Any good stories with an anti-twist?
I was reading some random Brandon Sanderson quote about fulfilling expectations earlier today, and I started thinking about The Last Jedi's heavy handed attempts to subvert them [before JJ came back]. Rey's parents are nobody, Snoke doesn't matter, that sort of thing. Or more generally, maybe that ancient prophecy that seems to be set up as some sort of framework of the story, except it was created not by a prophet, but just some guy who was trying to make money or screw with people. Maybe a raving madman claiming to be an ancient God of Olympus turns out to be just some raving madman.
I didn't think The Last Jedi was all that great, but it has me thinking, are there any stories or authors that do that kind of thing and make a good story out of it? I'm mostly looking for a 'are they/aren't they' where they're not, maybe it's a shaggydog or maybe that false belief triggers something else, but either way the story is still satisfying. The whole story doesn't have to be like that, it'd be cool if it kept you guessing, but it should be a major part.
Posted Jul 7, 2022, 6:18 PM UTC
Glen Cook does that a lot. In fact one of his short stories for the Black Company is literally "Shaggy Dog Bridge." And in one of the books where writers offer advice along with a short story he tries to get across that part of his writing is basically "shit happens" without any regard for how much has been planned or how much plot has been invested in a certain character.