History TheReveal / Literature

* ''Literature/SweetAndBitterMagic'': Vera, the High Counciller who's head of the witches' Coven, later turns out to be Tamsin's mother. This is after we've learned she's exiled Tamsin and {{cursed}} her for trying to save her twin Marlena with dark magic. Further, she undid the spell that kept Marlena alive, thus killing her (but it's revealed later she actually survived).

* Every ''Literature/HarryPotter'' book has at least one, with most of them having to do with the villain's identity and true nature. As CerebusSyndrome set in, the series gradually came to deemphasize them, with the climax of each book instead revolving around [[AnyoneCanDie the death of a major character]]; even so, they're still very much present in the later books. Notably, ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]''--as the turning point of the series--has both in the climax.
** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone]]'': [[spoiler:Professor Quirrell]] is the traitor at Hogwarts trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone, and Voldemort has been [[spoiler: [[GrandTheftMe possessing his body]]]] all along.
** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]'': The Heir of Slytherin is [[spoiler:Tom Riddle--better known as Lord Voldemort]]. Ginny Weasley has been his UnwittingPawn, as she opened the Chamber while possessed by [[spoiler: the spirit of Riddle's old diary]].
** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Prisoner of Azkaban]]'':
*** Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are [[spoiler:Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and James Potter, respectively]].
*** Sirius Black is [[spoiler:innocent, and he was loyal to the Potters until the end]]. The one who actually betrayed the Potters to Voldemort and commited the murders that got Black sent to Azkaban was [[spoiler:Peter Pettigrew, a.k.a. Wormtail]].
*** Pettigrew is still alive, and he has spent the last 12 years [[spoiler:[[{{Animorphism}} posing as the Weasley family's pet rat, Scabbers]]]]. Black has been trying to break into Hogwarts to [[spoiler:kill Pettigrew the whole time, not Harry]].
*** Professor Lupin is [[spoiler:secretly a werewolf]]. Snape has been trying to expose Lupin as [[spoiler:a werewolf to get him fired from his teaching post at Hogwarts]].
*** The Shrieking Shack is actually [[spoiler:a sanctuary that Dumbledore built for Lupin when he was a student at Hogwarts, and still trying to cope with his lycanthropy]]. The Whomping Willow was planted [[spoiler: to hide the entrance to the secret tunnel that leads into the Shack]].
*** The mysterious Black Dog was [[spoiler:Sirius Black the whole time, as he's been looking after Harry while in his Animagus disguise]].
*** Hermione has been keeping up with her class schedule with the help of [[spoiler: a [[OurTimeMachineIsDifferent Time-Turner]], a powerful magical device that lets her make short trips back in time]].
** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]'':
*** Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody is really [[spoiler:Barty Crouch Jr., who has been hiding his identity with Polyjuice Potion ever since escaping from Azkaban]].
*** The Triwizard Tournament is secretly a trap designed to deliver Harry into Voldemort's hands; [[spoiler:Crouch/Moody arranged for Harry to enter the Tournament so that he could help him win, ensuring that Voldemort could use his blood in his resurrection ritual]].
** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'': The mysterious hallway from Harry's dreams is [[spoiler: the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries]], which houses [[spoiler: a prophecy about Voldemort's defeat at Harry's hands--which first led Voldemort to target Harry as a baby]]. Harry has been dreaming about the hallway because [[spoiler: Voldemort projected visions into Harry's mind to trick him into retrieving the prophecy so that he could steal it]].
** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Half-Blood Prince]]'':
*** The Half-Blood Prince is [[spoiler: Professor Snape--the Half-Blood son of a woman named "Eileen Prince"]].
*** Professor Slughorn was the one who [[spoiler: [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom taught Tom Riddle how to craft Horcruxes when he was a student at Hogwarts]]]].
** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'':
*** "R.A.B." is [[spoiler: Sirius's deceased brother, "Regulus Arcturus Black"]].
*** The Invisibility Cloak is really [[spoiler: one of three fabled magical items--allegedly once gifts from [[TheGrimReaper Death]]--that can supposedly make the owner immortal if they're all found]].
*** Professor Dumbledore was [[spoiler: once close friends with Gellert Grindelwald, the Dark Wizard who he's credited with defeating]]. He was responsible for [[spoiler: taking the Elder Wand from Grindelwald in single combat, making him its most recent owner]].
*** Professor Snape was [[spoiler: on Dumbledore's side the whole time, as he defected from the Death Eaters to avenge the murder of Lily Potter--the only woman he ever loved]]. Dumbledore actually [[spoiler: ordered Snape to kill him, because he knew that he was dying from the curse placed on Marvolo Gaunt's ring, and he wanted to die on his own terms to prevent Voldemort from taking the Elder Wand]]. Snape was the one who [[spoiler: cast the doe Patronus to guide Harry to the Sword of Gryffindor]].
*** Dumbledore's old Snitch contains [[spoiler: the Resurrection Stone]], and it's designed to open [[spoiler: when Harry announces that he's about to die]].
*** The final Horcrux is [[spoiler: Harry himself]]. Voldemort [[spoiler: inadvertently left a fragment of his own soul in Harry's body the night that he murdered Lily and James]].
*** The rightful owner of the Elder Wand was really [[spoiler: Draco Malfoy]], who [[spoiler: disarmed Dumbledore before Snape killed him]]. Professor Snape didn't really [[spoiler: claim the Wand from Dumbledore, because Dumbledore ''chose'' to die]]. Harry unwittingly [[spoiler: won possession of the Wand when he disarmed Malfoy in single combat at Malfoy Manor]].

** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]'': Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody is really [[spoiler:Barty Crouch Jr., who has been hiding his identity with Polyjuice Potion ever since escaping from Azkaban]]. Also, the Triwizard Tournament is secretly a trap designed to deliver Harry into Voldemort's hands; [[spoiler:Crouch/Moody arranged for Harry to enter the Tournament so that he could help him win, ensuring that Voldemort could use his blood in his resurrection ritual]].

** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Half-Blood Prince]]'': The Half-Blood Prince is [[spoiler: Professor Snape--the Half-Blood son of a woman named "Eileen Prince"]]. Also, Professor Slughorn was the one who [[spoiler: [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom taught Tom Riddle how to craft Horcruxes when he was a student at Hogwarts]]]].

* ''LightNovel/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'':

* In ''Literature/AnAbundanceOfKatherines'', Colin has dated 19 different girls named Katherine, all of whom have dumped him, and communicates these relationships to the reader through flashbacks. Katherine Carter, aka Katherine XIX, was with him for almost a year and broke his heart. When he was 8, a little girl named Katherine asked him to be her boyfriend; he said yes, fell in love, and got dumped 2½ minutes later. Then Colin is asked out by [[AlphaBitch the most popular girl in school]], who is named Marie, not Katherine, and is finally going to break his streak... but then he sees Katherine I, Katherine the Great, and ends up ditching the date. "And so it was Colin and Katherine Carter snuck out of the house to have a cup of coffee at Cafe Sel Marie."
** Then the book does it ''again'' -- Colin is determined to figure out why Katherines keep dumping him, and he works out a theorem of relationship graphs, and it works for eighteen of the Katherines. But the graph says that ''he'' dumped Katherine III. So finally he calls her back and tries to figure out what happened... guess who did the dumping after all.
* In ''{{Literature/Adaptation}}'' by Malinda Lo, it's revealed that aliens have been visiting Earth, Reese's operation was performed by aliens and Amber, Doctor Brand and Agent Todd are all aliens.

* The ''{{Literature/Alterien}}'' series. The Sisters of Orion reveal things to Oberon and the other Alteriens that forever change the way they look at themselves.

* Much is revealed to Caspian throughout the ''Literature/AstralDawn'' series. He learns he is a Destined One and eventually comes to understand the truth of that destiny.

* In ''Literature/DaddyLongLegs'', the revelation that Daddy Long Legs is Jervis Pendleton, though it is somewhat spoiled by the fact the letter that reveals this is addressed to "My very dearest Master-Jervie-Daddy-Long-Legs-Pendleton-Smith".

* In ''Literature/TheDinosaurLords'', it turns out that:

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': WhamEpisode ''Literature/{{Changes}}'' has a big reveal for the series up to that point, but also for that book, in [[WhamLine the first sentence]].

* In ''Literature/TheGirlFromTheMiraclesDistrict'':

* In ''Literature/TheGoldenCompass'':
** Lyra's parents didn't die in an accident, as she was told by her guardians. [[spoiler:She is actually the bastard daughter of Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter.]] Her guardians lied to her in [[spoiler:in an attempt to protect her from her parents' dangerous political and religious entanglements, as well as her father's schemes.]] It is also revealed in the same conversation that Ma Costa [[spoiler:once worked for Lord Asriel and actually saved Lyra's life when Mrs. Coulter's jaded husband came after Lyra and Lord Asriel.]]
** "The Gobblers" actually [[spoiler:work for Mrs. Coulter. They have been abducting children and experimenting on them on her orders.]]

* Every ''Literature/HarryPotter'' book has '''at least''' one, with most of them having to do with the villain's identity and true nature. As CerebusSyndrome set in, the series gradually came to deemphasize them, with the climax of each book instead revolving around [[AnyoneCanDie the death of a major character]]; even so, they're still very much present in the later books. Notably, ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]''--as the turning point of the series--has both in the climax.

* Shadowthrone and Cotillion, the new lords of the Realm of Shadow in the ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' are actually the old Emperor Kellanved and his personal assassin Dancer, who were murdered by Laseen years prior to the start of the series. Their violent deaths were actually their steppingstone to godhood, but that's not common knowledge until a few characters discover this in ''Literature/DeadhouseGates''.