There’s an art to it. I’ve read books where the villain wins only for it to be revealed that the protagonist was fighting for the wrong side. The only one who’s title comes to mind is Columbus Day, where humans team up with aliens to fight other aliens that invade earth, only to realize that they joined the “fascist-leaning” side of the conflict as a species-wide pawn.
Now i no longer like it. It’s like being given a problem without key solution. In the end I gained nothing but frustration.
Though an impossibly good ending is like a fake solution key which is even worse so I can see why people avoid that more.
There’s an art to it. I’ve read books where the villain wins only for it to be revealed that the protagonist was fighting for the wrong side. The only one who’s title comes to mind is Columbus Day, where humans team up with aliens to fight other aliens that invade earth, only to realize that they joined the “fascist-leaning” side of the conflict as a species-wide pawn.