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Wham Episode in Literature.


  • The 39 Clues:
    • From the original series:
    • The second series, Cahills vs. Vespers, gets several:
      • A King's Ransom: William McIntyre dies, starting the Anyone Can Die atmosphere. The Guardians are revealed, and Atticus is one. Then Atticus is kidnapped, and Dan gets a text from AJT.
      • Shatterproof: Erasmus follows Amato to the Vesper base, but she manages to kill him. Then Jonah and Hamilton show up, and Jonah shoots Amato. Furthermore, another big reveal happens in the online game, or the beginning of Trust No One for those who don't play it: Vesper Three is Sinead Starling.
      • Trust No One: After the aformentioned reveal, Isabel comes back. Then V1 says they're done with giving him stuff, after one more: the Cahill Ring. Then we find out what the Vespers are using all of this stuff for: They're building a Doomsday Device. Finally, in order to combat them, Dan drinks the Serum.
  • Right smack dab in the middle of The Accidental Mage, when Gerald nearly gets his soul ripped out of him by Lional. I mean honestly, we knew Lionel was up to something, but this!?
  • The Agent Pendergast series has some major whams during the first and second books of the Helen Trilogy.
    • Fever Dream: Through the first half of the novel, Pendergast and his friend Lt. D'Agosta have been investigating the events that lead to the murder of Pendergast's wife, Helen. Pendergast informs his brother-in-law Judson Esterhazy, and Judson goes on what appears Roaring Rampage of Revenge killing anyone who could have contributed to her death. Then at one point Judson attempts to shoot and kill Pendergast, revealing his agenda is far darker than initially believed. D'Agosta winds up getting shot through the heart and nearly killed.
    • Cold Vengeance: The very last chapter. Pendergast is reunited with the still-alive Helen. Members of the Neo-Nazi society the Covenant track them down. Judson is killed in the crossfire, Helen is kidnapped by them, and Pendergast and his butler Proctor are both shot.
  • Some of the Alex Rider books end on a pretty shocking note:
    • First, we have Eagle Strike, in which we find out that Yassen knew Alex's father and worked together with him as a professional assassin.
    • In the very next book, Scorpia, we find out about the organization Scorpia, the only recurring villains in the seriesnote , and we also find out that Alex's dad was actually a mole for MI6. Oh, and Alex gets shot.
    • At the end of Snakehead, not only is it revealed that Ash, Alex's godfather, was Evil All Along, but immediately after that, we find out that he killed Alex's parents.
    • The biggest WHAM in the series by far is Jack's death towards the end of Scorpia Rising, which Alex was Forced to Watch by Razim and Julius Grief.
  • Animorphs:
    • The series' first major revelation is in #5: The Predator, where it turns out that Marco's mother is alive as Visser One's host, finally giving him a reason to fight.
    • #13: The Change has the first major shift to the status quo: the free Hork-Bajir colony is formed, and Tobias gets his morphing ability back thanks to the Ellimist.
    • Book 23, The Pretender: Tobias learns that Prince Elfangor, the Andalite which gives the five humans their ability to morph, was his father. Sort of. All the more gut-wrenching because the entire plot of the book was, up that point, about him possibly finding a home and discovering it was a just a ploy by Visser Three to see if he knew anything. Guess which character is The Woobie in the series?
    • Also, book #49, in which the Yeerks (finally) figure out that the Animorphs are human. Cue the eponymous heroes going "Oh, Crap!." And Tobias' mom is alive, living only a few blocks away, is blind, and has lost all of her memories from before he was born.
    • The next book has an even bigger one: Cassie prevents Jake from killing Tom, allowing the latter to escape with the morphing cube.
  • The ending of the ninth book of the Betsy the Vampire Queen series, Undead and Unfinished, contains a wham that dramatically changes the tone of the series to Darker and Edgier.
  • The Brightest Shadow: A regular occurrence at the end of each part of the book, notably:
    • When the main city is abruptly torn apart by the arrival of the Zeitai.
    • When the true traitor is revealed and a large number of characters die.
  • The Chronicles of Amber. That series has one every few pages... "Wow! Everything I knew was wrong! Again!" indeed.
  • Codex Alera has Princeps' Fury: Canea is overrun by the Vord, and so is half of Alera. Gaius Sextus obliterates Alera Imperia when the Vord overrun it, and dies in the process.
  • Cry, the Beloved Country, at the end of the second book. Absalom Kumalo is sentenced to death and Gertrude Kumalo is nowhere to be found. The revelation of the murder Absalom committed was a WHAM in itself.
  • Stephen King's The Dark Tower has a few per book, usually towards the end (number two being the only exception).
  • The end of The Fire Dragon, the 11th book in the Deverry series. Rhodry being transformed into a dragon is a complete surprise, given how difficult Shapeshifting has been shown to be.
  • The epilogue to the first book of The Dinosaur Lords. First of all, it features the Grey Angels as something that's actually real and already operating in the worldnote , and their conversation not only spells doom for Providence, but also suggests that the alternative is much, much worse, not to mention it introduces a whole new dimension to the entire conflict.
  • Dragon Age: Asunder is a massive one for the entire Dragon Age universe; in the space of one book, a Tranquil figures out how to cure Tranquility, and the Enchanters' Conclave, the Seekers of Truth, and the Templar Order all secede from the Chantry, all while Orlais is collapsing into civil war and rumors of an elven rebellion in the Dales are spreading.
  • Dragonlance is nothing but a Wham series. In reciprocation. Over millennia and-one-hundred-or-so books: Sturm is Huma's carbon-copy, The draconians are hatched from the supposedly-protected eggs of the good metallic dragons, Raistlin literally is Fistandantilus, Fizban is Paladine, Berem is responsible for the entire Second Dragon War, Par-Salian's version of 'The Test' breaks Raistlin, Steel Brightblade is the son of Sturm and Kitiara, Tasselhoff is blessed by Paladine himself... and that's about 5% of the MAIN storyline, too. Also the Amber and Iron trilogy about Mina) contains a huge wham. In a tabletop-game world carefully balanced between good and evil, the idea that there's another goddess that nobody knew about, including her, is not just unexpected, it seems downright impossible.
  • The Dresden Files:
    • The end of Dead Beat marks the point where the series transitions from being about Harry being a detective who often got caught up in supernatural politics to mostly being focused on said supernatural politics. Harry is drafted into the Wardens because over half the organization had been slaughtered by a blitzkrieg in their ongoing war with vampires. Harry comes to the conclusion that the sorcerers feuding with each other were probably working with the vampires all along, and in the following book concludes that all of the series Monster Of The Weeks were most likely coordinated as well by a group he dubs the Black Council. Since then, the series has more been about wizarding world problems than his investigation business, although many books do still start that way.
    • Turn Coat: Morgan, a major recurring character since the first book, is Killed Off for Real. The Black Council's mole on the White Council is revealed and killed, but the newest Senior Council member is believed by Harry to potentially be another mole. In response, Harry and McCoy start putting together a "Grey Council" to resist both the Black Council's manipulations and get around the White Council's Head-in-the-Sand Management. Meanwhile, Thomas is tortured to the point of crossing the Despair Event Horizon, and gives up attempting to resist his vampiric nature.
    • Changes. There's a very good reason that this is the first book in the series to not have a two-word Punny Title: the book is by far the biggest wham episode in the series that destroys almost the entire status quo. We find out that Harry has a daughter and that his mentor Ebenezar McCoy is his maternal grandfather. Harry's office, his car, and his apartment are all completely destroyed, along with almost all of his possessions. The White Council is on the verge of disintegrating; Ramirez and many of the younger Wardens have been imprisoned by the Council, and Luccio and a number of other older Wardens are missing. Harry accepts the position of Winter Knight, Susan dies at Harry's hand, doing so in a way that takes THE ENTIRE FREAKING RED COURT with her, he finally makes a date with Murphy, and the book ends with Harry being shot in the chest and falling into a lake, his exact fate unknown. Then the next book got announced: Ghost Story - Harry's DEAD. Oh, and Harry's duster gets destroyed. The whole book qualifies as a Cluster Wham Bomb.
    • The next book, Ghost Story, is mostly about all the aftermath of the previous books fallout, both on a grand scale and for Harry's friends and allies. Supernatural powers are running around snatching up whatever bits are left of the Red Court's former power base, leading to covert wars in the streets with the White Council locked up just trying to keep order. The Corpsetaker is back and is pissed. Bob's evil side is going completely Red Skull. Molly has gone almost completely off the deep end thanks to the trauma she took in the final battle in Changes and from erasing Harry's memories. And Harry discovers who had him killed: He did it to himself and had Molly erase his memories of setting it up, so she now has to live with the knowledge. And at the end of the book, he get his body back and is set to continue being the Winter Knight, but not without telling Queen Mab where she can stick it.
    • Cold Days throws even more curve balls at the readers. Demonreach is a prison for dark gods created by Merlin. An entity called Nemesis is behind the Black Council, and can infect people's minds to twist them to its cause (which is getting the Outsiders through to destroy all reality). Maeve has been so infected, and kills Lily before being killed as well, with Molly becoming the new Winter Lady.
    • Peace Talks, as the first part of a plot that got so long it was split in half, is full of twists: Thomas is arrested for trying to kill King Etri, and in the process of trying to save him Harry potentially gets himself kicked out of the White Council, gets into a fight with Ebenezer that not only ruins their relationship but results in Ebenezer finding out Thomas is Harry's brother, and in the end Harry has to seal Thomas in Demonreach to save his life. Meanwhile, Ethniu the Last Titan is revealed to be The Man Behind the Man to the Fomor, and after smacking down Mab and blacking out Chicago as a show of force, announces her intention to raze Chicago in the opening move of a war against all of mankind. The book then ends with a cliffhanger which suggests that the series is heading towards a Broken Masquerade scenario.
    • Battle Ground: While Changes set the standard very high, this book is jammed full of whams in it's own right. Yoshimo and Wild Bill are killed by the Black Court and their bodies taken, Drakul finally makes an appearance and sends Chandler to an Uncertain Doom. Murphy is accidentally shot by Rudolph and dies in Harry's arms. Marcone is revealed to have been in possession of Thorned Namshiel's coin and power since Small Favor. Thomas' actions in the previous book are revealed to be because Justine is possessed by Nemesis, which is properly named as He Who Walks Beside. Harry is kicked off the White Council under a suspended death sentence, and then Mab sets up an Arranged Marriage for him with Lara. And on top of all that, while globally The Masquerade is more or less in place, the people of Chicago now know the truth and the federal government is sending agents to investigate closely. But on the bright side, Harry is able to blackmail Marcone into giving him ownership of the castle built over the remains of his old house, so thats nice.
  • Everything, Everything: The chapter "For Your Eyes Only" completely turns the story on its head. Madeline receives an email from a doctor she briefly met, who ran some tests on her... and the results say that Madeline doesn't really have SCID.
  • Special props go to Kathy Tyers' Daystar. The fact that it is about Jesus in an alternate 'verse means it is chock full of Foregone Conclusions, and yet it still pulls off a major wham ending: Everyone has had a chance to hear the Word and to choose their side, so the cosmos is renewed then and there.
  • For Gaunt's Ghosts, the biggest one is probably at the end of book four, The Guns of Tanith. Dan Abnett says that to this day he still gets mail about it. It is, in his words, where "you learn to say goodbye", representing the series passing into the realm of Anyone Can Die, and is in fact the source of the page quote for that trope.
  • In its first edition print run, Armageddon's Children was not given its series title, "The Genesis of Shannara." Because of this, the book appears only to be a sequel to The Word and the Void trilogy until about halfway in. It is only with the sudden introduction of the elves of Cintra and namedrops for the Elcrys and the capital-D Demons of the Shannara series that the Canon Welding truly begins and the book reveals itself as a Shannara prequel.
  • Micheal Grant's Gone series has this at the end of Fear, where the ending is that the FAYZ wall is transparent.
    • Plague would be a straighter example what with Diana, Albert and Quinn changing sides, Little Pete "dying", Astrid leaving Sam and Caine taking over Perdido Beach.
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has the scene in the graveyard where Voldemort is able to return to a more or less proper body and Cedric Diggory is killed. If you had to pick a single book from the series as the Wham Episode, it would be this one, as kicks off the Darker and Edgier vibe for the rest of the series.
  • Northern Lights ends with Lyra's realization that she had traveled so far, and gone through everything, just to ultimately give her father Roger as a human sacrifice. Lord Asriel kills him to rip open the boundaries of their world, revealing that the carefully crafted fantasy world that the book has been entirely set in up to that point is actually one of many — and that our world is also one of them. Then he declares war on God.
    • The even bigger Wham in this event was when Asriel and Coulter, supposedly deadly enemies, run to each other and have a lovers' embrace, less than a minute after Roger's death. Their previous behavior throughout the entire book was suddenly cast in a very different light.
  • Ashes of Victory in David Weber's Honor Harrington series upsets everybody's applecart at the end! First, a "chess fork" assassination attempt forces Honor to choose among the important figures she could possibly save, ultimately handing a government over to corrupt incompetents. Meanwhile, the Soviet/France-during-the-Terror Haven undergoes upheavals even more drastic, from an unexpected quarter.
    • As the Meta Plot of the series is a retelling of the great Anglo-French war IN SPACE!, this is based on the "Peace of Amiens" and the transition of power in France from the Committee of Public Safety to Napoleon I, and was planned out pretty much from the start. (With a few minor surprises here and there, anyway.)
    • Similarly, the scene in Mission of Honor where Oyster Bay happens, and of course the very final chapter of the book which re-aligns the political and military framework of the entire series over the course of a conversation.
  • Tons of these moments in The House of Night. For starters, Neferet is portrayed as quite likeable with nothing suspicious hinted about her in Marked. In Betrayed, she's revealed to be the Big Bad. For the rest of the series to come. Wham.
  • The last few chapters of The Fall of Hyperion are all wham. First the Ouster invasion fleet turns out to have been flying at the Hagemony for centuries at sublight velocity to avoid detection, then we actually meet the Ousters and the "invasion fleet" turns out to be a fleet-full of cybrids sent by the Core, who turn out to be located inside the Portal Network, leaving the only solution as the destruction of said network, and as such human civilization. Somewhere in the middle of all this, Kassad goes toe-to-toe with the Shrike. And then the Time Tombs open, and we find out who Moneta really is.
  • InCryptid:
    • In the main novels, Chaos Choreography is a wham episode due to its ending (in which Verity reveals the family's existence to the Covenant on live TV, kicking off the plot of the next three books).
    • That Ain't Witchcraft has Antimony permanently destroy the Crossroads, affecting events not only in this series, but leading to the finale of the related Ghost Roads trilogy.
    • Imaginary Numbers (and its immediate sequel Calculated Risks, since they're essentially a Multi-Part Episode) has Sarah undergo an Evolution Power-Up, turning her into an Apocalypse Maiden, and ultimately turning nearly all the other Johrlac on Earth into Technically Living Zombies.
    • In the prequel short stories, "Halfway Through the Wood" is a novel-length story that covers not only Enid's death, but Alice finally telling Thomas she loves him, and the bargain Thomas made with the Crossroads for Alice's life.
  • "Invisible Monsters" has a few of these, such as the true identity of Brandy Alexander being the main character's brother and who shot the main character — she shot herself.
  • The ending of Tom Clancy's Debt of Honor: After being confirmed as Vice-President, following his predecessor being forced to resign by a sex scandal, Jack Ryan narrowly escapes a terrorist attack that kills that kills almost every major politician in the U.S. Capitol building (including the President, most of Congress, most of the Cabinet, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and every Supreme Court Justice). Ryan is then immediately sworn in as President moments later by a federal judge not present at the Capitol Building.
  • Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: "Arabella", the final chapter of part two.
  • ā€œSacrificeā€ in the Legacy of the Force book series. The characters donā€™t discover Jacen is Sith for another book or two, but the audience definitely knows heā€™s seriously dark when he kills Lukeā€™s wife Mara.
  • In The Licanius Trilogy, Caeden has a major one at the end of both Book 1 and Book 2. In the first he finds out that he is Aarkein Devaed, ostensibly the series Big Bad, in the second he find out that he is destined to kill his good friend Davian. They both nearly break him.
  • Around Chapter 17 of The Maze Runner, when Thomas jumps into the Maze with Alby and Minho. Alby has been stung by a Griever, and the doors to the Glade shut behind them, trapping the three boys for the night. The previous chapters weren't exactly pretty, but things get BAD at this point.
  • The plot of Metaltown changes irrevocably when Ty loses her eye on a job and is subsequently fired, leading to uprisings, questioned loyalties, and big revelations.
  • The last two chapters of Mistborn: The Original Trilogy book two. Everything that happened in the story up to this point was a Xanatos Gambit by the real, godlike Big Bad. The world is ending, everything you know is a lie, the prophecies are wrong and reality has been edited. Good luck. There are more than enough clues up to this point for the reader to figure out that things aren't quite as they seem, but nothing will prepare you for this.
    • Also, the final chapter before the epilogue of the third book, The Hero of Ages, where we learn that the Hero of Ages referred to Sazed all along, not Vin like we had assumed, thanks to a gambit on Preservation's part to kill Ruin and create a god with power over both Ruin and Preservation.
  • This coffee-table book about Googie motel architecture. Beautiful pictures of stylish but fading architecture; and then you get to the chapter on the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.
  • The Blackest Night: The revelation that Lucius is a hybrid, the Archangel Michael is Poppy's father and the sudden violent death of Rose by the sword of Katrina all happen within the last few chapters of the book.
  • New Jedi Order: Both Vector Prime, the very first book, and Star By Star, with the deaths of Chewbacca and Anakin Solo respectively. Both big status quo shake ups showing that this series is dark and Anyone Can Die
    • Star by Star also features the Yuuzhan Vong's capture of Coruscant.
  • Oathbringer: The last four chapters of Part 3. Kaladin and Elhokar meet with Aesudan, she is revealed to be fully under Odium's influence, the Unmade Sja-anat claims to not be their enemy and tries to plead with Shallan to not activate the Oathgate, claiming that Ashertmarn fled on purpose to lead them into a trap, Moash kills Elhokar after the latter almost became a Radiant, Sah, Noro, and Beard are killed, Kaladin has a Heroic BSoD, Kholinar has fallen, and upon activating the Oathgate against Sja-anat's pleas, Shallan, Kaladin, Adolin, and Azure are brought to Shadesmar, where they see two giant spren in the sky, Syl, Pattern, and the spren of Adolin's Shardblade, and Azure reveals she's been in Shadesmar before.
  • Even if you know the ending to Of Mice and Men, you will shit yourself reading the penultimate chapter.
  • Percy Jackson and the Olympians:
    • The Titan's Curse, chapter 13. Bianca di Angelo dies, making her the first hero to die onscreen. This is to show that, yes, demigods are not and have never been safe.
    • The Battle of the Labyrinth. Luke becomes Kronos' host, casting doubt whether he can be redeemed. The next book says yes, but at a tragic price.
  • The Heroes of Olympus:
    • The Lost Hero
      • It turns out that Camp Half-Blood is not the only demigod camp in the world. There is also Camp Jupiter, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it is where Jason came from. What's more, they are the home of the Roman demigods.
      • The new Big Bad is revealed to be Gaea, the personification of the Earth itself.
    • The Mark Of Athena:
      • Chapter 4. The Argo II has arrived at Camp Jupiter, and so far, things are going well. Annabeth and Percy are reunited, Octavian is keeping his mouth shut, and Annabeth and Rayna are getting along. Then the Argo II opens fire on Camp Jupiter.
      • The ending. The destruction of Rome has been averted, Nico is rescued, the giants holding him are dead, and the Athena Parthenos, the key to ending the rivalry between the Greek and Roman demigods, is secure aboard the Argo II. Then the floor crumbles, and Annabeth and Percy fall into Tartarus.
    • The House of Hades. Nico comes out of the closet and confesses that he once had a crush on Percy.
  • In Qualia the Purple, Chapter 6 finally reveals the peculiarities brought along with Yukari's eyes. And... they're creepy, at the very least.
  • The Trials of Apollo:
    • The Hidden Oracle. The Triumvirate is led by a trio of immortal Roman emperors. In fact, one of them is Caligula himself.
    • The Burning Maze. Jason Grace dies. FOR REAL. For those who cannot fathom the shock it does to the fandom, he is not only a main character, but also a narrator in three books of the Riordanverse. Usually, they are expected to have Plot Armor.
  • The Pillars of the Earth takes a hard left turn when William raids Kingsbridge, nearly burns it to the ground and kills dozens, including the book's main character.
  • The eighth book in the Pretty Little Liars series, Wanted.
  • Much of Bequin. Among other things:
    • The revelation of further members of the Glaw family, working for the Emperor's Children to boot
    • Sister Bismillah revealing that she is actually Medea Bentacore, observing Alizebeth undercover for her boss.
    • The revelation that Beta is likely a clone of the original Alizebeth Bequin.
    • The best one yet:
    Deathrow: I am Alpharius.
  • The Saga of Darren Shan has three contenders.
    • "Killers of the Dawn" has Steve Leonard revealed to be a half-vapaneze, before he initiates a manhunt of Darren and his companions (while slaughtering his way out of a hospital), and it ends with Mr Crepsley having a Heroic Sacrifice where he kills the Lord of the Vampaneze...only for his sacrifice to be rendered pointless when Steve reveals that he is the Vampaneze Lord.
    • "Lake of Souls" reveals that the other world, which is the future, is apparently a twisted wasteland, filled with monsters, crazed tribespeople, and dragons, with the implication that it is caused by the war between the vampires and vampaneze.
    • Also, we find out that Darren's faithful Little Person companion, Harkat Mulds, was, in his previous life Kurda Smahlt — a vampire traitor.
    • "The Lord of Shadows" has the revelation that no matter who wins the war, either Darren or Steve is destined to become a raging and powerful tyrant, who will destroy their own clan, conquer the world, and turn it into the Bad Future at the same time as Steve invades his and Darren's home town, begins massacring people (including one of their childhood friends), murders the infant son of one of Darren's friends, and reveals that his own son is Darren's nephew.
    • And, in Sons of Destiny, Mr Tiny reveals that Darren and Steve are not only brothers, that they are also his own two sons.
  • Roughly two-thirds of the way through 17 and Gone, Lauren sees Trisha's knife outside of her dreams, confirming that they're real. What actually happens is she thinks she sees it and unwittingly hurts herself, leading to a hospital stay and a schizophrenia diagnosis.
  • Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer contains The Reveal that Skulduggery was Lord Vile.
    • The eighth book, Last Stand of Dead Men is this. That's right, the entire book. but Chapter 51 in particular. that one hurts every time.
  • A Storm of Swords, the third book of A Song of Ice and Fire, ends with many devastating events, including deaths of many major characters, with the revelation that a supposedly minor and rather affable villain was actually behind everything, and the resurrection of a character who had been killed earlier in the same book. This was originally meant to set up for a five-year timeskip. When the author couldn't get it to work, the rewriting of the plot ironically caused a five-year delay for the next book.
    • The first book's ending arguably contained even more WHAM, what with the grand execution and all...
    • And, things on the Wall and the North are starting to bed down so people can aim themselves at the real threat now that concessions hav— WHAM. ...O~K... What were we thinking? Um. They're scuppered. Worse than before Stannis, right?
    • The Red Wedding was an event of massive consequences, not only for devastated/furious readers everywhere, but also in universe: diplomatic relations will never be the same between houses, once that one of the most sacred rules, guest right, was desecrated.
  • Spinning Silver: Chapter 10 is the marriage chapter. Despite foreshadowing, it goes worse than anyone anticipated. Miryem is taken away by the Staryk King. Wanda's father plans to sell her for booze and instead ends up dead, with his children fleeing town. Irina become tsarina and we learn that the tsar is host to a fire demon that wants to devour her.
  • Star Trek: Destiny, in which the Borg launch an invasion of the Alpha Quadrant, destroying several dozen worlds and annihilating forty percent of Starfleet, before every single drone is liberated all at once, wiping out the collective once and for all.
  • While the other novels work well with plot twists, the last quarter of the fourth Temeraire novel, Empire Of Ivory, is probably the most staggering example. It sees the destruction of every English port in southern Africa by an army of dragon-riding tribesmen; a plan to effectively commit genocide upon the other dragons of Europe by sneaking an ill dragon into Napoleon's air corps, which would spread the plague that nearly wiped out England's dragons throughout the entire Eastern Hemisphere, but also would surely provoke a bloody invasion attempt by Napoleon; and Laurence and Temeraire committing treason to deliver the antidotal mushrooms to the French forces before it's too late. The end has Laurence and Temeraire returning to England, to what will surely be Laurence's court martial and hanging.
  • Tokyo Ravens: The end of Volume 8 has the death of Natsume.
  • Uncovered, the fourth book in the Out of Position series, has several WHAM episodes. The most shocking ones are Chapter 10 where Dev confesses he knows about Lee's court cases, which leads to an argument and Lee leaving him and Chapter 29 where another football player comes out on live TV right after the championship game ends.
  • In the Vorkosigan Saga, the beginning of Memory, when Miles gets kicked out of ImpSec for falsifying a report to hide the fact that he'd developed a medical condition that could (and already had) compromise his effectiveness in the field.
  • Warrior Cats, being a long running series, has had many shocking developments among its plentiful installments:
    • Into The Wild:
      • Chapter 4: Ravenpaw arrives in the ThunderClan camp and announces that Redtail and Oakheart are both dead.
      • Chapter 8: It's revealed that Yellowfang, the cat who attacked Firepaw is the ShadowClan medicine cat. Then, Bluestar learns that Firepaw broke the warrior code and unleashes her fury on him.
      • Chapter 12: Brokenstar is introduced as the Big Bad, and he reveals that not only has he driven out WindClan, he'll be coming for anyone who doesn't bow down to him. Then, he whips the ThunderClan warriors into a rage against Yellowfang, and they decide to attack her.
      • Chapter 17: ShadowClan attacks ThunderClan and kills Lionheart. Then Tigerclaw is named deputy, while Ravenpaw reveals that he may not be on ThunderClan's side.
      • Chapter 20: Ravenpaw reveals that Tigerclaw killed Redtail because of his ambition, and he'll be going after Bluestar next. Then, Spottedleaf is found dead, Frostfur's kits are stolen, and Yellowfang mysteriously vanishes.
      • Chapter 22: Firepaw and Graypaw confront Yellowfang, who reveals the true plans Brokenstar has for the forest.
    • Fire and Ice
      • Chapter 1: Fireheart finally reveals Tigerclaw's treachery to Bluestar, but she doesn't believe him.
      • Chapter 7: When taking a shortcut back to ThunderClan territory, Fireheart and Graystripe accidentally cause a massive border battle and a RiverClan warrior is killed.
      • Chapter 9: Fireheart is revealed to have a sister who lives near the forest.
      • Chapter 14: Graystripe is seeing a RiverClan warrior! And she's the Clan leader's daughter!
      • Chapter 17: Cinderpaw is hit by a car, and Yellowfang says that she'll never be a warrior.
      • Chapter 26: Brokenstar attacks the camp, and Yellowfang reveals that he is her son.
      • Chapter 30: ShadowClan finally allies with RiverClan and a huge battle between all four Clans breaks out on WindClan territory.
    • Forest of Secrets
      • Chapter 6: Graypool reveals that Mistyfoot and Stonefur were actually from ThunderClan, and Fireheart vows to learn the truth.
      • Chapter 11: A massive flood begins, and a RiverClan kit is swept up in it.
      • Chapter 19: Nightstar reveals that ThunderClan is sheltering Brokenstar, causing ShadowClan to team up with WindClan and begin an invasion of ThunderClan.
      • Chapter 21: Silverstream dies while having Graystripe's kits, and Tigerclaw finds out about Graystripe's forbidden romance.
      • Chapter 23: Bluestar reveals that Oakheart was once her mate, and that Mistyfoot and Stonefur were her kits.
      • Chapter 30: Rather than cause a Clan War, Graystripe decides to leave ThunderClan and join RiverClan.
    • Rising Storm
      • Chapter 5: Mudclaw ambushes Fireheart and Bluestar on the way to the Moonstones, declaring that ThunderClan no longer has the right to visit StarClan.
      • Chapter 12: Cloudpaw is captured by Twolegs and taken away.
      • Chapter 16: Tigerclaw reveals that he now leads Brokenstar's rogues before threatening Fireheart.
      • Chapter 27: Fireheart finds Yellowfang in the ashes of the ThunderClan camp, only to be too late to prevent her death.
      • Chapter 30: ShadowClan has a new leader. It's Tigerclaw!
    • A Dangerous Path:
      • Chapter 7: Graypool accidentally reveals Bluestar's secret to Tigerstar, then falls to her death.
      • Chapter 16: To protect Bluestar from Mistyfoot and Stonefur, Fireheart reveals that she is their mother.
      • Chapter 19: Swiftpaw is brutally killed when he tries to fight the dogs, while half of Brightpaw's face is ripped off.
      • Chapter 24: Tigerstar murders Brindleface to lead the dogs to ThunderClan.
      • Chapter 27: Tigerstar attacks Fireheart at a crucial moment, forcing Bluestar to sacrifice herself and save him.
    • The Darkest Hour
      • Chapter 4: Fireheart has his leader ceremony, only for it to be hijacked by an omen of Tigerstar's power.
      • Chapter 8: Darkstripe feeds Sorrelkit deathberries to prevent her from revealing Tigerstar's plans.
      • Chapter 12: Tigerstar reveals his plans at a Gathering, uniting with RiverClan to force ThunderClan into checkmate.
      • Chapter 15: The Bonehill actually shows up, and Blackfoot murders Stonefur on Tigerstar's command.
      • Chapter 19: Tigerstar leads an attack that devastates WindClan so that Firestar will know that he's next.
      • Chapter 22: Scourge hijacks the book by killing Tigerstar and declaring that he now rules the forest.
      • Chapter 24: Barley reveals that he was once a member of BloodClan, before revealing the horrors of Scourge's reign.
      • Chapter 28: Bone kills Whitestorm during the battle. Then, Firestar tries to take on Scourge, only to get himself killed.
    • Midnight
      • Chapter 1: Since the series has had a pretty big Time Skip, we end up with a big one. Brambleclaw gets a vision from Bluestar, and we're introduced to Firestar's daughter Squirrelpaw.
      • Chapter 3: The point of view shifts to Firestar's other daughter Leafpaw, and we learn that RiverClan has taken in two former rogues, Hawkfrost and Mothwing.
      • Chapter 8: Leafpaw and Cinderpelt find a prophecy about how Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw will destroy the forest.
      • Chapter 13: Brambleclaw, Squirrelpaw, Feathertail, Stormfur, Crowpaw, and Tawnypelt leave Clan territory and head into the unknown, a first in series history.
      • Chapter 20: An old cat called Purdy leads the band astray, ad they get ambushed by rats.
      • Chapter 24: Midnight is actually the name of a badger. And she reveals that the forest is doomed.
      • Epilogue: The destruction of the forest begins.
    • Moonrise
      • Prologue: The Clan cats are not alone. A new group of cats called the Tribe of Rushing Water is revealed to be living in the mountains.
      • Chapter 5: The band gets hit by a waterfall and their fate is left unknown.
      • Chapter 7: The band meets the Tribe of Rushing Water for the first time.
      • Chapter 14: The story moves to the point of view of Feathertail when the Tribe abducts Stormfur. Then, Sharptooth appears and begins his attack.
      • Chapter 19: The rebellion against the Tribe begins. As well, the Clan cats decide that they have to defeat Sharptooth once and for all.
      • Chapter 21: Mothwing reveals that Tigerstar is her father, and the father of Hawkfrost.
      • Chapter 23: Feathertail realizes that she is the cat destined to defeat Sharptooth, giving her life to save Stormfur.
      • Chapter 24: Leafpaw is abducted by Twolegs as the end of the forest draws near.
    • Dawn
      • Prologue: Things get even worse for the forest when Fourtrees falls, after standing for many years as a symbol of the Clans.
      • Chapter 5: Leafpaw meets Sasha while in Twoleg captivity.
      • Chapter 7: The Clans attempt a rescue mission for the cats in Twoleg captivity, but Graystripe is captured, and will likely never be seen again.
      • Chapter 14: Firestar loses a life helping ShadowClan, while Crowpaw goes suicidal.
      • Chapter 16: Mudfur dies, leaving Mothwing as RiverClan's sole medicine cat.
      • Chapter 19: The Clans receive a sign telling them their new home lies across the mountains.
      • Chapter 25: The Clans find their new home and Leafpaw stares down as the stars appear overhead.
    • Starlight
      • Chapter 3: The new homes of the Clans are finally revealed.
      • Chapter 6: Tallstar dies and names Onewhisker deputy while on his deathbed.
      • Chapter 14: Brambleclaw meets Hawkfrost in a dream. And who summoned them? Tigerstar, and he's out for revenge.
      • Chapter 16: Mothwing reveals that she doesn't believe in StarClan. And she's a medicine cat.
      • Chapter 19: Leafpool has a horrifying vision of the lake turning red with blood.
      • Chapter 22: Leafpool nearly gets killed by two warriors, but Crowfeather rescues her and they admit their love for each other.
  • The first three-quarters of The Watsons Go to Birmingham is a lighthearted comedy about a quirky black family with two sons who have an overabundance of mischief and imagination. Then the real-life 1963 church bombings in Birmingham happen, causing the youngest son to have a Heroic BSoD and spend several weeks hiding behind the sofa due to his inability to fully process what he had witnessed at the church.
  • In the Whateley Universe novel "Christmas Elves", at the end of Chapter 2, team sweetheart Jade Sinclair is stabbed through the heart while teammate and friend Fey is unable to stop it. Jade does get better, enough to break Fey and two others free from imprisonment. What *changes* is Fey's attitude toward mortals. Her retribution leads to the destruction of a crime syndicate's regional base and to the sorceress Hecate fleeing to The Necromancer for protection. Cavalier and Skybolt are freed, but that leads to Aunghadhail's final destruction. Fey is framed for Hecate's death. Unfortunately, Hecate is not dead but learns a few new tricks from The Necromancer.
  • The Wheel of Time manages to pull this off in several installments, most notably the endings of books:
    • 2: Rand revealing himself as the Dragon Reborn by fighting in the sky with Ba'alzamon.
    • 3: The claiming of Callandor and Rand actually declaring himself the Dragon Reborn.
    • 6: The battle at Dumai's Wells and the aftermath where the Aes Sedai swear fealty to Rand.
    • And especially 9: the cleansing of the taint from saidin.
    • 12: The Prophet getting executed by Faile in the prologue; Verin's true allegiance; Egwene fending off a huge Seanchan attack on the White Tower, executing nearly the entire Black Ajah in a single day and FINALLY becoming Amyrlin of a united Aes Sedai; Rand killing both Semirhage and Graendal, starting to use the True Power and destroying the Choedan Kal. Robert Jordan was quite good at these.
      • Note that the events of book 12 were technically written (mostly) by Brandon Sanderson, though planned by the original author. Also, WHAM moments like these have become increasingly common since book 10 or so, as part of an earnest effort to prune the Kudzu Plot that's been building throughout the series.
    • And the Whams continue in book 13: Mat killing the gholam; Rand's incredible destruction of the hundreds of thousands of Shadowspawn attacking Maradon; Perrin stopping balefire with his wolfdream skills, and forging his new hammer; Egwene breaking Mesaana's mind; the future of the Aiel; the 13 x 13 trick being used at the Black Tower; the rescue of Moiraine, particularly with Mat's ashandarei being the key out of the realm of the Finn; and especially the epilogue which reveals in rapid succession a new horrific form of Darkfriend, a huge army of Shadowspawn attacking Caemlyn, and Lanfear once more toying with Rand's mind.
  • The Beginning After the End:
    • The battle of Etistin bay turns into a one-sided massacre, while Alduin Eralith compounds on the betrayal of the Greysunder by surrendering the Floating Castle to the invading Alacryians, in the hope of saving his daughter.
    • Elijah comes back as Nico and is intent on having his revenge on Arthur and abducting Tess.
    • Arthur himself is mortally wounded in his battle against Scythe Cadell and Nico and it takes Sylvie's heroic sacrifice to save him at great cost to herself.
    • The Dicanthen army is routed, the war is lost and the elven and human royal families are summarily executed.
  • Worm has several.
    • The events of arc 8 particularly Leviathan's devastation of Brockton Bay, completely rewrite the status quo for the next fourteen or so arcs.
    • 22.6 ends with Taylor joining the Wards, leaving Brockton Bay and the Undersiders behind.
    • Interlude 26 reveals that Scion, the most powerful parahuman in the setting, is actually the avatar of an alien entity. And after listening to a "The Reason You Suck" Speech from Jack Slash, he pulls a Faceā€“Heel Turn and obliterates Great Britain. And concludes that he likes the feeling.
  • Wizards At War (from the Young Wizards series) was basically one long Wham Episode, tying up several ongoing plot threads and starting nearly double as many, as well as building up Dairine and Roshaun's relationship only to have Roshaun disappear mysteriously; causing Ponch to ascend to a higher plane of existence; creating a whole new version of the Lone Power called the Hesper, a version of the LP that never fell; and then completely *not* resolving the UST between Nita and Kit.
  • Chapter 4 of The Search for WondLa, which is given the all too aptly chosen title "Boom". The Sanctuary that Eva and MUTHR live in gets attacked by a hostile marauder, making Eva just barely escape to above-ground by herself. Even more biting is the fact that Eva had always wanted to go above ground.
  • The Third Oath, from The Zombie Knight, is by far the darkest section of the story (so far). In one day, most of Hector's friends are murdered and have their souls eaten, and the few that survive blame him.


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