: Re: Is it okay to switch protagonists between books, if the main protagonist is a hidden "actor"? On my research I stumbled upon this question and it matches somehow with my question, that lingers

@LarsenBagley300

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Once we love a world we want to explore it and its people. But we need to love the world first, and the pacing needs to be right.

I'm currently reading a book by an author I've read since i was small. This series is set on a world that's easy enough to fall in love with, and we've seen different parts of this world (different classes, characters, etc.) Usually there's a trilogy following each class on the planet. All good. The protagonist sometimes switches between books but major characters are brought along.

That's all fine, because what is constant is the world and the struggles in the world. Most importantly, enough threads are brought through, characters are still maintained, just not as PoV, and new information is brought in at an appropriate pace.

But, in this new book, the author goes way too far, for me as a reader. There is serious head hopping between characters, and every few pages is set in a new part of the world with different characters. I suspect the author is showing a global dynamic in play - a global crisis - In the streets of the city, in the countryside, in the palace, in the craft halls, in the farm fields, on the seas, in the universities ...

It's so annoying. I invest in a farm scene and read for three pages and begin to root for the characters and then boom I'm on a boat in the middle of the ocean. OK, I can handle the switch, we'll get back to the farm boy, right? No not yet, we have to go to the opera hall next. Or the gas station.

So, pace your stories and make me love your world, and I'm happy to explore more of it. And keep some characters riding through, because we probably fell in love with them as well. Don't push it too hard or too fast. Don't yank me around. Think of your storytelling like a courtship with the readers. Think about pleasing and enticing and satisfying, while introducing the new angle, and the readers will be happy to come along for the ride.

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