When the protagonist’s plot fails at the last minute, but just when it seems that all hope is lost, it turns out that the failure of this plot was all part of the PLOTTIER PLOT OF SECONDARY CHARACTER, who knew all along that they couldn’t succeed unless Protagonist’s plan failed, or that this failure would open up an opportunity for an even greater success that they’d been cleverly working towards the entire time.
Often seen in heists and thrillers, but a surprising number of fantasy novels too, and even romances. I’m such a sucker for the secret mastermind reveal.
What about you, what’s your favorite trope?
I do like the trope of unlikely allies where characters who are on the other end of a scale overcome their differences and team up for some bigger thing. It‘s really really cliche, but I just like it. I like it because it‘s somewhat promotes selflessness and working together to self-centeredness and ego trips.
Oh I love this too. Any good examples I can add to my list?!🙏🏼
My favourite trope is when the main protagonist is on the run.
My favorite trope is when it doesn’t seem like the author assembled their novel from obvious building blocks that can be easily cataloged on Wikia or whatever.
What kind of building blocks? (Just curious)
As long as the story isn’t predictable while still making sense to a rational thinking individual, I’m happy.
I like stories about the encounters of very different civilizations and the result of these difference. (Is that a trope?)
I love stories messing up with the space-time continuum. (Is that a trope?) But they have to be smart and exact. (So many stories about that fail on the logical front)
I just finished “A Shadow of All Night Falling” book 1 of “The Dread Empire”, so I discovered my new favorite trope
At the end of the book, within the space of a few pages, all the main characters are killed. Not at the same time, just in a series of increasingly unlikely events.
Then a character who hasn’t previously appeared in the story shows up suddenly and performs a resurrection spell and brings them all back to life for no particular reason.
So my favorite trope now is the massively unearned deus ex machina. Like the bigger the F-U to the reader, the better. If at the same time the heroes are saved, the ultimately powerful antagonists are also killed trivially, like in this book, Im satisfied
I’m calling it the “Deus ex Maxima”
Except for the resurrection part, that sounds like the end of Hamlet!
enter Fortinbras
Can you give one example of the above trope? Which book do you read? I like a lot when it comes to fantasy. But for romance, I only adore enemies to lovers.
Most recently, there was a moment in Ink Blood Sister Scribe like this. Other fantasy examples I can think of offhand include Six of Crows and The Library at Mount Char.
You ever watch ‘Leverage’?
I absolutely LOVE Leverage. Have you caught Leverage: Redemption?
The main characters (the “good guys”) being smarter than the antagonists.
Getting all the information in detective stories EXCEPT from the point on when they realise who’s the murderer. Then it’s all shrouded in mystery and “he had to go to some place we won’t tell you right now to do something that we won’t tell you either so you’ll be surprised by the end”.
While we’re at that, the detective giving the murderer a rundown of how everything happened. Like, why do that? Why not tell the police instead of the culprit?
And also while we’re at it, why does it always have to be murder?
Oh, and guessing someone’s password by basically pulling it out of your ass. What, they have a dog? Certainly it will be the dog’s name, without any numbers or special signs. Just a plain name. Yup, that’s how passwords work all of the time.
Sooooo Sherlock Holmes?
Those are your favorites? It seems like you feel kind of negative about them.
Oh, I love, love, LOVE them. :P
Protagonist has to go on a roadtrip because his village/ill mother/etc really need him to find something and he has many small adventures on the way and gets to know the country and its people.
Example: Julie Kagawa - Shadow of the fox
Mentor mentee relationships, like knights and squires or wizards and their apprentices. Especially when they’re close enough in age to have older brother vibes instead of surrogate daddy. Like Anakin and Obi-Wan.
This is part of the charm of The Mask of Zorro, one of my favorite films.
Does Ender’s game count for this?
Oh, I’d totally count that! Haven’t read it in decades, but it had such an impact on me as a teen.
The Genius Ditz Someone who comes across most of the time as a clueless dingbat, until their one area of expertise is needed, and they suddenly snap into a miraculous prodigy.
Like Zach Galifiankis’ character in The Hangover?
Did he have skills? I saw a couple of those movies but don’t remember Alan being anything other than a mess.
Any recommendations? I LOVE rewatching the My Cousin Vinny courtroom moment but I can’t think of a book like this.
like on “do revenge” (2022)?
YES
Villain redemption arc. I’m a sucker for them. Jaime Lannister comes to mind.
Dude, time travel shenanigans and the genius manipulator who entraps their opponent before leisurely explaining how they accurately predicted how things would play out. Usually seen in detective novels, but also fits right in with thrillers. I also really like morally grey/borderline villanous protagonists.
Most recent book I read featuring these tropes (sans the time travel) was the Baru Cormorant series.