[Jumbo Frendie]

So... have you ever been reading a book and all of a sudden. A main character dies. :mad: Annoying huh but even more if the death is so unbelievable it makes you wonder whether they really died or not. If you have had an experience of the sort please post a reply :)

[James Barclay]

Well, that'll depend how the death is handled. For me, main characters have to be exactly as vulnerable as peripheral characters. If they aren't, then we have a Star Trek situation where only the poor blokes in the red sweatshirts ever die... :)

All who know my books know that I do kill main characters. And doing so without warning (which is normally the way with sudden death, let's face it) is the right way IMO. Now whether the deaths are unbelievable is something I have to leave to readers.

In answer to your direct question, yes I have. And on the whole, I've found these deaths handled well, leaving me shocked and maybe upset too. Annoyance only comes when the death is clearly only for plot advancement or solely shock value and for no other reason. Rare in my experience, fortunately.

NOM

[Brys]

I actually usually have the opposite problem. I don't find the death of a main character annoying, I find it saddening and shocking, in a realistic way - most of the time. It's very rarely unbelievable. What is unbelievable is when a main character dies, then a chapter later, we find out he didn't actually die, he just survived because of this magical artifact or whatever deus ex machina the author comes up with, or was imprisoned. It's nearly as bad when characters are just never at risk, but the first case, when they are supposedly at risk, but the author doesn't let them die, is what really irritates me.

The only reason I've doubted deaths in fantasy is because of the tendency of certain authors to bring back characters to life. eg in ASOIAF in the first book I really doubted that those characters had died, because recently I'd been reading Feist, Jordan, Clemens, Eddings etc who didn't let their characters die.

[Acei]

I agree with you Brys. I hate it when an author never lets any of the "good guys" die. It was quite refreshig to me when I read Keyes "Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone" and characters actually died in the first book. I don't mean to sound dark, but it just takes all the fun out of the adventure when you know that no matter what the author throws at them, a main character will never die.

[Gary Wassner]

I have a habit of letting some of my favorite characters die as well. The fact is, if you didn't like the character and you let him/her die, big deal. The reader might get some satisfaction out of it, but you won't get any real heartache or drama. In many cases, fantasy reads like Greek tragedy, and without the loss of some of the ones you love, you remain a step removed from the action and the story.

[terminus est]

So... have you ever been reading a book and all of a sudden. A main character dies. :mad: Annoying huh but even more if the death is so unbelievable it makes you wonder whether they really died or not. If you have had an experience of the sort please post a reply :)

I hate it when no characters die. Even if the main character dies, I almost never have a problem with it.