Five PsoV?

Not if you don't write it in a confusing way. I suppose that could sound flippant, but it's actually true. If you can clearly and smoothly weave these characters' voices together to form a cohesive story, then I think you're fine. It's not so much the number of viewpoints* as it is what you do with them.

*Although at a certain point, the mulitplying POVs would probably become unmanageable and the story incoherent.

Is it in 1st person or third? If it's in third then I don't a problem with having that many POVs. But if its 1st, people might get confused.

By the way, I know how you feel on wanting to tell from many POVs. I love doing that, too. It gives all the beloved characters a chance to "speak".

I once wrote a third person novel (now trunked forever) with six POV's, and it worked fine.
My current WIP started out with four in first person, but I cut that down to two due to confusion and the MC's not having enough time.

I agree with The Second Moon. If it's third person I think you can get away with a lot more than if it was first person. Just make sure every POV is important.

You don't have to show that important POV. It could just be a mystery character if they bring nothing new. I've read some books in which the side character tells the story about the MC, although never with multiple POV's.

As the others have said, it's all in the execution. As long as there's clarity about whose POV you're in, you'll be fine.

I know Heinlein's "Number of the Beast" has four alternating POVs - each one gets a chapter at a time. IIRC (been a long time since I read it), he lists the POV in the Chapter Title though to help guide the readers.

Not my favorite Heinlein story, but I thought he did the POV switching clearly enough to avoid confusion.

It's very common in fantasy. My first ms had five povs.

One of Us is Lying (the book I'm reading now) has 4 POVs and it's in first person, present tense! So it can be done, definitely. Also, Welcome to the Dark House has 6 POvs and I think that was done in first person too.

Undercover said:

One of Us is Lying (the book I'm reading now) has 4 POVs and it's in first person, present tense! So it can be done, definitely. Also, Welcome to the Dark House has 6 POvs and I think that was done in first person too.

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Wow! In first person? That's impressive. I could barely handle four in first person, past tense.

Jo Walton's Philosopher King books had 4 or 5 PoVs, also in first person

My story has 7 Povs in first person.

My published novel is told from 26 POVs and I have yet to have anyone tell me there was any confusion. As long as the reader clearly knows what is going on, they won't even notice the number of POVs.

My published novel is told from 26 POVs and I have yet to have anyone tell me there was any confusion. As long as the reader clearly knows what is going on, they won't even notice the number of POVs.

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Wow. You're incredible. Thank you for inspiring me.

All of you are so brave with the amount of POV's you put in your work.

The Second Moon said:

Wow. You're incredible. Thank you for inspiring me.

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Thanks. That's very kind of you.

But I do think the main consideration when writing is to find the best way to convey your story to the reader. It might be first person or multiple POVs or everything in between and beyond.