So, I've been wanting to write this basic idea for awhile now. It was born out of a theory I had about the Inheritance Cycle a while back: that the Varden were evil, the king wasn't actually that bad (and if he was, it was directly because of the Varden), and that the green dragon egg hadn't been stolen because it had already hatched, and the Green Dragon and his rider were going to show up and show Eragon and Saphira how twisted up their view was by trusting the wrong people. Needless to say, that did not happen. However, I think it makes for a rather good story idea. But here's what I mean by two versions of the same story. Ultimately, the story is about the same thing. A vast empire has a rebellion stirring, and the emperor is largely considered to be Evul For the Lulz. However, the MC and her companions investigate (either out of suspicion as lower level rebels or as official, sponsored-by-royalty investigators) and figure out that the rebellion and their backers, the High Elves, are actually Villains With Good Publicity, and the Emperor is just a Hero With Bad Publicity (that's trope speak for my fellow tropers). And the story sort of goes from there. Now, I'm torn between what perspective the MC will be. Will she be a rebel who slowly learns the horrible truth? Or a loyal rider who is filled with doubt, but ultimately is validated in her steadfast trust in her emperor (and perhaps relative, I'm not sure yet)? Which sounds more interesting? A rebel who slowly realizes the truth about her dashing leaders; or a soldier and maybe royal who wants to believe in her emperor/uncle/whatever despite the evidence that seems to be piling up and all the rumors, and is the only person who really wants to prove the emperor's innocence?
Well if you want an opinion I'd say having the character discover that the rebels are actually the bad guys would be a more interesting story. Not one I'd particularly want to read as I prefer things to be very black and white.
A rebel slowly realizing the turth. It would be interesting to see the MC being torn between who to believe and at what point the MC made their move and it's effort on the whole battle. By the way even though I read and enjoyed the Inheritance series it was also a great lesson in skim reading. He could have increased his audience and overall sucess of his books if he could have condensed more of the description. It makes my eyes tired just thinking about it.
Personally, I'd go with the rebel. It'd have more of an impact to have the protagonist realize that she's on the "wrong" side, rather than have her beliefs validated. I love this premise, by the way. Best of luck with it!
I think both protagonists could create equally interesting stories. I would think it would be a reader preference thing as far as which story is more interesting. I like the idea of seeing both perspectives within the overarching plot.
