Most upsetting character death? *spoilers*

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Sleeping in Light. Oh yes. That got to me too. The entire episode was emotionally loaded and symbolic to the extreme. JMS (the creator of the show) making a cameo to turn off the lights on the station. Babylon 5 - disposed of. Friends coming together for a last time. Delenn and Sheridan saying their final goodbye. And the music...

Yes, that was truly sad.

 

@Falstaff

You and me both. The pain of Chewie's death was a little hard. I had to re-read the paragraph several times as I just couldnt believe he had been written out. After it dawned on me I was stunned with disbelief.

 

Much like Han Solo, I went into a near-suicidal downward spiral of drinking and carousing with smelly aliens with tails.

It was terrible.

 

lol! Funny.... I can see that.

 

Amberle's death in the Elfstones of Shannara was sad as well as Flint's death in the Dragonlance series. Tasslehoff's response was like a little kid which made it more touching.

 

I, too, was deeply upset and even briefly angry at the deaths of Anakin and beloved Chewie. I was so sad that I cried. A lot. But the one death in any book that has hit me harder was that of Vergere. She had such profound wisdom, such talent for saying what needed to be said, never flinching from doing what needed to be done. She was strong. It was her death that made me feel as if a part of myself had been ripped away.


And I know nobody wants to hear this, but there will come a point, be it in two years or ten years or thirty years, where even Luke Skywalker will become one with the Force, like so many trillions before him. As R2-D2 says, "All life terminates; face it bravely." It is enduring such hardships that gives us strength, and allows us to become more than we are.

 

The death that upset me--and not in the emotional, "oh god, I can't believe this character died" way--the most was the female general (whose name I can't remember) at the end of Dave Gemmel's Dark Moon.

She sacrifices herself to keep her army from butchering some monsters that make the borg look like friendly folks. And in so doing, the evil monsters which make the borg look like pansies learn that yes, we all can just along, and change in an instant from an unstoppable steamroller of death into a bunch of hippies.

At that point I decided I would never, ever read another Gemmel book. Unless I was paid to do so.

 

Shigeru Otori in Across the Nightingale floor. It pissed me off that Takeo couldn't even be the one to actually kill Sadamu

 

All the saddest death scenes I recall, I read when I was much younger, just so they could traumatize me. Rose's death in Brian Jacques' Martin the Warrior actively made me cry (for several days), but I think nothing beats the ending of Charlotte's Web. Talk about not suitable for any age group.

 

Dragonlance: when Tanis's party reaches destroyed village of Goldmoon and Riverwind. One of the more touching moments I remember. Death of Sturm, near death of Riverwind by breath of black dragon. Also in Twins trilogy death of one gnome...that one whose inventions worked...

Tolkien:
Fight and death of Fingolfin in Silmarillion. Incredible piece of writing. Also not death per se, but ending of LotR is very sad. It's nearly make me sobbing reading that Gandalf and company leaves ME for good, and something has irrevocably ended....

 

Lion's death in Steven Pressfield's "Tides of War". So far this is the most moving part in the book and it isn't even given all that much emphasis. This sure isn't up to the caliber of "Gates of Fire"

 

This topic needs a revival!

 

thanks for bringing it to the top, i was about to go look for it.

Ryld Argith from Annihilation (WotSQ)

wtf, for the life of me, I really didn't believe they were going to kill him off.. even when jeggred was removing his heart I thought he was going to make it somehow

 

Charlotte, from "Charlottes Web". That poor, sweet spider, sniff...

 

Sturm's death in Dragonlance

Dumbledore's death in Harry Potter

I also didn't like Dash Rendar's death in Shadow's of the Empire. It just happened - no heroic stand, no great feat, just boom - done. Very anti-climatic.

 

Well, I didnt read the thread because of spoilers, but characters deaths that had an impact on me... Let me see: Turin Turambar is certainly the best and most emotional Tolkien tale - Feanor's is also amazing. His death was just very touching, but so are most deaths in Silmarillion. The two Feanors brothers who die fullfiling their oath. I dont remember the details, but I guess at least one of them jumps on an abyss or something like that.
Honestly, I could cite millions of Silmarillion's deaths, they were all magnificently executed.
Non-Tolkien related deaths... Well, there was Ana Kareninas death, but that was spoiled to me already! one of the main characters from "Fathers and Sons"; although he was a repulsive nihilist, his death was kind powerful. Well, I dont know, I can remember more characters destinies which stroke me that did not necessarily envolved deaths.

 

the death of Ned Stark hit me pretty hard, but nowhere near as hard as Nighteyes death...its the only Hobb book I've read and even though it was expected you couldnt help but cry.

The death of bison in gemmels book made me feel like **** for a couple of days after.

Pagans death in " king beyond the gate" by David Gemmel took me by surprise.

Daryths death in the Darkwalker on Moonshae series really pissed me off. he was by far the most interesting character in the series and he died in such a pointless way.

Moraines disappearance in Wheel of Time was shocking.

those are the only ones i can think of at the moment.

 

kept reading fool's errand til around 3am

haven't cried over a book in a long time, despite knowing it was going to happen

 

Haha. This is a spoiler tread. I was warned...