I'm writing a story in which my M/C is going to die with no hope of resurrection. However, he eventually wakes up in a new body, half-way across the planet. He has no idea how this happened. Is this kind ov do-over acceptable, or just a cheap, dickish move?
I hope you've got a decent explanation for this somewhere down the line. If you just randomly do it (or do it too often), I'd be weirded out.
it sounds like a really awesome concept, but there's got to be a good explanation and/or twist - it doesn't necessarily have to be given to the reader before it happens, but you should at least foreshadow it some. If you do it right, I think it could be awesome
It needs some sort of explanation or people won't like it. Other than that, don't reuse or abuse the process too often.
I think it will work if it makes sense. As a reader I would want there to be a reason that it happened and I would want it to progress the story forward. If the character just dies and then suddenly appears someplace else and there doesn't seem to be any real purpose for it other than to be a twist device then I probably won't be thrilled.
The idea I had in mind was to have the M/C die, and re-awaken 4 years later, with the planet gone to shit.
Ah yes, but HOW does the MC reawaken when you've already stated resurrection is impossible? That is the million dollar question, and the only thing readers will be wondering when they're done.
Subtly foreshadow it. Do something with the story before the resurrection, so that if the reader goes back and really thinks about the plot, then he will think "wow, I cannot believe I never saw that resurrection coming."
You say he has "no hope of resurrection." You mean as in "It doesn't exist in my universe," or, "He doesn't believe in it for himself"? If the former and you have it happen anyway, you've violated your own constructs and are guilty of jiggery-pokery of the most egregious sort. Your readers won't stand for it. If the latter, hee-hee, what a good joke on your character! BTW, what you describe would not be resurrection per se, but reincarnation. Not unless the body he awakens in is a transformed version of the one he died in and exists in another dimension and has a different mode of being than it had in this earthly plane. And since he's still on the same planet, it's reincarnation you want. (Not resuscitation,either. That would be the same body brought back to life.)
