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POV question

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Roxxsmom

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A book I read recently that did this was Elizabeth Moon's Speed of Dark. The scenes in the main protagonist's pov was in first person present tense, while the scenes from the pov of other characters were in third limited past tense.

The protagonist had a very distinct and unusual voice, however, and most of the novel was seen through the eyes of this character. She did is pretty seamlessly, though. I didn't even notice the first time she made the switch.
 

Millenniumfalsehood

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The big question is why, and one good reason I can think of is mystery. If you're trying to keep the main antagonist a secret, it can be a good mechanic to make all of the writing surrounding him and his actions keep his identity a secret while also providing an interesting insight into his character. It also works to distance him from the protagonists by making the style of his sections different from the protagonists. I don't recall exactly where I saw this, but it was probably a mystery novel (obviously).
 
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