually want to reread entire books written from the POV of a different character either. The POV characters are chosen for a reason, I agree. And honestly I’m not usually interested in those series extras where authors give you a bit of the story about a side character, and it doesn’t have much to do w/ the main plot. But I still can’t help but put myself in the shoes of other characters sometimes in certain scenes and imagine what it’s like for them.

      1. Krysta @ Pages Unbound

        Yeah, I can see that. The one time I really remember wondering what other characters would think is during The Orphan Queen and The Mirror King. We’re presented with the story from the POV of the nobles and so we’re supposed to be invested in them and their romance. But I couldn’t help but think that, if this story were told from the street rats’ POV, we’d all hate the main characters for selfishly putting their own interests above the welfare of the common people. Sure, the one noble made flags or something for the soldiers, but the average person isn’t going to be won over by a symbolic show of unity when they’re starving and the nobles are hosting parties all the time.

        The same with the current Victoria mini series. I think I’m supposed to care about Victoria because she’s the main character, but she does nothing of substance with her life and her great triumphs involve her getting people to sit and enter rooms when she wants them to. Meanwhile, people are starving. Getting this from the POV of a Chartist would probably be more interesting.

        1. Kristen Burns

          I haven’t read that book, but I get what you’re saying. I feel like I’ve read some books where I felt something similar, that the MCs were actually really selfish if you looked at them through another POV. I’m rereading the Vampire Chronicles, and pretty much all I can think in every book is how Lestat’s selfishness has hurt or killed so many innocent people at this point. But yikes, Victoria does sound pretty awful too.

  2. Greg

    Yeah I think as a reader I definitely relate to side characters, some more than others obviously, but yeah. And you know that’s really interesting, haven’t really thought about it like that, but from a vamp perspective we’re really reading from the POV of a predator. Even if we *like* the predator. ๐Ÿ™‚ What I would like is to read from the perspective of the victims (or a victim I guess), maybe someone who manages to survive, a vampire or werewolf attack, and really feel that terror and supernatural badassness of the attacker. Not the usual monster hunter, who’s jaded or an effective combatant, but maybe a civilian who is carried along for the ride but is not quote unquote badass on their own? Would that suck? I don’t know. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Maybe that happens in horror and IDK cause I don’t read much horror *shrug*

    I totally get your feelings on 27 Hours and Shadow weave because I think I would feel the same way. I don’t always take the victims’ side! Which I think is part of your point but it’s true.

    Cool discussion.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I was thinking that, that the monster hunter characters know what they’re doing and are expecting to fight monsters, so it’s not quite the same. But, for example, in the vampire book I referenced, the series started with him as a human being attacked by a vampire, only he got turned instead of killed, and idk, it wasn’t really scary as the reader cuz you know what’s coming. But in The Immortal Coil by J. Armand, for another example, a kind of zombie thing breaks out at the beginning, and the MC, who had no clue what was happening, gets trapped in a building with the creatures, and it actually was pretty scary to read. And in another UF series I read, the guy became a monster hunter in the first place cuz of a vampire attack on his cop partner that gave him PTSD. So it does happen in books, but the characters survive, and then it’s significantly less scary after the first attack.

      Yeah I don’t really know what happens in horror either tbh lol.

      Even in those spoilers, I don’t really take a side, you know? But I feel conflicted because I understand why both sides are doing what they’re doing, and I feel bad for the victims even though I want the MCs to survive.

      Thanks ๐Ÿ™‚

      1. Greg

        Yeah it can be tough when you root for the monster but feel bad for the victims too. ๐Ÿ™‚ And it’s funny cause I was reading an old Tomb of dracula comic the other day and several people got killed, and they were’t monster hunters, and the writer/ artist did a good of of making it seem pretty scary. You know, for a comic. Then I read your post, and I was like- yeah. :).

        1. Kristen Burns

          Tough, but also interesting. Those times in books when you feel torn about what exactly you *should* feel are some of the best. Huh, I feel like that’s really gotta be hard to show something scary in comic form, so that’s cool they managed it!

  3. Karen Blue

    I haven’t actually considered things from a victims POV. I guess if I wasn’t really connecting with the villain I would, but I don’t remember that ever happening.
    Great topic though. I am kinda feeling like a cold person for not considering the victim.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I don’t think you’re cold, most books just aren’t really written in a way to make you think about the victim, I guess. Idk why it suddenly happened in that one scene. I did connect w/ that protag a lot, but idk, I really felt for the victim too, maybe just cuz he was shown to be this normal guy, and then his struggle and fear were shown so well.

  4. verushka

    I…. actually don’t. And I feel like it’s such a simple thing to think about I can’t figure out why I haven’t. BUT, I don’t always want books going through the same thing with a different perspective (Like 50 Shades from Christian’s POV? ) Something always needs to keep a story moving forward.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Well, no. For most books, I don’t think it’s necessary to have an entire separate book with a diff POV. In most books, it’s not even necessary to have more than one or two POVs in the book. But I can’t help but feel what other characters must be feeling sometimes. I feel like you prob have w/o realizing it since you’ve prob felt bad/happy/nervous/etc. for a side character or love interest at some point.

      1. verushka

        I guess I have, but I never focused on it much. I guess if I have my main characters I tend to focus on them first and give a bit of thought to the others — the only thing that comes to mind is Harry Potter. Dobby for instance, I was fully invested in his happiness.

        1. Kristen Burns

          Aww Dobby <3 But you actually just reminded me of an instance in HP when I put myself in another POV. *SPOILER (in case anyone reading this comment hasn't read the series)* When Sirius died, and Harry was losing it, it was Remus who dragged him away. But I felt worse for Remus because he was the one who had been best friends w/ Sirius and just gotten his friend back, and yet he was also the one who had to keep it together for Harry's sake, and seeing Harry all upset like that prob made it hurt more.

          But anyway, it makes sense to think mostly of the MCs!

  5. chucklesthescot

    I never think about the POV of other characters. If I did that, it’d take me over a week to get through every book and I don’t have the time and energy for that. I read the book as the author sets it out and when I finish it I go straight on to a different book and don’t generally think about it.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I don’t find that it takes me too long to read books since I don’t really stop and take a moment to think of each POV separately, I just kind of feel what different characters must be feeling all at once.

  6. Erica

    YES! I imagine things from the side characters all the time! When I saw that there was a Four novel to add to the Divergent series, I was pumped! Unfortunately that one fell a little flat for me, but it was still pretty interesting!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yay another person who gets it! Those extra novel things in series are kind of hit-or-miss with me though. It usually depends on how much I liked that particular character lol, but sometimes even then they don’t add very much to the story. I never got around to reading the Four novel, but I’m glad it was interesting!

  7. Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy

    This is an interesting question. I’ve honestly never considered whether I do this or not, but anyone with empathy is bound to think about the victim’s POV. I think changing the perspective would in fact change the whole story in some cases.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I can understand if some people don’t ever think of the victim’s POV since really that’s not the point, you know? But I just can’t help it sometimes. It would definitely change the whole story if you changed perspective in some cases though!

  8. Karen

    I think about that a lot – even with TV shows which, honestly, ruins a lot of shows/books for me lol

    I guess when you’re reading something like paranormal/UF, you have to let a lot of that go in order to root for the supposed heroes – who are killing to survive. You have to pick a team lol

    And while I wonder about their thoughts, I don’t necessarily actually want their pov. It would drag the story down and probably ruin the narrative. Although I did just recently read a vampire novel that did have the pov’s of the vampires and humans and I thought it was done well.

    Karen @ For What It’s Worth

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yay, someone else who gets it! Lol. I mean, I don’t let it get in the way of my enjoyment, I do let it go in UF cuz, as you said, you kind of have to. But I can’t help but briefly think about it sometimes. I wouldn’t actually want to get their POV either though. It just wouldn’t be necessary, so I agree it would drag the story down. That’s cool that you recently read one w/ both POVs though.

  9. Rosie Amber

    I’ve not really considered this question either, but last year I read two novellas which worked well, Blue Waters and Black Waters (by India R Adams) are one story from two different points of view. I was unsure if the scenario would work but it did, really well, with the author adding extra twists in the second book, there are plans for a third one too.

  10. Let's Get Beyond Tolerance

    Oh interesting topic. I can’t think of an example like yours, but I feel like I do! I’m one of those people that actually like more than one point of view in books because I often want to know how the other person is feeling or sees a situation. This is particularly true when there is a romance; I like both point of views!! That’s an interesting thought about vampire books and wondering how the victim feels! I think it’s a good thing – it shows you’re empathetic. ๐Ÿ™‚

    -Lauren

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks ๐Ÿ™‚ You probably do without really realizing it. I guess it just stood out with the vampire/victim scene to me for some reasons. But yeah, getting both POVs in a romance is usually great!

  11. L

    I don’t think this has ever occurred to me until now. I can remember times when I liked a secondary character more than the main POV, but I didn’t actually consider what they might be thinking. I guess that’s why some authors will write books in a series but from a different person’s perspective. For example, the Stage Dive series I just finished… each book is from a different girl’s perspective with a different guy. Some of the characters are related, and all their lives intersect, but it was interesting seeing how each of them responded and saw what was happening around them.

    Occasionally scenes from the books would overlap, and while they were similar because I knew what was going on, I did not know how different it was for each of them. Four people will respond to one situation four completely different ways.

    Nice topic!
    Do You Dog-ear?

    1. Kristen Burns

      Well, if you’ve ever felt anything for a secondary character, you’ve prob put yourself in their shoes at least a little bit w/o realizing. But it can definitely be interesting when you get a book from a different POV character and you realize that they saw something completely different, or even just how two diff character view the same third character or something!

  12. Lorna

    Absolutely! The vampire example is good. I read a lot of those as well and if they do kill their victims-unless they are horrible people-I definitely have sympathy for the innocent. I think I wonder about peripheral characters feelings a lot. Ever read JD Robb’s In Death series? Her sidekick Peabody is one of my favorite characters ever. Of course, I think about her thoughts and feelings even though she’s not the star. That’s just an example, I am sure given time I could come up with a lot more. Good topic!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, sometimes they don’t kill victims, but when they do, I do feel bad for the innocents. I often think about love interests and side characters thoughts and feelings too. But that’s normal, I think, since that’s how we feel bad them sometimes and whatnot. Thanks!

  13. Sam@WLABB

    I have never thought about this explicitly, but now that you mention it, YES, I totally do this. In fact, I know I sit back at times and wish the author gave us the POV of a particular character, because I am thinking about them so much.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah, I think most of us probably do this without even realizing. In some cases, it definitely would be interesting to get the POV of a diff character in a book like you said!

  14. Chauncey Rogers

    That’s a really insightful line at the end–that the difference between horror and urban fantasy is the perspective. I’ve always had a harder time with horror books. I enjoy reading them, but I’m not often scared by them, so to me they often just feel silly. Maybe it’s because I haven’t found enough MCs that I feel empathy for. I swear I do feel empathy for other people, though. I’m not a serial killer in the making! ๐Ÿ˜‰
    I actually made a somewhat related post on my blog a couple of weeks back….which you read and commented on! You’re the best. ๐Ÿ™‚ It was the one about the dead frog.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks ๐Ÿ™‚ I’m actually a scaredy cat, so that’s why I avoid horror lol. Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re a serial killer in the making! I know lots of people aren’t scared by horror, and maybe it’s a hard genre to make the MCs likeable/relatable or something.

      Yes, I remember the post! And this was the one I was referring to in my comment XD

  15. Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

    Oh my goodness, yes! Sometimes, I do that too, especially with paranormal stories where the paranormals are killers – even if they have to kill in order to survive themselves. I would be scared to death (see what I did there?) if I was attacked by a vampire. They are so strong, too, so it would probably be impossible to get away from them.
    Great post, Kristen!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yay another person who does this too! Lol nice pun ๐Ÿ˜‰ But yeah, I always feel bad for the victims when the supernaturals kill them, even if it’s necessary. And in some of the cases, it would be absolutely terrifying! Thanks ๐Ÿ™‚

  16. Dani @ Perspective of a Writer

    I LOVE imagining from the non-POV characters, lol. I feel like they are more mysterious and so I think about those characters more. I RELATE maybe to the MCs but I want to know more and feel more about the mysterious side characters and yes, the victims of those MCs. Excellent, Kristen, simply excellent! โ™ฅ๏ธ

  17. Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks

    I’ve never thought of it like that! Awesome idea. I guess when I read, I just read and sort of go with the flow?

    But actually, I guess I have considered the victim’s point of view in the case of vampires and such (although I rarely read books with those characters).

    I love it how you say that the only difference between urban fantasy and horror is just the perspective. Really cool idea. And I think you’re right!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Idk, I just can’t help but think about other characters sometimes! And I mean, it makes sense that if urban fantasy were told from the POV of the victim, it would seem like horror lol. Thanks!

  18. Daniela Ark

    I wonder about this often when I’m writing and that’s why I progressed very little at first because I kept changing the POV. I’ve read a few vampire books with a POV from the victims perspective and THEY ARE SO GOOD!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol I can see how that would slow you down. But as the writer, I think it’s a good thing to know how all the characters in your scene are feeling! You just don’t actually have to write it. It’s definitely interesting seeing a vampire attack from the victim’s POV!

  19. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    I can’t say I’ve ever really imagined a book scene from another POV but I do enjoy reading fanfic looking at scenes in a film or TV show from another perspective so it’s an interesting idea. It’s an interesting thing to contemplate. I always question how the other Hogwarts students didn’t hate Harry and seriously try and get him to not come to school so they could have a nice relaxed year of learning. For me, when it comes to fantasy/sci if worlds I contemplate the entire world the book is set in and wonder about history of the place. I want to know how the world functions and exists and essentially learn everything about it.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Huh, that’s interesting that you find fanfic for that! I never even thought about that. I guess I assumed fanfic was always new stories being made up or w/e. Lol that’s true about Harry. Oh that’s something I hadn’t thought about either, how certain SFF worlds kind of function.

  20. Olivia Roach

    I usually don’t think about the POV of an unnamed or unimportant character – like the person being attacked or who is seeing something crucial to the plot in person. Sometimes people jump in kind of to forward the plot, and sometimes I wonder what their take on all this is, but for the most part I think about seeing things from the secondary characters point of view. Or from another main character whose POV we aren’t reading from. I especially thought about this when reading the Gone series by Michael Grant.

    1. Kristen Burns

      For the most part I really only think about the unnamed characters if they’re innocent victims who have been killed or hurt by one of the MCs cuz I just feel bad. But even thinking about a secondary or non-POV MC’s POV counts as what I was talking about! I haven’t read Gone, but it probably had good characters if you found yourself wondering about them.

  21. Literary Feline

    I haven’t really noticed myself doing this in the books I read a whole lot, but I have in the television shows I watch, particularly the ones in which the main characters fall into that gray area. Often times, in books and movies/TV, even those morally ambiguous characters go up against “real” bad guys, and that makes everything okay. I do find myself wondering though about the innocent witnesses or the collateral damage . . .

    1. Kristen Burns

      That’s interesting that you do this with TV shows. Maybe cuz with TV shows you don’t get to know anyone’s thoughts and are left to kind of wonder, even for the MCs.

  22. AngelErin

    This is such a cool post! I’ve thought about that myself. There will be a certain scene in a book and I’ll find myself wishing that I could see it from another character’s POV. Great post! :* <3

  23. Lola

    It depends a bit on the book, but I do this to a certain extent. I remember a recent read where the main character got really close to four new guys and her boyfriend turned into a jealous jerk basically. But when I considered his point of view, i thought his reaction totally made sense as the girlfriend he loved and wants to get old with is suddenly fawning over four new guys and he feels like he is losing the girl of his life.

    I also had a great MM romance I read last year where the love interest was so well written we would really emphasize with him and even tough we don’t get his point of view as the reader we do see their connection which the mc doesn’t see and some scenes the love interest reaction makes so much sense when you try and imagine what he’s going through in that moment. Which is also how the book is written to a certain degree, so I think it was totally intentional there.

    I am not sure on what it depends how much i try and see the pov of a side characters, but I do seem to have it happen in some books more than others, but in general I tend to this do some degree. And that’s an interesting thought that maybe with the main character we get their thoughts and stop at that, but with side characters we try and fill things in more.

    And I do feel bad for the victims as well in books like that were the vampires or other creatures have to kill them. Or even sometimes the tugs that get hired and get killed even tough they aren’t the real bad guys.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’d be upset too if I were that boyfriend! It does help make character reactions seem more reasonable sometimes when we consider their perspectives.

      I think it is intentional a lot of the time. But it must be hard as an author to figure out how to make a non-POV character’s thoughts or feelings known without it seeming too forced.

      Oh, yeah, it def happens more in some book than others for me too. Maybe it has to do with how the books are written, how developed the side characters are, or maybe just how much we connect to them.

      Yes! I always feel bad for the innocent people who get killed, even if it’s necessary for the vampire’s survival. And yeah, even the kind of bad guys sometimes aren’t so bad that they deserved to die.

  24. Fanna

    Yes, yes! There are so many times when I reach halfway through the book after not enjoying its first half and conclude that it’s all because of the POV the story is written in. If it was said through the other characters’ head, this would’ve been much better. I think it’s how close we feel to a particular character that seeing the story through their eyes would make the scene come alive. Sometimes even some random side character interests me so much more than the main one. Like, I’ll be rooting for the spin off and not the actual series. It’s interesting how you summed up the value of perspective. It’s all about who’s take we’re listening to in the book. An urban fantasy can definitely be a horror in a different way ๐Ÿ˜€ Great post, Kristen! <3

    1. Kristen Burns

      That’s interesting, Idk if I’ve ever actually thought about whether a book would have been better if the author had used a diff POV character. But you make good points! And yeah, sometimes I do like side characters more than the MC. Thanks!

  25. Di @ Book Reviews by Di

    Interesting discussion! And YES! I definitely do this – that’s how I connect to the other characters when I’m in the head of a first person POV book!

    So… Here’s a pretty horrible example, but one that I will use anyway – I was reading The Twilight Saga (yes *sigh*), and then I read a novella about The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner – and in this, Stephanie Meyer has built background for a newborn vampire who was actually tortured and killed in TTS and it gave so much more depth to her story and what she went through and what thoughts crossed her mind and her motivations – and I couldn’t believe there had been so much more to her because in TTS she was a pretty unimportant character really. But it made me think more and more about these characters and how much WORK authors have to put into their work! So, props to all the authors.

    Also YES to the poor dragon in Spell Weaver. ๐Ÿ™ We chatted about that one.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Exactly! Even in third person, unless it’s omniscient, that’s how we connect with non-POV characters.

      That’s interesting that there was a whole book about this side character you never really thought of! I felt that way with the S&S companion book, that there was all this stuff about Lyre and Ash that I hadn’t even realized or thought about, even plot stuff like when Lyre went to the Underworld, and it made me realize just how much thought had gone into the series that the reader never even knew about. So I agree, props to authors!

      Yes we did chat about that poor dragon ๐Ÿ™

  26. Cee @ Dora Reads

    I get what you mean – I always think in action sequences (whether on TV, in films, or in books,) where they kill the guards or whatever in order to get to the prisoner/enemy/shiny-thing on the other side of the door, that’s it’s horrible how *incidental* it is most of the time. Like, I get you’re trying to save the Kingdom, but that guard didn’t do anything to you – he probably had a family who loved him, y’know??? He was looking forward to dinner, maybe a pint in the pub on the way home, and you’ve killed him for basically doing his job. And he’s never mentioned again.

    It always annoys me, because let’s face it, most of us, were we living in a fictional world, would be the effing guard!!!! Lol!

    (And then I remind myself that they’re fictional – and carry on reading! Lol.)

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yes, that too! Have you read Nimona? Cuz I just read it yesterday, and at one point, after Nimona caused an explosion, Blackheart told it killed people, and she was like, “But the Institution ruined your life!” and he was like, “Those guards didn’t ruin my life!” I have read a couple books where they at least tried to just knock the guards out or something but not kill or permanently harm.

      Lol but they’re real to us!

      1. Cee @ Dora Reads

        No, I haven’t read Nimona – I’ve seen around a bit, but it’s just never really drawn me in, y’know? I know a lot of people love it though! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Yeah but the plus with fictional people is you can be like, ‘and off-page, a magical wizard came up and brought them back to life then frolicked away to save other side characters!’ Lol! XD

  27. Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

    I’ve thought about this extensively when it comes to The Others series by Anne Bishop. We are made to root for the Others and see the humans who are against them as being almost racist in a lot of ways. But I’ve thought, what if these books were told from the perspective of one of the humans who is against the Others? If we saw the world from their perspective, we’d probably see people afraid for their lives, feeling held at the mercy of inhuman people who could turn on them at any moment and brutally murder them. If the book was told from that perspective, it would probably feel like a dystopian and we would side with the humans!

    1. Kristen Burns

      That’s really interesting! I haven’t read that series, but now I’m even more curious. I love that you’ve considered how different it would be if it were told from the POV of a human.