Unusual points of view in sff

[Melissa]

Hi everyone, so I have a question. I'm just going through The Night Circus which is written in third person present tense. It's an unfamiliar point of view to me. I don't see it too often. Can you point me to other books written in this point of view (preferably well written)? Fantasy and science fiction books are best, but horror is okay too.
What other uncommon points of view have you come across that have been done well?
The traditional points of view seem to be third person past and first person past.

[[deleted user]]

Snow Crash is written in exactly the same way: third person present tense, as well as some of the stories in Pump Six and Other Stories collection. I personally find third person present tense distracting and unnecessary, but it might be just me.

[[deleted user]]

Melissa wrote: "What other uncommon points of view have you come across that have been done well?..."

Easily the weirdest point of view choice I've run into in SFF is Charles Stross's two near-future cyberpunk-ish stories set in Edinburgh: Halting State and Rule 34.

Both are written in 2nd-person present tense, i.e.: " 'That's unusual,' you say as you read the book..." Even stranger, Stross uses multiple points of view, all of them "you". So who "you" are keeps changing. (It took me a depressingly long time to figure out that I could tell which character was the PoV for any given chapter based on the chapter title. Duh.)

I thought they were pretty clever stories though, embracing near-future trends such as augmented reality (Google Glass for cops), 3-D printers, autonomous "bots", as well as more traditional threats such as computer viruses. The unusual PoV takes considerable acclimatization.

It's like playing that old text-based computer game, Colossal Cave: "you are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike."

PS Come to think of it, that opening section of The Night Circus his 2nd person, too.

[[deleted user]]

Melissa wrote: "Can you point me to other books written in this point of view...?"

The Hunger Games trilogy is 1st person present tense. "I wake up.... I stretch my fingers out..."

[[deleted user]]

G33z3r wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Can you point me to other books written in this point of view...?"

The Hunger Games trilogy is 1st person present tense."

You just killed the tiny spark of curiosity I had about the series :(

[Melissa]

I've read the Hunger Games. I didn't even notice anything strange, maybe because it was first person. I may have to skim through the books again sometime.

[[deleted user]]

Evgeny wrote: "I personally find third person present tense distracting and unnecessary, but it might be just me...."

As a rule, I don't find present tense distracting beyond the first couple of pages (and then it's only distracting because it's unusual.) The usual argument is that it provides more "immediacy" to the story. What distraction is has comes mainly from being less familiar.

I did mention finding it somewhat distracting in "The Night Circus" only because that novel also jumps back & forth in time (with each chapter dated.) I figure if you're going to write in the "now", then you should pick one "now" and stick with it. I found the way "The Night Circus" kept redefining "now" was similar to the way "Halting State" kept redefining "you".

[Hillary]

I tend to find present-tense a little gimmicky, taking me out of the action rather than immersing me in it as it's meant to, but the right author can sometimes pull off something really special with it. (Come to think, I feel the same way about 3D in films.)

A favorite fantasy of mine that uses present tense is The Towers of the Sunset by L.E. Modesitt Jr.. (It's in the same series as and would be a distant pre-quel to his The Magic of Recluce, which I was familiar with before I read Towers. I might have found Towers more confusing or less satisfying if I hadn't read at least one of the more "traditional" Recluce books first.)

[E.D.]

This is similar to musical styling; 4/4...9/8...verse/chorus....refrain..bolero. Straight beat or syncopation, fast tribal or belt buckle polishing slooooowwww.

Some people want a "good beat you can dance to" and nothing else. Same with reading.

We all live in first person/present tense, so I don't understand why anyone would find it jarring to read it. I have , however, always had a dislike for ska. :}

[Jim]

Evgeny wrote: "You just killed the tiny spark of curiosit..."

It was one of the more irritating things about the writing. I like 1st person past, but 1st person present seems too forced & awkward at times.

[Mary]

I find present tense to be annoying until I get into the flow. Then it's invisible. (Note all you authors: that means that whatever effect you aimed at, you missed it.)

I once read an effective 2nd-person story. One character was cloning her sister, and recounting the story of the sister's life (which was deeply involved in genetic engineering matters) to the newly formed clone. At the climax, she considered whether to engineer the clone and tweaks one gene. Other than that, it's always been a gimmick.

[Mary]

The most effective unusual POV I've run across is epistolary. A full legitimate POV that's been used in popular books -- occasionally -- for centuries; one such work is a strong contender for the title of the first novel in English. These are works that are assembled (fictional) documents.

Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot and Ciaphas Cain Hero of the Imperium are good fantasy and SF representatives. Except the Queen has it interspaced with some first-person accounts, I think; at least, those narrators never think of themselves as writing.

[[deleted user]]

Mary wrote: "The most effective unusual POV I've run across is epistolary. A full legitimate POV that's been used in popular books -- occasionally -- for centuries;..."

The most recent novel I've read in that PoV was last year's Robopocalypse.