The final installment of a well-known and loved book series was published last week, and before much time had passed, there were cries of outrage from fans all over the world.
I was one of them.
Why? A major character was killed off. This was hardly the first time in this series a character we had grown to love had died, but this one went further than any fan wanted it to go. The storm that it caused is still wreaking havoc amongst YA/dystopian lovers everywhere.
There’s no doubt what happened in this story upset me, but I have to ask myself why? We all know people die. We all know people die tragically. Should it not be that way in books? Why do we always prefer the HEA (Happily Ever After) even if it’s not realistic?
For me, I know I read books as an escape from the real world. If I want to know how tragic the world is, I watch the news. I want my books to entertain and uplift me. That’s why I read them. Even then, I don’t always object if characters, even major characters, are killed off or if the book doesn’t end happily. I enjoyed Gone with the Wind in spite of the fact that Rhett walks out and leaves Scarlett standing in the doorway, begging for him to come back. I enjoyed the movie Remember Me in spite of its incredibly tragic conclusion. So why did I have such a problem with this book?
I think the delivery of this particular title was part of the issue. Many fans have a lot of problems with the story as well. Perhaps that is at least part of the reason. However, there’s no doubt it’s the ending that’s pushed most people over the edge, and many have said that they will never read this author’s books again.
Is this kind of reaction a reasonable one, do you think? Is it right that an author should feel such pressure to ensure a HEA or risk alienating their fans? In what circumstances is it okay to have a tragic end to a story? I’m genuinely interested in your thoughts, especially the thoughts of my fellow authors. Would you be brave enough to write a story that kills off the most loved characters?
I am mainly familiar with characters being killed off suddenly on TV, and in the past often in a spectacular manner… and I think It would be much better if they went overseas or to Uni or something normal. Yes people die in real life and if it can be portrayed in that manner fair enough. And it is much worse on TV when they return to the series as the twin or another character.
Blessings,Jan
I haven’t read the series in question (though I know what you’re talking about) so I can’t comment on the specific situation, but my wife and I have been discussing this.
I think it depends on genre. A happily-ever-after is not necessarily a realistic expectation for the dystopian genre. I think in dystopian, you should expect the story to end with hope of a better world – but at a cost (possibly a great cost). This may mean the death of a love character, be it protagonist or side-character.
On the other hand, happily-ever-after is a very realistic expectation for a romantic comedy.
I think it depends on whether or not the death makes sense. I have not read the series in question, either, though I know which one you are speaking of because I have seen the storm. But from past experience, I cried when I read the Harry Potter series…several beloved major characters die. There are heavy losses because that’s the reality of war. But the deaths made sense because it was GOING somewhere, and it was also a device because Harry had to have no parental figures left…he had to be kind of alone. So the deaths made sense.
But I also read as a sort of escape. I like the happily ever after ending because books are the one place where that is possible. Real life doesn’t always offer that. So I’m not sure how wise it is to kill off a major character. And a MAIN character is even more taboo. I kind of believe main characters are off limits, because what is the point to the story if that character is gone. If it is a fiction book depicting a non-fiction event, then it’s ok, because it has to be realistic. But as a fictional story just for entertainment, main characters should triumph or there’s no point to the story beyond “Life sucks and then you die.”
The death of a beloved character can heighten the drama. I am always surprised when I find I am going to kill a character off, I never set out to do it, after all they exist and develop in my head for a reason, why would I invest all that energy in them only to terminate them and why would a reader continue with them, either? If the death happens at the end of the story, that is tragedy, but a death earlier on allows other characters to move forward with hope and while it might not be happy ever after, it can still be a satisfying read.
“If I want to know how tragic the world is, I watch the news.”
Yes. That’s why I read fiction. For fun.
And I never thought Scarlett deserved Rhett, so that ending wasn’t a problem.
It’s not what the author does that causes the problem; it’s how they do it. I haven’t read the series you’re talking about (and probably won’t now I know how it ends), but if the internet gossip I’ve tried to avoid is correct, the author killed off not just a major character but a point of view character. That, to me, defies logic. It’s like if JK Rowling had killed off Harry Potter in book 5.
I’d also suggest it’s around how the death has been foreshadowed in earlier books. For example, all the Harry Potter books emphasised the relationship between Harry and Voldemort, and in the fifth book (I think) we learned that Harry would have to die in order to kill Voldemort. And we knew Voldemort and the Death Eaters had a history of murder, so when a character died it was sad but not surprising. And even the final book made sense, because she’d set up the whole series to lead towards that end.
Another series that’s attracted negative attention for the way it finished is the Bailey Flannagan series by Karen Kingsbury. Most readers were Team Cody (even Karen says she was Team Cody). But did Cody get the girl? No. But at least no one died.
Readers invest in series. We want the best for the characters. We don’t want to see them die.
Moral of the story: if you kill off Dan in The Reign, I’ll be very very cross.
No comment. 😉
Hi Lynne,
This is a great discussion though it is kinda making me nervous. In one of my books (I won’t say which one) a couple of important characters die, one at the end of the book. Yet it is not “just for entertainment” and I am intentionally building in a sense of hope despite the tragedy. I don’t particularly want these characters to die but it is part of the story (which is a series so in that sense, the story doesn’t end there).
While I do love a happy ending – and believe in happy endings – I also like my fiction to be realistic. (Ironic for a writer of fantasy.) As one of my characters says at the beginning of the series “Not all songs have happy endings – at least not this side of the Composer’s undying Song.” Maybe a bit cryptic – but I hope you get what I mean.