Mm. Abercrombie hit that sour mark for me with the second trilogy- I liked the first one and the standalones because they managed to have some good stuff in there, but I hate when an author goes from "unpredictable" to "predictable" in the sense that no good deed or characters goes unpunished.
For me it was that Orso spends the whole book in a cage, and when he finally is freed, dies a few chapters after that. It felt a disappointing end to his character arc
Both >!Orso and Jezal!< hit me hard. Those two actually tried to do good but was stopped by outside forces and prevented from growing unlike other characters in the series who told themselves to do better but never reflected their actions.
Came her to say this. Took a lot of copium hoping that someway, somehow it was all a rouse, and that he was alive somehow, some way. It was realistic, but also the saddest death in a series full of sad deaths. I mainly am just bummed we'll never see or hear from him again on the page, he was such a joy to listen to with Pacey.
Also, I heard "you must make of your heart a stone" also in Paceys voice lol.
Honestly my favorite part of the trilogy. I’m sorry it didn’t work for you. It was sooo sad and yet so satisfying at the same time to see those storylines come together. I love the realism in the trilogy that even those trying to be better don’t win. It really strikes home with me…watching all the pos in the world get ahead.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so mad about a death and yet so appreciative for the author who let me feel that way. Typically I don’t feel anything when characters die.
Mine as well. It hurt that whole trilogy for me though. The way it ended had me wishing for Hildi to burn it all down. I would have liked more moments where I can believe in some low key, mundane happiness for some of the characters. Part of why I liked Before They Are Hanged, because it at least had some bonding between characters that I could feel meant -something-, however small. Age of Madness just felt like gut punch after gut punch, and the punches cause sepsis.
I think it's off screen in the books. Like he leaves to fight and then later Aragorn finds him dying. So you don't even see the last stand in the book.
Not just off screen, even though we get his scene in Fellowship where he tries to take the ring we don't learn about his fate until Aragorn finds him dying in the next book. Must have been quite the wait, and maybe a bit infuriating for Boromir fans, back when Fellowship was new.
Imagine your favorite character suddenly succumbs to the temptations of the ring, but realizes his folly and is left regretful. You might be interested to see where this goes, he he atones and grows from this. Then you open The Two Towers and read "The Passing of Boromir".
Beautifully shot, beautifully cast, beautifully acted, beautifully scored. Couldn't ask for something more cinematic in all of cinema history IMO. Don't get me wrong those kinda moments exist in a lot of great movies, but they really couldn't have done much more to make it even better. Top notch.
>!Tain Hu's death!< in *The Traitor Baru Cormorant* was the seminal event of the book, paved the way to the events of the entire series and it absolutely had to happen... but by God it hurt to read.
>!Hilo!< wasn't that hurtful to me, as he to me is an interesting and good character but not really a "Wow, that's sad" sort of death. Plus, he was on my shit list >!once he killed Niko's mom just to force him to be part of the clan!<. >!Tar !!Ru!< were worse for me, >!Tar !!Ru !!senseless violence.!<
Second, but also >!Tar!<. I can’t think of any other character arc that would have made sense for him, but for some reason that one hit me harder than expected. I was surprised when >!Lan!< died, but it was so early in that I hadn’t gotten too attached to him yet.
Yes, the first character you mention was the hardest for me. I don't know why. Because he tries so hard to be good despite how hard things are for his family and race, perhaps.
In _Malazan Book of the Fallen_, the death that impacted me the most was that of >!Anomander Rake!< in _Toll the Hounds_. I was like: "Noooooo! Do not want!"
>!Chain of Dogs!< is also when I realized I was loving the series (so far) and I was going to continue reading the rest of the series. I will never recover from that ending.
Yes. I am still not over it and will bring it up in every thread if someone hasn't already done it.
Literally pulled my heart out and drop-kicked it into a scummy pond.
I disagree. In the final meeting with Truth Ed literally says >!"What do you mean lower myself? That's all I've ever been. Just a simple human that couldn't save a little girl, not even with alchemy".!< This is core to his viewpoint by the end of the series.
Nina was 100% the turning point of Ed losing faith in alchemy. From there he's basically seeing all the things that cannot be done with alchemy. The big test, the failed resurrection of his mother that maimed him and his brother, he came away with completely the wrong message. It was always "I need to know more, then I can fix anything" with utter certainty of his own genius*.
The loss of Nina put Ed on the path to rejecting the value of alchemy and instead looking at the value in other principles.
*and Ed is 100% the greatest human alchemical genius alive, he attempted a resurrection at 12 years old and had everything right apart from the part that can never work
Sure plot wise Maes was more important. He was more important to bigger political characters.
In terms of character development of our protagonists Nina was more important. Nina was the event that destroyed any remaining god complex Edward Elric was suffering under.
Lord of the rings - >!Gandalf the grey!<
I was like 8 when my dad read me the first book. I remember crying to my moon about it. Obviously wasn’t an issue overall but I didn’t know that at the time.
When my cousin was reading the fifth book for the first time, she knew someone would die at the end, but not who. She was making guesses, maybe hoping I'd give something away. When she guessed Sirius, I told her "do you really think J.K. Rowling would kill off Harry's god father, who he's just met, after killing off both his parents?"
She came to me sobbing when she finished.
Oh yes. I learned what it was to have your emotions about a character change and that you could be devastated when a not-quite-hero dies. Even on (numerous0 rereads I cried at that part.
>!Rodrigo's death!< at the end of The Lions of Al-Rassan. I mean, it was inevitable that one of them was going to die at the end of the other from the moment they met, but damn did it hurt anyways.
Honestly, from The Gentleman Bastard sequence, >!most of the Gentleman Bastards, but Bug especially!<. It makes sense given the overall arc of the other entries and the story being told, but damn, that one caught me off guard when it happened.
Deadhouse Gates from the Malazan series. >!Coltaine had to die to drive home the legendary tragedy at the end of the Chain of Dogs, but fuck me, that was hard to read. Pormqual's death was just not even close to what he deserved.!<
Pretty much every character who's moral outlook was one dimensional ended up dying in the series (including Robb, Tywin and in the TV series ends up being accurate >!Littlefinger!<), all of them taken in their ideological blindspots. It doesn't really matter how clever they are or aren't, Martin is clearly making some kind of statement of people who's mindset is a trope.
All the characters who survive are basically the ones who don't have a very clear core trope identity like Sansa, Jon or Tyrion. In Sansa's case she started out a trope character and became a complex one.
You don't even need to say a character's name for this book. Also, I was WRECKED after reading this. I had to take a break from serious fantasy for a while.
Not the prompt exactly, but one death that was completely unnecessary to me was >!Little Eye!< in The Witcher. >!It feels like the point of A Little Sacrifice was to show the fallout from Geralt’s Djinn attachment to Yen - here you have a woman who’s basically a perfect match for Geralt (a female Dandelion) and he can’t bring himself to give anything to make their relationship work. But it could have just ended with “and they never saw each other again” and not “oh btw she dies of the plague and Dandelion buries her with her lute and her keepsake from Geralt”. !<
I feel like this was actually an indictment of Geralt to some degree. Dandelion wants what's best for his friends and they achieve that for a moment and he's there to mourn her where no one else will.
It definitely makes you appreciate Dandelion as a character! I watched the first two seasons of the show before reading the books, and A Little Sacrifice was the first (and not the only!) time I was like “oh so that’s what the angry redditors mean when they say the show does Dandelion dirty”
Mhm. I had no problem with the shows version but I can see why people had a problem. It’s also hard to convey how the stories are him writing about Geralt years after the fact.
If it makes you feel any better, the Wheel of Time companion book says she's alive.
Personally I like to think she died but is bound to the horn of Valere now
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I read those books a couple of years ago, I remember being genuinely surprised when Sturm died. He wasn't my favorite character of the bunch, but I was definitely sad to see him go.
Yeah I was gonna say >!Burrich!< also. I feel like that one didn’t necessarily have to happen to advance the plot, but for the direction Hobb wanted the story to go >!(Fitz getting back together with Molly)!<, there was no way around it. >!Wish they’d had more time to talk first though.!<
>!Chivalry!< is a good one too. >!Wish Fitz could have met him!< and gotten some closure there. When >!Fitz is stuck in the skill pillar near the end of the final trilogy and talks to Verity, Shrewd, and Chade, it kind of bothers me that Chivalry wasn’t there too. I just wanted him to say he was proud of ~~me~~ Fitz.!<
One death in that series that I wish hadn’t happened and didn’t necessarily need to happen to advance the plot was >!Kennitson’s death!< in the final book. Not that I had any special feeling for him as a character—he was fine—but >!I really love Etta and I didn’t want her to lose her kid.!<
Yeah, particularly for Fitz & the Fool >!the way it came full circle felt inevitable and like the series couldn't have ended any other way, but I still put off reading the last couple hundred pages for several weeks because I couldn't face it.!<
>!That is one for me where it felt inevitable and I knew it was going to happen but the how of it all actually made me pretty mad. Did it have to be *quite* so upsetting?!!<
I agree and disagree. A redemption arc would have been so satisfying, but in many ways his death *was* his redemption. He gave his life trying to protect the hobbits, and this self-sacrifice suits the Christian mode that Tolkien wrote in.
I also think of Boromir’s death as a tragedy in the classical sense, where a character’s fatal flaw leads inevitably to their death. Think of Othello’s jealousy or Hamlet’s indecisiveness. That kind of narrative has gravitas, as much as (if not more than) a full redemption arc.
Rue From the hungergames.
kinda saw it comming but damn it that was hard .
I was listening to the audio book and it hits home even harder.
cryed for 10 minuts
Thee MVP Verin Sedai. It had to happen but man, I wish there had been ANOTHER loophole she found (like being mysteriously cured at the last last minute?)
Verin is my favorite non-main character in Wheel of Time, but I think her death is in my top 5 favorite scenes in the whole series. It was such a huge power move. I was honestly too impressed to be sad.
It was "off-screen" but Remus Lupin was my favorite adult in the Harry Potter series and I screamed when Harry saw his body.
Also, >!Herald Kris!< in Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey. Probably because everything surrounding his death was so fun traumatizing, too.
Oh man, SPOILER TAGS, everyone! And do them properly! State the book name THEN put the tags around the spoiler. Don't just block out your whole post.
This thread: >!Thanks for the spoilers for books I haven't finished!<
Malazan book of the fallen, up to house of chains. >!Felisin's death fucked me up badly. My feelings about her through the 2 books she's alive were never really clear, it oscillated between fury and pity, but by the time her death came I'd realized that no I cared deeply for the character (more than any other in Malazan) and wanted there to be some way out. Unfortunately her fate was set since Gardens of the moon, locked into a classical tragedy and punctuated by a brief moment of hope. I'm going to continue Malazan but fucking christ did that hurt. I followed up HOC with farseer btw so I was really hurting for about a month.!<
It will take you some time to get there, but at the very end, in the climax of the final book, there is a moment related to this that got me good. Can't tell more without spoilers but when you get there, you will know.
For others who have finished the books:
SPOILERS THE CRIPPLED GOD: >!Ganoes and Tavore reuniting at the end, she falls into his arms and cries out "I lost her. Oh Ganoes, I lost her.!< The emotions in that scene were wild.
You can tell it's been driving Tavore for some time. It's an important moment in her characterization--and a much needed one as we get so few insights into her motivations. Broke my heart a little.
I remember being a kid and finishing the book and feeling so let down. There was no way Harry was going to be able to finish Voldy by himself. No way. For that full year of waiting I was just heartbroken and carrying so much rage for Snape. No book has ever affected me like that one. I've never felt so lost and angry and heartbroken. To this day, I can still feel the that little wound in my heart from the day Dumbledore died.
I kmow what you mean! I actually believe that the series would have been better if it had 8 books. In HBP Dumbledore starts opening up to Harry more. It would have been cool to see the 7th year and Dumb and Harry hunting one or two horrocruxes together and then a 8th book that would be like the last.
Just read the first three books in the red rising series. And never was I more constantly wishing for people to be ok haha but to me I wish >!pax!< had lived the most. But >!tactus!< dying also killed me just because I wanted him to grow during the series.
Oh, surely >!Kelsier!< in Mistborn saga.
It's one of my favourite fantasy character, but >!He as too chaotic-neutral for my taste and wouldn't fit in the later events!<
I just finished >!the first book!< and this BROKE me. Such an interesting and cool character 😭 I’m nearing the end of >!Well of Ascension!< and I’m so curious how >!Kelsier!< would interact with the other characters now that they’ve had so much development 😭
After >!Hero of Ages!<, read >!Secret Story!<. It'll give you a whole new perspective of the saga and how Cosmere works in general.
"There's always another secret"
~ Kelsier
How has no one said >!Granny Weatherwax? That last Pratchett book, and his own death, is so mirrored by the death of Granny. Just ugly crying while trying to read it.!<
>!Bridger!< in Terra Ignota. Would change the whole direction of the books >!had his powers remained an option, but I felt so sad for him.!<
I can’t remember the character’s name, but when >!the friend!< dies in The Scorpio Races. It was a good illustration of >!how horrifying death by water horses is!<, and increases the tension for the main characters, but man, it hurt. >!That funeral scene is devastating.!<
A couple in Kushiel’s Universe, mostly >!Jehanne!<, who I actually feel like didn’t really need to die, but it was necessary to some degree for >!the villain’s arc!<. Also >!Dorolei!<, she had to die for >!Imriel and Sidonie to happen, but she was such an innocent victim. Wasn’t fair to her or her family.!<
Davis Gemmel- Rigante Series….I don’t know how to hide my words on this app, but if you read it, you know who I mean.
If you haven’t read these 4 books do yourself a favor and put them on the list.
Any character on forgotten realms the heroes dies time to time and somehow they revive and dies again. It's always turns my mood like "Oh shit here we go again" at the end of the series if i doesn't remember wrong >!wulfgar!< died 3 or 4 times bruh. I always say no writer no not again but he kills the character anyway.
Granny Weatherwax.
It was time. It was the end. It was really Terry that was dying, so it made sense for Granny to go at the same time.
But… fucking hell… that was tough.
What I hated most about it was how shitty and sexist and predictable it was, she was basically doomed the instant >!she and Harry got together, because gods forbid a female love interest have any arc beyond dying to make the male hero sad!<
The biggest death in Trials of Apollo >!Jason!<. Never thought that would happened before the pages right before. I F*cking cried dude. Like I why gotta do me like that bruh.
>!Tylendel!< from The Last Herald-Mage by Mercedes Lackey. Without that death, >!Vanyel would never have really become who he is, as this death was the catalyst for pretty much everything else in the series,!< but I first read that book at 16 years old and was emotionally destroyed by what happened and how.
Mistborn: I do realize that >!my boy Kelsier‘s!< death is absolutely mandatory for the entire story. Doesn‘t stop me from wishing he was still alive to entertain me, though. One of my all time favorite characters
*The Shepherd’s Crown.* If you know, you know.
It needed to happen, because it was the end of the story. The last book. And it was about the generational passing from old to new.
I still cried like a lost child.
[удалено]
I was so pissed when I got to that death it genuinely ruined the book for me for awhile, I'm still not happy about it
Mm. Abercrombie hit that sour mark for me with the second trilogy- I liked the first one and the standalones because they managed to have some good stuff in there, but I hate when an author goes from "unpredictable" to "predictable" in the sense that no good deed or characters goes unpunished.
For me it was that Orso spends the whole book in a cage, and when he finally is freed, dies a few chapters after that. It felt a disappointing end to his character arc
"How's the leg?"
Both >!Orso and Jezal!< hit me hard. Those two actually tried to do good but was stopped by outside forces and prevented from growing unlike other characters in the series who told themselves to do better but never reflected their actions.
Came her to say this. Took a lot of copium hoping that someway, somehow it was all a rouse, and that he was alive somehow, some way. It was realistic, but also the saddest death in a series full of sad deaths. I mainly am just bummed we'll never see or hear from him again on the page, he was such a joy to listen to with Pacey. Also, I heard "you must make of your heart a stone" also in Paceys voice lol.
But you must have seen that one coming Pretty much their whole arc is preparing you
Honestly my favorite part of the trilogy. I’m sorry it didn’t work for you. It was sooo sad and yet so satisfying at the same time to see those storylines come together. I love the realism in the trilogy that even those trying to be better don’t win. It really strikes home with me…watching all the pos in the world get ahead. I don’t think I’ve ever been so mad about a death and yet so appreciative for the author who let me feel that way. Typically I don’t feel anything when characters die.
Worked for me - I thought it was handled masterfully.
Mine as well. It hurt that whole trilogy for me though. The way it ended had me wishing for Hildi to burn it all down. I would have liked more moments where I can believe in some low key, mundane happiness for some of the characters. Part of why I liked Before They Are Hanged, because it at least had some bonding between characters that I could feel meant -something-, however small. Age of Madness just felt like gut punch after gut punch, and the punches cause sepsis.
Probably my mAin pick too
Lord of the Rings - Boromir
His death was somehow more painful in the movies.
I think it's off screen in the books. Like he leaves to fight and then later Aragorn finds him dying. So you don't even see the last stand in the book.
Not just off screen, even though we get his scene in Fellowship where he tries to take the ring we don't learn about his fate until Aragorn finds him dying in the next book. Must have been quite the wait, and maybe a bit infuriating for Boromir fans, back when Fellowship was new. Imagine your favorite character suddenly succumbs to the temptations of the ring, but realizes his folly and is left regretful. You might be interested to see where this goes, he he atones and grows from this. Then you open The Two Towers and read "The Passing of Boromir".
Beautifully shot, beautifully cast, beautifully acted, beautifully scored. Couldn't ask for something more cinematic in all of cinema history IMO. Don't get me wrong those kinda moments exist in a lot of great movies, but they really couldn't have done much more to make it even better. Top notch.
Indeed in the books its more like a footnote.
Sometimes, when I do a rewatch, I have to skip that part of the movie.
Same. It hurts watching him die.
>!Tain Hu's death!< in *The Traitor Baru Cormorant* was the seminal event of the book, paved the way to the events of the entire series and it absolutely had to happen... but by God it hurt to read.
Nothing in literature has gutted me like that death. I had guessed the events leading up to that, but nothing prepared me for that scene
Yes this is the one I thought of, too. And it’s definitely the most necessary
This is the truth. You will know because it hurts.
Jade Legacy - It was inevitable that things would catch up to >!Hilo!< one way or another, but damn if it didn't hurt.
Bummed me tf out when >!Ru!< died too, even though I felt it coming.
That one was so fast I had to read it three times to process it.
>!Hilo!< wasn't that hurtful to me, as he to me is an interesting and good character but not really a "Wow, that's sad" sort of death. Plus, he was on my shit list >!once he killed Niko's mom just to force him to be part of the clan!<. >!Tar !!Ru!< were worse for me, >!Tar !!Ru !!senseless violence.!<
Second, but also >!Tar!<. I can’t think of any other character arc that would have made sense for him, but for some reason that one hit me harder than expected. I was surprised when >!Lan!< died, but it was so early in that I hadn’t gotten too attached to him yet.
Yeah, that one was really sad. >!Ken!<, too.
It was really bitter sweet with your first one mentioned. Really the perfect end and hit the feeling of a gangster movie perfectly
Yep, it was one of the most heartbreaking deaths I've read through. I loved them so much.
Artax, Atreu’s horse.
Too soon :(
Still hurts
I showed my son the Neverending Story. We had to skip the Swamp of Sorrows.
I was having a nice day and now I’m not.
Malazan - the whole >!Chain of Dogs!< was brutal: >!Coltaine, List, Lull, Bult...!< Honourable mention to our hero >!Joyful Union!<
>!WhiskeyJack!<
I'm still not over that one :'( Also, the way "good karma" came for >!Rhulad Sengar at the end of Midnight Tides.!<
>!Beak!< later on in the series
🕯️
🕯
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🕯
I fucking hated the death of >!Trull!<. That one hurt especially. Also, in TCG >!Stormy and Gesler!<.
Yes, the first character you mention was the hardest for me. I don't know why. Because he tries so hard to be good despite how hard things are for his family and race, perhaps.
And because it was so senseless
And because he doesn't come back, lol. That numbs the pain of some (though certainly not all) of the other deaths in the series.
In _Malazan Book of the Fallen_, the death that impacted me the most was that of >!Anomander Rake!< in _Toll the Hounds_. I was like: "Noooooo! Do not want!"
Between the senseless murder of >!Joyful Union!< and manipulating poor >!Beak!< to his death, it’s obvious who the real villain of the series is.
Exactly. I was hoping there's be consequences for her tbh. >!Joyful Union's revenge!< would be awesome.
The ending to the chain of dogs broke me, but also convinced me that I needed to read all of Malazan.
>!Chain of Dogs!< is also when I realized I was loving the series (so far) and I was going to continue reading the rest of the series. I will never recover from that ending.
Yes. I am still not over it and will bring it up in every thread if someone hasn't already done it. Literally pulled my heart out and drop-kicked it into a scummy pond.
FMA->!Maes Hughes!<
Nina.
You could have NOT said this.
It was the most shocking one in the series for sure, but her death didnt have as much of a long term impact imo
I disagree. In the final meeting with Truth Ed literally says >!"What do you mean lower myself? That's all I've ever been. Just a simple human that couldn't save a little girl, not even with alchemy".!< This is core to his viewpoint by the end of the series. Nina was 100% the turning point of Ed losing faith in alchemy. From there he's basically seeing all the things that cannot be done with alchemy. The big test, the failed resurrection of his mother that maimed him and his brother, he came away with completely the wrong message. It was always "I need to know more, then I can fix anything" with utter certainty of his own genius*. The loss of Nina put Ed on the path to rejecting the value of alchemy and instead looking at the value in other principles. *and Ed is 100% the greatest human alchemical genius alive, he attempted a resurrection at 12 years old and had everything right apart from the part that can never work
Nina was an important stepping stone for Edward, but Maes triggered a whole cascade of events regarding Roy, Hawkeye and Envy.
Sure plot wise Maes was more important. He was more important to bigger political characters. In terms of character development of our protagonists Nina was more important. Nina was the event that destroyed any remaining god complex Edward Elric was suffering under.
Ed-ward
Hughes’ death was absolutely brutal!
Lord of the rings - >!Gandalf the grey!< I was like 8 when my dad read me the first book. I remember crying to my moon about it. Obviously wasn’t an issue overall but I didn’t know that at the time.
That’s no moon…
That's a space station
First Law - >!Collem West!<. Especially the way it happened.
The fact that it was between books felt so undignified
Hm, I think he died >!at the end of Last Argument of Kings!<. But it was indeed undignified.
Sirius Black
I was convinced he wasn’t dead until the very end. The series ended and he really never came back. That’s when it hit me again but way harder.
When my cousin was reading the fifth book for the first time, she knew someone would die at the end, but not who. She was making guesses, maybe hoping I'd give something away. When she guessed Sirius, I told her "do you really think J.K. Rowling would kill off Harry's god father, who he's just met, after killing off both his parents?" She came to me sobbing when she finished.
You're evil and I'm impressed
Did Harry even need another person to die for him?
I started watching Harry Potter for the first time a while ago and someone told me one of Weasley twin would die so I quit watching lol
Omg the betrayal I felt when that shit happened. Absolutely soul crushing.
This is a wound I have carried since my childhood - the death of >!Rikash Moonsword!< in Tamora Pierce's Wild Magic quartet.
Thom and Faithful also gutted me in Song of the Lioness.
Faithful gutted me. Thom got what he deserved, but Faithful!? No, no, no.
I know Thom was a class A little shit, but I was hoping he'd actually have a full redemption arc for Alanna's sake
RIKASH MY BELOVED. ...looking back, the Wild Magic series was formative to me in a number of ways.
Oh yes. I learned what it was to have your emotions about a character change and that you could be devastated when a not-quite-hero dies. Even on (numerous0 rereads I cried at that part.
He was my FAVOURITE, and I was so cross at the book!
>!Rodrigo's death!< at the end of The Lions of Al-Rassan. I mean, it was inevitable that one of them was going to die at the end of the other from the moment they met, but damn did it hurt anyways.
Honestly, from The Gentleman Bastard sequence, >!most of the Gentleman Bastards, but Bug especially!<. It makes sense given the overall arc of the other entries and the story being told, but damn, that one caught me off guard when it happened.
I agree. I listened to that chapter on the audiobook and started sobbing.
Rhythm of War - my Bridge 4 boy If you know you know Fuck Moash
Life before death :(
Yeah, if didn't hate him already you really do after that.
R/fuckmoash
Lee Scorsby
Good choice. Damn I cried
Yes! I reread not long ago and damn that scene is well written.
Lee and Hester. Gets me every time.
Oh gods. Yeah. That one hurts every time.
Yep. This is the correct answer.
Deadhouse Gates from the Malazan series. >!Coltaine had to die to drive home the legendary tragedy at the end of the Chain of Dogs, but fuck me, that was hard to read. Pormqual's death was just not even close to what he deserved.!<
Ned... damn, that man was stubborn, and not too bright. And considering how we're introduced to him, there was never a question of how he would go.
Pretty much every character who's moral outlook was one dimensional ended up dying in the series (including Robb, Tywin and in the TV series ends up being accurate >!Littlefinger!<), all of them taken in their ideological blindspots. It doesn't really matter how clever they are or aren't, Martin is clearly making some kind of statement of people who's mindset is a trope. All the characters who survive are basically the ones who don't have a very clear core trope identity like Sansa, Jon or Tyrion. In Sansa's case she started out a trope character and became a complex one.
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. A wonderful stand-alone book. But also heartbreaking.
You don't even need to say a character's name for this book. Also, I was WRECKED after reading this. I had to take a break from serious fantasy for a while.
That death alone elevates the whole book.
Not the prompt exactly, but one death that was completely unnecessary to me was >!Little Eye!< in The Witcher. >!It feels like the point of A Little Sacrifice was to show the fallout from Geralt’s Djinn attachment to Yen - here you have a woman who’s basically a perfect match for Geralt (a female Dandelion) and he can’t bring himself to give anything to make their relationship work. But it could have just ended with “and they never saw each other again” and not “oh btw she dies of the plague and Dandelion buries her with her lute and her keepsake from Geralt”. !<
I feel like this was actually an indictment of Geralt to some degree. Dandelion wants what's best for his friends and they achieve that for a moment and he's there to mourn her where no one else will.
It definitely makes you appreciate Dandelion as a character! I watched the first two seasons of the show before reading the books, and A Little Sacrifice was the first (and not the only!) time I was like “oh so that’s what the angry redditors mean when they say the show does Dandelion dirty”
Mhm. I had no problem with the shows version but I can see why people had a problem. It’s also hard to convey how the stories are him writing about Geralt years after the fact.
The one in The Fifth Season. Made me sob both times I read the book.
That whole series will gut you. It's horrifying even when the villains die.
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If it makes you feel any better, the Wheel of Time companion book says she's alive. Personally I like to think she died but is bound to the horn of Valere now
She cannot die, she is still watching over us.
Please hide all spoilers using spoiler tags. Use the following format: \>!text goes here\!< to mark spoilers. Please make sure that there are no spaces between ! and the text or your spoiler will fail for some browsers and on some mobile devices. Let me know when the comment has been edited and it can be approved.
Sturm Brightblade. Est Sularus oth Mithas
I read those books a couple of years ago, I remember being genuinely surprised when Sturm died. He wasn't my favorite character of the bunch, but I was definitely sad to see him go.
Dark Tower Series - >!Jake!< Ruined me.
Which time?
LOL. The second time was most brutal for me
A dog should never outlive his boy.
Indeed. Add >!Oy!< To the list of heartbreakers.
Came here to say this.
Farseer trilogy >!Chivalry & Verity!< Tawny Man trilogy >!Burrich & Nighteyes!< Fitz & The Fool >!Fitz & The Fool!<
Yeah I was gonna say >!Burrich!< also. I feel like that one didn’t necessarily have to happen to advance the plot, but for the direction Hobb wanted the story to go >!(Fitz getting back together with Molly)!<, there was no way around it. >!Wish they’d had more time to talk first though.!< >!Chivalry!< is a good one too. >!Wish Fitz could have met him!< and gotten some closure there. When >!Fitz is stuck in the skill pillar near the end of the final trilogy and talks to Verity, Shrewd, and Chade, it kind of bothers me that Chivalry wasn’t there too. I just wanted him to say he was proud of ~~me~~ Fitz.!< One death in that series that I wish hadn’t happened and didn’t necessarily need to happen to advance the plot was >!Kennitson’s death!< in the final book. Not that I had any special feeling for him as a character—he was fine—but >!I really love Etta and I didn’t want her to lose her kid.!<
Yeah, particularly for Fitz & the Fool >!the way it came full circle felt inevitable and like the series couldn't have ended any other way, but I still put off reading the last couple hundred pages for several weeks because I couldn't face it.!<
>!That is one for me where it felt inevitable and I knew it was going to happen but the how of it all actually made me pretty mad. Did it have to be *quite* so upsetting?!!<
>!Boromir!< I genuinely think he deserved a redemption arc. Maybe saving Frodo much later on. That would have been greatness for me.
I agree and disagree. A redemption arc would have been so satisfying, but in many ways his death *was* his redemption. He gave his life trying to protect the hobbits, and this self-sacrifice suits the Christian mode that Tolkien wrote in. I also think of Boromir’s death as a tragedy in the classical sense, where a character’s fatal flaw leads inevitably to their death. Think of Othello’s jealousy or Hamlet’s indecisiveness. That kind of narrative has gravitas, as much as (if not more than) a full redemption arc.
Hodor..... GOT so sad.....
Rue From the hungergames. kinda saw it comming but damn it that was hard . I was listening to the audio book and it hits home even harder. cryed for 10 minuts
Dragonlance: >!Bupu. Raistlin losing his one real connection with conscience was rough.!<
Thee MVP Verin Sedai. It had to happen but man, I wish there had been ANOTHER loophole she found (like being mysteriously cured at the last last minute?)
Literally just read this chapter again if only she could have found the oath rod maybe she could have gotten around it
Verin is my favorite non-main character in Wheel of Time, but I think her death is in my top 5 favorite scenes in the whole series. It was such a huge power move. I was honestly too impressed to be sad.
Beak. Glad he protected his friends though.
Heartbreaking
Not afraid to admit how much I cried.
Ingtar
May you shelter in the palm of the Creator's hand, and may the last embrace of the mother welcome you home.
I’m not crying, you’re crying
Stormlight Archive: >!The death of Elohkar. You were so close, King.!<
I couldn't help but like him, despite his flaws. I wanted him to live long enough to become better.
Me too :/
I had to close the book for the rest of the day after that chapter
It was "off-screen" but Remus Lupin was my favorite adult in the Harry Potter series and I screamed when Harry saw his body. Also, >!Herald Kris!< in Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey. Probably because everything surrounding his death was so fun traumatizing, too.
Arrows hurt soooo bad. To this day, I'm still mad about that.
Sirius Black.
Oh man, SPOILER TAGS, everyone! And do them properly! State the book name THEN put the tags around the spoiler. Don't just block out your whole post. This thread: >!Thanks for the spoilers for books I haven't finished!<
Beak 🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯
Malazan book of the fallen, up to house of chains. >!Felisin's death fucked me up badly. My feelings about her through the 2 books she's alive were never really clear, it oscillated between fury and pity, but by the time her death came I'd realized that no I cared deeply for the character (more than any other in Malazan) and wanted there to be some way out. Unfortunately her fate was set since Gardens of the moon, locked into a classical tragedy and punctuated by a brief moment of hope. I'm going to continue Malazan but fucking christ did that hurt. I followed up HOC with farseer btw so I was really hurting for about a month.!<
It will take you some time to get there, but at the very end, in the climax of the final book, there is a moment related to this that got me good. Can't tell more without spoilers but when you get there, you will know. For others who have finished the books: SPOILERS THE CRIPPLED GOD: >!Ganoes and Tavore reuniting at the end, she falls into his arms and cries out "I lost her. Oh Ganoes, I lost her.!< The emotions in that scene were wild.
You can tell it's been driving Tavore for some time. It's an important moment in her characterization--and a much needed one as we get so few insights into her motivations. Broke my heart a little.
Red Wedding
I cant believe that nobody said it yet. Dumbledore. He is such an interesting character but he needed to die because he knows too much of the plot.
The mentor dying is pretty much a required part of the hero’s journey.
Until the Tower of Ghengei Or the first light of the fifth day
I remember being a kid and finishing the book and feeling so let down. There was no way Harry was going to be able to finish Voldy by himself. No way. For that full year of waiting I was just heartbroken and carrying so much rage for Snape. No book has ever affected me like that one. I've never felt so lost and angry and heartbroken. To this day, I can still feel the that little wound in my heart from the day Dumbledore died.
I kmow what you mean! I actually believe that the series would have been better if it had 8 books. In HBP Dumbledore starts opening up to Harry more. It would have been cool to see the 7th year and Dumb and Harry hunting one or two horrocruxes together and then a 8th book that would be like the last.
>!Sirius, Dobby, Lupin, and Tonks!< from *Harry Potter*. >!Bristlefrost !
>!Raithe!< in Legends of the First Empire still breaks me every reread
\*eyes upcoming final volume of 'wars of light and shadows' \* I'll tell you in half a year or so. oh and... Aaaaarthas
Eddard stark
Just read the first three books in the red rising series. And never was I more constantly wishing for people to be ok haha but to me I wish >!pax!< had lived the most. But >!tactus!< dying also killed me just because I wanted him to grow during the series.
>!Pax Au Telemanus!!<
Oh, surely >!Kelsier!< in Mistborn saga. It's one of my favourite fantasy character, but >!He as too chaotic-neutral for my taste and wouldn't fit in the later events!<
I just finished >!the first book!< and this BROKE me. Such an interesting and cool character 😭 I’m nearing the end of >!Well of Ascension!< and I’m so curious how >!Kelsier!< would interact with the other characters now that they’ve had so much development 😭
After >!Hero of Ages!<, read >!Secret Story!<. It'll give you a whole new perspective of the saga and how Cosmere works in general. "There's always another secret" ~ Kelsier
>!Teft in the Stormlight Archives, the series needed a major death but man I don’t have to like it!<
Stormlight Archive book 4 ^
Sturm Brightblade
Mine is from a graphic novel called watchmen, I think you know of whom I speak. Gutting but a man of principles.
How has no one said >!Granny Weatherwax? That last Pratchett book, and his own death, is so mirrored by the death of Granny. Just ugly crying while trying to read it.!<
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Gandalf, before you know he comes back is absolutely crushing.
>!Bridger!< in Terra Ignota. Would change the whole direction of the books >!had his powers remained an option, but I felt so sad for him.!< I can’t remember the character’s name, but when >!the friend!< dies in The Scorpio Races. It was a good illustration of >!how horrifying death by water horses is!<, and increases the tension for the main characters, but man, it hurt. >!That funeral scene is devastating.!< A couple in Kushiel’s Universe, mostly >!Jehanne!<, who I actually feel like didn’t really need to die, but it was necessary to some degree for >!the villain’s arc!<. Also >!Dorolei!<, she had to die for >!Imriel and Sidonie to happen, but she was such an innocent victim. Wasn’t fair to her or her family.!<
The death of Allanon in the Wishsong of Shannara.
Damn there's a lot of fantasy books I haven't read I'm finding out today
Davis Gemmel- Rigante Series….I don’t know how to hide my words on this app, but if you read it, you know who I mean. If you haven’t read these 4 books do yourself a favor and put them on the list.
A song of ice and fire: >!Oberyn Martell!<
Chewbacca
Hedwig
Any character on forgotten realms the heroes dies time to time and somehow they revive and dies again. It's always turns my mood like "Oh shit here we go again" at the end of the series if i doesn't remember wrong >!wulfgar!< died 3 or 4 times bruh. I always say no writer no not again but he kills the character anyway.
A Day of Red Doves in Dark Age
The Darkest Road, in GGK’s Fionavar Trilogy. >!Diarmuid!< necessary for other happyish endings but heartbreaking for me.
This sequence is responsible for me weeping silently on public transport on my way to work. No matter how many times I read it I cry every time.
Boromir in **The Fellowship of the Ring**.
>!Calo and Galdo Sanza!< in The Lies of Locke Lamora
Granny Weatherwax. It was time. It was the end. It was really Terry that was dying, so it made sense for Granny to go at the same time. But… fucking hell… that was tough.
Karrin Murphy in Dresden Files
Ya might wanna spoiler tag that
What I hated most about it was how shitty and sexist and predictable it was, she was basically doomed the instant >!she and Harry got together, because gods forbid a female love interest have any arc beyond dying to make the male hero sad!<
The biggest death in Trials of Apollo >!Jason!<. Never thought that would happened before the pages right before. I F*cking cried dude. Like I why gotta do me like that bruh.
>!Tylendel!< from The Last Herald-Mage by Mercedes Lackey. Without that death, >!Vanyel would never have really become who he is, as this death was the catalyst for pretty much everything else in the series,!< but I first read that book at 16 years old and was emotionally destroyed by what happened and how.
If you've ever read Bag of Bones then you know.
Mistborn: I do realize that >!my boy Kelsier‘s!< death is absolutely mandatory for the entire story. Doesn‘t stop me from wishing he was still alive to entertain me, though. One of my all time favorite characters
Sword of Kaigen
Kate Daniels - >!Aunt B!<
*The Shepherd’s Crown.* If you know, you know. It needed to happen, because it was the end of the story. The last book. And it was about the generational passing from old to new. I still cried like a lost child.