History YMMV / TheBookOfTheDunCow

** The Bird With No Tongue and Ferric Coyote in the sequel.
* {{Wangst}}: What Mundo Cani does for most of the book, often about his GagNose. [[CatchPhrase ''MAROONED!'']]
** However, it is implied that at least part of his {{Wangst}} comes from [[spoiler: knowing about his HeroicSacrifice.]]

* CompleteMonster: Cockatrice, who [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil torments Senex's hens]] (including [[TheHeart Pertelote]]), [[spoiler: kills his own father]], and tries to engineer the return of [[BigBad Wyrm]].

* AngstAversion: The sequels are hard reads, with the ever larger number of character deaths in each one. [[spoiler:Chauntecleer]] kills himself at the end of the second book, the rewrite contains a subplot involving Coop members turning on each other, and the third book [[spoiler: ends with Pertelote and the other animals ''dying'', although the blow may be softened by their implied reunion in the afterlife.]]
* BaseBreaker: The rewritten ''Book of Sorrows'' (renamed ''Lamentations''), which has been criticized for altering the characters, timeline, and tone of the series to make them fit events in the third book, [[SequelGap published much later than the previous two]], and causing a ContinuitySnarl in the process.
* CompleteMonster: Cockatrice, who [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil torments Senex's hens]] (including [[TheHeart Pertelote]]), [[spoiler: kills his own father]], and tries to engineer the return of [[BigBad Wyrm]].

* FirstInstallmentWins: An interesting case. The first book, ''The Book of the Dun Cow'', is the most well known book in the series, receiving widespread critical acclaim as well as an off-Broadway theater adaptation. While the second was also well-received critically, its DarkerAndEdgier tone (even compared to the already dark first book) made it a tough read for some fans of the original. Then the author [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion rewrote and cut large parts of the second book to fit the third book]], leading to criticism from fans of the first two books as they already stood and making the third book, ''Peace at the Last'', the most divisive of the three. It was [[SequelGap published in 2013]] with none of the first two's fanfare.

** The wolves' killing of Sweet Baby Blue and Jasper's attack on Pertinax Cobb in ''Lamentations'', which causes the other animals to exile them. Selkirk sees his eating Ratatosk as this and leaves of his own will.

* FirstInstallmentWins: An interesting case. The first book, ''The Book of the Dun Cow'', is the most well known book in the series, receiving widespread critical acclaim as well as an off-Broadway theater adaptation. While the second was also well-received critically, its DarkerAndEdgier tone (even compared to the already dark first book) made it a tough read for some fans of the original. Then the author [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion rewrote and cut large parts of the second book to fit the third book published in 2013]], leading to criticism from fans of the first two books as they already stood and making the third book, ''Peace at the Last'', the most divisive of the three.

* AngstAversion: The sequels are hard reads, with the ever larger number of character deaths in each one. [[spoiler:Chauntecleer]] kills himself at the end of the second book, and the third book [[spoiler: ends with Pertelote and the other animals ''dying'', although the blow may be softened by their implied reunion in the afterlife.]]
* BaseBreaker: The rewritten ''Book of Sorrows'' (renamed ''Lamentations''), which has been criticized for altering the characters and tone of the series to make them fit events in the third book, [[SequelGap published much later than the previous two]], and causing a ContinuitySnarl in the process.

* FirstInstallmentWins: An interesting case. The first book, ''The Book of the Dun Cow'', is the most well known book in the series, receiving widespread acclaim as well as an off-Broadway theater adaptation. While the second was also well-received critically, its DarkerAndEdgier tone (even compared to the already dark first book) made it a tough read for some fans of the original. Then the author [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion rewrote and cut large parts of the second book to fit the third book published in 2013]], leading to criticism from fans of the first two books as they already stood and making the third book, ''Peace at the Last'', the most divisive of the three.

** Jasper in ''Lamentations'' and Ruttus in ''Peace at the Last''. While both of them are antagonists, Jasper suffers for her choices and Ruttus endured abuse from her mate, Eurus.

* JerkassWoobie: While he gets a little too excited about his son, it's hard not to feel sorry for Senex when [[spoiler: he is killed by Cockatrice]].

* MoralEventHorizon: [[TheDragon Cockatrice]] crosses it as soon as he grows up by [[spoiler: murdering Senex rather callously and shoving the body aside.]]
* {{Squick}}: A basilisk gets into the Coop and [[spoiler: kills the Wee Widow Mouse]] by hiding ''inside the body'' of a Wild Turkey it killed.

* EstotericHappyEnding: A similar case to ''Literature/TheLastBattle'' - at the end of ''Peace At The Last'', [[spoiler: most of the named characters are dead, although they are reunited in the afterlife, along with characters who died in the previous books.]]

* AngstAversion: The sequels are hard reads, with the ever larger number of character deaths in each one. The third book [[spoiler: ends with Pertelote and the other animals ''dying'', although the blow may be softened by their implied reunion in the afterlife.]]
* BaseBreaker: The rewritten ''Book of Sorrows'' (renamed ''Lamentations''), which has been criticized for altering the characters and tone of the series to make them fit events in the third book, [[SequelGap published much later than the previous two]].

* AngstAversion: The sequels are hard reads, with the ever larger number of character deaths in each one. The third book [[spoiler: ends with Pertelote and the other animals ''dying'', although the blow is softened by their implied reunion in the afterlife.]]

* BaseBreaker: The rewritten ''Book of Sorrows'' (renamed ''Lamentations''), which has been criticized for altering the characters and tone of the series to make them fit events in the third book, published much later than the previous two.

* AngstAversion: The sequels are hard reads, with the ever larger number of character deaths in each one. The third book [[spoiler: ends with Pertelote and the other animals implicitly ''dying'', although the blow is softened by their reunion in the afterlife.]]

* FirstInstallmentWins: An interesting case. The first book, ''The Book of the Dun Cow'', is the most well known book in the series, receiving widespread acclaim as well as an off-Broadway theater adaptation. While the second was also well-received critically, its DarkerAndEdgier tone (even compared to the already dark first book) made it a tough read for some fans of the original. Then the author [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion rewrote or cut large parts of the second book to fit the third book published in 2013]], leading to criticism from fans of the first two books as they already stood and making the third book, ''Peace at the Last'', the most divisive of the three.

* BaseBreaker: The rewritten ''Book of Sorrows''(renamed ''Lamentations'') and ''Peace at the Last'', which have been criticized for altering the characters and tone of the series.

** Wyrm himself, who tricked the Bird With No Tongue into losing her voice ForTheEvulz.

* NightmareFuel: When [[spoiler: Lord Russel]] is reanimated as a zombie-like creature by Wyrm's evil essence in ''The Book of Sorrows''.

** The worms that get into Chauntecleer's body in ''The Book of Sorrows'' and corrupt him inside and out are deeply disturbing. At one point, one of them [[NauseaFuel crawls out of his beak]] while he is talking to Pertelote.

** However, it is implied that at least part of his {{Wangst}} comes from [[spoiler: knowing about his HeroicSacrifice.]]

* CompleteMonster: Cockatrice, who [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil torments Senex's hens]] (including [[TheHeart Pertelote]]), [[spoiler: murders his own father]], and attempts to engineer the return of [[BigBad Wyrm]].

** The worms that get into Chauntecleer's body in ''The Book of Sorrows'' and corrupt him inside and out are deeply disturbing. At one point, one of them crawls out of his beak while he is talking to Pertelote.

* {{Squick}}: A basilisk gets into the Coop and [[spoiler: kills the Wee Widow Mouse]] by hiding ''inside the body'' of a Wild Turkey it killed.
** Cockatrice's birth.

* TearJerker / CrowningMomentOfFunny: The last scene of the book, where Chauntecleer and John Wesley Weasel argue about who's going to [[spoiler: join Mundo Cani under the Earth in fighting Wyrm]] somehow manages to be both simultaneously

* MoralEventHorizon: Crosses it as soon as he grows up by [[spoiler: murdering Senex rather callously and shoving the body aside.]]

* CompleteMonster: Cockatrice, who [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil torments Senex's hens]] (including [[TheHeart Pertelote]]), murders his own father, and attempts to engineer the return of [[BigBad Wyrm]].

** However, it is implied that at least part of his {{Wangst}} comes from [[spoiler: knowing about his HeroicSacrifice.]]

* Wangst: What Mundo Cani does for most of the book, often about his GagNose. [[CatchPhrase ''MAROONED!'']]

* CompleteMonster: Cockatrice, who torments Senex's hens (including [[TheHeart Pertelote]]), murders his own father, and attempts to engineer the return of Wyrm.

* TheWoobie: Mundo Cani. That is, until his CrowningMomentOfAwesome]].

* CompleteMonster: Cockatrice, who torments Senex's hens, murders his own father, and attempts to engineer the return of Wyrm.