History DarknessInducedAudienceApathy / Literature

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': The series starts with BlackAndGreyMorality, but quickly progressed to [[BlackAndBlackMorality Black and Black.]] While initially the death of the "main" character was a refreshing twist, by the end of ''A Storm Of Swords'' so many of the characters had been killed off [[FateWorseThanDeath or worse]] that some readers found it hard to care about the rest of them. Also all the endless, gratuitous war crimes perpetrated by all factions--rapes, skinned children crucified for miles, burning women alive after raping them--not only began to lose their shock value, but made it hard to care about who wins in the end. Some are even convinced that the BigBad of the series, the White Walkers, are practically saints by comparison, making it difficult to consider them a dire threat. Of course, this is still averted occasionally, as Martin still has a couple of somewhat likable characters who try to do the right thing, and many of the people who end up dying are very loathsome villains, (a giant rapist and war criminal spending weeks dying due to a man he killed having poisoned him, a psychotic mercenary who loves maiming being gradually cut to pieces, a sadistic RoyalBrat being poisoned and choking to death...). It's frequently shown that just being evil isn't helpful in the long-term.

* The Franchise/StarTrekNovelVerse is starting to have this effect after the two part novels ''Plagues of the Night'' and ''Raise the Dawn.'' The series had already gone through a completely legitimate rough patch with the Borg war of ''Literature/StarTrekDestiny'', only for a new cold war with the Typhon Pact to occur. Which was fine until these two books: [[spoiler: which destroyed Deep Space Nine, the Bajoran Wormhole and KilledOffForReal about five really popular characters from the TV shows.]] The books following have increased the canon character body count, [[spoiler: and the Federation is starting to collapse]]. The story has already written themselves into OnlyTheAuthorCanSaveThemNow but the stories like the authors just want [[CrapsackWorld everyone dead or completely miserable.]] It's probably one reason why ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' cherry picks from the novelverse.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': The series starts with BlackAndGreyMorality, but quickly progressed to [[BlackAndBlackMorality Black and Black.]] While initially the death of the "main" character was a refreshing twist, by the end of ''A Storm Of Swords'' so many of the characters had been killed off [[FateWorseThanDeath or worse]] that some readers found it hard to care about the rest of them. Also all the endless, gratuitous war crimes perpetrated by all factions--rapes, skinned children crucified for miles, burning women alive after raping them--not only began to lose their shock value, but made it hard to care about who wins in the end. Some are even convinced that the BigBad of the series, the White Walkers, are practically saints by comparison, making it difficult to consider them a dire threat. Of course, this is still averted occasionally, as Martin still has a couple of somewhat likable characters who try to do the right thing, and many of the people who end up dying are very loathsome villains.

* While ''Literature/BloodAndChocolate'' is by many standards a good book, it suffers from this twice over. On a larger scale, HumansAreTheRealMonsters who hate and fear werewolves, while werewolves sometimes provide ''very good reason'' why humans hate and fear them. On a smaller scale, any of seven or eight different characters, including the main character and both love interests, could be argued to be the most repulsive character in the book for one reason or another, and of the two characters who are most likeable one's a StrawFeminist who's not treated very seriously and the other gets eviscerated by a supposed friend. The silver lining is that the werewolf female lead and human primary love interest could balance each other out--[[spoiler:except that humans really ''can't'' trust werewolves, so he winds up trying to kill her.]]

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': The series starts with BlackAndGreyMorality, but quickly progressed to [[BlackAndBlackMorality Black and Black.]] While initially the death of the "main" character was a refreshing twist, by the end of ''A Storm Of Swords'' so many of the characters had been killed off [[FateWorseThanDeath or worse]] that some readers found it hard to care about the rest of them. Also all the endless, gratuitous war crimes perpetrated by all factions--rapes, skinned children crucified for miles, burning women alive after raping them--not only began to lose their shock value, but made it hard to care about who wins in the end. Though this is still averted in some cases, as Martin still has likable characters who try to do the right thing, and many of the people who end up dying are very loathsome villains.

* The works of CormacMcCarthy (for example ''Literature/TheRoad'' and ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen'') can definitely bring this up-good people are powerless and die sensessly, the bad guys (when there are any) are like forces of nature, the world itself is hard-core crap-sack (and on ''The Road'', it is flat-out DeathWorld crap-sack), and it is impossible InUniverse and out for people to find a reason to live on a daily basis. What few good things are there are ''very'' small lights in a really big field of darkness.

* ''Literature/IronDruidChronicles'' can invoke this reaction in some people. The main character is an often jerkish NominalHero who only gets involved if he is forced to, who is willing to let lesser crimes fall by the wayside in service to what he considers more significant goals, and who is willing to commit any number of those crimes himself if he deems it necessary. His "allies" include an (if {{Affabl|yEvil}}e) largely amoral vampire (who sells Atticus down the river as soon as it becomes clear that Atticus isn't backing his corner), a pack of werewolves (themselves guilty of a number of more mundane crimes, typically in service of keeping up the {{Masquerade}}), and a coven of witches who are of a similar mindset to Atticus, if not worse. Their enemies tend to be JerkAssGods at best, if not outright {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s.\\
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In all fairness, Atticus does repeatedly remind us that he is a man of another time (Iron Age Ireland. He's older than Mary, let alone Jesus), and indicates that he's seen enough good people, in many cases, people he loves, die pointlessly that he's not particularly inclined to get all idealistic, especially since he's spent most of the last two millennia on the run from a god with a grudge, which rather limits how overt he can be, [[spoiler: until he kills said god]]. His apprentice, Granuaile, however, is more classically heroic, though she's got the potential to become something of a KnightTemplar and a WellIntentionedExtremist.

* George Orwell's ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''. Winston and Julia are both suspicious, bitter, cowardly and (initially at least) demonstrate few desires beyond basic gratification. They're willing to commit unspeakable atrocities to overthrow one of the most horrific and utterly evil totalitarian governments ever conceived. The story ends with [[spoiler:Winston and Julia as lobotomised, dehumanised robots with all their old personalities gone, replaced with soulless nihilism and love of the Party, and they're probably both going to be shot anyway. The Ingsoc government continues to exist to spew propaganda and control, torture and humiliate their own citizens for amusement. Oh, and it's implied that Eurasia and Eastasia are exactly the same as Oceania, so there's nowhere in the world to escape from it.]] Entirely intention on Orwell's part, as he volunteered in the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar and noted that often the methods of the "good" nations and governments are NotSoDifferent from those of the "evil" nations they oppose.

* ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' has a similar problem to Twilight, in which both lead characters are all-but-impossible to care about. Christian Grey is a rather all-controlling abusive prick, even with his oh-so tragic backstory. Anastasia Steele is a little too dependent on being with the former, having no backbone whatsoever.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': The series starts with BlackAndGreyMorality, but quickly progressed to [[BlackAndBlackMorality Black and Black.]] While initially the death of the "main" character was a refreshing twist, by the end of ''A Storm Of Swords'' so many of the characters had been killed off [[FateWorseThanDeath or worse]] that some readers found it hard to care about the rest of them. Also all the endless, gratuitous war crimes perpetrated by all factions--rapes, skinned children crucified for miles, burning women alive after raping them--not only began to lose their shock value, but made it hard to care about who wins in the end.

* "Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey" has a similar problem to Twilight, in which both lead characters are all-but-impossible to care about. Christian Grey is a rather all-controlling abusive prick, even with his oh-so tragic backstory. Anastasia Steele is a little too dependent on being with the former, having no backbone whatsoever.

* Both 'sides' in ''Literature/LeftBehind'' have exactly the same goals and use pretty much the same methods, [[BecauseDestinySaysSo everything that happens is part of God's plan]] and, as such, the characters have no free will and [[YouCantFightFate nothing they do at any point in the series makes any difference whatsoever]], so it's really rather difficult to root for them. Specifically, both sides of the conflict are more or less interchangeable morally and the only real difference between them is their goals. The only concrete reason why one side is specifically good and the other is bad is because the writers say they are.

* The ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series can feel like this if you're not used to its humour. Surely there are many examples of AWorldHalfFull within it, but the CrapsackWorld PlayedForLaughs setting of Ankh-Morpork (at the least) is just horrible, with HumansAreBastards not only being InherentInTheSystem so much as it ''[[VetinariJobSecurity is]]'' [[SurroundedByIdiots the system]], lots of [[HeroicComedicSociopath Heroic Comedic Sociopaths]] (and one MartyStu hero that is doing his damnedest to underachieve), the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality crapping on everybody's heads (and [[CosmicPlaything some]] [[ButtMonkey getting]] [[UnluckilyLucky it worse]] than others) for the sake of making things interesting...

* Robin Wasserman's novel ''Literature/{{Skinned}}'' has a similar problem, since it initially discusses FantasticRacism against cyborgs, then applies CyberneticsEatYourSoul. Do you support genocide, or do you root for inhuman freaks?

* ''Franchise/HannibalLecter'' novels ''Literature/{{Hannibal}}'' and ''Literature/HannibalRising'' both suffer from this. Almost none of the main characters have any redeeming attributes (sans Clarice, but she's basically a pawn half the time, and in the novel ends up ''falling for Lecter'')--and those who do are mercilessly picked on or forced out of the action. Meanwhile, [[ImAHumanitarian Hannibal Lecter]] himself, the murderous psychopath, is practically presented as the hero. Hannibal himself is part of why ''Hannibal'' falls into the trope. Even though he is a psychopathic murderer, the vital heart of ''Silence'' was the dynamic between Lecter and Clarice; Lecter comes to admire the doggedness and pure, honest nature of her and treats her as kindly as anyone in a crapsack world where seemingly every male treats her horribly. By turning him back into more or less a standard murderer on the loose and severing that mutual respect, it throws ''Hannibal'' into this trope, as discussed in great detail by RogerEbert [[http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hannibal-2001 in his review]]:

* Creator/ChuckPalahniuk's works definitely fall under this, which causes some to think of him as a nihilist and a shock writer. As an example, ''"FightClub"'': it's the road of a man becoming a nihilistic ''terrorist'' ([[spoiler:via the development of a SplitPersonality who embodies everything he wants to be]]) who wants to ''destroy all of society, casualties barely be damned, because he's sick of people's consumerism'', and who manages to raise a secret army [[WeAreEverywhere who is literally everywhere]], ''even inside the police''. Although in the text/movie's defense, it came out ''long'' before Nine-Eleven (which made having a character with this kind of mentality and who successfully manages to carry it out a ''gigantic'' no-no), but the comic-book continuation by DarkHorseComics shows the narrator as being on the fast track to try to fulfill his "urge" again... whether he wants to or not.

* Creator/ChuckPalahniuk's works definitely fall under this, which causes some to think of him as a nihilist and a shock writer. As an example, "FightClub": it's the road of a man becoming a nihilistic ''terrorist'' ([[spoiler:via the development of a SplitPersonality who embodies everything he wants to be]]) who wants to ''destroy all of society, casualties barely be damned, because he's sick of people's consumerism'', and who manages to raise a secret army [[WeAreEverywhere who is literally everywhere]], ''even inside the police''. Although in the text/movie's defense, it came out ''long'' before Nine-Eleven (which made having a character with this kind of mentality and who successfully manages to carry it out became a ''gigantic'' no-no), but the comic-book continuation by DarkHorseComics shows the narrator as being on the fast track to try to fulfill his "urge" again.

* Creator/ChuckPalahniuk's works definitely fall under this, which causes some to think of him as a nihilist and a shock writer. As an example, ''Literature/BreakfastOfChampions'': ''the whole cast'' is so deep in the DysfunctionJunction (and some going deeper as the story goes, in the "MaddenedIntoMisanthropy" way) that the breakdown of one of them on the final act where he bellows about everybody being "machines" and beating the crap out of his own son is only cringe-worthy because of ''who'' he's beating up.

* Creator/ChuckPalahniuk's works definitely fall under this, which causes some to think of him as a nihilist and a shock writer. As an example, ''Literature/BreakfastForChampions'': ''the whole cast'' is so deep in the DysfunctionJunction that the breakdown of one of them on the final act where he bellows about everybody being "machines" and beating the crap out of his own son is only cringe-worthy because of ''who'' he's beating up.

* The works of CormacMacCarthy (for example ''Literature/TheRoad'' and ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen'') can definitely bring this up-good people are powerless and die sensessly, the bad guys (when there are any) are like forces of nature, the world itself is hard-core crap-sack (and on ''The Road'', it is flat-out DeathWorld crap-sack), and it is impossible InUniverse and out for people to find a reason to live on a daily basis. What few good things are there are ''very'' small lights in a really big field of darkness.

%%* Creator/ChuckPalahniuk's works definitely fall under this, which causes some to think of him as a nihilist and a shock writer.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': The series starts with BlackAndGreyMorality, but quickly progressed to [[BlackAndBlackMorality Black and Black.]] While initially the death of the "main" character was a refreshing twist, by the end of ''A Storm Of Swords'' so many of the characters had been killed off [[FateWorseThanDeath or worse]] that some readers found it hard to care about the rest of them. Also all the endless, gratuitous war crimes perpetrated by all factions--rapes, skinned children crucified for miles, burning women alive after raping them--not only began to lose their shock value, but made it hard to care about who wins in the end. [[AnyoneCanDie Others, however, love the series for precisely this reason]].

* ''The Kid'', the sequel to ''Literature/{{Push}}'', got hit with this ''hard''. The first book was very dark too, but it at least had some moments of hope and a (somewhat) happy. ''The Kid'' [[HappyEndingOverride starts with Precious dying of AIDS]] and goes on to focus on her son Abdul, [[CrapsackWorld who himself is abused, beaten, and raped]] to the point that he becomes an abuser himself, murders his girlfriend's parents, and winds up in a mental institution. Suffice to say that many readers who enjoyed ''Push'' and rooted for Precious found it very hard to slog through ''The Kid''.

* ''The Kid'', the sequel to ''Literature/{{Push}}'', got hit with this ''hard''. The first book was very dark too, but it at least had some moments of hope and a (somewhat) happy. ''The Kid'' [[HappyEndingOverride starts with Precious dying of AIDS]] and goes on to focus on her son Abdul, who himself is abused, beaten, and raped to the point that he becomes an abuser himself, murders his girlfriend's parents, and winds up in a mental institution. Suffice to say that many readers who enjoyed ''Push'' and rooted for Precious found it very hard to slog through ''The Kid''.

* This was something StevenSpielberg took great measures to avoid when adapting ''Literature/{{Jaws}}'', because the original book suffered from this: the protagonists in the novel are so unlikable, selfish, and hypocritical that it makes the ''shark'' look much more likable.

* Robert Cormier wrote a lot of books that fit easily into this, and a few books that would have avoided this if the likeable characters hadn't died (such as [[spoiler: Kate in ''After The First Death'']]) or been beaten into submission. The best chance his characters are ever given is that the next life might be better than this one (and his later works [[CessationOfExistence deny even that]].)
%%* ''HellsChildren'' by Andrew Boland, is this for most people.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' has an initial premise that is dark enough (children forced to kill one another on national television), but for the first couple of books they're still plenty engaging, with human kindness even in the midst of brutality, and hopes of rebellion and change. The third book goes into a swan-dive down the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. Katniss' PTSD and emotional disconnect from the world increases (and she's our narrator, which makes for tough reading) and the factions come to seem [[NotSoDifferent more and more alike]], both of them horrible. Throw in [[AnyoneCanDie arbitrary and senseless deaths]] and an ending that seems built to deny any meaningful closure... well, some fans applaud the "realism" of ''Mockingjay,'' and others just found it a slog.
* Deliberately used in ''Literature/TheSoundAndTheFury'': the first brother is severely mentally handicapped, and although hard to hate, his section of the book (written from his perspective) is so confusing that it's hard for many people to identify with him. The second brother is completely insane and [[BrotherSisterIncest lusts after his own sister]] [[spoiler:which turns out to be a lie to protect her, but we don't find this out until later]], so you really want to turn away from him. The third brother already ''has'' turned away from him, and narrates in a completely comprehensible style, so at first you like him, but then he's a total JerkAss who hates everyone around him.

* Robin Wasserman's novel ''Literature/{{Skinned}}'' has a similar problem, since it initially discusses FantasticRacism against cyborgs, then applies CyberneticsEatYourSoul. Do you support genocide, or do you root for inhuman freaks?
* ''Literature/NightWatch'' is a debatable case. The eponymous Night Watch claims it wants to improve the world, but in practice this means [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill making everyone else think like they do]], and their actions include [[WeDidntStartTheFuhrer putting Hitler in power]]. The Day Watch talks of freedom of choice, but they're [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]], [[TheHedonist hedonistic]], and frequently {{hypocrit|e}}ical. {{Muggles}} are [[ImAHumanitarian snacks]], and [[PunyEarthlings there's nothing they could conceivably do to influence the situation]]. On the other hand, it's only the upper ranks that are rotten--both the Night Watch and the Day Watch have good and honorable members in the field. This comes full circle when it is revealed that [[spoiler: at the highest levels, the Watches are actually working together; the conflict between them is mostly for the sake of keeping the Others away from normal people, and the Watches often deliberately sabotage their own efforts to overtly influence human society. Their ''real'' plans to improve the world are much more subtle and cooperative.]]
* Many Creator/TomHolt books suffer from this. The protagonists are sometimes just as cynical, ruthless, selfish, vapid, cowardly, and/or nasty as the erstwhile antagonists. ''Valhalla'' and ''Little People'' are particularly memorable in this regard.

* ''Literature/WutheringHeights'' can induce this reaction, in the 'too bleak and angsty and without hope' subcategory. (Creator/JasperFforde's ''Literature/ThursdayNext'' books parody this with an anger management class for the characters, who are warned that their drama has made the story more angsty and angry as time goes by, and they risk going the same way as ''Theatre/TitusAndronicus'': "Once a gentle comedy of manners, it's now the daftest, bloodiest tale in all of [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]]!")

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': The series starts with BlackAndGreyMorality, but quickly progressed to [[BlackAndBlackMorality Black and Black.]] While initially the death of the "main" character was a refreshing twist, by the end of ''A Storm Of Swords'' so many of the characters had been killed off [[FateWorseThanDeath or worse]] that some readers found it hard to care about the rest of them. Also all the endless, gratuitous war crimes perpetrated by all factions--rapes, skinned children crucified for miles, burning women alive after raping them--not only began to lose their shock value, but made it hard to care about who wins in the end. [[AnyoneCanDie Others, however, love the series for precisely this reason]].
** [[EldritchAbomination Others]], heh?
* Many of the critics and even some of the fans claim that ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' suffers this badly in the LoveTriangle the third book ''Eclipse'' is built around. Edward, Bella, and Jacob all come off as extremely possessive, selfish and emotionally manipulative {{Jerkass}}es to the point that some found all possible resolutions to the triangle equally repugnant.
** There's also the issue of the Volturi. They are built up as a corrupt government who ruthlessly murder vampires over any slight, forcibly "collect" powerful vampires, and look for excuses to destroy the Cullen family. The problem is, vampires as a whole are a bunch of murderous animals who do nothing but think about their next meal and who to kill to get it. Thus, not only are the Volturi the only ones trying to instill any sense of order into the vampire world, but they're the few actually ''keeping'' the vampires from slaughtering humans without restraint. Even the Cullens in no way condemn or try to stop this behavior, which makes their declarations that human lives are valuable come across as rather hollow. Meanwhile, in spite of the fact that they're supposed to be defending humanity, the werewolves apparently slack off a good bit (they do nothing to stop Peter and Charlotte in ''Midnight Sun'', even though there were werewolves transforming at that time), and actively go ''against'' their duties when Jacob imprints on Renesmee and puts her before his job as Alpha. This is all best summed up by their actions in ''Breaking Dawn''. The Volturi try to use Renesmee as an excuse to kill the Cullens and their allies, the allies are so kind as to go outside the city limits to slaughter people during their stay, the werewolves do nothing to stop this because the allies are needed to protect Renesmee, and the Cullens loan cars so the allies can find victims more easily.
** One problem ''Twilight'' has is that all of the characters that are jerks are pushed to the front of the story, often having incredibly fucked up backstories despite being portrayed rather positively (Jasper, Sam), while the ones that aren't are either pushed to the background as fast as possible (Bella's school friends), portrayed negatively despite not really showing any negative traits (Bella's school friends again, Charlie in the early books, and Leah, although her case is more that her negative traits exist but aren't really her fault so much), or made worse in an apparent attempt to make them less sympathetic (Jacob, Charlie again). About the only character in the book that isn't either a massive jerk or made one, but still stays roughly important in the story is Carlisle. And even his morals and motives are somewhat questionable.
* The works of Creator/BretEastonEllis can have that effect, as pretty much everyone in them is completely shallow, self-absorbed and stupid. Given that this is deliberate, you probably know what you're in for when you start one of his books. Clay in ''Literature/LessThanZero'' may be an in-universe example, as eventually he finds himself passively watching horrible things (like his friends [[spoiler: face-raping a drugged 12-year-old girl]]) while saying he just wanted "to see the worst".
* A number of Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse series are falling into this trope. Starting with Literature/NewJediOrder, the books have become progressively {{darker|AndEdgier}} and everything just seems to be getting worse. Came to a head in Literature/LegacyOfTheForce, which ended [[spoiler: with Jacen dying after being hacked to pieces and left in an incinerator, the galaxy under control of [[OmnicidalManiac Daala]], and the galaxy wrecked by yet another pointless war.]]
* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' doesn't always do this, but it ''did'' creep up during ''Midnight Tides''. That novel depicts a war between the Tiste Edur (a nation that keeps humans as slaves and is ruled [[TheCaligula by an insane emperor]] who works for an EldritchAbomination) and Letharas (a [[TheEmpire brutal, expansionist empire]] that [[StrawCharacter takes the flaws of capitalism as far as it can]] without being PlayedForLaughs). You can't even blame one side for being the ones to initiate the war, since they're both pretty eager for it even before the first blow is struck. Sure, individual characters on both sides of the conflict can be quite sympathetic, but the outcome of the war isn't that suspenseful, 'cause you know you're gonna wind up with a regime of violent, oppressive conquerors either way.
** The continuation of this plot after the war ends only makes it ''worse'' because the victors lacked the finesse to control their new subjects, resulting in them slowly being undermined and torn apart by their supposed subjects. Things only improved after a lot of important character deaths when [[spoiler:the Tiste Edur gave up and left while Letharas got a decent ruler]].

* ''The Mayor Of Casterbridge''. Everyone is, without exception, demonically evil or flat. This is a common complaint about Creator/ThomasHardy. A contemporary reviewer of his work stated that, "[His work] is depressing because he himself is somewhat depressed" and boy does it ever show. ''Literature/JudeTheObscure'' and ''Literature/TessOfTheDUrbervilles'' are both unrelentingly depressing ShootTheShaggyDog stories. Hardy was to some extent trying to skewer the Victorian values of the day and make the point that it was impossible for good people to survive in such a system, but as the audience it's difficult to not just stop caring about these characters once it's obvious that any HopeSpot will only lead to another horrible disappointment.

* ''Literature/{{Dubliners}}'' by Creator/JamesJoyce is a book of short stories where every single one is about a disappointing, half-lived life that will probably end in isolation and ignominy. Hope spots are few and far between, and usually swiftly replaced by misery.
* ''Literature/TheChildThief'' falls into this at the beginning, and for some readers, until its end. The story is billed as a darker retelling of Peter Pan, and it shows--rooting for Peter is all but impossible given his bloodthirsty and careless ways. The real world is not much better in the book--because it focuses on ''Lost'' boys and girls, everyone has horrible stories in their past. Although there are a few characters the reader can identify with, they pale in comparison to the horrible people around them rather than providing a real contrast.
* Brought up in ''[[Literature/AliceInWonderland Through the Looking-Glass]]''. Tweedledum and Tweedledee recite the poem about The Walrus and the Carpenter. After hearing the poem, Alice wonders about who is the most sympathetic of the two. But the twins points it out that both of the duo ate as many of the oysters as they could. After much thought, Alice concludes that '''both''' of them were very unpleasant characters.
* ''Literature/TheClique''. The protagonists are an AlphaBitch and her GirlPosse, but the series does ''very little'' to make them seem likable or sympathetic, there's ''loads'' of ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, and it's heavily implied the main character is a sociopath. [[spoiler: And the series ends with ''[[KarmaHoudini absolutely none of them]]'' [[KarmaHoudini getting what they deserve]]]]. Plus the series is an IndecisiveParody, so it's never really clear what we're supposed to think of the characters. Later books added some {{deconstruction}} elements, but for many it was too late.
* ''Literature/TheCasualVacancy'' has a rather mundane premise and characters that, as one reviewer put it, are "fairly horrible or suicidally miserable or dead". Thus, some found it hard to care about the conclusion.
%%* Creator/ChuckPalahniuk's works definitely fall under this, which causes some to think of him as a nihilist and a shock writer.
* Literature/IronDruidChronicles can invoke this reaction in some people. The main character is an often jerkish NominalHero who only gets involved if he is forced to, who is willing to let lesser crimes fall by the wayside in service to what he considers more significant goals, and who is willing to commit any number of those crimes himself if he deems it necessary. His "allies" include an (if {{Affabl|yEvil}}e) largely amoral vampire (who sells Atticus down the river as soon as it becomes clear that Atticus isn't backing his corner), a pack of werewolves (themselves guilty of a number of more mundane crimes, typically in service of keeping up the {{Masquerade}}), and a coven of witches who are of a similar mindset to Atticus, if not worse. Their enemies tend to be JerkAssGods at best, if not outright {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s.
** In all fairness, Atticus does repeatedly remind us that he is a man of another time (Iron Age Ireland. He's older than Mary, let alone Jesus), and indicates that he's seen enough good people, in many cases, people he loves, die pointlessly that he's not particularly inclined to get all idealistic, especially since he's spent most of the last two millennia on the run from a god with a grudge, which rather limits how overt he can be, [[spoiler: until he kills said god]]. His apprentice, Granuaile, however, is more classically heroic, though she's got the potential to become something of a KnightTemplar and a WellIntentionedExtremist.
* ''Literature/TheTerror'' by Creator/DanSimmons falls into this. Already you know a vast majority of the characters are doomed, due to the book being based on a real-life failed Arctic expedition and [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil the graves of main characters being marked on the book's map.]] Add to that the sheer number of unlikable characters (and good characters making stupid decisions and/or [[DroppedABridgeOnHim getting bridges dropped on them right and left]]), the AnyoneCanDie attitude, the countless [[HopeSpot hope spots]] that always turn out to be for naught, and the fact that the majority of the book follows a crew of starving, freezing, scurvy-afflicted sailors and Marines being stalked by a murderous EldritchAbomination, and by the book's halfway point you're wondering why the [[EightDeadlyWords the titular Terror doesn't just put everybody out of their misery already]].

* The ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series can feel like this if you're not used to its humour. Surely there are many examples of AWorldHalfFull within it, but the CrapsackWorld PlayedForLaughs setting of Ankh-Morpork (at the least) is just horrible, with HumansAreBastards not only being InherentInTheSystem so much as it ''[[VetinariJobSecurity is]]'' [[SurroundedByIdiots the system]], lots of [[HeroicComedicSociopath Heroic Comedic Sociopaths]] (and one MartyStu hero that is doing his damnedest to underachieve), the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality crapping on everybody's heads (and [[CosmicPlaything some]] [[ButtMonkey getting]] [[UnluckilyLucky it worse]] than others) for the sake of making things interesting...
* This was something StevenSpielberg took great measures to avoid when adapting ''Literature/{{Jaws}}'', because the original book suffered from this: the protagonists in the novel are so unlikable, selfish, and hypocritical that it makes the ''shark'' look much more likable.
* ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'': While it's a stretch to call it outright darkness, the sheer amount of unlikable characters (for instance, the main character Greg already suffers from an unrealistic number of glaring flaws he hardly notices) and sheer amounts of WhatAnIdiot from all characters moments can really be a bother when trying to find something to root for and keep going. Despite being sold as realistic fiction, the story is set in a world of incompetence where bad things happen to bad people, although this world is interpreted from Greg's obvious ProtagonistCenteredMorality.
* ''Franchise/HannibalLecter'' novels ''Literature/{{Hannibal}}'' and ''Literature/HannibalRising'' both suffer from this. Almost none of the main characters have any redeeming attributes (sans Clarice, but she's basically a pawn half the time, and in the novel ends up ''falling for Lecter'')--and those who do are mercilessly picked on or forced out of the action. Meanwhile, [[ImAHumanitarian Hannibal Lecter]] himself, the murderous psychopath, is practically presented as the hero. Hannibal himself is part of why ''Hannibal'' falls into the trope. Even though he is a psychopathic murderer, the vital heart of ''Silence'' was the dynamic between Lecter and Clarice; Lecter comes to admire the doggedness and pure, honest nature of her and treats her as kindly as anyone in a crapsack world where seemingly every male treats her horribly. By turning him back into more or less a standard murderer on the loose and severing that mutual respect, it throws ''Hannibal'' into this trope, as discussed in great detail by RogerEbert [[http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hannibal-2001 in his review]]:
-->"It misplaces the reason why we liked Hannibal Lecter so much. He was, in the 1991 classic, a good man to the degree that his nature allowed him to be. He was hard-wired as a cannibal and mass murderer, true, but that was his nature, not his fault, and in his relationship with the heroine, FBI trainee Clarice Starling, he was civil and even kind. He did the best he could."