| Every time this subject coes up, I am reminded of my friend George--the driest, most sarcastic man I've ever known--'s reaction to a certain celebrity death ten years or so back that made major, major headlines. When the hubs mentoned said event to George, George did his patented slightly-to-the-left head tilt and said, "Yeah, and you know what I think about that? People die every day." But do they always die in books? I don't mean minor characters. I tend to go through minor characters like a hot knife through butter, at least these days I do. Personal Demons doesn't have any major deaths I can think of, but the sequel has a few. And one that's missing. I originally planned to kill off a certain character in the second book, but when the time came...I just couldn't do it. Am I going soft? Am I a big girly wimp? I would say no, but in Unholy Ghosts I actually created a character specifically planning to kill him. From page one (well, not quite, he doesn't show up for a little bit) he was a marked man in my eyes. Until I kind of decided I love him, and couldn't do it. Now don't get me wrong. I'm a pretty tough girl. The hubs has often said I would have made a great professional killer, and he's right. Hence my firm stance on the death of Fredo (had to happen, no question.) But when it comes to my own precious little people, I have a hard time doing it. And I wonder if that's a good thing. If a reader doesn't suspect that a character could die at any moment, is there really suspense? I think there should be. We watch movies knowing the main characters will survive (C'mon, did any of us really truly think John McClane wasn't going to make it?) and the fun is in getting there, in watching them survive and overcome the obstacles. So why should it be different for books? Not to mention, I hate when major characters I love die. It's enough to make me stop reading a series, and I can't be the only one who thinks that way. But I wonder if in doing that I don't lose something, and make my work too safe. If in order to really, truly play in the dark you have to be willing to sacrifice, even if it means bringing tragedy into the lives of characters you (and the readers) love. Obviously things happen sometimes, and you can't plan based specifically on what people might think. But still...I think the temptation is always there for a writer, just because of the ripple effect such an event would have on a world which might be getting too complacent. And I know there are a few cases where fans are begging for a death to clear a cast a little or just give them something new and interesting to think about. What do you guys think? Does a major death turn an auto-buy into a never-buy? Or does it make something new out of something that was getting old? |
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To me, it depends how it's handled.
If it's like the deaths in Trek Classic, where it got to be a running gag about red shirts, then it's kind of cheap. It's just wallpaper, meant to signal to the viewer (or reader) that "Hey, this is a reeeeeaally dangerous situation!!" but we knew that no one we knew or cared about was going to die.
On the other hand, I liked how David Weber has handled the deaths in the Honor Harrington series. There are a lot of them, because it's war and it'd be grossly unrealistic if no one we knew ever died. But they were well written and meant something to the story and to the reader. I've read the books over and over and I still cry when Andy dies.
If I get the impression that a writer is getting me to like characters and then killing them off just so they can sit there and cackle, then no, I probably won't read any more of their books. If the characters being killed are wallpaper people I never particularly cared about anyway, then I'll just shrug. But if someone I really loved dies and there's a reason for it, if that death has a significant purpose in the story, then I'll think praiseful thoughts of the writer even while I reach for the kleenix.
Angie
I still read and loved the HP books even after Rowling killed off Dumbledore.
I can think of several series where I was disappointed when a main character died, but kept reading the series. As long as it makes sense in the books. (Which could even be that there is no real reason for it, if that's the tone the series has.) But if you've done your job properly, there will definitely be a strong response from the readers.
I think the biggest issue is that the death has to be true to the story. That doesn't mean we have to have a clue it's coming, but that it makes us react and in the end is true and changes those around them. If you've seen Joss Whedon's Serenity you see this. SPOILER ALERT: Wash dies suddenly and terribly just when you think they're safe. This moment seems heartless at first and then you realize the genius because he just took what was safe and took the safety away. Wash was the everyman, if he could die...then no one was safe. Every character from then on under went moments where you seriously thought they were gonners and knew Joss wasn't pulling punches. In the end they survive and the memory of Wash is treasured and will help them to move on. So death can be very potent and powerful.
I usually find that the best thing I can do with a death scene is write the scene and then read it and have others read it and see how it reads. Is it true to the story or is it for sticker shock? If the former it stays, the later...buh bye.
And you're not a big girly wimp. :)
I will admit it. I am a big wimp and I do not like it when one of my favorite characters dies. I think early readings of Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows scarred me for life, because now I skim through books before buying them and I always read the endings first. If I realize someone major is going to kick the bucket, I put the book back.
I like *worrying* that someone might die, secure in the knowledge that somehow the character will overcome the dangers and emerge heroically triumphant.
There's enough loss in real life. I don't want too much in my books.
Yes, I know. I *am* a wimp. :}
I'm not a fan of major characters getting offed, but sometimes it's necessary to the story or series. I'm NOT happy with the off-stage demise of a major character in KH's latest, though. That was cruel, and totally unnecessary, IMO. Will I no longer read her books? Eh, I don't know. I'm not as excited about them as I used to be.
There are fates worth than death. Those can get me reaching for the tissues almost as fast. Rachel Caine's phenomenal Weather Warden series does that all the time! There's lots going on her unique world that would make death look like a picnic. Who wants to become an efrit? Show of hands? I didn't think so.
Teaser Tuesday
www.karenduvall.blogspot.com
you make a point--people die in real life. hmm.
Every time this subject comes up [...]
Was your spidey sense tingling when you wrote this? I admit it was eerie reading it some half hour after hearing on the radio that this subject has come up again.
-Brienze on LJ
Hee, Angie, redshirts. Like Guy on Galazy Quest too. :-)
And I think that's a big problem readers have had with a recent book death--the author described it as "I had this neat idea: kill the guy you all love!"
Didn't go over well.
Very true, Habibi, me too. :-)
Yes, Dan_phi, and strong reactions are what we want, certainly. I guess I'd just rather get them from good things, me.
Thanks, ~j. The only thing I am a 100% big girly wimp about is I won't kill a little child. I've killed a young teen, but never a little one. Never have, absolutely never will.
OMG wldhrsjen3, Old Dan and Little Ann...just the thought brings tears to my eyes even now. Maybe that's why I don't like sad books? I was so bonded with those dogs.And seriously who writes that shit? "I'm going to write about a couple of loyal dogs who die at the end. For kids, you know. They'll love it."
KH, lankywriter? Kim Harrison? I think I heard about this one. I will never forgive Elizabeth George for the major character death two books ago, so I know just how you feel.
Yes, Moonrat, they do (and thanks for the comment!) But I guess I want fiction to be better than life. Life is scary and unhappy and dark and uncertain, and I can handle all of those things in books, but I'd rather at least pretend that there's a world where everything works out.
You know, Anon...It's just awful, isn't it? How totally freaking tragic. And I was just thinking earlier about Brad Renfro (who I thought was an amazingly talented actor) and Suzanne Pleshette and wondering who #3 would be. I never expected this. Just terrible.
Sorry, Brienze, I missed your sig.
Stacia's like a freakin' psychic! I'm ascared.
I was scared when she said she's killed a teen.
That's it... I'm killing everyone in every book.
To me, a writer can kill just about anyone in a book if it's motivated. I don't tend to hold grudges unless the death was a transparent bid for controversy.
You should be, Mark...you should be. Muahahaha.
Hey, tm, the things we do for research, right?
Well, Anton, at least we'll know what to expect... :-)
Exactly, Jaye. I get upset when major characters die, but it's only a dealbreaker if it feels like they pulled the death out of their ass because they couldn't think of anything else to do, or to attract publicity, or whatever.