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What author/work did the "varying character viewpoints" narrative first? (lemmy.ca)
submitted 5 months ago by to c/literature@beehaw.org
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I feel like it's pretty common in fiction these days, Game of Thrones being probably the most popular example with character viewpoint changing chapter-by-chapter and gradually weaving the different threads of plot into one connected whole. It's used in movies and television constantly, too.

The oldest I'm personally aware of is Dune, more-so in Dune Messiah, which I've read for the first time recently. I presume Herbert wasn't the first, though, and have been wondering how old the technique really is. Anyone have any insight (or even good guesses) on where it started?

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[–] 4 points 5 months ago* (4 children)

The oldest I am aware is the original Dune but look at Herbert's inspiration. I am reading Erewhon right now but so far no POV changes.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 5 months ago* (3 children)

    I am reading Erewhon right now but so far no POV changes.

    After looking it up, it sounds interesting! Haven't read it myself, but the title made me think of Lord of the Rings, which does kind of do something similar, but pretty different at the same time. It's been a while since I read that, though, and my memory of it is pretty fuzzy.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    I somehow picked this up looking for books by Butler that inspired Herbert. Not sure if its the right one where the Butlerian Jihad was inspired by but its got pretty good prose. I haven't read anything that does what Dune did, and Dune did it well.

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 5 months ago

    It really did. I have my issues with various things in the Dune series, but Herbert's writing skill is not one of them. It's very impressive and clearly influenced large swaths of modern day writing.

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