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| 15 | As said on the main page, '''spoilers are unmarked'''. |
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| 17 | ---- |
| 18 | * Creator/GarthNix's ''Literature/OldKingdom'': In ''Abhorsen'', Hedge is dead, Orannis is bound anew, and most of the main characters, plus the innocents they were trying to protect, survive. However, Lirael loses her hand, Nick will have to struggle against the Free Magic still in his blood for the rest of his life, and the Disreputable Dog is dead. Or is it? This ''is'' one of the Seven we're talking about here... |
| 19 | * Creator/PGWodehouse's ''Absent Treatment'': Reggie manages to get his best friend and his wife back together, but the wife grossly misinterprets his actions and they become much more distant from Reggie. He closes by stating that he wants the following to be engraved on his tombstone: "Here was a man who acted from the best motives. There is one born every minute." |
| 20 | * ''Literature/AcidRow'': The protagonists are able to prevent Acid Row from being burnt down and eventually the riot disperses. However, three people still died, including [[DeathOfAChild two teenagers]] and an innocent old man who was mistaken as a pervert. No one is legally held accountable for the violence save Wesley Barber and the police, government, healthcare sector, media and social services all point the finger at each other. Gaynor has [[OutlivingOnesOffspring lost her son]] Colin and will probably never get over it, but is glad the rest of her family is safe. Melanie [[BabiesEverAfter gives birth to a baby girl]] and is happy with Jimmy, who has officially gone straight and is helping the residents of Acid Row rebuild. Acid Row is slowly improving, with both the council and the residents working together to make it safer and more hospitable. It's implied that Franek gets arrested for his attack on Sophie, finally getting some comeuppance for his crimes and freeing Milosz from his toxic influence; he's already started standing up for himself more by backing up Sophie's version of events over his father's. Although she has some trauma and potential disfigurement, Sophie is getting on with her life and is HappilyMarried to Bob. |
| 21 | * ''Literature/AdventureHunters'': On the sweet side, the war is over, Ryvas' kingdom gets its land back, and the heroes made it out okay. On the sour side, [[TheGoodKing Ryvas]] is sentenced to life imprisonment, [[{{jerkass}} Jerrod]] is unpunished and still wants the land in question (thus the possibility of more conflict) and Regina still possesses the knowledge of golem crafting (thus the possibility someone else will want to capture her). |
| 22 | * ''Literature/AdventuresInWildSpace'': The kids reunite with their parents, and they decide to return to Lothal to help the Bridgers speak out against the Empire. As anyone who has watched ''Rebels'' can tell you, it won't go over well. The fates of the Grafs are later addressed in ''ComicBook/StarWarsAdventures'', however. |
| 23 | * ''Literature/After2003'': Wilner has completely taken over Central, and the minds of most of the students' parents. And it's only a matter of time before he has the remaining students taken to Operation Turnaround. But our collective heroes (Tom, his father, his stepmother, Rebecca, her family, and Tom's remaining friend) all make tracks to someplace safe and remote. |
| 24 | * ''Literature/AiNoKusabi'' ends with both protagonists finally getting together only to die in each others' arms moments later. |
| 25 | * ''Literature/AlexanderAndTheTerribleHorribleNoGoodVeryBadDay'': Alexander's luck hasn't really improved, and he has to accept that [[HardTruthAesop everyone has bad days]], but at least the day is over. |
| 26 | * ''Alfie'': "Alfie and the Birthday Surprise" ends with Mr. [=McNally=] happy with his kitten Boots, but his other cat, Smoky, dead. |
| 27 | * ''Literature/AliceAdams'': Any chance at a romance with Arthur is destroyed after the horrible dinner, but Walter and Mr. Lamb reach an understanding in which Lamb will buy Walter out, thus taking care of his debts. Alice casts her dreams of high society aside and resolves to make herself useful by going to business school. |
| 28 | * The Quirk Classics parody novel ''Literature/AndroidKarenina'' technically concludes with ''two'' endings, both extremely bittersweet. |
| 29 | ** In the original timeline, Alexei Karenin's attempts to retain his humanity fail, allowing [[CoolMask the Face]] to [[SplitPersonalityTakeover subsume his personality]] and [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul cybernetically remake him]] into Tsar Alexei, [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the King Without A Face]]; Russia is made into a dystopia under his regime, with advanced technology made the exclusive property of the government, and all robots exterminated - except for the [[StateSec Toy Soldiers]] of course; meanwhile, the [[AlienInvasion Honored Guests]] are secretly ruling everything from behind the scenes, having set the stage for Karenin to take control in the first place. As with the original novel, Anna commits suicide by throwing herself in front of a train; despairing over her death, Vronsky joins the military on their futile push to the alien homeworld, [[DeathSeeker determined to die]] fighting the aliens in a suicide mission. However, Levin and Kitty are still alive, and form an [[LaResistance underground resistance movement]] that will [[RayOfHopeEnding eventually be able to undo everything that Karenin did]]. |
| 30 | ** In the ''new'' timeline, [[RobotBuddy Android Karenina]] is successful in using Original!Anna's suicide as a means of [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong changing the past]]: Anna and Vronsky never fall in love and thus never screw up Original!Levin's plans, eventually allowing Anna's programming to take over and assassinate Karenin before the Face ever gets a chance to corrupt him into a dictator. As a result, the reformed Russian government declares a truce with [[ScienceHero UnConSciya]], and the invasion is averted... but Karenin's redemption died with him, and Anna has almost certainly gone to jail for his murder. |
| 31 | * After the twist reveal in ''Literature/AfternoonOfTheElves'', the plot collapses rapidly into one of these. Are Sara-Kate and her mother better off now, even separated and reliant on charity? Hopefully. Could Sara-Kate have held things together forever? No, and she shouldn't have to at her age. But her devastation at the upheaval of their life together is still heartbreaking. |
| 32 | * ''Literature/AngelaNicely'': |
| 33 | ** At the end of "The Tidiest Tent!", Angela, Laura, and Maisie are made to wash the dishes as punishment for stealing their scout mistress Brown Owl’s clothes (they meant to steal Tiffany’s), and not only did Angela not win her coveted prize, Tiffany did… However, Angela does manage to get her revenge on Tiffany by dumping water on her. |
| 34 | ** At the end of “Problems, Problems!”, Angela and Molly are both in trouble for pranking Miss Boot with a “kiss me” sign, but at least the plan to get Molly noticed worked. |
| 35 | ** "Talent!" ends with Angela losing the talent contest, but still enjoying herself, and Tiffany (her nemesis) also losing. |
| 36 | * In ''Literature/AlienInASmallTown,'' Paul and Indira are reunited and finally reconcile, but only when they are very old. They spend a few very happy years together before Indira dies of old age. Paul suffers a HeroicBSOD over how little time they had together, but eventually finds peace. |
| 37 | * At the end of the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series, the Yeerk invasion is defeated, but Rachel, Tom, and several supporting characters die in the process. Jake and Tobias suffer from depression and find themselves unable to adjust to life after the war. As if that isn't enough, Ax gets captured by a new enemy and the rest of the Animorphs try to rescue him, only to result in a BolivianArmyEnding. Cassie survives, since Jake knows she's never been a warrior at heart and doesn't take her on the rescue mission. Despite Jake's suggestion of marriage in #53, they drifted apart afterwards and Cassie is dating someone else. That's both official couples torpedoed, since Rachel is dead. Tobias has Rachel's ashes, and unless he traps himself in a morph that lives longer than a red-tailed hawk, he may get to be TogetherInDeath with her soon afterward. The ''Animorphs'' universe apparently has ''some sort'' of afterlife, as Rachel's spirit got to talk to the Ellimist for a few moments before continuing on its ghostly way to AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence or whatever. |
| 38 | * ''Literature/OfAntsAndDinosaurs'': Although the ant and dinosaur societies are destroyed (with dinosaurs becoming extinct and the ants beginning to regress back into a pre-sapient state), not all life on Earth is killed off as the ants feared and it is stated that a successor species (the humans) will eventually come to take the two's places. |
| 39 | * The third of the four stories of ''Literature/AwakeInTheNightLand'', "Silence of the Night", has the hero succeeding in his mission to prevent a FateWorseThanDeath for mankind, but at the cost of the life of his on father and preventing a lot of people from ever being born. |
| 40 | * ''Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-45'' by Creator/MaxHastings: The final chapter is called "The Bitter End." Defeating Nazi Germany needed to be done, but the author would like to remind you that the victory came at a huge cost in blood and treasure, and was not without moral compromise. Meanwhile, the people of Eastern Europe exchanged Nazi tyranny for Soviet tyranny. |
| 41 | * ''Literature/ABadPlaceToBeAHero'' ends with Lokenn dead, while Corlis and Thessa manage to earn their freedom from the paladins but otherwise gain nothing out of the ordeal. Corlis also lost his aunt Ulmira in the process, and even though it was her wish to die, it still clearly takes an emotional toll on him. Still, after all is said and done, the two survivors agree to turn over a new leaf and [[FireForgedFriends start over as friends]]. |
| 42 | * ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'' ends with Nathaniel redeemed, Bartimaeus freed, and the commoners gaining a greater voice in their own government. Of course, it also ends with Nathaniel ''dying'' [[RedemptionEqualsDeath at the moment of his redemption]] and Kitty's budding friendship/morethanfriendship cut off, leaving her alone and aged from the effects of Ptolemy's Gate. The new government that replaced the wizards (whom Kitty helped to overthrow) was hinted to be just as petty and corrupt as the previous one, and the unmentioned fact that the Americans will become the next great empire based on magic and subjugation of demons, bringing the whole bloody cycle around yet again. |
| 43 | * ''Literature/BehindTheAtticWall'': Maggie never sees the dolls again and loses Uncle Morris, the only relative who seemed to care for her and wasn't only interested in scolding her. But she's adopted by a family who loves her, and is shown having loving interactions with her little sisters. |
| 44 | * In Piers Anthony's ''Literature/BeingAGreenMother'', Orb (the Incarnation of Nature) almost destroys the world in a fit of rage after she finds out the man she love is Satan, the Incarnation of Evil, in disguise, but then saves the world by fulfilling her prophecy and marrying Evil/Satan so that Chronos will reverse time to before she got mad. By the time the wedding is arranged, they're reconciled and have discovered that they really do love each other, so the wedding is a joyful affair -- and as soon as it's over, Satan is whisked away to an uncertain but presumably terrible fate as punishment for breaking his terms of office by participating in a sacrament. End of book. (Anthony did go on to write a sequel in which they are reunited and get a less ambivalent ending, but at one point ''Being a Green Mother'' was intended to be the last book of the series.) |
| 45 | * ''Literature/BeauGeste'': While John lives and the real reason for the loss of the Blue Water is revealed, his brothers and friends are dead. |
| 46 | * In ''Literature/TheBlackMagicianTrilogy'', they defeat the Ichani but [[HeroicSacrifice Akkarin, Sonea's love interest, dies giving Sonea all his power]]. |
| 47 | * ''Literature/BloodAndChocolate1997'': Three innocent people, including Vivian's human friend Peter, were murdered by Astrid and Rafe; they both get killed so the murders will stop and Vivian is exonerated, although the victims' families will never know what happened to them and it's unfortunate for Rafe and Astrid's families that things turned out this way. Aiden and Vivian break up and will never see each other again; Vivian knows they would never have worked out but still regrets how badly things ended and fears Aiden has been traumatized by his experiences with werewolves. Aiden has to live with the knowledge that werewolves are real and that he may never know what happened to Vivian, whom he regrets accidentally shooting; he may also have to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder. On the brighter side, the pack's fortunes are looking up now they have a new home and a strong leader in Gabriel; Vivian also happily agrees to become Gabriel's mate and is finally content with her life. |
| 48 | * David Mitchell's ''Literature/TheBoneClocks'' ends with Rafiq and Lorelei escaping to relative safety in Iceland. But Holly will never see them again, and Western civilization is rapidly collapsing. |
| 49 | * The ending of the series as a whole was quite happy, but a number of the installments in Creator/FredSaberhagen's ''Literature/BookOfSwords'' series were bittersweet at best. |
| 50 | ** ''Mindsword's Story'' was almost just a Downer Ending. The threat posed by the Mindsword has been repelled, at least for the moment, but it has hardly been defeated altogether. In fact, Vilkata is still at large and in possession of the Mindsword. Murat, [[TragicVillain who started the book with the best of intentions]] is dead along with his son, who really was innocent. On top of which, Princess Kristin is crippled and still in love with Murat, insisting that Mark is no longer her husband. At the end, Mark has won, but he's left standing there in the rain. |
| 51 | ** ''The Third Book of Swords'', the conclusion to the trilogy, has a somewhat bittersweet ending. Vilkata is defeated, and Mark gets to be a prince, so it's a basically happy ending. But even though the gods were, frankly, [[JerkassGods jerks]], it's still rather [[EndOfAnAge melancholy to see them die]]. And not every single one of them was evil; Aphrodite's death was particularly poignant, precisely because she had come to sympathize with mortals. |
| 52 | ** The ending of the ''Empire Of The East'' trilogy, set in an earlier period in the same universe, is happy except for one key point: [[BigGood Ardneh]] [[ThanatosGambit dies]]. |
| 53 | * In ''Literature/BootCamp2007'', the main plot is Garrett, Sarah, and Pauly fleeing Lake Harmony, an abusive reform school. Sarah and Pauly both make it safely to Canada, but Garrett is recaptured and sent back to Lake Harmony. Pauly is so sick after years of abuse that Sarah is forced to leave him at a hospital, but his father is so appalled by the condition he's in that he allows him to return home to Florida instead of sending him back to Lake Harmony. Meanwhile, Rebecca starts speaking out about the abuse she suffered during her time there, and as a result some of the inmates are pulled out by their parents, including Garrett. Unfortunately, by that point Garrett's mind is broken, and he believes that he deserved the abuse. |
| 54 | * ''Literature/BridesheadRevisited'': By his own admission, Charles ends the book homeless, childless, loveless and middle-aged. Lady Marchmain dies knowing she has failed Sebastian; Sebastian never recovers from alcoholism; and Brideshead is robbed of his titular inheritance at the last minute. But for all that, Sebastian's journey through faith has him find peace through his personal suffering, and Lord Marchmain returns to the faith in his final hour and makes a deathbed confession, which inspires Julia to call off her pending adulterous union with Charles. And Samwise and Rex, the closest the book has to antagonists, wind up with their ambitions thwarted. |
| 55 | * In ''Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov'', Smerdyakov finishes his GambitRoulette by [[DrivenToSuicide killing himself]], Dmitri is convicted of a crime he didn't commit when everyone thought he would be acquitted; a subplot character the reader begins to empathize with dies of disease, and his poor father goes insane with grief; and Ivan has gone insane because [[CassandraTruth no one believes him even though he's telling the truth]]. It's not all bad though; arrangements have been made to break Dmitri out of prison so he can flee to America with his love Grushenka, and Ivan has a possibility for recovery. Alyosha gives a speech about how [[AnAesop Life Goes On And We Should Cherish It]]. Dostoevsky did [[DiedDuringProduction intend to write a sequel]], but we'll never know. |
| 56 | * At the end of ''Literature/TheBuilders'', everyone is dead except for Boudica and the Captain, and there's a strong possibility that the death of the Toad Lord and Mephetic will result in another war that will tear the country apart. [[OnlyTheLeadsGetAHappyEnding But the Captain did get revenge on Mephetic and the Toad Lord without dying in the process]], and there's a slight chance Barley also survived and went back to living a peaceful life. |
| 57 | * After Caleb calls Falkland to court in ''Literature/CalebWilliams'', Falkland confesses all his wrongdoing, commends Caleb -- and dies. But Caleb is wracked with grief for being Falkland's "murderer" and disillusioned with "the corrupt wilderness of human society." |
| 58 | * ''Literature/CagingSkies'': Elsa escapes Jojo, but she's in a whole new world with no money or resources, and Jojo grieves her loss alone. |
| 59 | * The main narrative in ''Literature/{{Caliphate}}'' ends a more "sweet" note than "bitter" with American agent Hamilton succeeding in his mission to stop a DepopulationBomb from being unleashed, saves his German [[SecondLove love interest]] [[TheWoobie Petra]] from a life of [[SexSlave forced concubinage]], proposes to her in marriage and promises to respect her. On the downside, her brother Hans pulls off an HeroicSacrifice to save the others and his own girlfriend Ling loses his beloved, Europe is still under the control of the caliphate and Petra's best friend Besma is trapped in a [[DomesticAbuse abusive marriage]]. With that said, the story ends on a hopeful note with the heroes choosing to liberate the rest of Europe from the Islamic regime and rescue Besma. |
| 60 | * ''Literature/CantGetThereFromHere:'' The homeless gang splits up. Tears and Maggot are reunited with their families, but Rainbow, [=2Moro=], OG, Pest, and Country Club are dead, and Jewel's fate is left up in the air. Maybe's fate is more ambivalent; she is given the option of going to a homeless shelter, but it is left unclear if she actually does. At least it ends better than one of Todd Strasser's other novels, ''Literature/BootCamp.'' |
| 61 | * ''Literature/ACanticleForLeibowitz'': |
| 62 | ** "Fiat Homo" likewise ends with a bittersweet note. Francis successfully gives Leibowitz's relics to the Pope, thus leading to the man's canonization only to be killed by the "Pope's Children" later on. |
| 63 | ** In "Fiat Voluntas Tua", the story chronicles the second rise and fall of civilization, including TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. But this time, [[SaintlyChurch the Church has learned from the past]] and arranged for [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture a starship to be sent out to the Centaurus colony]]. |
| 64 | * ''Careful What You Wish For'': Ruth's grandmother is still dead, she never gets the laptop she wants, and she still lives in a cruddy house with two annoying brothers, but she decides to accept these misfortunes. |
| 65 | * ''Literature/TheCaseOfCharlesDexterWard'': The villains are dead forever, but so is poor Charles, and his parents never get much closure. |
| 66 | * ''Literature/TheCay'': Philip (with Stew Cat) is rescued from the Devil's Mouth, eventually, but it's after Timothy succumbed to his injuries from the hurricane and he's left to survive without him. Later, he has surgeries and gets his sight back. |
| 67 | * The ending to ''Literature/CharlottesWeb'', although not without some happiness, left many readers in tears -- while Charlotte successfully saves Wilbur's life by writing positive messages about him in her web to convince Zuckerman not to kill him, she consequently dies in the penultimate chapter (to make things even sadder, [[DyingAlone she dies all alone]]). But in the last chapter, her children hatch from her egg sack, and three of them stay at Zuckerman's farm and become Wilbur's new friends. Still, though he loves them dearly, they can't take Charlotte's place in his heart. |
| 68 | * ''Literature/TheChathrandVoyages'': [[EldritchAbomination The Swarm of Night]] is prevented from destroying the world, [[GodEmperor the Shaggat Ness]] and [[EvilSorcerer Arunis]] are dead and Arunis' sister Macadra is a SealedEvilInACan. [[ArtifactOfDoom The Nilstone]] has been sent out of the world, the corrupt Arquali emperor has been toppled and replaced with a more enlightened regime, and his spymaster Sandor Ott has been driven from power. But the titular ship is destroyed, lots of good people are dead, maybe including [[ActionGirl Thasha]] and [[TheHero Pazel]] has been magically erased from the memory of almost all his friends in the process. Oh, and the Shaggat's millitant cult survived, though it splintered between various factions. The world of Alifros is certainly left in better shape than when the series started, but there's still too much going on to make for a truly happy ending. |
| 69 | %%* Arthur C. Clarke, ''Literature/ChildhoodsEnd''. |
| 70 | * The ending of Patricia Bray's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfJosan'' trilogy. Josan, whose soul has been forced into the body of the prince (and later emperor) Lucius, discovers that the body will die in the strain between two souls. He sets things up so he can banish himself, as the interloper, but Lucius takes over the body at the last second to banish himself instead of Josan, having come to the conclusion that Josan is the better leader of the two of them, and more fit for the office of emperor. |
| 71 | * ''Literature/TheCiderHouseRules'': Dr. Larch is dead and Homer and Candy part ways due to her marriage to Wally. But Homer returns to the orphanage as the new doctor and caretaker of the orphans like Dr. Larch before him and Rose got to escape her abuser. |
| 72 | * ''Literature/{{Crabbe}}'': Mary is dead from throwing herself off a cliff, and Franklin's fingers are deformed somehow from frostbite. However, after explaining himself to his parents, he gains their respect and finally takes control of his own life. |
| 73 | * At the end of ''Literature/ACryInTheNight'' by Creator/MaryHigginsClark, Jenny's ex-husband and baby son were both murdered by Erich, and she and her daughters clearly have some trauma to work through. But they all came out of it alive and they're settling into their new lives with Mark's support; it's implied he and Jenny [[MaybeEverAfter may become a couple in the future]] and he's a vast improvement as both a romantic partner and a father figure. Arden is revealed to have dead all this time but at least her parents finally have some closure; Rooney in particular is a lot more stable after discovering the truth. Although she never lived to see it, the world will also finally know what a brilliant artist Caroline Bonardi was. |
| 74 | * ''Literature/{{Cujo}}:'' A big friendly dog that only hurt people due to a disease dies, Tad dies ([[SparedByTheAdaptation unless you watch the movie]]), but Vic and Donna reconcile, and by the end, things are getting a little bit better for them. Charity and Brett meanwhile ultimately live better due to Joe's death. |
| 75 | * Creator/AgathaChristie's ''Literature/{{Curtain}}'' ends the ''Literature/HerculePoirot'' series on a bittersweet note (as does its TV adaptation on the series finale of ''Series/{{Poirot}}''): Poirot has solved the crime and justice has been done. Unfortunately, the only way to achieve justice was for Poirot to kill the murderer, then die of a heart attack while throwing himself on God's mercy. By the end of the series, poor Hastings has lost both his wife and his best friend, and his daughter has gone to Africa, leaving him entirely alone. |
| 76 | * Susan Cooper's ''Literature/TheDarkIsRising'' ends with the good guys winning, but with everyone but Will either ascending to another plane of existence or [[LaserGuidedAmnesia forgetting everything that happened]]. |
| 77 | * Reginald Hill's ''Literature/DalzielAndPascoe'' novels. |
| 78 | ** In ''Bones and Silence,'' Peter and Ellie Pascoe finally figure out who intends to commit suicide. Peter can't stop her. |
| 79 | ** The murderer in ''Deadheads'' is never caught; in fact, several years later, he's still one of Pascoe's next-door neighbors! |
| 80 | ** Dalziel and Pascoe entirely botch the SerialKiller case in ''Dialogues of the Dead'', and the murderer is dating Hat Bowler... |
| 81 | ** ''Death's Jest-Book'' ends on a note of profound gloom: one major player commits suicide; the young male prostitute Wield befriends is killed; and Franny Roote is shot multiple times and nearly dies. To top things off, the murderer from ''Dialogues of the Dead'' dies of brain cancer, leaving Hat Bowler distraught. |
| 82 | * By the end of the Literature/DaughtersOfTheMoon series, the Atrox is defeated, Vanessa lives to make her final decision, and Jimena goes on to be the mentor for the next generation of Daughters. However, Tianna and Catty are dead, Serena decides to stay in [[AlternateDimension Nefandus]] permanently with no way to return home, Vanessa [[AwesomenessInducedAmnesia forgets everything about her time as a Daughter]], and Adamantis's spirit is now [[OminousAdversarialAmusement loose on earth]]. |
| 83 | * In Creator/JamesSwallow's ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' novel ''[[Literature/BloodAngels Deus Sanguinius]]'', the forces of Chaos have been foiled, and Rafen has even persuaded the Blood Angels to purify rather than [[ReformedButRejected execute]] the repentent ones who had been tricked into following Chaos. But Rafen [[CainAndAbel has killed his brother Arkio with his own hand]] -- though there is a hint that Arkio has [[DiedHappilyEverAfter received afterlife mercy]] -- and he has won the undying [[{{Revenge}} emnity]] of a daemon. |
| 84 | * ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'': "The Third Wheel" ends with Rowley and Abigail broken up and Greg with chicken pox. At the same time, however, Greg enjoys a bath and it's revealed that Rowley and Abigail, who were both suspected to have chicken pox, actually only had zits. |
| 85 | * In ''Literature/TheDinosaurLords'', the first book ends like this, with an extra serving of Bitter. Melodía's free from Falk, but on the run to Providence, which not just the Empire, but also the freaking Grey Angels made their next target. Karyl and Rob manage to save the army, but get imprisoned for their effort, and while Jaume's still free of Falk's machinations, his control over Correction Army is slipping slowly. |
| 86 | * ''Literature/DirtyBertie'' often plays this for laughs: |
| 87 | ** At the end of "Burp!", the school is back to the cook Bertie preferred, but he's [[LostMyAppetite lost his appetite]] and the other students still don't like the menu. |
| 88 | ** In one story, Bertie and his grandmother sign up to a dance contest to win a trip to New York. They lose, but don't mind, since their obnoxious rivals also lost. |
| 89 | ** At the end of "Hamster!", Bertie finds the eponymous hamster, Snuffles, but then Snuffles [[RoadApples poops on him]]. |
| 90 | ** "Walkies" ends with Bertie being told off, but Whiffer passing his training test. |
| 91 | ** At the end of "Crackers!", the Christmas play goes wrong, but the boys and Whiffer happily go caroling. |
| 92 | ** "Slave" ends with Royston refusing to pay Bertie for making him his slave, yet Bertie doesn't mind and gets to tease Royston. |
| 93 | ** At the end of "Fetch!", Tiny the robot dog is destroyed and lost at the bottom of the pond. Bertie, however, doesn't mind and Whiffer gets to be the centre of attention again. |
| 94 | ** In "Wedding", Bertie ends up saving the wedding ring, but the cake is still missing some letters because Bertie ate them off. |
| 95 | ** "Robot Wars" ends with Bertie winning a trophy, but Miss Boot angry that he based his robot off her. |
| 96 | ** At the end of "Burger", the family is angry with Bertie, but he gets to eat at the restaurant he likes. |
| 97 | ** "Poop!" ends on Bertie besting [[SitcomArchNemesis Nick]], but Whiffer (a dog) pooping in the park, and ostensibly [[HereWeGoAgain getting banned all over again]]. |
| 98 | ** At the end of "Barking!", Bertie gets Whiffer back, and Mrs. Burns was able to finish her speech before Bertie was caught, yet the Burnses are probably in a lot of trouble for breaking the hotel's NoAnimalsAllowed policy. |
| 99 | * ''Literature/{{Divergent}}'': |
| 100 | ** In ''Divergent'', Tris manages to stop the mind control device and rescues her boyfriend. Unfortunately, many members of Abnegation and Dauntless have been needlessly killed, both of Tris's parents (as well as Will) are dead, she has little chance of befriending Christina again, and Jeanine is still out there. |
| 101 | ** And ''Insurgent'', Tris and Tobias have reconciled and they got the information, but Evelyn has staged her coup and Tris, Cara and Christine are seen as traitors. |
| 102 | ** And then we have ''Allegiant'': Tobias negotiates a peaceful resolution between Evelyn and the Allegiant, Chicago rebuilds, and the Bureau are all mindwiped to no longer distinguish between GP and [=GDs=] but Tris dies. |
| 103 | * ''Literature/TheDivideTrilogy'' by Elizabeth Kay ends with the eponymous Divide closing - ''forever'', and Felix and Beytony both being split into two copies of themselves (one pair of them in each world) as a result of being across the Divide when it shut. Although each pair manages to find out what's happened, Magic-world Felix will never see his parents again, but learns that his heart condition is permanently healed. On the other hand, Human-world Betony will never see her [[TakenForGranite recently un-petrified]] parents, and (apart from her eyes) looks like a regular human, whereas Human-world Felix will probably never learn if his heart condition is permanently healed. |
| 104 | * In ''Literature/{{Dogsbody}}'', a girl's dog is, unbeknownst to her, a supernatural creature trapped in the body of a dog until he can complete an important mission. He helps the girl get out from under the thumb of her terrible relatives, and eventually succeeds in his mission, meaning he can leave the dog body behind and go home to his own world -- which, from the girl's point of view, basically means that her beloved dog dies suddenly. He's going to miss her, too, and in his true form he can't interact safely with humans so he can't stick around to explain or come back and visit. |
| 105 | * The ''Literature/DragonKeeper'' trilogy ends with Ping finding the Dragon Haven, and Kai being revealed as a dragon of five colours - meaning that he's the next rightful leader of the group of dragons there. However Ping leaves, due to her not belonging there/the other dragons not wanting her there, and she's blinded for flight away so that she will never be able/allowed to find the Dragon Haven again. It's not all bad though, since Ping meets up with Jun and decides to go and live with him, and Kai gave her one of his scales, so that when there's a "Dragon Moon" (a full moon), Ping can dream of him. |
| 106 | * The prequel Kingpriest trilogy of ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}''. Sure, the [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil Balance]] is restored, the [[HolierThanThou Kingpriest]] gets his comeuppance, and the ''Peripas Mishakas'', the [[CrystalDragonJesus setting's Bible]] is saved, but somehow this doesn't make up for the gods having to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt blow up half a continent]] to do it. |
| 107 | * ''Literature/DragonSlippers'': The war is ended and the evil princess killed, but so are good dragons Shardas and Velika. Luckily, it ends with a ray of hope, as it's hinted that the dragons aren't dead after all and Creel sets out to find them. The sequel confirms that they survived. |
| 108 | * Most of the trilogies in the ''Literature/DragonsOfRequiem'' series end on this note. Because AnyoneCanDie and because the villains tend to destroy most of the country and the population before they're killed, a guaranteed "happy ending" is not possible. Even characters who survive, such as Laira and Kyrie Eleison, are so broken in the end that they ''can't'' be happy over their victory. |
| 109 | * ''Literature/{{Dreamspeaker}}'': All three of the main characters are dead (Peter and He Who Would Sing from suicide, and the shaman from old age.), but they're now all together in the afterlife. |
| 110 | * Creator/JimButcher's ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': |
| 111 | ** Some of the earlier novels aren't exactly uplifting. By the end of ''Literature/DeathMasks'', the Denarians' plot has been foiled, but Susan has left town again, and Harry comes to accept that they will never be together. He even puts away the pictures and engagement ring he'd kept on his mantle for three years. At the end of ''Literature/WhiteNight'', the current antagonists in the White Court have been eliminated in the coup, but Lash (the reformed shadow of a fallen angel) sacrificed herself to shield Harry from a psychic attack. |
| 112 | ** ''Literature/TurnCoat'': Morgan has not been executed for a crime he did not commit; he died heroically, and killing the villain. So, they merely [[MaliciousSlander say]] that he and the villain were in league. Thomas is alive but seems to be reverting back to the native nastiness of a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]]. Harry has learned that Luccio never really loved him. The White Council refuses to admit to the existence of the Black Council. So Ebenezer and Harry decide to conspire behind their backs, and will be executed if caught. Although Harry peptalks the rest of the [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]] into carrying on, Kirby is still dead. |
| 113 | ** At the end of ''Literature/{{Changes}},'' Harry destroys the entire Red Court and saves his daughter, as well as his own life, but Karrin gets [[TurnInYourBadge discharged from the police force]], his apartment building gets burnt down, he has to take care of a magical island in the middle of nowhere, while also playing TheDragon to Mab's schemes as the Winter Knight, an occupation which could probably turn him evil. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking He also has to live on a boat.]] Then he gets shot and dies. |
| 114 | ** ''Literature/BattleGround'': Ethniu has been defeated and bound beneath Demonreach along with the Eye of Balor and the Fomor have been driven out of Chicago with terrible losses. A lot of good people managed to make it out in one piece. Harry has convinced the supernatural community to start pursuing a better relationship with humanity, and is planning to [[StartMyOwn start his own supernatural nation]] to help modernize the White Council's hidebound teachings into better and more effective methods. On the bitter side, Murphy, Hendricks, Wild Bill and Yoshimo are all dead, as are ''60,000'' other innocent people. Chandler is missing and presumed dead, and Bill and Yoshimo were likely turned by the Black Court. Harry has been stripped of his status by the [[UngratefulBastard White Council]] and is facing a suspended death sentence. Then we find out that not only was Justine behind the assassination attempt on Etri, but she is possessed by "[[TheCorruption Nemesis]]" (who is actually [[TheCorruption He Who Walks Beside]]), and she escapes cleanly. To cap things off, TheMasquerade is slowly yet certainly beginning to unravel (to the point where Marcone notes that while it still exists outside of Chicago, the citizens inside the city ''will'' [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge take revenge on any supernatural creature that crosses their path]] and will only pretend during the day that the supernatural doesn't exist), and there is no telling what repercussions this will have on both the supernatural and mortal worlds. Oh, and Marcone is now a [[DemonicPossession Denarian]], having taken up [[FallenAngel Thorned Namshiel]]'s Coin. |
| 115 | * In ''Literature/TheDungeoneers'', Finn's plan has been foiled, he's been turned into a statue, and the ultimate treasure is safe. Colm works to keep his family well-fed in secret... but can't bring himself to face them because leaving again would be harder. He lives the lonely life of a rogue. |
| 116 | * ''Literature/DustDevils'': Cody ends up losing his father and stepfather to the vampires and is forced to destroy his friend Willet, who has been turned into a vampire. That said, Cody does end up destroying the entire vampire gang and avenging their many victims, and he settles down with Marguerite and states they'll name their possible future son Jack in honour of Cody's father. |
| 117 | * In Ray Nelson's short story ''Eight O Clock In The Morning'', the protagonist, through a mixture of resourcefulness and sheer determination, manages to lead humanity to rebel against the man-eating lizard men who had taken over the world... and used their mind control powers to keep anyone from even realizing it. However, he never actually gets to see this, as the command that gives the story its title kills him the next day. |
| 118 | * ''Literature/TheElenium'' ends with the death of [[EldritchAbomination Azash]] and Sparhawk returning home to his wife and daughter, but along the way we have the deaths of [[SacrificialLion Kurik]] and [[AlasPoorVillain Martel]], an entire nation left with no government or deity to watch over it, and an entire pantheon of gods who have retreated from interacting with mortals after realizing that they can be killed just like Azash. |
| 119 | * ''Literature/ElijahOfBuxton'' ends with Elijah failing in his initial mission to help Mr. Leroy get back his money that he was going to use to free his family, Mr. Leroy and the Preacher dying, and Elijah being forced to leave five slaves [[DrivenToSuicide to their fate with Mr. Leroy's gun]]. However, he returns to Buxton with at least one slave's baby, guaranteeing her a better life than she would've had if she stayed with her mother. |
| 120 | * In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' novel ''[[Recap/NewSeriesAdventuresEnginesofWar Engines of War]]'', the Doctor and Cinder save people from destruction by Time Lords, Borusa makes a HeroicSacrifice and destroys all the Daleks in the system... but Cinder is killed, Time Lords have become villains, and Doctor decides to finish the war by destruction of both sides. |
| 121 | * ''Literature/TheEagleTree'': March successfully campaigns to turn the LBA Woods into a park instead of chopping them down, but the Eagle Tree is decayed from the inside and cannot be saved. |
| 122 | * ''Literature/EleanorAndPark'': Eleanor gets out of her terrible family situation thanks to Park and her uncle taking her in, but can't see Park because of the distance. But Eleanor [[spoiler: is also able to get her mother to leave Richie and take the kids with her.]] |
| 123 | * ''Literature/ElephantAndPiggie'': "Pigs Make Me Sneeze" ends on Gerald discovering that he's not [[AbnormalAllergy allergic to pigs]] and can thus [[InterspeciesFriendship still be friends with Piggie]]. However, it turns out that the real reason he's been sneezing is because he has a cold. |
| 124 | * ''Literature/TheEmpiriumTrilogy'' ends with future-Eliana convincing her mother, Rielle, to permanently finish off Corien. Rielle ends up killing her best friend in the process and future-Eliana and her brother disappear since their timeline no longer came to pass. Rielle still dies in a flash of light, but she manages to leave behind a letter to her daughter that assures her that she loves her. And with humanities biggest threat gone, the world is a little safer. |
| 125 | * ''Literature/EpithetErasedPrisonOfPlastic'': Molly learns to rely on her friends more and to stop blaming herself for other people's actions, and the story ends with her crying TearsOfJoy after being "kidnapped" by Giovanni and taken to Crusher's home where she can finally be taken proper care of. Rick is also offered a place to stay and even a job by Naven, putting a nice bow on his storyline as well. The only sour note of the ending comes from Lorelai, as she ends the book scared and alone, unable to reconcile with Molly and still struggling with the possibility that she caused her mother's death. However, even she gets the suggestion of a possible happy ending, thanks to Giovanni leaving her a message stating that he believes she can become a better person and that she can call him when she's ready to DoWrongRight. |
| 126 | * ''Literature/{{Evernight}}'': Almost every book ends with one: |
| 127 | ** ''Evernight'' ends with Bianca and Lucas being forced to part ways for their own safety, but they vow to always love one another and find a way to be together. They both hold onto the hope that they will see each other again. |
| 128 | ** At the end of ''Stargazer'' Bianca runs away from Evernight to be with Lucas; they're happy to be together but it's tainted by the fact Bianca has to leave her family and friends behind (and didn't have a chance to reconcile with her parents beforehand), she and Lucas are currently stuck with a Black Cross cell who will likely kill her if they figure out she's a vampire, plus ghosts are still coming after her. |
| 129 | ** ''Afterlife'': Lucas' humanity is restored, Bianca and Lucas can finally be together openly and with her parents' acceptance, Mrs Bethany has been defeated, and the vampires, wraiths and humans of Evernight are saved. It's not a straight HappilyEverAfter though, due to a few factors: Lucas will inevitably die someday though he says that living on in Bianca is fine by him, Balthazar is still all alone (though this is resolved in the SpinOff when he falls in love with Skye), Lucas will probably never see his mother again and Black Cross will be hunting them. |
| 130 | ** ''Balthazar'': The main bitterness comes from the fact Skye and Balthazar will have to face the constant threat of vampires coming after Skye for her blood, and her parents are still in denial about their son's death and will now lose their daughter too. However Redgrave has finally gotten his comeuppance for all his atrocities, there's a possibility Charity and Balthazar could repair their relationship, Skye comes to terms with Dakota's death and her powers, and she and Balthazar are happy together. |
| 131 | * ''Literature/{{Evolution}}'': By the end of the book, all the primates are dead, along with all life on Earth, and all recognizable traces of humans are long gone, but the descendants of the autonomous Mars rovers have evolved into a galaxy-spanning mechanical civilization and bacteria from Earth seed life on new worlds and start the cycle of evolution anew. |
| 132 | * ''Film/Exodus1960'': Barak has just passed away from cancer, Karen is murdered, and Jordana is heartbroken after the death of David Ben-Ami. But Dov has a bright future as an engineer - he's been offered a scholarship to MIT - General Sutherland embraces the Jewish faith, Ari and Kitty will probably end up staying together and all of them, with Ari's mother, have joined together in a FamilyOfChoice. The book ends with a [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic Passover seder]], led by General Sutherland - specifically, with Dov, the youngest present, asking the Four Questions. |
| 133 | %%* ''Literature/FarsalaTrilogy'': The first book, with an emphasis on bitter. The trilogy as a whole has one, too, though there the emphasis leans more toward sweet.%%ZCE |
| 134 | * ''Literature/FairyOak'': Telli must leave the village she loves so much, as her contract has expired. Also, it may seem like Shirley and Tommy are an adorable couple, until you remember what happens with people that spend too much time next to the Infinite Power, and what would them having a child mean. |
| 135 | * ''Literature/FatalTerrain'': The Chinese threat to Taiwan is defeated, though not before many Taiwanese die, Guam gets nuked and Brad Elliott pulls off a HeroicSacrifice. In ''Battle Born'' the extremist Korean military leader is killed, stopping a war between China and Korea, although it costs one main character's life and China is still very much capable of marching in should it desire. |
| 136 | * ''Literature/FireBringer'' by David Clement-Davies ends with many of Rannoch's friends being killed off in the final battle, though the evil is defeated and Rannoch becomes Lord of the Herd. Then the epilogue ends with his wife dead, the herd forgetting him, and him wandering off to die of old age. Cheery, isn't it? |
| 137 | * Joe Abercrombie's ''Literature/TheFirstLaw''. The BigBad is defeated and his army routed. Jezal is king. West is a Marshall. Dogman is a respected leader in the North. Glokta is both Arch-Lector and married to Ardee. Logen has settled his score with Bethod. Ferro gains new powers to enable her to take her revenge. On the other hand, Bayaz is revealed to be a megalomaniac dictator no better than Kahlul. Jezal is a puppet utterly cowed by Bayaz. West is slowly dying from exposure to the Seed. Logen may or may not be dead by Black Dow's hands. Lastly, Adua is left utterly in ruins and afflicted by the sickness brought on by the Seed. |
| 138 | * ''Literature/{{Flanimals}}: Day of the Bletchling'' ends on what seems to be [[DownerEnding a pretty somber note.]] The Flanimals of the world all unite together to take on [[BigCreepyCrawlies the Bletchling swarm]]...[[TheBadGuyWins and they lose.]] [[CurbStompBattle Badly.]] As in ''every single Flanimal on the planet dies.'' Even the Bletchlings have doomed themselves, [[PyrrhicVictory guaranteeing their extinction by killing off all future food sources for their eggs.]] The planet is ultimately left devoid of complex life. However, there still exists the single-celled Splorn, which the LemonyNarrator suggests could evolve to eventually repopulate the planet with new life. |
| 139 | * ''Literature/ForestOfTheNight'': The main character fulfills her childhood dream in the end. But by then, her mentor is dead, as is the disabled native child whom she'd befriended. She's had to dump her boyfriend, because it's clear he'll never fully understand her. And she's become [[KnightInSourArmor generally disillusioned]]. |
| 140 | * ''Literature/FortHope'': Sure, all of the main characters survived, but Greg was forced to kill his love interest's father; she watched him do so, and that's generally a pretty tough thing for new relationships to survive. His cousin, Jess, who was savagely beaten at one point by the man Greg killed, has just broken up with her first love. |
| 141 | * Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/FoundationSeries'': The protagonists find Earth and civilization continues to revive, but the Second Galactic Empire will never come, humanity will probably lose its individuality and become part of a galaxy-wide organism. Also, the fan-favorite robot will die in some centuries, but not before he possesses an innocent Solarian child who has the potential to undo 30,000 years of social engineering on its own. The earlier books contain quotations from an "Encyclopedia Galactica" published during the Second Galactic Empire, it seems safe to say that something would have intervened to prevent Galaxia from arising had Asimov decided to finish the series properly before he died. (Or, as suggested at the end of the Second Foundation Trilogy, the Second Galactic Empire was able to somehow ''incorporate'' Galaxia.) |
| 142 | * ''Literature/TheFourHorsemenUniverse'': At the conclusion of ''Asbaran Solutions'', Nigel Asbaran retakes Moorhouse from the Blood Drinkers mercs that contract-jumped his family's company (wiping the Blood Drinkers out to a man) and completes its contract, sparing his company from bankruptcy and disgrace. However, they and the White Company mercs they subcontracted have taken heavy casualties (most of Asbaran's manpower and equipment having been lost in the Blood Drinkers' initial attack and the previous two failed attempts to retake Moorhouse, and further casualties sustained in Nigel's successful FalseFlagOperation), and Nigel's sister Parisa is killed by her captors before she can be rescued. |
| 143 | * ''Literature/FriedGreenTomatoesAtTheWhistleStopCafe'': Ninny dies but Evelyn is in a much better place than she was at the beginning and it's revealed that Idgie is still alive. |
| 144 | * ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'' is a TieInNovel of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' and turns the film's ending to this. The story depicts the [[FreudianExcuse depressing backstory]] of [[TragicVillain Prince Hans]], depicting his [[AbusiveParents father]] [[GreaterScopeVillain who emotionally abused him and made him feel inadequate]], causing Hans to [[WellDoneSonGuy become obsessed with becoming his favorite son]]. Our heroes know nothing of his life back home, believing he lied about since he lied about so much else in an attempt to claim Arendelle's throne. Anna decides to send him home as punishment, [[DramaticIrony unaware that Hans was only downplaying the things his family does to him]]. |
| 145 | * ''Literature/TheGirlWithTheLoudingVoice'', Adunni wins the essay contest that will provide an education for her to become a teacher. She begins to live with the kindly Tia Dada, thus free from Big Daddy's preying and Big Madam's abuse. However, it seems unlikely that either will ever see punishment for what they've done--Rebeca, the previous housemaid who was impregnated by Big Daddy and thrown out by Big Madam, will never see justice for what's happened to her. Adunni will still not be able to return home anytime soon, with a false murder on her hands and a vengeful husband. The hope comes in that Adunni is determined to use her voice to change the world for girls like her, and try to keep what happened to her from happening to other girls. |
| 146 | * ''Literature/GiveYourselfGoosebumps'': In the series, there are more bad endings than good. In some instances, [[EarnYourHappyEnding there's only one ''good'' ending]]. |
| 147 | * ''[[Literature/TheGoldenOecumene The Golden Age]]'' by Creator/JohnCWright. Phaethon wins, the Golden Oecumene is warned of danger, the [[CoolStarship Phoenix Exultant]] sets sail for the stars with all Phaethon's family on board...but the age of utopia is finished: [[AStormIsComing war is coming]]; and the last scenes of the book are the Oecumene's oligarch governors, discredited by Phaethon, wearily preparing to FaceDeathWithDignity. |
| 148 | * Every book from the ''Literature/{{GONE}}'' series seems to end with victory for the protagonists and sometimes the sympathectic villains, but also has a slightly bitter undertone implying that the struggle is far from over, and that they'll be more shit to come in the future as well as dealing with the past (which is always proved in the next book). Yet despite this, is seems mostly optimistic in it's ending. |
| 149 | ** The ending of the first book (''GONE'') has the survivors of Perdido Beach celebrating with a thanksgiving feast and a jokey subtext from the characters, but also mourning all the lives lost from [[BigBad Caine]] and [[FiveManBand co's]] reign of terror and leaving the future uncertain and worrisome. |
| 150 | ** At the end of ''HUNGER'' (book 2) [[TheHero Sam]] has defeated the Gaiaphage (or so it would ''seem''), but at a nasty cost of Duck's life. Despite this, there is also the upside that they have found a way to harvest vegetables and avert starvation, so it's a mixed victory... But on the ''downside''; Brittney Donegal ends badly. |
| 151 | ** ''LIES'' has the new villain destroyed and everything seemingly back to normal, but trauma still ensues for the prominent characters and they don't seem particularly happy at the end. To put it delicately. Then again, the children were saved, and it seems that [[BetaCouple Caine and Diana]] have finally come to terms with their [[BelligerentSexualTension relationship issues]]...Although it actually only gets worse from there. |
| 152 | ** Everything seems to be looking up at the end of ''PLAGUE'', with the villains and heroes coming to a peace truce and a new source of water being found to avert dehydration, but then Diana announces she's pregnant with a demon baby and leaving Caine. Also, Astrid's AWOL and possibly dead for all they know. Making it not without its upsides, but... |
| 153 | ** ''FEAR'' has most of the character's seemingly happy and relieved at the end not that the barrier is no longer black (and transparent, which is a bittersweet revelation in itself), and Sam admitting he has come to accept and maybe even love the FAYZ. Astrid is back, and has sorted out her relationship with the hero, and the dictatorship in Perdido Beach has been seemingly vanquished. But then the main threat is still out there and stronger than ever, and Diana (who serves as a anti-hero in this book) is possibly insane/suicidal and there's still a little bit of sadness to the fact that Astrid doesn't even recognise or care about her parents anymore. It's all open to interpretation whether the end was surprisingly cheerful and perhaps ''too'' conveniently cheerful, or whether it's actually the saddest ending as you know that the Perdido Beach kids will never really be the same, and even if the barrier eventually comes down, life will be far from normal to them. |
| 154 | ** ''LIGHT'' has the main threat killed and the barrier come down, freeing the kids trapped inside. But only a little more than half the kids in the FAYZ actually survive, and they're highly traumatized. The lead characters do end up in a better situation, however: Sam's emancipated and living on his own with Astrid, who's now rich due to her movie deal; Diana, despite losing Caine is living with them; Lana and Quinn's lives return to normal quickly; Edilio is still living in the U.S., is openly gay and has Roger; and Dekka's parents don't harass her about her sexuality and she pays tribute to Brianna. |
| 155 | ** The ending of the series was bittersweet for [[ButchLesbian Dekka]] and [[IronWoobie Diana]] in particular. Both lose the love of their life in highly painful and sudden ways, but they also both find solace in their friends and are implied to go on to live long, happy lives. Diana is implied to be starting a relationship with Quinn, though she's still shook up about Caine's death. But, she also receives a letter from Caine apologising for all the things he did to her and that he loves her, which made me both "laugh and cry", which is bittersweet in itself. Dekka is left utterly alone on the other hand, but is also hailed as a national hero. Those two probably defined the term "bittersweet" the very best out of all the survivors. |
| 156 | * ''Literature/GrandmasterOfDemonicCultivationMoDaoZuShi'' lets the protagonists finally earn their HappilyMarried ending together after years of loss, misunderstanding, and suffering. However, things end on a mixed note for the supporting characters. One is consumed with guilt for trusting his friend (who turned out to be the BigBad) and falls into depression, and another -- after realizing how much their turbulent relationship has been causing pain for them -- decides to let his friend go than tie him down to an old promise they made of fighting side-by-side. Other supporting characters get a more uplifting ending, such as reconciling with their personal grudges, rediscovering their origins, choosing to forge a new path for themselves. Additionally, there's still a tinge of bittersweet in the resolution of the overall story with the fact that the rest of the world doesn't learn any valuable lessons from what happened, such as thinking twice before believing what lies others tell them or immediately ostracizing those who don't fit in with the norm. |
| 157 | * ''Literature/TheGrandmother'': The Grandmother dies and is generally mourned by everyone whose lives she has touched. All the same, she has lived a fulfilled life and has left a lot of good behind her in the community. |
| 158 | * ''Literature/TheGreatEscape'': One or two guys escape successfully. Most of them die in the attempt, as it happened in real life. |
| 159 | * In ''Literature/GunsOfTheDawn'', the protagonist survives, and at least some of the people she cares about survive too (including the one she had developed feelings for). As a bonus, the person responsible for the war is dead. However, this occurs against the backdrop of her country having lost the war, and now being under foreign occupation. (This isn't as big a downer as might have been assumed at the start of the book, though, since it turns out the foreigners weren't the ones who started it and aren't the crazy anarchists they were portrayed as.) |
| 160 | * In ''Literature/HalfBad'', Nathan gets the gifts that he needs to stay alive, but he is told that he has to kill his father to save his girlfriend Annalise, and his friend Gabriel is missing. |
| 161 | * ''Literature/TheHappyPrince'': Ultimately, the Swallow never rejoins its flock and dies from the cold weather, and the Prince's gifts go unnoticed by the rest of the village. Both are disposed of once they see the Prince's now-shabby state, but God sends His angels to retrieve their remains and welcome them into the kingdom of Heaven. |
| 162 | * ''Literature/HarryPotter'': |
| 163 | ** Downplayed with the first two installments, as while they end with Harry being forced to return to his abusive Muggle family, he still managed to end both books saving the school in a big win. Then CerebusSyndrome for the series kicks in... |
| 164 | ** ''Prisoner of Azkaban'': Harry again manages to save the day, including the life and soul of his godfather, but he's forced to flee since he's still a wanted fugitive. |
| 165 | ** ''Goblet of Fire'': Harry has survived his first real brush with Voldemort... but Voldemort is still back and ready to get back to business. Harry also has to cope with the trauma of watching a friend die, and the Minister of Magic not believing his story. Nevertheless, Hagrid assures him that they'll be able to face what's coming together. |
| 166 | ** ''Order of the Phoenix'': The Ministry of Magic has finally accepted Voldemort's return and is preparing for open war, Dumbledore has apologized for his questionable actions, and Umbridge has been sacked. However, there ''is'' open war on the horizon, Harry has lost his godfather, and Dumbledore has told Harry that he and Voldemort are fated to kill each other. |
| 167 | ** ''Half-Blood Prince'': It only really becomes this on the last page at Harry's admission. Dumbledore has been killed by Snape, Harry has broken up with Ginny for her own safety, the Horcruxes are still out there, and Harry plans to forgo returning to Hogwarts to find them. Harry takes solace in the fact that he'll be able to have one last golden day of peace with his friends and family at Bill and Fleur's wedding. |
| 168 | ** ''Deathly Hallows'': Harry has finally triumphed over Voldemort for good, and the Death Eaters crumble overnight, the Wizarding World being saved at last, and eventually settles down and has a family. However, the heroes have still sustained countless unbearable losses, and there's still a lot of work to be done fixing the world they live in. |
| 169 | * ''Literature/TheHeartsWeSold'': The book ends with James and Cal dead. However, the world is saved, Dee is released from her contract with the Daemon, and she asks him to release Riley, too. (It's unclear if he will, but he has no reason not to.) In addition, Riley, who used to be homeless, is now in a happy, committed relationship with Gremma and now has a safe place to live, and Dee never has to return to her abusive home ever again, having enough money to put her through college. While the threat that could've ended the world will likely come back someday, the Daemon now knows what to do about it. He doubts that humans would willingly put their lives on the line to help him, but Dee disagrees, proving that in spite of everything, she believes in heroes and selflessness again. |
| 170 | * ''Literature/TheHistoryOfBees'': William's hive design fails to become standard, but it led to his descendants becoming a legacy of beekeepers. In the future, Wei-Wen is dead, but he's become a symbol of hope now that the bees have returned. |
| 171 | * Literature/HomageToCatalonia: Orwell and his wife are successful in getting out of Spain though they find civilian life isn't as interesting as it was before the war. |
| 172 | * Nearly every book in the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' series, due to heavy loss of life during each and every final battle. ''At All Costs'' is the worst, with the Manticoran Home Fleet completely wiped out and her friend Alistair [=McKeon=] killed only suceeding in gutting the Haven offensive forces with their defenses and production still intact. By ''Storm from Shadows'' they stop being bittersweet and start being {{Downer Ending}}s. ''Torch of Freedom'' is a nasty case of YankTheDogsChain disguised as a HappyEnding. Reading the books in the correct order means while not quite a ShaggyDogStory, it's only marginally better as their sucess won't stop Oyster Bay or the eminent war with the Solarian League. The corner has been turned as of ''Mission of Honor''. Oyster Bay has finally had its trigger pulled (with nearly every major shipyard in the Manticore system destroyed as a result), and the war with the Sollies has finally started.... but on the other hand, the RMN has proven itself capable of kicking the Sollie navy's ass without trying, and Manticore and Haven have made a lasting peace and signed a military alliance that will probably take the starch out of the SLN's impending attack of Manticore. While many a storm still lies ahead -- and this is a Weber novel, so war will never be easy -- ''A Rising Thunder'' ends with more sweet than bitter, as Crown Prince Roger and his fiancee Rivka's wedding (attended by the Havenite head of state and a few friends, no less!) serves as a promise of brighter days to come despite the looming confrontations with Mesa and the League. |
| 173 | * In Creator/JamesSwallow's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/HorusHeresy'' novel ''The Flight of the Eisenstein'', of all the loyal Marines who fled, three survive. Their last companions are slaughtered by one of their number's succumbing to Chaos taint. One has become TheAtoner. They are effectively prisoners on the Moon. The Lord Regent himself comes to assure them -- in person, by way of apology -- that there are plans in motion that will have a place for them, but there is no more detail than that. (Although the details of the plan may hint to the readers what will become of them.) Considering that this is a Literature/HorusHeresy novel, this is probably as good as it can get. The ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' itself has a very bittersweet ending -- the surviving Primarchs drive off the forces of Chaos, and Horus is utterly destroyed ([[RedemptionEqualsDeath perhaps showing the slightist amount of regret]]), but The Emperor is mortally wounded, the power of the Imperium is all but shattered, and the galaxy begins its slow slide into anarchy... |
| 174 | * ''Literature/HorusHeresy'', "Mechanicum": Through the efforts of the loyalist adepts, the Dark Mechanicum have been dealt serious blows, Dhalia has found her place as a guard of the dragon, and the [[TheDragon machine]] that has been stalking the main characters is defeated. On the other hand, the ''Legio Tempestus'' is annihilated, only two of the Knights of Taranis remain, ''billions'' of lives have been lost, with ''many'' more still to come, along with limitless knowledge and the bright future it could have given mankind with it, and the ''Book of the Dragon'' has been stolen, probably to cause doom and gloom in a galaxy full of it already. |
| 175 | * ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles'': Holmes manages to save Henry Baskerville's life, but he is left a nervous wreck and heartbroken by the fact that Beryl was (probably) playing with his heart, albeit to save his life. Beryl is free after years of abuse and neglect, but it is uncertain what type of future she can have, either with Sir Henry or on her own. |
| 176 | * ''[[Literature/WinnieThePooh The House at Pooh Corner]]'' ends with a fairly sad note, as Christopher Robin is going to leave Hundred Acre Woods. The final chapter is about his farewell. While the ending remains true to the fairly lighthearted tone of the series, what Christopher is saying remains very poignant - he's growing up and can't live this part of his childhood anymore. |
| 177 | * At the end of ''Literature/TheHowling1977'', Karyn and Chris escape from Drago and burn the town to the ground, killing many of the werewolves in the process. However, as they're driving away they can hear howling in the distance, so it appears some of the werewolves survived. Karyn is also [[TraumaCongaLine more traumatised than ever]], especially with her husband Roy having become a werewolf and likely being killed in the fire. |
| 178 | * ''Literature/HowToBeComfortableInYourOwnFeathers'' ends with the bird protagonist being more self-confident and with a healthier lifestyle, but still a bit insecure. |
| 179 | * ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': |
| 180 | ** The first book ends with Katniss and Peeta both surviving the Hunger Games, as well as gaining the rewards that go with being crowned victor, but the government is very angry at them — mostly Katniss — because their refusal to try to kill each other is considered an embarrassment to the totalitarian regime that orchestrates the Games and a threat to its control. |
| 181 | ** At the end of the series, on the good side, the war is over, Panem's tyranny has been defeated and Panem itself is rebuilding, and Katniss and Peeta get to live happily ever after together with some BabiesEverAfter. On the other side, nearly everyone except Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, Katniss and Prim's mother, Beetee, Johanna, Annie, Enobaria, Plutarch, and Paylor is dead, the living characters are burdened with deep emotional scars, and it's implied that the world will fall back into tyranny soon. |
| 182 | * ''[[Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt The Hunter's Blades]]'' trilogy finishes with Mithral Hall holding out against the newly-founded Kingdom of Dark Arrows long enough and bloodily enough that King Obould decides to halt his advance. Gerti Frostdottir, the frost giant priestess, decides to sever her ties with the orc king. Drizzt and Catti-brie finally get horizontal and then get married. The Companions of the Hall have once again come through alive and mostly well. But the orcs have gained a large foothold in the Silver Marches, Pikel Bouldershoulder has lost an arm; Wulfgar's wife, an allied human mage, several of Drizzt's new friends, dozens if not hundreds of elven warriors, hundreds of humans (including civilians), and hundreds if not thousands of dwarven soldiers are dead; as well as many, many orks but well, they had it coming, and Wulfgar's daughter has been kidnapped. On top of it all, Lady Alustriel, the figurehead of the Silver Marches, is leaning on her people to let the orcs stay, as dislodging them would be far too costly to be worth it. |
| 183 | * The ''Literature/{{Idlewild}}'' series: |
| 184 | ** ''Literature/{{Idlewild}}'': Halloween survives long enough to get out of virtual reality and kill the Big Bad. This does not help cure [[DepopulationBomb Black Ep]], or resurrect the entirely dead population of Earth, nor does it help rebuild civilization as a whole. |
| 185 | ** ''Literature/{{Edenborn}}'': Halloween and Isaac rejoin the other survivors to research Black Ep as a group with a likely end in sight. Their children Deuce, Rashid, Mu'Tazz, Hessa, Haji, and Dalilah are dead or dying. |
| 186 | * In ''Literature/IfIStay'', Mia's brother and parents are dead, but Mia chooses to keep living. She's also going to need a lot of physical therapy to recover from the injuries in the accident. |
| 187 | * ''Literature/TheCornersvilleTraceMythos: I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It'' ends with Alley's zombie boyfriend Doug [[DiedInYourArmsTonight dying her arms]], but not before they say "I love you" and Will is defeated. It's also shown at the end that Alley has changed for the better. |
| 188 | * ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' In the end, Eragon defeats Galbatorix and all ends well in Alagaesia, but he has to leave the place. Even after Arya and Eragon all but say they loved each other they separate because of their duties. Poor Nasuada was left alone by Murtagh, when he leaves for his soul-healing trip. |
| 189 | * ''Literature/InvasionCycle'': The Phyrexians are destroyed, but Dominaria is in ruins and many, ''many'' people have died. |
| 190 | * Daniel Quinn's ''Literature/{{Ishmael|1992}}'' ends with the titular teacher's death, but he had taught all that the narrator needed to know to save the world. |
| 191 | * Sinclair Lewis' ''Literature/ItCantHappenHere'' ends on a bittersweet note. Doremus returns to America to encourage dissidents, thereby playing a vital role in the resistance against the government. However, he's constantly on the move to evade Corpos and unable to see his loved ones. Even in a best case scenario, it will likely be years before he can see Lorinda and Sissy again. |
| 192 | * ''Literature/JessicasGhost'': Jessica [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascends to the afterlife]], but she changed Francis, Andi, and Roland's lives for the better, and the three are still close friends. |
| 193 | * In ''Literature/TheJungleBook'' Mowgli succeeds in killing Shere Khan but manages to alienate both the wolf pack and the human village in the process. In ''The Second Jungle Book'' Mowgli is reunited with his human mother but is forced to give up his life in the jungle. |
| 194 | * ''Literature/TheKeysToTheKingdom'' ends with Arthur as the New Architect with all of The House destroyed, including almost all of the denizens except for a choice few, as well as his mother. Arthur is split off from the New Architect, but it lied to about being mortal again, and will probably result in WhoWantsToLiveForever. |
| 195 | * At the end of Creator/GrahamMcNeill's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/{{Ultramarines}}'' novel ''The Killing Ground'', the ghosts have been laid, the world is not put under Exterminatus, Uriel and Pasanius have been cleared of any taint by the Grey Knights and returned home, but the Unfleshed are all dead -- the Lord of the Unfleshed a MercyKill at Uriel's hands -- and he feels unshakeably melancholy thereafter. |
| 196 | * In ''Literature/TheKindFarmer'' by Eleanor Farjeon, Robert dies in poverty, worn out by work and anxiety. However, he dies at peace, having done something good for practically every villager, and will be remembered as the kindest man in the neighborhood rather than the greedy tyrant he used to be until a few years previously. His beloved daughter Jane is left a penniless orphan, but the entire village decides to raise her in memory of Robert, and the ending notes Jane never lacks for love and care. |
| 197 | * ''Literature/KindlingAshes'': One for each protagonist: |
| 198 | ** Giselle transfers Baltair into his egg so she'll no longer feel his presence in her mind, but she will still be his flyer and neither of them will die from Soul Pains. |
| 199 | ** Corran is captured by Ikjorians and seemingly abandoned by Frang, but since Frang is out of him he will won't die of Soul Pains. Also, he's matured enough to step out of his family's shadow and confront his problems on his own terms. |
| 200 | * The final volume of the ''Konrad'' TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy novels features Konrad defeating the Skaven plot to take over the Empire, and screwing with his adversary's plans. Unfortunately for Konrad, said enemy escapes, and he is forced to behead his first love; for bonus points, it's implied he may not survive what he's getting into at the end. By this point, most if not all of his friends and allies are dead. Of course, this is from a ''[[CrapsackWorld Games Workshop]]'' universe, so it should come as no surprise that this is actually the ''most'' optimistic part of the novel. |
| 201 | * ''Literature/LadyMyLifeAsABitch'' ends with the main character stuck as a dog likely forever and forced to flee from her former family...but she now has two fellow dogs as close friends, so at least she won't be completely alone in her new life, and may even come to enjoy it with their help. On the other hand, the man who accidentally caused all this is still at large, and will most likely end up accidentally turning others into dogs further down the line... |
| 202 | * ''Literature/LammasNight'': With the cancellation of Operation Sealion, Britain is safe from invasion ... but is that due to the HumanSacrifice the characters arranged, or simply coincidence? |
| 203 | * ''Literature/TheLandOfOblivion'' - Jesse is dead but [[DiedHappilyEverAfter he has a happy afterlife...]] [[InferredHolocaust for now]]. |
| 204 | * ''Literature/LastNightAtTheTelegraphClub'': Lily reunites with Kath and it's indicated the two may rekindle their relationship. However, what will happen to both with their disapproving families isn't clear. We also never learn what happened with Joyce and Tommy, who faced charges over letting teenage lesbians into the club, nor if it will be closed for good. |
| 205 | * ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn'' has a very bittersweet ending: the unicorns are freed, but Lir loses his love, and the questing unicorn has learned to regret (something her immortal kin can't understand). |
| 206 | * ''Literature/TheLatheOfHeaven'': The world is at peace, Dr. Haber is in a mental institution and while Orr's not married to Heather in the final reality, at least she exists in this world and he has the opportunity to pursue a relationship with her. He's also happy at his job working for an alien designing household goods and is free from Haber's influence. |
| 207 | * ''Literature/LauraAndTheSilverWolf'' ("Laura und der Silberwolf") : Two girls, Laura and Eileen share a room in a leukemia ward. Laura doesn't make it, but Eileen does. And if it wasn't AllJustADream, Laura lives on in Ice-Land. |
| 208 | * The end of the Drizzt Do'Urden novel ''[[Literature/LegacyOfTheDrowSeries The Legacy]]'' has Drizzt and his friends fighting off the drow and [[HeroicSacrifice Artemis Entreri... and Wulfgar dying]] to save his friends from a demon, the brave dwarven priest who was going to officiate his and Catti-brie's wedding being crushed to death, and a threat of an army of drow coming upon Mithral Hall. Yay? |
| 209 | * By the end of ''Literature/LegacyTheTaleOfTheAmericanEagle'', rogue hero American Eagle has caused significant damage to international drug trade to avenge his sidekick, but it's implied the Snakehead organisation can rebuild faster than the good guys anticipated, and for all his efforts he is being disowned by the United States of America, forcing him to live on the run. |
| 210 | * ''Literature/LegacyOfTheDragokin'': This ending is significantly less happy than ''Literature/TrappedOnDraconica'': while the vilains are defeated, Zarracka reformed, Kalak/Daniar reconcilation, and Benji gaining dragokin powers and a possible girlfriend in the future, there is a lot more death, a lot more destruction, the underlying problem (Drewghaven's bad economy) is entirely unresolved, and Man in Shadow got exactly what he needed from the mess and so is one step closer to completing his own EvilPlan. |
| 211 | * ''Literature/LesMiserables''. The fight for freedom has been utterly crushed, but Jean Valjean rescues Marius, and lives long enough to see his marriage to Cosette, before finally dying and going to heaven. |
| 212 | * ''Literature/TheLincolnLawyer'' by Creator/MichaelConnelly. Upside, Mickey Haller's old client Jesus Menendez is exonerated of the rape and murder of a prostitute and the truly monstrous rich kid who actually did it goes down for the crime. Downside, Mickey is penalized with temporary disbarment for breach of professional ethics, and Menendez has been infected with HIV by PrisonRape and sues Mickey for malpractice (since he'd originally convinced the innocent Menendez to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty). The "downside" half was left out of TheFilmOfTheBook from 2011. |
| 213 | * ''Literature/TheLittleFriend'': Harriet doesn't find out who killed Robin, but she at least realizes that Danny was innocent. |
| 214 | * ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'':The mermaid is given a LastSecondChance to kill the prince and return to the sea. She chooses death instead. However, the sacrifice earns her a provisional afterlife as a sort of ministering spirit, and when her time is done, she will gain an immortal soul and go to heaven. |
| 215 | * ''Literature/LittleMushroom'': The humans manage to avoid being completely wiped out and An Zhe's HeroicSacrifice enables them to stabilize the worldwide mutations enough so that they no longer need to worry about losing their minds if they become mutated, the mutated humans go from being hated and shunned to being widely accepted, scientists have begun doing successful research on how to use the newfound string frequencies to create clear water and other resources, and An Zhe is able to be resurrected through his spore and reunite with Lu Feng. However, thousands of human lives have still been lost for good, human civilization will never be able to return to its glory days, and they still can't take their chances of long-term survival for granted. |
| 216 | * ''Literature/TheLittlePrince'': The Aviator is able to fix his plane and return home, but the Prince allows the Snake to bite him so he can return home to the asteroid, leaving the Aviator devastated. The Aviator is uncertain whether the Prince died or somehow did go home, since he NeverFoundTheBody, but is hopeful that this means he's still alive somewhere. The story ends with an absolutely devastating plea from the Aviator, begging the reader to let him know if the Prince ever comes back. |
| 217 | * The ''Literature/LlamaLlama'' book "Llama Llama Home with Mama" ends with Llama Llama and his mother both sick, but relatively happy. |
| 218 | * Literature/TheLongShips: Discussed, not at the end of the book, but at the end of Orm's first voyage. He and Toke talk about all their adventures, their dead shipmates, and what may lay ahead when they return home. |
| 219 | --> '''Toke''': You have a sword and a ship, and I have a sword and a woman. Not all who set out with Krok did that well. |
| 220 | --> '''Orm''': We also carry with us the wrath of two great kings, and that is the worst burden a man can bear. |
| 221 | * ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'': The navy comes to the rescue but several of them are dead and the rest traumitized. They have to go back to what is likely a world in the middle of nuclear war. |
| 222 | * ''Literature/LoveLettersToTheDead'': May is still dead and Laurel's mom isn't moving back in. However, she tells her mom the truth about the night May died and starts seeing a therapist to deal with what happened to her, and it's implied that she and Sky will get back together. Also, Hannah moves in with Natalie to get away from her abusive brother. |
| 223 | * ''Literature/TheLovelyBones'' ends with everyone finally moving on from Susie's death and Harvey dead. However, he's never caught and brought to justice for the numerous murders he committed nor were Susie's remains recovered for a proper burial. But the book makes it the point such things aren't what's important, the lovely bones grow without any of that needed. A point many of today's society won't "get" in a modern example of ValuesDissonance. |
| 224 | * ''Literature/{{Malevil}}'' has a complex mother of a Bittersweet Ending in part to a DistantFinale spanning the following three years. La Roque and Malevil are working together, they're prepared and capable of thwarting invasion, the harvests are bountiful, everything is going exceptionally well for two years. Until... TheHeroDies: Emmanuel falls ill and dies of appendicitis. Unfortunately, Emmanuel turns out to be the LivingEmotionalCrutch for ''three people''. TogetherInDeath: Evelyne kills herself in grief. DroppedABridgeOnHim: La Menou withdraws from everyone else before suddenly dying within the week. DrunkWithPower: Colin replaces Emmanuel as leader of Malevil...and bungles it badly. He becomes a paranoid tyrant and sours relations with La Roque. [[RedemptionEqualsDeath He gets killed in a bandit raid, attempting the crazy heroics he was known for in the hope of salvaging his reputation]]. |
| 225 | * ''Literature/TheMagicians'': |
| 226 | ** The first book ends with [[BigBad Martin Chatwin]] slain and Fillory freed from his madness... but Alice had to sacrifice her life and humanity to accomplish it; Penny was maimed, broken and left incapable of magic, and leaves the story by vanishing into the Neitherlands; and Quentin is left horribly traumatized by the experience, knowing that everything that happened was [[NiceJobBreakingItHero all his fault]]. With the other Physical Kids having disbanded in despair and scattered across the Neitherlands, he seeks a mundane life in New York until he finally learns to stop blaming everyone and everything else in life for his problems; then, he is reunited with his friends, who have decided to do something responsible and rule Fillory in the hopes of making it a better place. Accepting magic back into his life, [[RayOfHopeEnding Quentin takes flight to join them]]... |
| 227 | ** By the end of ''The Magician King,'' the Gods have been prevented from eradicating magic from the multiverse; in the process, Fillory has been saved from the apocalypse that would have ensued as a result; best of all, [[EarnYourHappyEnding Julia is able to move beyond what Renard did to her]], regain her happiness as a dryad, and begin a voyage to another world... but unfortunately, Quentin has been kicked out of Fillory and will never be allowed to return; not only that, but his only remaining friend from Brakebills has to take his place as one of the monarchs, as does Quentin's current girlfriend. And yet, though he's left to return to Earth alone and with no great ambitions for the future, Quentin doesn't feel the need to seek refuge in escapism as he did before: he feels ''hope.'' |
| 228 | * ''Literature/MarginPlay'': The main bad guy loses big time in the end, and there's reason to believe that the rest of the bad guys will also be caught, but Mrs Kitsmiller may still lose her house, and even if she doesn't, her neighborhood is still destroyed; dozens, perhaps hundreds, of other people have still lost their homes because of the scheme. Amber gets out from under the loans that were crushing her business, but she also has to face the fact that she did some things that put her into seriously grey territory morally and over the line legally; Amber and Drake realize that they care about each other a great deal, but Drake has to leave when Halcourt's PI shows up to serve him with papers for yet another lawsuit |
| 229 | * ''Literature/MarioAndTheMagician'': the evil magician who manipulated everyone is shot dead, ending his power, but Mario will probably go in jail for it. And of course, this death won't change that Italy further descends into dictatorship (and ''we'' now know that Germany will follow shortly.) |
| 230 | * As of ''Literature/MaximumRideForever'', the world has gone up in flames and the flock failed to save the world, almost everyone else in the world -- including Maya -- is dead. And even the new beautiful, heaven-like "perfect world" for winged, gilled mutants is bleak full of nuclear fallout and dangerous monsters, and more characters are KilledOffForReal. On the plus side: with Nudge, Gazzy and Iggy revealed to be alive -- most of the Flock has survived and Max and Fang are back together. |
| 231 | * ''Literature/TheMazeRunner'': |
| 232 | ** By the end of ''The Death Cure'', many of the characters from the first book are dead (including Chuck, Teresa and Newt), there's no cure for the Flare and the Immunes will inherit the Earth. Thomas, Minho, Brenda, Jorge and the 200 Immunes begin rebuilding civilization in a safe place far from the Scorch. |
| 233 | ** The prequel ''The Kill Order'' also ends this way. Mark, Alec, Trina, and Lana all die over the course of the story, but at least they manage to transfer Deedee to the PFC base in Alaska, where she would be safe. However, the same book also reveals that Deedee really is Teresa, whom we all know bite the dust in the long run, downsiding their achievements a bit. |
| 234 | * ''Literature/{{Metaltown}}'' ends with Jed Schultz killed, Minnick ousted, Colin's family with enough to live on, and working conditions improve across the board with hope to eventually transition away from weapon making, but Ty is also dead, Lena's father remains untouchable, and the war is still ongoing by the time the book ends. |
| 235 | * The original short story version of ''Literature/TheMidnightMeatTrain'' can be interpreted as having one by a sufficiently twisted reader. Sure, the protagonist has gone insane, had his tongue torn out, and is forced to kill people for the immortals who secretly rule New York... but he finally loves the city. |
| 236 | * ''Literature/TheMidwichCuckoos'': Gordon Zellaby, the Children's school teacher and the only person they respect, decides that the Children are too dangerous to let live and uses a bomb to kill them all alongside himself inside the school. |
| 237 | * ''Literature/{{Mog}}'': "Mog and the V-E-T" ends with Mog and the other animal patients getting better, but the vet, who injured his finger, is only "almost" better. |
| 238 | * ''Literature/MonsterBloodTattoo'': Rossamund and the majority of his friends survive all the adventures, but he can never see any of them again. |
| 239 | * ''Literature/AMonsterCalls'': It's inevitable Conor's mother is going to die. But Conor, with the Monster's help, has managed to come to terms with it, inasmuch as a boy his age can. There's also the fact that Conor has alienated himself from all his peers due to his beat down of Harry, but still has a kindred spirit in Lily. |
| 240 | * The ''Literature/MortalEngines'' series: Tom dies as a result of a bullet wound to the heart he sustained many years before, and his wife Hester [[DrivenToSuicide takes her own life]] in the hopes of joining him. On the plus side, the Stalker Fang's plans for genocide against the human race have failed, Tom and Hester's daughter Wren starts a new life with Theo, Lady Naga negotiates lasting peace between the Traktionstadtsgesellschaft and the Green Storm, and New London's development of Mag-Lev technology signals the end of the environmental destruction caused by Municipal Darwinism. Shrike grieves over Tom and Hester for a while, but eventually finds a new family to accept him, and new purpose as a rememberer of history. |
| 241 | * ''Literature/MrStandfast'', an espionage thriller by John Buchan set in the closing months of World War I, ends with the heroes playing a key role in defeating Germany's last chance of winning the war, but at the cost of {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s by the hero's oldest friend and an ally who risked his life to carry a vital message under heavy fire. |
| 242 | * ''Literature/MrsDalloway'': Clarissa has her party, all the old friends she's spent the book reminiscing about make appearances, and everyone seems to have a good time. Meanwhile, Septimus is overcome by his mental illness and kills himself. |
| 243 | * ''Literature/MurderAtColefaxManor'' has a potential ending where the player stops the deadly cult responsible for the murders, but the player has no evidence to prove what really happened, and so are unable to get any of the praise deserved for the duty they performed. [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse It is also not made clear if Colefax's innocent maid, Gladys Prismall, managed to escape the manor in time, although she logically died along with the rest of the staff.]] |
| 244 | * ''Literature/TheNameOfTheWind'': Kvothe saves the village of Trebon from the rampaging Draccus, finds the titular name of the wind, avoids being expelled from The University and is actually promoted up the ranks, and beards his rival Ambrose yet again while his fame rises. However, in doing so he had to destroy the denner resin he was hoping would provide for his future, the villagers of Trebon bury the remains of the Draccus (costing him and every other researcher the chance for a unique study), and, worse, because he CannotSpitItOut to Denna he winds up becoming something of her UnluckyChildhoodFriend. Not to mention the seething hatred Ambrose has for him is cranked up yet another notch (and it was already at murderous levels). He himself sums it up best: "Oh, it's just the same thing you've heard a hundred times before. Prince Gallant kills the dragon, but loses the treasure and the girl." From the way the FramingDevice is set up, it's implied that his whole adventuring career has been this way. |
| 245 | * ''Literature/ANecklaceOfFallenStars'': |
| 246 | ** The novel ends with the King of Visin renouncing his charge of treason against his daughter Kaela, then dying shortly afterword. This gives Kaela the freedom she wants, but she doesn't get the chance to reconcile with her father. |
| 247 | ** "The Colors of the Wind" ends with Chala dying on her terms in order to escape the mob of villagers who're on their way to capture and kill her. However, Malni has grown from her interactions with Chala and finally glimpses the elusive colors of the wind. |
| 248 | * "Necromancy in Naat" by ''Creator/ClarkAshtonSmith'' ends on an unusually bright note for the {{Cosmic Horror|Story}} author: the protagonist and his love interest have been killed, reanimated as zombies, and left to labour eternally on the estate of a dead {{Necromancer}}, but they're just self-aware enough to find peace in the work and [[TogetherInDeath contentment in each other's company]]. |
| 249 | * ''Gauntlgrym'' of ''Literature/TheNeverwinterSaga'' ends with the fire primordial that is powering the forge of the titular city savely sealed once more and another catastrophic volcanic eruption averted, but the city of Neverwinter is completely destroyed, large parts of the Sword Coast devastated and Bruenor Battlehammer dead - leaving Drizzt utterly alone and without a direction to go in. |
| 250 | * ''Literature/NoGodsForDrowning'': The city of Valentine falls, a lot of people die and Lilac never ends up returning her mother, the goddess Logoi to save it. Arcadia Myrn, though, gains godhood and uses it to create a truce between humanity and the Glories, with the land divided between them and humanity beginning to recover. Arcadia also reveals to Lilac that she will one day have a new child as well. |
| 251 | * The ending of ''Literature/NoryRyansSong'' is a little more sweet than bitter, but still counts. [[spoiler:In the end, Nory receives the tickets from her father to join the rest of her family in America, just like she dreamed of, and sets out on her way to travel there. But she must leave Anna behind in Ireland, and they will likely never see each other again.]] |
| 252 | * ''Literature/NumberTheStars'': Ellen and the other Danish Jews escaped to safety, and after a TimeSkip Denmark is liberated from the Nazis. However, Peter dies and is buried in an unknown grave, instead of with Lise. Also, Lise's death before the story becomes bittersweet once it's revealed that she was part of LaResistance and was actually run down by a Nazi car. |
| 253 | * ''Literature/OfMiceAndMooshaber'', especially considering that the novel is set in dystopia of the CrapsackWorld type. It's a surprise the ending is not a total downer, but it still feels more bitter than sweet, perhaps because the whole tone of the book is disturbing and creepy. The rightful and beloved ruler Duchess Augusta is asked to come back to her palace and oppressed people now might hope for a better, brighter future. Duchess Augusta pardons several evil people who were sentenced to death for their crimes by the new regime, but she poisons herself. |
| 254 | * "Literature/{{Okuyyuki}}" has its protagonist killed in action, but he was successful in defeating the enemy and saving his friends, and his dying moments imply that there will be an afterlife for him. |
| 255 | * ''Literature/TheOldManAndTheSea'': Santiago still caught his fish, and he promises his apprentice that they will be able to work together again, however he lost his catch to the sharks and it's left ambiguous as to how truthful he is; he may well soon be dead. |
| 256 | * ''Literature/OldMortality'': Lord Evandale dies, but Basil's death means Lady Margaret regains her lands while Henry and Edith are finally able to marry. |
| 257 | * ''Literature/TheOneAndOnlyIvan'' ends with Ivan successfully [[SavingTheWorldWithArt reaching out with his art]] and getting the baby elephant Ruby, and himself, enough attention that they're taken from the CrappyCarnival where he's lived for over twenty years to the zoo he had seen in a commercial. The zookeepers separate Ivan and Ruby. Ivan meets other gorillas for the first time since [[AngstySurvivingTwin his twin died]] and learns, with difficulty, how to interact with and become close to them. He gets to talk briefly with Bob on a clandestine visit and can see but not talk to Ruby, and knows that he and Ruby are still in cages, just larger and better ones. They'll never be free, but they can be happier here than in a circus in a mall. This ending was actually somewhat controversial and enough people protested it that Applegate wrote a DearNegativeReader response just as she had with ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'', saying that the book ending with sadness was deliberate and a good thing - children know about sadness in the world and have to learn how to cope with it. |
| 258 | * ''Literature/OneDay'' ends with one protagonist picking up the pieces of their shattered life and moving on after the love of their life was killed, while keeping the memory of them as a couple alive. |
| 259 | * Salvatore's ''The Orc King''. While in the Kingdom of Dark Arrows and Mithral Hall become uneasy allies and Wulfgar's daughter is found, Wulfgar leaves the TrueCompanions for Icewind Dale, giving his daughter back to her blood mother. In ''The Pirate King'', the city of Luskan is all but destroyed in a war to dislodge its hidden master -- and while he loses, said lich still survives. Meanwhile, Longsaddle is still going, but has been reduced to a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything sadly blatant allegory for modern America with its security woes]]. On the other hand, while Wulfgar ain't comin' back, he's not only going to survive, but thrive back in his true home. Finally, in ''The Ghost King'', the Spellplague hits, and while the Ghost King is destroyed, in the process Catti-brie and Regis take [[strike:the ships]] a unicorn to Mielikki's garden, and Cadderly sacrifices his life and indeed the Spirit Soaring itself to do the deed, to say nothing of the destruction of Carradoon and the many many people killed by the Ghost King's attacks, armies, and the Spellplague itself. On top of that Cadderly's spirit can't move on, because he has to continue circling the ruins of Spirit Soaring to renew the spell that prevents the Ghost King from coming back. Good times, huh? |
| 260 | * ''Literature/TheOrphanTrainAdventures'' book 6, "Keeping Secrets", ends with Miss Hennessey and her sister - who turn out to be union spies - having succeeded at getting the critical information to their contact, resulting in a Union victory. They get away from the St. Joseph area due to the efforts of Danny and Peg; however, Danny dies shortly aftee the spies get away. |
| 261 | * ''Literature/OurWivesUnderTheSea'': Miri realizes that Leah is an EmptyShell of her former self, and she has to accept that the Leah she knows is gone rather than keeping her decaying self around. They say goodbye for the last time when Miri lets Leah dissolve back into the ocean. |
| 262 | * ''Literature/{{Overenskommelser}}'' might ''seem'' to have a HappyEnding. The three main couples obviously will all have long happy marriages. And as for the three villains, one is dead and the other two get some deserved come-upance. That sounds all fair and good, right? Except for that this doesn't happen until after Beatrice has suffered five years of abuse from her EvilUncle, who managed to bully her into a short but painful marriage to [[DirtyOldMan a much older]] [[MaritalRapeLicense rapist]]. And we also have the subplot about how Beatrice's sadistic cousin Edvard got a fourteen-year-old girl pregnant, and he wouldn't do anything to help her out. She decided to have an abortion, a decision that lead to her death. Yeah, she only was a really minor character with hardly any screen time and no spoken lines in the whole story. But still, yikes! So in the end, too much have happened for a truly happy ending to be possible... |
| 263 | * ''Literature/ThePowerOfFive'': The final book, "Oblivion", ends like this: the Old Ones have finally been defeated for good, but half the world's population has been wiped out in the process, including Matt and Scott, and it'll probably take humanity a long time to recover from the destruction the Old Ones caused. All Five Gatekeepers decide to leave the world behind for the dream world. |
| 264 | * ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'' has this ending. Creator/WilliamGoldman relates a cliffhanger ending, and then skips it, and then ruminates that maybe life for the heroes wasn't really perfect ever after, and finally he concludes, "Life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all." |
| 265 | * ''Literature/PurpleHibiscus'' has one of these. The main character is a confident, free young woman but her father is dead, her brother is in prison and her mother is traumatised. It is implied things will soon take a turn for the better, however. |
| 266 | * ''Literature/{{Push}}'' by Sapphire ends with Precious being a little bit better off, but the reader knows that she will more than likely never get out of poverty. What makes it worse is that Precious has developed AIDS and will probably not live past her twenties. (In ''Literature/TheKid'', the sequel to the original, Precious dies in her mid-twenties.) |
| 267 | * ''Literature/TheQuorum'': The Quorum's DealWithTheDevil unravels and rebounds on them, and the victim whose life they've been making a misery is freed to resume living a normal life. But the devil-figure who brokered the deal planned for that outcome, he got what he wanted out of the deal, and he's still on the loose to continue his larger plan. |
| 268 | * ''Literature/{{Ratburger}}'': The villains are dead, Dad has his job back, and Tina Trotts is no longer a bully. However, Tina's father is still [[AbusiveParents abusive]], and Zoe and Tina's apartments are still in bad condition. |
| 269 | * ''Literature/{{Raybearer}}'': Tarisai and her friends successfully uncovered the imbalance in the treaty with the abiku towards Songland and have stopped the treaty from unfairly dooming another generation of Songland children. Tar also proves the existence and legitimacy of female Raybearers, meaning the empire will be ruled by both emperors and empresses in the future like it was meant to be. However, Tarisai had to become a Redemptor in order to save the children of both Songland and Aritsar, and now she must anoint a council for herself in the timespan of ''two years'', a near impossible task. Not only that, in order for her Raybearer-blood to be potent enough for the new treaty, the Anointed Ones must be the rulers of the twelve realms of Aritsar. |
| 270 | * In Creator/RobinHobb's ''Literature/RealmOfTheElderlings'' series, Fitz ends the ''Farseer'' trilogy without the woman he loves, telling himself he didn't love her, in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, visited once in a while by a woman who he doesn't care about throughout the series and is mainly a pest. In the sequel trilogy, ''The Tawny Man'', things get better. There's still Bittersweet qualities, but it is overall a happy ending despite the characters that died on the way. |
| 271 | * ''Literature/{{Reckless}}'': Could also be a DownerEnding depending on which characters you actually sympathized with. Jacob has managed to save his brother, but [[NiceJobBreakingItHero he's antagonized both the Goyl and the Empire in the process]] and unwittingly ends up cursed. |
| 272 | * ''Literature/TheRedTent'': Since Dinah was the only surviving female child, and ran away to Egypt, all of the private women's traditions of her tribe die with Jacob's wives — but nonetheless, the memory of Dinah herself lives on through her brothers' daughters. Eventually, she dies peacefully in her old age, surrounded and mourned by her new family, although what's left of her old family barely acknowledges that she ever existed. |
| 273 | * ''Literature/TheRingworldEngineers'': The protagonist and his party kill 1.5 trillion people, a couple hundred times as much as the Earth's entire population, and they're marooned on an alien world far from home. On the other hand, they save 28.5 trillion people, several thousand times the Earth's present populations. |
| 274 | * Cormac [=McCarthy=]'s ''Literature/TheRoad''. The father dies, completely uncertain and afraid of his son's future in the post-apocalyptic wasteland. It's believed to have been a worthwhile sacrifice, however, as his son was finally able to find some place safe to be raised by decent people. The ending is then given even more bittersweetness as the epilogue implies that humanity will never be able to recover from the catastrophe that befell the earth, and will eventually die out completely. Still, given [=McCarthy=]'s usual EverybodyDiesEnding tactic, this is practically a parade with balloons and circus animals. |
| 275 | * ''Literature/RoysBedoys'': |
| 276 | ** At the end of “You’re Grounded, Roys Bedoys!”, Roys apologises to his mother and Loys, but he’s still grounded and can’t go to Maker’s party. However, Maker brings the Bedoys brothers a donut each. |
| 277 | ** “Roys Bedoys Goes to the Hospital” ends with Roys watching a movie with his friends and brother, but still bedridden in the hospital. |
| 278 | ** At the end of “Get Well Soon, Roys Bedoys!”, Roys is starting to recover from his respiratory virus, but hasn’t yet. |
| 279 | ** “Easter is Cancelled, Roys Bedoys!” ends on the Bedoys brothers getting candy and money, but their parents not getting any prizes and Mr. Bedoys being made to sniff Roys’s dirty sock. |
| 280 | ** At the end of “Just Tell the Truth, Roys Bedoys!”, Roys gets punished for throwing his console, while Loys gets punished for blackmailing his brother, but Roys is still happy that he isn’t a “slave” anymore. |
| 281 | ** At the end of “Where Are You, Roys Bedoys?”, Roys is grounded for not asking permission to go to Maker’s house, but the family is happy to have him back. |
| 282 | ** In “Don’t Be Late, Roys Bedoys!”, Roys never gets the gingerbread house kit he wanted, but he can help Loys build one. |
| 283 | * ''Literature/RunningOutOfTime'': The men responsible for the experiment are arrested and Jessie and her friends and family can look forward to living a new modern life in the present day, but some of the children did not survive the plague that prompted Jessie to leave the village in the first place. |
| 284 | * ''Literature/RWBYFairyTalesOfRemnant'': |
| 285 | ** ''The Warrior in the Woods'': Although the Warrior is gone, and the hero has no idea if she's alive or dead, he vows to protect the village in her place. However, he also knows the time is coming when the village will be forced to leave to find somewhere safer to live. He doesn't know how long he can keep protecting them, or what the future holds for them, but he'll do what he can because he's able to do it, and because there's no-one else to do it. |
| 286 | ** ''The Man Who Stared at the Sun'': Lampshaded by the sun. The farmer wins the competition and gains the blessing of the sun on his crops and those of his descendants. However, he sacrifices his eyesight to do so. Although the sun is angry that victory was achieved through trickery, they accept the result because the farmer has lost the ability to ever again look upon his beautiful family or his crops, and can no longer use his Semblance to explore the world. |
| 287 | * In Nick Kyme's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novel ''[[Literature/{{Salamanders}} Salamander]]'', many of them live, and two have made peace with their troubles, but N'keln has risen to the occasion and is a fine captain -- and is murdered without his Marines even noticing. The Marines Malevolent will be a problem. Dak'ir will be either the doom or the salvation of their chapter and has manifested psychic abilities that put him under a cloud. Iagon [[KarmaHoudini has survived his plots without even being suspected for the murders he committed]], and although he is angry he did not succeed, he is now bent on vengeance. |
| 288 | * ''Literature/AScannerDarkly'': Bob/Fred's Substance D addiction has caused him such catastrophic brain damage that he completely loses his sanity and sense of self, and he's shipped off to the only rehab center for Substance D in existence. Only it turns out that the people running the rehab center are the ones growing the flowers that Substance D is distilled from, and that Donna was really an undercover cop who purposely pushed Bob/Fred into his breakdown so she'd have a mole in their organization. The only thing keeping the book from looking too down is that Bob/Fred retains enough presence of mind to bring the evidence back home to his superiors... |
| 289 | * ''Literature/TheScarletLetter'': Dimmesdale comes to terms with his sin too late before death. For all the difficulties Hester faced, she still managed to have a positive effect on her community and offer comfort and advice to its outcasts. Despite considering herself far-from-saintly upon death, she discovered satisfaction in life. |
| 290 | * ''Literature/{{Scarlett}}'': Scarlett loses her home Balyhara and her tenants brand her as a traitor to their cause. She also has nowhere to go, though she has enough money to last for the rest of her life. But Rhett has come back for her, and they reconcile. |
| 291 | * ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters'': Kind of. The Patient is killed in a bomb blast, leaving behind his mother and fiancee, but he does go to heaven. If you have come to sympathize with stupid little Wormwood, though, this ending is not at all a happy one for him. |
| 292 | * ''Literature/SecretVampire'': Poppy beat cancer by becoming a vampire, she's accepted by the Night World because she's discovered to have been a lost witch, and she and Janes finally get together. However, in the process Poppy has lost her human life, which includes never being able to see her mother and stepfather again (who believe she died), and having limited contact with her brother. The book ends with Poppy telepathically talking to her mother while she sleeps and giving her a happy dream, telling her "I'm okay now, Mom. You don't have to worry about me anymore." before driving off into the night with her soulmate, James. |
| 293 | * ''Literature/SeedsOfYesterday'' is chronologically this for the ''Dollanganger'' saga. Chris was killed in a car crash, just like his father and leaving Cathy as the last Dollanganger, but Bart has finally accepted him as his father. Jory and Toni are married and expecting a child, and Jory finding happiness after losing so much. Bart becomes a televangelist, and reconciles with Cindy after years of abuse, though he will probably never have a good relationship because he wants a [[LikeParentLikeSpouse woman like his mother]]. Cathy has finally been able to see her family get along, but she can't live without Chris, and goes up to the attic of the rebuilt Foxworth Hall and decorates it just as she and her deceased siblings did as children. |
| 294 | * Daniel Handler's ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'': Due to ExecutiveMeddling, the ending of the movie, that closes the story in an ambiguous but optimistic way: "...the Baudelaires were very fortunate indeed". The third book, the last book the movie covers, also ends with this line. The final book of the series, ''The End'', finishes mainly on this bittersweet note (although it's pretty ambiguous, the book explicitly says that their [[TitleDrop series of unfortunate events]] has ended) [[spoiler:(though enough hints are dropped to suggest the Baudelaires would have a future and one relatively fortunate, given Lemony Snicket himself has been able to find evidence of such)]]. The Baudelaires are finally free of Count Olaf and most of the villains that pursued them, and Kit Snicket's child survives. However, it's come at the [[InferredHolocaust cost of potentially hundreds of lives]] and their own innocence. |
| 295 | * Literature/ShakuganNoShana ends with the Flame Hazes and Crimson Denizens finally making peace with Xanadu being created, meaning they can coexist. All of Misaki City’s casualties have been undone. Unfortunately, both sides have their own casualties and it’s at the cost of protagonist Yuji Sakai’s existence for those not involved (I.e. his parents and most of his schoolmates). His allies who were involved will never see him again as the entrance to Xanadu is sealed off and can never be reopened. |
| 296 | * The Literature/ShiraCalpurnia trilogy ends on a grim but somewhat hopeful note. Calpurnia's fate is still uncertain, and her career is likely to end in disgrace despite everything she has accomplished, but she is determined to see things through to the end, and she has solved the case that the third book revolves around. |
| 297 | * ''Literature/TheShadowhunterChronicles'': |
| 298 | ** ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'': |
| 299 | *** In the first half, Valentine is defeated, Jace and Clary can pursue a relationship, Alec came out without any immediate backlash, and the Downworlders have gained representatives on the Council. On the other hand, Max was murdered, Simon is bearing the Mark of Cain, Sebastian's body has vanished, and the Seelie Queen is holding a grudge against Clary. |
| 300 | *** In the second half, Sebastian and his Endarkened are defeated with minimal casualties to the main cast, and everyone's relationships are either going well or getting back on track. Unfortunately, the Clave has passed legislature against faeries that is sure to backfire, Mark is abandoned to the Wild Hunt, Helen is sent away, and Julian was forced to kill his father in front of his younger siblings. |
| 301 | ** ''Literature/TheInfernalDevices'': Jem lives, but as a Silent Brother who can only see Will and Tessa occasionally over the next few decades. Will and Tessa get married, but Will dies in the epilogue, leaving Tessa alone. Tessa leaves her children, not wanting to watch them die too. Jem is cured and he and Tessa get together, but Tessa will eventually have to watch him die too. |
| 302 | * ''Literature/ShesComeUndone'': Dolores comes to accept that she will always carry the grief for those she's lost and that her dream of having a child of her own will never come true. But she has a loving husband, a stepson, and a circle of unconventional but supportive friends. |
| 303 | * Eve Gil's ''Literature/ShoshanYLaDamaOscura'' ends pretty much like this. The Monsalve sisters finally defeat their enemy, Izanami, but ''at what cost''. |
| 304 | * ''Literature/ASickDayForAmosMcGee'': Amos still hasn't fully recovered by the end of the story, but he's improving. |
| 305 | * ''Literature/TheSight'' by David Clement-Davis ends with a ''huge'' amount of the main characters dead, Larka dying, even though she tried to save herself whilst [[TakingYouWithMe killing Morgra in the process]], and Fell leaving the pack and becoming a ''kerl'' -- a lone wolf. Kar meanwhile, beigns to slowly lose the will to live before Larka comes to him a dream, and tells him to snap out of it. On a happier note though, Huttser and Palla have some more cubs, and name them after the dead members of the pack, and the final line is rather FauxSymbolism. |
| 306 | * ''Literature/TheSilenceOfBones'': The investigation is resolved with Officer Shim Jaedeok being arrested for the murders of Lady O, Scholar Ahn, the shaman and his own mother, with Woorim being saved. However, Inspector Han ends up dying from his wounds, with Lady Kang being executed for being Catholic. Seol is sent home to live with her sister but finds life in the country not what she had hoped for, and is asked to come back to the capital to join the Bureau once more. |
| 307 | * The fantasy novel ''Literature/{{Sirena}}'': Sirena the mermaid [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy lets her human lover go]]. |
| 308 | * ''Literature/SneezyLouise'': In the end Louise is still sick with a cold, but her parents are warm and sympathetic as they tuck her into bed, despite having been impatient with the [[IllTimedSneeze mishaps she caused]] earlier. She goes to sleep certain that tomorrow will be easier. |
| 309 | * ''Literature/SnotStew'': Toby survives his brutal mauling, but his tail is gone, and the book ends with him reconciling with his sister while crying over the loss. |
| 310 | * ''Literature/SometimesYouBarf'' ends with the girl recovering from her flu, yet belatedly realising that she didn't study for the test that she initially was going to do before she barfed. |
| 311 | * ''Literature/SongAtDawn'': For Dragonetz, his paper mill is burned down and because he bought the land with a loan he losses the land and is bankrupt. The only way he can avoid poverty is to undertake a dangerous quest for his debtor, Ravaad, that separates him from Estela. On the other hand, he's no longer in the Arch Bishop's crosshairs, all the paper he's produced had been shipped off before the burning and his reward for the dangerous quest will be the value of the land with the mill on it. If his shippments come back he'll be a wealthy man. As for Estela, she is on her way to the court of her adoring student as a guest of honor and will continue her sterling career as a troubador but she will be apart from her true love and her first original song is about the death of a dear friend. |
| 312 | * ''Literature/APoisonDarkAndDrowning'': London has fallen to [[EldritchAbomination the Ancients]], Rook has been turned into the new Korozoth, the sorcerers of England have been reduced to a few hundred, and [[TheProtagonist Henrietta]] has been made into an Unclean. However, she and George Blackwood have gathered all the remaining sorcerers of England and brought them to his estate in Sorrow-Fell, where they plan to make their final assault against the Ancients. |
| 313 | * ''Literature/SpaceGlass'': By the end of the story, Amy, Bob, and all four of the Extragalactic Enthusiasts are dead, as well as a huge portion of the galaxy. The only happiness is that Ratroe gets to provide for his and Amy's families. |
| 314 | * ''Literature/{{Speak}}'': Melinda doesn't completely overcome her trauma and she'll have to take summer school to make up for her poor grades, but she manages to save Rachel (and presumably other future victims) from a similar fate and fights off Andy Evans from trying to rape her again in the school closet, exposing him as a predator. She also finally draws a satisfying tree for art class, and opens up to Mr. Freeman about what happened. |
| 315 | * ''Literature/TheSpiritThief'': Yes, the only demon left inside the sphere is Nico, the new Hunter loves his job, Benehime is defeated, power is returned to the spirits and a new age of cooperation between them and humans begins. On the other hand, all of creation is still stuck in the tiny "lifeboat" surrounded by innumerable, ravenous demons who still try to break through, and its unlikely the Creator will ever return. Unless humans and spirits figure out how to destroy destruction itself, they will forever live under the threat of demons breaking through. |
| 316 | * Literature/ForgottenRealms' ''Starlight and Shadows'' trilogy: Most participants who managed to stay alive [[CharacterDevelopment grew wiser]]. Part of damages from the Times of Troubles is repaired. Liriel survives and finds some friends, but Fyodor is dead and not to be resurrected. Products of drow radiation magic works on surface without deterioration - mixed blessing at best (though may be Weave repair). |
| 317 | * ''Literature/StarTrekTheEugenicsWars'' ends with the defeat of Khan and the end of the superhuman threat. At the end, Isis is killed by Joaquin and Khan is still alive with many of his followers, ready to cause trouble when and where ever he wakes up. |
| 318 | * Franchise/StarWarsLegends: |
| 319 | ** ''Literature/OutboundFlight''. Some things, like the destruction of the Outbound Flight on the cover and the fact that only a few people survived, are known from Creator/TimothyZahn's previous novel set years later, ''Survivor's Quest''. We also know that the survivors and their children hate and distrust the Jedi who lead the Flight, none of those Jedi survived, and a lightsaber and one charric, the signature weapon of the Chiss, were found in a certain part of the wreckage. You find that the one most sympathetic Jedi on board, the one who was almost able to avoid all that, did a HeroicSacrifice to save the survivors, which wouldn't have been necessary if they'd just ''stayed put'', and didn't think twice about it. And the Chiss -- who happened to be Thrawn's less-genius brother -- helped, and no one even knew what they did. It's borderline Downer Ending. |
| 320 | ** ''[[Literature/StarWarsKenobi Kenobi]]'': Obi-Wan manages to wrap everything up fairly nicely, but [[spoiler:has to dash Annileen's feelings while sending her away. Additionally, A'Yark's clan begins recovering, which is shown by them slaughtering some hapless Jawas.]] |
| 321 | * The ending to ''Literature/{{Stravaganza}}: City of Masks'' is bittersweet. Lucien has stravagated to Bellezza and is held hostage by the sinister [[EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily Di Chimici]] while his real body is still in the real world in a coma. Lucien's parents can't wake him up so they take his unconscious body to the hospital, where his body is put on a life-support machine. He doesn't recover as he can't return because he needs a Bellezzan book to return home and because of the Di Chimici holding him prisoner, so the doctors switch off the life-support machine and his real body dies, leaving Lucien [[TrappedInAnotherWorld unable to ever return home]]. The Di Chimicis' [[EvilPlan evil plans]] are thwarted, however. |
| 322 | * ''Literature/TheStringOfPearls'': Sweeney Todd is caught and executed for his crimes, Mark and Johanna are reunited and married, and Fogg's Asylum is taken down. However, some hundreds of victims were killed and made into Mrs. Lovett's pies, and the poor citizens who used to frequent her shop will never look at pies the same again... |
| 323 | * At the end of ''Literature/TakeBackTheSkies'', the government has been taken down, the Collections have ended, and the day is saved, but Fox is dead, most of the children are unable to return to their parents, and Cat is forced to marry Prince James to ensure Angyla is restored to its former stability. |
| 324 | * ''Literature/TheTaleOfJemimaPuddleDuck'' ends with Jemima saved from the [[FoulFox Sandy-Whiskered Gentleman]], but the dogs also eat her eggs. She later lays more eggs, but it's implied that some of the unhatched chicks died, since the narration notes that "only" four of the eggs hatched, implying there were more. |
| 325 | * One of the {{Trope Codifier}}s: Creator/CharlesDickens' ''Literature/ATaleOfTwoCities''. Sydney takes Darnay's place at the guillotine, sacrificing himself so that Darnay can live peacefully in England. |
| 326 | * In the novella ''Literature/ATasteOfHoney'', Aqib turns out to have gone with Lucrio to Daluz and lived a happy life, and his life in Olorum was AllJustADream, but he cannot help but be sad that neither his daughter Lucretia nor his grandson Qary ever actually existed. |
| 327 | * ''Literature/ThebeAndTheAngryRedEye'': On the one hand, all the astronauts are killed. On the other hand, Thomas makes FirstContact with a friendly alien (even though no one on Earth will ever know), realizes that the sacrifices he and his friends made were not in vain, and even gets to say goodbye to his beloved wife just before he dies. |
| 328 | * ''The Tenth Good Thing About Barney'': The kids have finally found the eponymous tenth good thing about Barney, but that doesn't change the fact that he's dead. |
| 329 | * ''Literature/ThoseThatWake'' ends with this. The building and Man In Suit have been taken down, his influence is less widespread, and Tommy and Annie have been rescued, but Mike, Brath, and Isabel are dead, Remak's whereabouts are unknown, no one remembers Laura or Mal, and the corporations are constructing a new building where the old one was--though this one is visible at least. Also, the sequel reveals a new villain is around afterwards. |
| 330 | * The sequel to ''Literature/ThoseThatWake'' called ''What We Become''. The Old Man has been defeated and the world is free of his influence, and seems to be on the road to recovery, but Remak and Mal are dead. |
| 331 | * In ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers'', the title heroes ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg plus d'Artagnan]]) win out against Milady and Richelieu, but at the cost of the death of Madame Bonacieux, d'Artagnan's love interest, not to mention how the trial of Milady has soiled the soldier's life for his three friends, leaving him alone within the Musketeers by book's end. The following books are little better: d'Artagnan is utterly shafted by the Queen and stuck as a minor officer for over 30 years, it takes him restoring the King of England to his throne before he's given any respect. He eventually dies to a cannonade after opening the box that held his marchel baton, the thing he was working for since the first book. Athos' son with Milady comes back and tries to murder them all, until Athos is forced to stab him and leave his body at sea. His second son, a bastard with one Aramis' mistress, eventually [[SuicideByCop rushes into battle to die]] because the love of his life is the willing mistress of his king. Athos dies of grief from this. Porthos and Aramis however come off rather well for the most part, with Porthos marrying his mistress and her dieing soon after, leaving him with a modest fortune which he builds to near [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Scrooge McDuck]] levels of wealth, though he is the first to die via mountain crushing. Aramis is eventually forced to flee to Spain after his attempt to replace the King of France with his GoodTwin, but other then the massive guilt of causing the death of Porthos, he's remarkably well off, becoming the Superior General of the Jesuits, and ambassador of Spain to France. |
| 332 | * ''Literature/TigerMoon'' by Antonia Michaelis ends with Lalit/Lagan rescuing Safia/Raka, having been encouraged by the (true) story of Farhad and Nittish, who attempted to rescue her. In the attempt though, Farhad is killed, and Nittish is turned to stone after being exposed to tears. However, Farhad gets reincarnated as a good and prosperous man (and is implied to be reincarnated by Krishna himself), and Nittish's soul leaves the statue, entering into the body of a strong young tiger who died and whose soul had already moved on, getting to finally be a normal tiger again. |
| 333 | * ''Literature/TheTimeTravelersWife'' has a two parts bitter, one part sweet ending. Bitter #1: Involuntary time traveler Henry dies at the age of 43, when his wife Clare is 35. Sweet: Henry leaves a letter in which he tells Clare that (while living) he time traveled to the future and they see each other again there. Bitter #2: They see each other ''47 years'' in the future ... when Clare is 82 years old. TheFilmOfTheBook softens this considerably by having them meet again not too long after his death. |
| 334 | * ''Literature/TheTomorrowSeries'': At the end, the war is over, but Australia's lost a lot of territory to the invaders, and several of Ellie's TrueCompanions are dead. |
| 335 | * ''Literature/UnderHeaven'': The Ninth Dynasty survives, and the Ang Li Rebellion is suppressed, but several named characters die, and the Emperor steps aside in favor of his [[HeirClubForMen Designated Heir]]. |
| 336 | %% * Every single book in the ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles'' except the first, verging on DownerEnding by the fifth one. |
| 337 | * ''Literature/UntilWeMeetAgain'': At the end, Cassandra and Lawrence have managed to avert Lawrence's murder by having Lawrence's EvilUncle arrested before he can kill him. However, they also discover that the anomaly that allowed them to see each other will only last to the next full moon. When it closes, Cassandra and Lawrence are separated for good, but Cassandra discovers Lawrence lived a long, happy life and was an accomplished poet. Of course, Travis was still {{Retgone}}d by Cassandra inadvertently keeping Lawrence from driving his drunk ancestor home from a party. |
| 338 | * This is in effect the ending to the ''Literature/VampireAcademy'' series. On the sweet side: 1) Lissa rises to the throne with the intention to push necessary reforms to both Moroi and dhampir lives. 2) The relationship of Rose and Dimitri is safely accepted and their careers as guardians are secure. On the bitter side: 1) Jill is now a Princess and is exposed to the dangers of life at Court. 2) Adrian is broken-hearted after Rose ends their relationship. His vices return. 3) Eddie Castile is in trouble after killing a Moroi in self-defense. His once promising career as a guardian is in jeopardy. 4) Sydney Sage is in trouble with the Alchemists after helping the fugitive Rose. The spinoff series ''Literature/{{Bloodlines}}'' follows the fates of all four characters with bitter endings. |
| 339 | * ''Literature/TheVastFieldsOfOrdinary'': The main character learns that no matter where you go your problems will haunt you until you confront them, which he didn't completely comprehend until his ex-Whatever committed suicide by running his car into a tree. Various things that weren't a side effect of this and the author trying to make this as bittersweet as possible, his best friend Lisa goes back to California but visits often, his perfect boyfriend stays in town to take care of his grandma and they mutually break up because the main character has to go to college where he makes new friends and finally starts being happy with what life throws at him. |
| 340 | * ''Literature/TheWandering'' by Roger Elwood: Neshi and his two companions from Nede are all killed on the last world they ended up on, but just as Neshi dies, he could hear the voice of his wife Etarina calling "Baba". This is after they discover the truth that they were seeking: Jesus Saves. |
| 341 | * ''Literature/WarriorCats'': |
| 342 | ** ''Sunrise'', the last book of the ''Power of Three'' arc. Hollyleaf is presumed dead, and almost everyone's lives have been ruined (it's implied that Leafpool is suicidal), but the prophecy still hasn't been completely fulfilled, and there's going to be another series. From Jayfeather's point of view, the continuation of the series preventing this ending from being final apparently makes all of this less sad. |
| 343 | ** ''A Light in the Mist'', the final book of ''The Broken Code''. Ashfur is defeated, everyone's at peace, and the connection between [=StarClan=] and the living Clans is restored once more. However, many cats have died recently, and Bristlefrost not only gave up her life but [[CessationOfExistence the very existence of her spirit]] in order to finish Ashfur, leaving behind her grieving parents, as well as Shadowsight, who blames himself, and Rootspring, who loved her but never got a chance to tell her that he was going to leave his Clan for her. |
| 344 | * ''Literature/WarriorWolfWomenOfTheWasteland'': Daniel DidNotGetTheGirl, a ton of innocent people died on all sides, and the basic situation with a parasite turning men into mutants and women into werewolves, both of whom are exiled by an oppressive government to form two feuding tribes in the wastelands, remains unchanged. On the bright side: two out of three factions are now led by a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and Guy is working on becoming one for the third one, meaning that social change and/or a cure for the parasite may be hoped for in the future, and Daniel actually ends up feeling happy about raising children with Pippi. |
| 345 | * Although the Sentinels beat the Big Bad, ''Literature/WearingTheCape'' ends with a state funeral for ''close to half the team''. |
| 346 | * ''Literature/WhatTheyAlwaysTellUs'': The main character's love interest goes to a university in New York, his friend Henry moves away, but he gains a new friend in his older brother's ex-girlfriend and hopes to keep a long distance relationship with his boyfriend and he finally has a happy friendship with his brother. |
| 347 | * ''Literature/WhatShouldDannyDo'': One of the nine possible endings in the first book has Danny enjoying a bath, but still disappointed that he was denied a trip to the park as punishment for arguing with his brother Charlie and made to clean his room. |
| 348 | * ''Literature/WhenYouReachMe'': Sal's life is saved, but even Miranda understands the terrible burden Marcus will feel when he reads her letter and learns that he watched the death of his future self, making a tragedy even worse for him. |
| 349 | * ''Literature/AWindNamedAmnesia'': Sophia leaves, along with her race, but Wataru and virtually all of humanity is still barely out of the Stone Age, and it's strongly implied she could not, or would not, restore any of the lost memories. |
| 350 | * ''Literature/TheWinterWar'' by Antti Tuuri: The war finally ends, and the men have the impression that they have won, since the Russians have not been let through. But the peace terms dictate that a lot of territory, including the battlefields they have defended to the end, is given up to Russians. |
| 351 | * ''Literature/TheWishList'': Meg gets to heaven and sees her mother again, but she doesn't get to stick around Lowrie like she planned. Of course, this being a universe where the afterlife is proven to exist, they'll meet up again. |
| 352 | * ''Literature/TheWitches'' by Creator/RoaldDahl, although the main characters are very accepting of the ending. In some ways they seem to welcome it. But the boy who is still a mouse with no known way of changing back, is unlikely to outlive his grandmother, his only living relative and the only person who seems to care about him. This just makes it worse. It should be noted that the film added a happy ending, [[CreatorBacklash much to Dahl's anger]]. |
| 353 | * Brooks' ''Literature/WorldWarZ'': We make it, but the whales don't. Also, the death count's stratospheric. |
| 354 | * End of Polish novel ''Literature/{{Wroniec}}'' (title doesn't have an equivalent in English, but it's something similar to raven and crow). The main character saves his familly, and his Uncle has HeelFaceTurn, but he has to sacrifice his gift and a part of his innocence and not only titular BigBad wasn't defeated but it's clearly said, that even if he would be, another one would just take his place and nothing would change. And poor Mr. Beton was eaten by ravens. |
| 355 | * ''Literature/WutheringHeights'': After having pretty much destroyed the lives of everyone around him, Heathcliff is tired and tormented to madness by Catherine's ghost and anything that reminds him of her, so he lets himself die. So he and Catherine are finally TogetherInDeath as ghosts. Hareton and Catherine (II) are going to get married and they are now rich. |
| 356 | * ''Literature/YaguTheBlueWolf'': The titular character gets rescued by his master, but in the process most of his former pack, including his sister, gets killed. |
| 357 | * ''Literature/TheYearling'': Jody returns home, but Flag is dead and the novel implies that Ezra might not recover from his illness. |
| 358 | * ''Literature/ZaraHossainIsHere'': Zara is moving to Canada with her parents, in hopes of facing less bigotry there, while she and Chloe will try to attend the same university. At least she doesn't have to get back into the closet for living in Pakistan, and Chloe's parents have gotten better about her lesbianism, while they're also striving to keep their relationship going. However, immigrants still face many hurdles along with hatred in the US, and this is an ongoing struggle. |
| 359 | * Creator/DanAbnett': |
| 360 | ** In ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000: Literature/{{Ravenor}}'' series, the title character finally brings the BigBad Molotch and ''two other'' Big Bads to justice, effectively saving the entire Imperium of Man. However, by the time it's all over, his entire retinue has reached the emotional breaking point. Pretty much all of Ravenor's remaining followers are either arrested, leave, or disappear with only one member loyally staying by his side. The last book ends with Ravenor himself having to appear before his peers in order to answer for his actions as a rogue inquisitor. The dialogue implies that Gregor Eisenhorn has either [[MoralEventHorizon turned to Chaos]], become a [[KnightTemplar dangerous radical]] or suffered a FateWorseThanDeath. |
| 361 | ** Abnett's ''[=40k=]'' series ''{{Literature/Eisenhorn}}'' ends with the title character having defeated the BigBad's apocalyptic plan, but with most of his companions dead in the process and the rest going their own way. |
| 362 | ** Most books in Creator/DanAbnett's ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' series have bittersweet endings. The Ghosts usually come out victorious over the forces of Chaos, but at the cost of horrendous casualties. In the more recent books, [[AnyoneCanDie handfuls of plot-important characters start getting killed off]]. |
| 363 | * Creator/LloydAlexander is quite fond of these: |
| 364 | ** ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'' end with Taran essentially making the opposite of Frodo's decision in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. While his friends and companions go off to a paradise across the sea to spend eternity in happiness, Taran chooses to remain behind to attempt to restore Prydain. Sure he gets to be High King as part of the deal, but that doesn't take the sting out of never seeing your friends again. At least Princess Eilonwy decides to stay with him too. The ending gets extra bitter points as Taran tries to rebuild Prydain because he made promises to comrades, [[HeroicSacrifice often over their graves]], to finish their work for them. His speech to the other companions, explaining why he cannot go with them, drives home for everyone just how much it cost to win peace for Prydain. Taran gets Samwise's ending (without the Ringbearer tag). |
| 365 | ** The ''Literature/{{Westmark}}'' trilogy ends with the country retaken, the people finally given a democracy, and OfficialCouple Theo and Mickle married after years and two books of waiting; but with half the supporting cast dead including all of Florian's "children" besides Theo and the companions going into semi-voluntary exile. |
| 366 | ** ''The First Two Lives of Lukas Kasha'' ends with the main character saving the day, learning his lesson and being very violently torn from all the friends he's made over the course of the book including [[WillTheyOrWontThey the girl he may or may not have fallen in love with]], along with any influence he may have had over that world. Instead, he is sent back to his home where everyone thinks he's a worthless layabout and no one believes he was almost a king, and a good one at that. He leaves the town in order to spend his entire life searching for a way to get back into Abidon. |
| 367 | ** ''The Rope Trick'' ends with the characters very narrowly escaping the bad guy's clutches, the main character finally accomplishing the thing she's been trying to do all novel, and entering a land of peace. The bitter part? None of them know if they're alive, dead, or nonexistent. |
| 368 | * Creator/IsabelAllende is another author who loves this,particulary when combined with Main/EarnYourHappyEnding |
| 369 | * Lots and lots of Creator/PoulAnderson's stories. |
| 370 | ** In the ''Literature/DominicFlandry'' series; Flandry succeeds, but [[CartwrightCurse loses any woman he truly loves]], feels guilty about hurting the feelings of the others, and in one story is troubled by the contrast between a number of honest, decent rebels, who are at best going to be locked up for the rest of their lives, and the decadent Emperor. And the prequel novel had a back-cover blurb which summed up: |
| 371 | --->''Though through this and his succeeding adventures he will struggle gloriously and win (usually) mighty victories, Dominic Flandry is essentially a tragic figure: a man who knows too much, who knows that battle, scheme, and even betray as he will, in the end it will mean nothing. For with the relentlessness of physical law the Long Night approaches. The Terran Empire is dying...'' |
| 372 | ** The ''Literature/TimePatrol'' stories as well, because the Patrol will sacrifice anyone to preserve the time line. Manse struggles to save Keith in "Brave To Be A King" -- after a LoveTriangle resolved with Keith as the winner -- but only manages to get him back after years and years of his life, which leave him a StrangerInAFamiliarLand, and Manse still remembers the men he killed, and how one died begging for {{Forgiveness}} and citing all he did as TheAtoner, even though his efforts had written those out of history. |
| 373 | ** In "Literature/TimeLag", Elva succeeds in aiding her planet, and her planet crushes the invading navy. She still lost her husband, she spent years as a [[SexSlave concubine]], and she is a FishOutOfTemporalWater -- only the assurance that her son survived, though he's an old man now, and she had other descendents, and others who will welcome her home, makes it even bittersweet. |
| 374 | * Creator/NeilGaiman: |
| 375 | ** ''Literature/{{Stardust}}'' has a VERY bittersweet ending. Not what TheFilmOfTheBook tells you. The ending is as follows: Tristran and Yvaine can't have children, but [[HappilyMarried live together happily]], until he eventually dies of old age. Yvaine [[MayflyDecemberRomance lives on more or less perpetually]] without him, trapped on Earth away from her family. |
| 376 | ** ''Literature/TheGraveyardBook'' ends on a bittersweet note, with Bod defeating the bad guys so that he is safely able to leave the graveyard and join the outside world. However, doing so means that he can no longer see or hear the dead which he grew up with, including his adoptive parents, and must join a world utterly unfamiliar to him. He's also rejected by his childhood friend Scarlett, the only living person who he had a connection to, who ends up afraid of him and decides that she would rather forget his existence. |
| 377 | ** ''Literature/{{Coraline}}'' isn't very happy in book version. The heroine's [[AbusiveParents parents neglect her as before]] (as opposed to the movie, here it is permanent). And the Other Mother is still alive and may get out should somebody force the door open. And of course, any possible wonders are evil, so we should just stick to our world, with all its problems. |
| 378 | ** ''Literature/TheSleeperAndTheSpindle'': The curse is broken, the witch defeated and deceased, everyone who was enchanted has woken up and the queen decides to choose her own path in life with her friends, rather than resign herself to a role she doesn't want -- but the princess remains an old woman whose life was stolen from her, and she might never wake again. |
| 379 | * Creator/JohnGreen: |
| 380 | ** In ''Literature/TheFaultInOurStars'', Gus reveals to Hazel that his cancer has returned, and he dies just over a week after Hazel and Isaac have a prefuneral for him. The book ends with Hazel reading a eulogy that Augustus made for her, talking about how getting hurt in this world is inevitable, but we do get to choose whom we allow to hurt us, and that he is happy with his choice and wishes Hazel likes her choice too. The book ends with her saying, "I do." |
| 381 | ** In ''Literature/PaperTowns'', Margo's alive, Q understands her much better now although still not perfectly, and they even kiss but she's leaving, and although they make plans to see each other again, it's clear their lives are taking them in different directions. |
| 382 | * Creator/StephenKing: |
| 383 | ** ''Literature/TheDeadZone'': Johnny fails in his mission to kill Greg Stillson, and is killed by Stillson's security detail. However, the image of Stillson using [[WouldHurtAChild a small child]] as a HumanShield to protect himself is enough to wreck his political career, ensuring that the apocalyptic war seen in Johnny's visions will never come to pass. |
| 384 | ** The true ending of ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series: ''The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.'' That was also the first sentence; the protagonist has to go through it all again, at least once. |
| 385 | ** ''Literature/UnderTheDome'': The heroes' plan works, and (most of) the main characters get out alive. Unfortunately, they are pretty much the only people who survive. Almost the entire population of Chester's Mill is dead. To top it all off, the box used to generate the dome is still around, and there's no guarantee that it won't be used somewhere else on Earth or in the wider Universe in the future. |
| 386 | ** ''{{Literature/IT}}'': The BigBad has been killed, but the town of Derry was destroyed, some of the Losers were killed, and the surviving Losers are destined to go their separate ways and forget about each other again. |
| 387 | ** ''Literature/TheEyesOfTheDragon'': Flagg is defeated but still alive. Thomas is forced to WalkTheEarth in order to avoid being the victim of a VigilanteExecution, meaning that Peter has now lost his entire family. On the plus side, though, Peter has cleared his name and become King and it's implied he'll be a good one. There's also a hint that Peter and Thomas will see each other again. |
| 388 | ** ''Literature/ElevenTwentyTwoSixtyThree'': Jake is able to undo the damage he caused to history when he saved JFK. But...he's now stuck in the present with no way to get back the five years he spent in the past, his completion of his friend's dying wish nearly destroyed the world, and he has to live with the knowledge that his relationship with Sadie is pretty much the worst thing that could possibly happen to her. |
| 389 | ** ''Literature/EndOfWatch'': Bill Hodges and his friends are able to defeat Brady Hartsfield, but not before he's able to enact part of his plan to cause mass suicides. Also, Hodges succumbs to his cancer in the epilogue. |
| 390 | ** ''Literature/TheDarkHalf'': Thad Beaumont defeats his EnemyWithout, George Stark... but it's implied he can't just live happily ever after with his friends and family because some of them get alienated after seeing him together with Stark and getting a sense that they were not so different. |
| 391 | * ''Literature/1408'': The room melts and distorts near the end, and is about to consume Enslin. Enslin sets himself on fire, and the room lets him leave. Enslin is saved by another hotel guest who happened to be walking by with a bucket of ice water. Enslin doesn't publish his story, the recordings are intact but useless, and he has third degree burns, scarring him for the rest of his life. He retreats to a house in Long Island where he lives out a lonely life, has health problems, and is completely traumatized by his 70-minute stay in room 1408. Still, the room seems to be at least temporarily incapacitated, and Mike still fared much better than any 1408 guest prior to him. |
| 392 | %% ** ''Literature/TheGreenMile'' |
| 393 | %% ** ''Literature/BagOfBones'' |
| 394 | %% ** ''Literature/TheShining'' |
| 395 | * Creator/JhumpaLahiri is fond of these. |
| 396 | ** One example from her debut ''Literature/InterpreterOfMaladies'' is "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine". At the end of the story, Lilia (the protagonist) feels saddened by the fact that she'll never again see Mr. Pirzada, who is now back in Bangladesh caring for his family after the horrific war. She throws away all the candy he gave her out of love because it reminds her too much of him. |
| 397 | ** ''Literature/TheNamesake'' also counts. By the final chapter, the protagonist Gogol has lost both his American girlfriend and his Indian wife due to his inability to entirely embrace either side of his culture. However, at the very end of the novel, he decides to read a collection of stories by Creator/NikolaiGogol, his [[TheNamesake namesake]], and in doing so, finds himself. |
| 398 | * Scott Lynch: |
| 399 | ** ''The Lies of Locke Lamora'': Locke successfully takes revenge on the Grey King, but he is left with only one of his friends still alive, and he has to leave Camorr forever. Locke himself sums it up: "So this is what winning feels like....it can go fuck itself." |
| 400 | ** The sequel ''Red Seas Under Red Skies'': Sure, Locke and Jean have brought down the Archon and gotten away from Tal Verrar, and the pirates aren't going to be hunted down and killed, but in the meantime Jean's girlfriend is dead, they failed in the robbery they came for in the first place--and, oh yeah, Locke is dying slowly from poison. |
| 401 | * George R. R. Martin: |
| 402 | ** "Bittersweet" is probably the most optimistic you'll ever get from. At the end of ''Literature/TheHedgeKnight'', Dunk has survived his trial by combat and gained a squire, at the cost of the life of the beloved Prince Baelor, who looked set to be a great King, along with the deaths of two of the other Knights who fought for Dunk. |
| 403 | %% ** He's managed to stay just optimistic enough to make every book in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' have a Bittersweet Ending. Even ''A Feast For Crows'', which holds some sort of record for being the darkest book in an already rather dark series. |
| 404 | %%** His short stories, like "The Ice Dragon", which was reprinted as a children's book. |
| 405 | * Christopher Moore, a writer who (ostensibly) sticks to the humor genre, has a few bittersweet endings to his novels. |
| 406 | ** ''Bite Me'', the continuation of ''Bloodsucking Fiends'' and ''You Suck,'' ends with the vampire hordes destroyed, Abby and Tommy saved from their eventual deaths as third-generation vampires, and the three vampire lords dead... but Tommy can't handle being a vampire, and Jody doesn't want to return to being human, and so Jody leaves him, presumably forever. |
| 407 | ** ''[[Literature/LambTheGospelAccordingToBiff Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal]]'' ends with [[ForegoneConclusion Joshua dead]], despite Biff's best efforts to save him. Biff hunts down and murders Judas, then falls into despair and takes his own life. Happily, though, he and Maggie are resurrected to live happily ever after (except that, of course, Maggie will always love Joshua more. |
| 408 | * Creator/JRRTolkien's: |
| 409 | ** ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'': |
| 410 | *** ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': |
| 411 | *** The good guys win. Aragorn takes his rightful place as king and marries Arwen. Sauron is defeated permanently, and the Ring destroyed... but this also destroys the power of the Three Rings that has sustained Lothlórien and Rivendell, and the Elves leave. Frodo, unable to bear the weight of all he lost to save the world, leaves with them, as does Gandalf, and magic begins to go out of the world. The bittersweetness is distilled through Sam's perspective--he becomes a husband and father, yet loses his dear master just as his homeland is beginning to be made right. |
| 412 | *** Even the happy ending for Arwen and Aragorn is somewhat tainted, since now Arwen is mortal but still can't quite understand what death is and that it's not horrible. Imagine living thousands of years and suddenly being faced by a single century. So when Aragorn is dying and tells her that they'll meet again she's freaking out, and spends the rest of her life moping in an abandoned Elf forest. |
| 413 | *** ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': Morgoth is defeated and permanently banished from the world until the end of time. The two Silmarils remaining in his crown are stolen and then lost forever. The continent of Beleriand, where the heroes of old had their kingdoms and fought so long and hard against Morgoth, is shattered, most of it sinks into the sea, and many of the Elves sail to the West. |
| 414 | *** ''Literature/BerenAndLuthien'': The good news is that Lúthien becomes mortal, allowing her to follow Beren when he dies (Men and Elves have ''very'' different fates after death). The bad news is that Lúthien becomes mortal, and thereby passes out of the world and is lost to her people. |
| 415 | *** ''Literature/TheFallOfNumenor'': Sauron succeeds in destroying the greatest Mannish civilization. However, the wicked Númenoreans will never oppress the Middle-Earth again, and the decent Dúnedain will found new realms which will keep protecting the West from Sauron, whose base power was greatly dimished when Númenor fell. |
| 416 | *** In ''Literature/TheHobbit'', Bilbo returns home rich, but ostracized as a weirdo by his fellow hobbits. Nevertheless, "he remained very happy to the end of his days, and those were extraordinarily long." And let's not forget that, while stronger than they were at the beginning, the Dwarves' nation has still be irreparably and terminally damaged and Thorin, along with his nephews Fili and Kili, has died. Still, relatively cheerful. |
| 417 | *** WordOfGod has it that Middle-earth is prehistoric Europe, with the fall of Sauron happening about six thousand years ago; in other words, before the arrival of the Indo-Europeans in real life. So, at some point an unknown number of years after the story ends, barbarians out of the east come and wipe out all traces of everything, except for a few crumbling structures (mistakenly called "cyclopean" by Greeks) [[DirectLineToTheAuthor and a few ancient books that Professor Tolkien found and translated]]. |
| 418 | ** ''Literature/SmithOfWoottonMajor'' ends with Smith giving up the star and the travels to Faery. |
| 419 | * This is about the best you can hope for with anything by Creator/HarryTurtledove. If it's not a straight-out DownerEnding, it typically goes like this: There's an overall victory for the good guys, but the world is irreperably changed, a lot of good people died or have their lives ruined, and a lot of bad guys are no worse off. Most of what Turtledove writes is alternative history fiction, which is generally presented in such a way as to be as "[[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism realistic]]" as possible -- and life itself rarely produces anything other than Bittersweet Endings. |
| 420 | * ''Literature/AnUnkindnessOfGhosts'' has one that borders on a full DownerEnding. Aster makes it alive to Earth, where plant and animal life has fully returned, but the only people she brings with her are two dead bodies, so she has no chance of rebuilding humanity. Back on ''Matilda'', a SlaveRevolt kills hundreds, and we never find out if the rebellion actually improved anything for the lowerdeckers or not. |
| 421 | * Creator/KurtVonnegut wrote many of these: |
| 422 | ** ''Literature/PlayerPiano'': Dr. Proteus participates in the initially successful revolution with the Ghost Shirts, but in the end, they realize that they have little hope of changing the society further. |
| 423 | ** ''Literature/TheSirensOfTitan'': Rumfoord dies (or rather, disappears in space) without making amends with Salo, and Malachi Constant dies. Salo does, however, create illusions that make Malachi's final moments happy. |
| 424 | ** ''Literature/MotherNight'': Campbell's status as a double agent is confirmed, therefore clearing his charges for crimes against humanity... but he chooses to hang himself for "crimes against himself". |
| 425 | * Nearly all of Black Flame's ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' and ''Film/JasonX'' books end bittersweet (or downright bad). |
| 426 | * Every member of the Raven dies in Ravensoul, the last book in ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheRaven''. Many, many innocents also die, although some escape to a new world. The continent on which most of the story takes place is almost completely obliterated. The spirits of the Raven members are assigned to defend the portal through which the rest of the population escapes, though, so at least they are all together in death. |
| 427 | * At the end of ''{{Literature/Wander}}'', Wander, Dagger and Pan reach Sanctuary but Temple, Buddy and Heather are dead, along with the rest of Dagger’s group. The sole exception is Romeo, who’s nowhere to be found, so a depressed Dagger leaves Sanctuary to try and find him. |
| 428 | * ''Literature/StarCraftTheDarkTemplarSaga'': The Dominion stops pursuing Jake and Rosemary, who have become an OfficialCouple, but only because Prince Valerian's retainer Devon Starke [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices himself to Emperor Mengsk's torturers to save their lives]]. The EldritchAbomination Ulrezaj is defeated by [[SealedEvilInADuel Zamara sealing herself into a khaydarin crystal with him]], rendering her knowledge of protoss history largely lost for good. |
| 429 | * ''Literature/TheLittleCoffeeShopOfKabul'': Isabel was killed in a suicide bombing, and Sunny has to return to America. However, Ashmet has finally accepted the non-traditional relationship his mother has with Rashif, and is letting them marry. He also marries Yazmina, accepting that she was pregnant with a dead man's baby. Yazmina's little sister was saved from a potential life as a SexSlave. Finally, Ashmet, Yazmina, Halajan, and Rashif continue to run the coffee shop after Sunny is gone. |
| 430 | * {{Subverted}} in ''Literature/YumiAndTheNightmarePainter''. The story was ''supposed'' to end with Yumi performing a HeroicSacrifice, destroying the Father-machine, banishing the nightmares, and freeing the trapped souls at the cost of her own life. Except that Painter didn't realize that that was how the story was supposed to end, and he proceeded to ''paint Yumi back to life'' and settle down running a noodle shop with her. Hoid jokingly complains that he ruined a perfectly fine sad ending. |
| 431 | * ''Literature/TalesOfThePack'': The Pack manages to defeat the evil Morloc werewolves with their allies, but lose one of their own in doing so. |
| 432 | %% |
| 433 | %% Zero-context examples are not allowed. |
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