History DethroningMoment / Literature

* Tropers/{{Eegah}}: From ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', the characterization of Chapman in "The Andalite Chronicles." Elsewhere in the series Chapman was portrayed as a deeply tragic figure, who voluntarily became a slave to the Yeerks to ensure his daughter's safety and is now anguished at having to help them conquer the world. And then this prequel novel hits, and it turns out teenage Chapman is a {{Jerkass}} NietzscheWannabe who gleefully tries to sell out his whole planet ForTheEvulz, which kills a lot of the previously established sympathy for the character dead.

** Tropers/{{Snowsky}}: Speaking of ''Mapleshade's Vengeance,'' even if the writing weren't a travesty in itself, nearly every character in that book turns into a completely horrible person (well, cat) and grabs the JerkassBall, IdiotBall, or both, seemingly for the ''sole purpose'' of making Mapleshade's life hell until she snaps. To start with, [=StarClan=] sends a message to Ravenwing that Mapleshade's kits are half-[=RiverClan=] because...why? What purpose does this serve besides starting the DisasterDominoes, especially since they have never done this to any other queen whose kits are secretly half-Clan? (Bluestar, Graypool, Silverstream and [[spoiler:Leafpool]] say hi.) So Ravenwing knows now, and he figures out specifically that they were fathered by Appledusk, who (accidentally?) killed Birchface, Oakstar's son. Okay, this is bad, but surely Ravenwing can take two seconds to calm down and ''think about what's going to happen'' if he decides to spill the beans?[[note]][[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Unless]] he was so much of an asshole that he didn't care that he was about to get four of his Clanmates, three of them innocent children, kicked out of their home, but him being a jerk is not any better than him being an idiot.[[/note]] No, he goes and publicly blabs the secret to all of [=ThunderClan=]. Now every cat is upset, with Frecklewish being especially furious because Mapleshade had lied to her about the kits' father being Birchface, her dead brother, which is understandable. What is not understandable is Frecklewish turning on not just Mapleshade but the kits, calling them "half-Clan creatures" and shouting for them to be driven out, when before she had loved them and promised to help care for them when she thought they were her brother's kits. And we're still supposed to sympathize with her after this? (Nettlebreeze even refers to her as "poor helpless Frecklewish" in a later book.) Oakstar kicks Mapleshade and her kits out of [=ThunderClan=] and they prepare to head to [=RiverClan=], but her kits drown when they try to cross the river as it suddenly floods. [=RiverClan=] shows up and brings Mapleshade and the dead kits to their leader, Darkstar. Appledusk is there, too, is he going to understand? No, he blames Mapleshade 100% for the kits' deaths, calls their relationship a mistake in front of his Clan (which comes across as him throwing her under the bus to get back in their good graces), and they welcome him back after Reedshine (his other mate) gives them a speech about how brave and loyal he is, while Mapleshade is refused shelter in [=RiverClan=] and told by Reedshine to [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown "go away, because she's caused enough trouble tonight."]] And then Mapleshade begins her revenge murder spree, became the most feared villain in the Dark Forest, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The point is, ''Mapleshade's Vengeance'' is a complete IdiotPlot because the whole chain of events could possibly have been avoided or gone in a different direction ''had anybody acted rationally'' (or let go of the JerkassBall for 2 seconds). But do you know what one of the worst parts is? Absolutely none of these characters besides Mapleshade herself have any significance to the overall plot of the series outside of this book, even though there were plenty of opportunities for them to appear as [=StarClanners=] in ''Omen of the Stars,'' which is a ''HUGE'' waste of potential. Partly because of that, post-mortem Mapleshade is a borderline GenericDoomsdayVillain whose only motivation is "manipulate events to make the Clan cats' lives suck, rally the Dark Forest, start a war, and destroy the Clans...oh, and also [[spoiler:fixate on Sandstorm and kill her because she had the life I feel like I deserved]]".

* Tropers/MathsAngelicVersion: Knut Hamsun was a competent writer, but the ending of ''{{Literature/Victoria}}'' was quite frankly disappointing. [[spoiler:It looks like Johannes and Victoria will finally be able to be together, then the Diabolus ex Machina strikes and Victoria randomly dies of tuberculosis. I'm okay with tragic endings when they're a natural consequence of the events in the plot, but this was just Hamsun pulling something out of his... uh... behind to force a sad ending. I can imagine him thinking "All good stories end in tragedy, right?" and/or yelling "Cry, dammit!" while writing it.]]

* Tropers/{{Nightfurywitch}}: I don’t even remember its name, having blocked it from my memory, but one Mark Twain story gets under my skin in the worst way. To sum it up: kid gets abused over small things, grows up, gets married, beats his wife, before murdering her and their kid with an axe. [[EsotericHappyEnding with no comeuppance. And this is portrayed as]] [[BlackComedy a comedy story.]] And the reason he gets away with all of this? [[FlatWhat Because he doesn’t have the same name as someone in a Sunday School story.]] I get that it was a different time, but this isn’t funny at all. When it starts you feel bad for the kid, but when he grows up, you just want karma to come and blow his head off, but nope. [[KarmaHoundini He gets off Scott free for axe murder.]] And he wasn’t even likeabke enough that you wouldn’t want him to go to jail! Basically, while Mark Twain may have made some iconic and well loved stories, this one should be forgotten for good.
* Tropers/MewLettuceRush I am deleting my previous entry in order to add a book that pissed me off even more. Not only is it one of the worst plot devices I have seen in any book, but it permanently put me off any of the authors other books (with the possible exception of the Crank and Burned series) The book Impulse I generally liked although I hated the ending. It's sequel, Perfect, I at first thought was better than the first book, however once Cara met Dani [[NoBisexuals I immediately had a bad feeling]] about how the plot was going to go. I ended up looking ahead slightly. Not only was I right, but it was far worse than I thought it would be [[spoiler: her boyfriend Sean [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharecter who had such potential as a character that reflected the struggles of athletes both professional and otherwise]] into a rapist and a stalker.]] [[DesignatedHero Yet he is still supposed]] [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic to be someone with sympathize with over mental illness.]] Yes, you read that right. Not only that but Cara is now [[UnfortunateImplications a lesbian out of nowhere because apparently bisexuals don't exist.]] I dropped the book right afterwords.

Sometimes, when there's a [[DarthWiki/DethroningMomentOfSuck moment of awfulness]] in a book, you wish were the writer and could either edit that part out or burn the book entirely.

* {{Tropers/KrazyTVWatcher}}: Don't get me wrong. ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' is my favorite book series, [[DarthWiki/DethroningMomentOfSuck but there are some moments that even fans can't stomach.]] One moment from this book series that really bugged me in particular was from the second book ''Rodrick Rules''. On page 104, Greg told his readers about the time he told on his brother Rodrick for swearing at him, [[DisproportionateRetribution which ended with Greg getting a bar of soap to his mouth]]. Rodrick [[KarmaHoudini should've been punished as well]], [[BigBrotherBully because he knew better than to spout foul language in front of his little brother]].

** Tropers/{{Snowsky}}: Speaking of ''Mapleshade's Vengeance,'' even if the writing weren't a travesty in itself, nearly every character in that book turns into a completely horrible person (well, cat) and grabs the JerkassBall, IdiotBall, or both, seemingly for the ''sole purpose'' of making Mapleshade's life hell until she snaps. To start with, [=StarClan=] sends a message to Ravenwing that Mapleshade's kits are half-[=RiverClan=] because...why? What purpose does this serve besides starting the DisasterDominoes, especially since they have never done this to any other queen whose kits are secretly half-Clan? (Bluestar, Graypool, Silverstream and [[spoiler:Leafpool]] say hi.) So Ravenwing knows now, and he figures out specifically that they were fathered by Appledusk, who (accidentally?) killed Birchface, Oakstar's son. Okay, this is bad, but surely Ravenwing can take two seconds to calm down and ''think about what's going to happen'' if he decides to spill the beans?[[note]][[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Unless]] he was so much of an asshole that he didn't care that he was about to get four of his Clanmates, three of them innocent children, kicked out of their home, but him being a jerk is not any better than him being an idiot.[[/note]] No, he goes and publicly blabs the secret to all of [=ThunderClan=]. Now every cat is upset, with Frecklewish being especially furious because Mapleshade had lied to her about the kits' father being Birchface, her dead brother, which is understandable. What is not understandable is Frecklewish turning on not just Mapleshade but the kits, calling them "half-Clan creatures" and shouting for them to be driven out, when before she had loved them and promised to help care for them when she thought they were her brother's kits. And we're still supposed to sympathize with her after this? (Nettlebreeze even refers to her as "poor helpless Frecklewish" in a later book.) Oakstar kicks Mapleshade and her kits out of [=ThunderClan=] and they prepare to head to [=RiverClan=], but her kits drown when they try to cross the river as it suddenly floods. [=RiverClan=] shows up and brings Mapleshade and the dead kits to their leader, Darkstar. Appledusk is there, too, is he going to understand? No, he blames Mapleshade 100% for the kits' deaths, calls their relationship a mistake in front of his Clan (which comes across as him throwing her under the bus to get back in their good graces), and they welcome him back after Reedshine [[YourCheatingHeart (his other mate)]] gives them a speech about how brave and loyal he is, while Mapleshade is refused shelter in [=RiverClan=] and told by Reedshine to [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown "go away, because she's caused enough trouble tonight."]] And then Mapleshade begins her revenge murder spree, became the most feared villain in the Dark Forest, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The point is, ''Mapleshade's Vengeance'' is a complete IdiotPlot because the whole chain of events could possibly have been avoided or gone in a different direction ''had anybody acted rationally'' (or let go of the JerkassBall for 2 seconds). But do you know what one of the worst parts is? Absolutely none of these characters besides Mapleshade herself have any significance to the overall plot of the series outside of this book, even though there were plenty of opportunities for them to appear as [=StarClanners=] in ''Omen of the Stars,'' which is a ''HUGE'' waste of potential. Partly because of that, post-mortem Mapleshade is a borderline GenericDoomsdayVillain whose only motivation is "manipulate events to make the Clan cats' lives suck, rally the Dark Forest, start a war, and destroy the Clans...oh, and also [[spoiler:fixate on Sandstorm and kill her because she had the life I feel like I deserved]]".

* Tropers/CCHooks: Steven Wakefield's SuddenlySexuality in ''[[Literature/SweetValleyHigh Sweet Valley Confidential]]''. Especially since he had shown no signs of being gay, and had married one woman (Cara), been engaged to another (Billie), and had a nervous breakdown over a third's death (Tricia) to the point where he broke things off with Cara twice to pursue girls who looked like Tricia and mold them into her (and one of them dumped him because of this, which caused him to snap out of this).

* Tropers/BrendanRizzo: While I like ''Literature/AlouettesSong'' and think it’s a worthy adaptation of E. E. Smith’s [[Literature/TheSkylarkSeries original series]], one thing I just cannot stand is the pointlessness of Martin’s homosexuality. He says he’s gay at the start, but shows no evidence that he is attracted to other men. This wouldn’t be too bad, were it not for him hooking up with—and marrying—the very female Margaret in the ending, after the conflict has been resolved. Yes, they were married in the original, but in that case, what is the point of changing Martin’s sexuality in the first place, if not for tokenism? And if the author wanted him to be attracted to both men and women, then why not make him bisexual? The [[IfItsYouItsOkay excuse the character gives]] is a gigantic copout, and the whole thing is a great example of how not to include LGBT representation.

* Tropers/TwilightPegasus: I'm probably going to commit blasphemy here in the eyes of fans of this book, and I don't want to begrudge anyone who likes it. If you like it, cool! More power to you! But I can't bring myself to sugarcoat this so I'm going to come out and say it: I absolutely ''loathe'' ''Literature/TheHateUGive''. I think it's a poorly written, overly melodramatic, {{Anvilicious}} AuthorTract that [[DontShootTheMessage completely botched its intended message of advocating against senseless violence towards blacks by people in positions of authority]], and many parts of it completely reek of racism. What do I mean? Well, since I can't put the entire book on here, I'll mention two specific moments that made me hate this book with the fury of a thousand suns. At one point in the story, the main character, Starr, introduces her white boyfriend Chris to a new kid on the block, [=DeVante=]. At first, the two don't quite hit it off, but after a while, they do become friends. Normally, this would be considered very sweet and heartwarming. But how does Thomas write them officially becoming friends? With this passage: "According to [=DeVante=], Chris's massive video game collection makes up for this whiteness." What?! So, apparently, according to this book, in order for a black person and a white person to be friends, the white person needs to have something to "make up" for having white skin, as if being born a certain skin color is a crime! The hell?! How is someone's skin color something that needs to be made up for?! Didn't Martin Luther King say that people shouldn't be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character? Saying someone needs to have something to make up for being born a certain skin color is like saying an autistic person needs to be an IdiotSavant in order to make up for being autistic, and we all know the UnfortunateImplications behind that line of thinking! As if that wasn't bad enough, in a later chapter, Chris and Starr have a talk in the midst of a riot, and Chris...apologizes to her on behalf of all whites for being white. [[SincerityMode No, I'm not making this up.]] I read the whole thing cover to cover, and as soon as I read that line, I never wanted to throw a book at a wall so hard. Being born a certain skin color is NOT something one should apologize for! You can't control how you were born, and those two scenes, along with many other moments that plague the entire book, make me feel like Angie Thomas is trying to say that [[DoubleStandard it's not okay to be racist towards blacks but it's totes okay to be racist towards whites]] [[UnfortunateImplications because they're all evulz!]] No. [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped Every kind of racism towards any person of any skin color is wrong, no matter what kind of person they are, and it's especially wrong to try and promote such a disgusting double standard.]] It's for this very reason that I can't bring myself to like this book, and I can't fathom how it became so popular. This is not the standard to which we should hold literature in any way whatsoever. Seriously, when two episodes of ''Series/GreysAnatomy'' and ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}''[[note]]The episode in question is called "Good Cop," which aired a year before the Trayvon Martin murder.[[/note]] manage to tackle the same issue in a more engaging, sensitive, nuanced way, without indulging in bad stereotypes and botching their intended messages, you've got serious problems.

** Adept: ''Literature/{{Brisingr}}'' has this scene where Eragon, along with Arya, Nasuada and some other important members of the Varden gather together to discuss about the curse Eragon had accidentally placed on Elva. Eragon had become more powerful and knowledgeable regarding the Ancient Language to try and undo the curse. Over the course of the conversation, [[DesignatedHero our heroes]] basically agree that Elva's powers are too useful for their cause, and it's better if they're not removed. They further remark that if Elva can't accept this decision, then she's a selfish brat who doesn't deserve the powers she have. What makes this especially appalling is that Elva is barely 2 years old, not a hardened soldier or a wise woman. She has been forced to [[PlotRelevantAgeUp magically grow up]] and mature just so that she can be strong enough to carry the burden Eragon had carelessly (and needlessly) placed on her. And now the heroes expect her to endure this for the rest of her life just because it's damn convenient for the war, which no toddler should be involved in the first place?

* The ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' has this scene where Eragon, along with Arya, Nasuada and some other important members of the Varden gather together to discuss about the curse Eragon had accidentally placed on Elva. Eragon had become more powerful and knowledgeable regarding the Ancient Language to try and undo the curse. Over the course of the conversation, [[DesignatedHero our heroes]] basically agree that Elva's powers are too useful for their cause, and it's better if they're not removed. They further remark that if Elva can't accept this decision, then she's a selfish brat who doesn't deserve the powers she have. What makes this especially appalling is that Elva is barely 2 years old, not a hardened soldier or a wise woman. She has been forced to [[PlotRelevantAgeUp magically grow up]] and mature just so that she can be strong enough to carry the burden Eragon had carelessly (and needlessly) placed on her. And now the heroes expect her to endure this for the rest of her life just because it's damn convenient for the war, which no toddler should be involved in the first place?

** Tropers/Gmantis: The way that the author portrays the Russian people in this book is unalloyed bigotry. Leaving aside that their government is cartoonishly evil (even Stalin never tried anything as evil as decimation), they are shown both as completely uncaring for anyone else ''and'' mindlessly fanatic nationalists. While all other peoples can realize on their own that they need to fight the zombies, only extremely harsh punishment can force the Russians to defend their homeland. Then the final scene with the Russian soldier shows that whatever the Russian government does to them, the Russians will still happily obey all draconian orders of their government if it makes Russia strong and feared. This is especially jarring in a book which showed mankind coming together and how there are heroes everywhere.

** Tropers/GMantis: The way that the author portrays the Russian people in this book is unalloyed bigotry. Leaving aside that their government is cartoonishly evil (even Stalin never tried anything as evil as decimation), they are shown both as completely uncaring for anyone else ''and'' mindlessly fanatic nationalists. While all other peoples can realize on their own that they need to fight the zombies, only extremely harsh punishment can force the Russians to defend their homeland. Then the final with the Russian soldier shows that whatever the Russian government does to them, the Russians will still happily obey all draconian orders of their government if it makes Russia strong and feared. This is especially jarring in a book which showed mankind coming together and how there are heroes everywhere.

** Tropers/KrazyTVWatcher: I liked watching ''The Hate U Give'', but even then, there are moments that have their fair share of flaws, especially when you pointed out that Chris Bryant, Starr's boyfriend, ''[[BigLippedAlligatorMoment outright apologizs sometime near the end of the story just for being white]]''. That's like apologizing for something you didn't do, and having a collection of something ''and'' being a different skin color is '''not''' how people become friends. While the book itself was decent in its own rights, moments like this are enough to make me shake my head.

* {{Tropers/wimpykidfan37}}: This troper is a loyal fan of Creator/DrSeuss, but I am here to talk about "The Glunk that Got Thunk". It is the final story in the book "I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today and Other Stories". In it, a little girl is tired of thinking of "fuzzy things" after dinner, so she decides to thinks of other things. Unfortunately, she finds herself thinking about a terrible monster called a Glunk. The story is great until the climax, when the girl tries to "un-think" the Glunk, but needs her brother's help to do so. The girl learns her lesson and still only thinks about "fuzzy things" to this day. The lesson is that girls can only think about "fuzzy things", [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop which is just sexist]]. Adding to the sexism is that it was her brother, not her sister, who helped her. Worst of all, this book completely reverses everything the good doctor said about imagination in his much better known books like "On Beyond Zebra" and "Oh the Thinks you can Think".

* Tropers/TwilightPegasus: I'm probably going to commit blasphemy here in the eyes of fans of this book, and I don't want to begrudge anyone who likes it. If you like it, cool! More power to you! But I can't bring myself to sugarcoat this so I'm going to come out and say it: I absolutely ''loathe'' ''Literature/TheHateUGive''. I think it's a poorly written, overly melodramatic, {{Anvilicious}} AuthorTract that [[DontShootTheMessage completely botched its intended message of advocating against senseless violence towards blacks by people in positions of authority]], and many parts of it completely reek of racism. What do I mean? Well, since I can't put the entire book on here, I'll mention two specific moments that made me hate this book with the fury of a thousand suns. At one point in the story, the main character, Starr, introduces her white boyfriend Chris to a new kid on the block, [=DeVante=]. At first, the two don't quite hit it off, but after a while, they do become friends. Normally, this would be considered very sweet and heartwarming. But how does Thomas write them officially becoming friends? With this passage: "According to [=DeVante=], Chris's massive video game collection makes up for this whiteness." What?! So, apparently, according to this book, [[FamilyUnFriendlyAesop in order for a black person and a white person to be friends, the white person needs to have something to "make up" for having white skin]], as if being born a certain skin color is a crime! The hell?! How is someone's skin color something that needs to be made up for?! Didn't Martin Luther King say that people shouldn't be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character? Saying someone needs to have something to make up for being born a certain skin color is like saying an autistic person needs to be an IdiotSavant in order to make up for being autistic, and we all know the UnfortunateImplications behind that line of thinking! As if that wasn't bad enough, in a later chapter, Chris and Starr have a talk in the midst of a riot, and Chris...apologizes to her on behalf of all whites for being white. [[SincerityMode No, I'm not making this up.]] I read the whole thing cover to cover, and as soon as I read that line, I never wanted to throw a book at a wall so hard. Being born a certain skin color is NOT something one should apologize for! You can't control how you were born, and those two scenes, along with many other moments that plague the entire book, make me feel like Angie Thomas is trying to say that [[DoubleStandard it's not okay to be racist towards blacks but it's totes okay to be racist towards whites]] [[UnfortunateImplications because they're all evulz!]] No. [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped Every kind of racism towards any person of any skin color is wrong, no matter what kind of person they are, and it's especially wrong to try and promote such a disgusting double standard.]] It's for this very reason that I can't bring myself to like this book, and I can't fathom how it became so popular. This is not the standard to which we should hold literature in any way whatsoever. Seriously, when two episodes of ''Series/GreysAnatomy'' and ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}''[[note]]The episode in question is called "Good Cop," which aired a year before the Trayvon Martin murder.[[/note]] manage to tackle the same issue in a more engaging, sensitive, nuanced way, without indulging in bad stereotypes and botching their intended messages, you've got serious problems.

** Tropers/{{Snowsky}}: Speaking of ''Mapleshade's Vengeance,'' even if the writing weren't a travesty in itself, nearly every character in that book turns into a completely horrible person (well, cat) and grabs the JerkassBall, IdiotBall, or both, seemingly for the ''sole purpose'' of making Mapleshade's life hell until she snaps. [=StarClan=] sends a message to Ravenwing that Mapleshade's kits are half-[=RiverClan=] because...why? What purpose does this serve besides starting the DisasterDominoes? They have never done this to any other queen whose kits are secretly half-Clan. So Ravenwing knows now, and he figures out specifically that they were fathered by Appledusk, who (accidentally?) killed Birchface, Oakstar's son. Okay, this is bad, but surely Ravenwing can take two seconds to calm down and ''think about what's going to happen'' if he decides to spill the beans?[[note]][[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Unless]] he was so much of an asshole that he didn't care that he was about to get four of his Clanmates, three of them innocent children, kicked out of their home, but him being a jerk is not any better than him being an idiot.[[/note]] No, he goes and publicly blabs the secret to all of [=ThunderClan=]. Now every cat is upset, with Frecklewish being especially furious because Mapleshade had lied to her about the kits' father being Birchface, her dead brother, which is understandable. What is not understandable is Frecklewish turning on not just Mapleshade but the kits, calling them "half-Clan creatures" and shouting for them to be driven out, when before she had loved them and promised to help care for them when she thought they were her brother's kits. And we're still supposed to sympathize with her after this? (Nettlebreeze even refers to her as "poor helpless Frecklewish" in a later book.) Oakstar kicks Mapleshade and her kits out of [=ThunderClan=] and they prepare to head to [=RiverClan=], but her kits drown when they try to cross the river as it suddenly floods. [=RiverClan=] shows up and brings Mapleshade and the dead kits to their leader, Darkstar. Appledusk is there, too, is he going to understand? No, he blames Mapleshade 100% for the kits' deaths, calls their relationship a mistake in front of his Clan (which comes across as him throwing her under the bus to get back in their good graces), and they welcome him back after Reedshine [[YourCheatingHeart (his other mate)]] gives them a speech about how brave and loyal he is, while Mapleshade is refused shelter in [=RiverClan=] and told by Reedshine to [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown "go away, because she's caused enough trouble tonight."]] And then Mapleshade begins her revenge murder spree, became the most feared villain in the Dark Forest, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The point is, ''Mapleshade's Vengeance'' is a complete IdiotPlot because the whole chain of events could possibly have been avoided or gone in a different direction ''had anybody acted rationally'' (or let go of the JerkassBall for 2 seconds). But do you know what one of the worst parts is? Absolutely none of these characters besides Mapleshade herself have any significance to the overall plot of the series outside of this book, even though there were plenty of opportunities for them to appear as [=StarClanners=] in ''Omen of the Stars,'' which is a ''HUGE'' waste of potential. Partly because of that, post-mortem Mapleshade is a borderline GenericDoomsdayVillain whose only motivation is "manipulate events to make the Clan cats' lives suck, rally the Dark Forest, start a war, and destroy the Clans...oh, and also [[spoiler:fixate on Sandstorm and kill her because she had the life I feel like I deserved]]".

** Tropers/{{Snowsky}}: Speaking of ''Mapleshade's Vengeance,'' even if the writing weren't a travesty in itself, nearly every character in that book turns into a completely horrible person (well, cat) and grabs the JerkassBall, IdiotBall, or both, seemingly for the ''sole purpose'' of making Mapleshade's life hell until she snaps. [=StarClan=] sends a message to Ravenwing that Mapleshade's kits are half-[=RiverClan=] because...why? What purpose does this serve besides starting the DisasterDominoes? They have never done this to any other queen whose kits are secretly half-Clan. So Ravenwing knows now, and he figures out specifically that they were fathered by Appledusk, who (accidentally?) killed Birchface, Oakstar's son. Okay, this is bad, but surely Ravenwing can take two seconds to calm down and ''think about what's going to happen'' if he decides to spill the beans?[[note]][[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Unless]] he was so much of an asshole that he didn't care that he was about to get four of his Clanmates, three of them innocent children, kicked out of their home, but him being a jerk is not any better than him being an idiot.[[/note]] No, he goes and publicly blabs the secret to all of [=ThunderClan=]. Now every cat is furious at Mapleshade, which is kind of understandable. What is not understandable is Frecklewish turning on not just Mapleshade but her innocent kits, calling them "half-Clan creatures" and shouting for them to be driven out, when before she had loved them and promised to help care for them when she thought they were her brother's kits. And we're still supposed to regard her as sympathetic after this? (Nettlebreeze even refers to her as "poor helpless Frecklewish" in a later book.) Oakstar kicks Mapleshade and her kits out of [=ThunderClan=] and they prepare to head to [=RiverClan=], but her kits drown when they try to cross the river as it suddenly floods. [=RiverClan=] shows up and brings Mapleshade and the dead kits to their leader, Darkstar. Appledusk is there, too, is he going to understand? No, he blames Mapleshade 100% for the kits' deaths, calls their relationship a mistake in front of his Clan (which comes across as him throwing her under the bus to get back in their good graces), and they welcome him back after Reedshine [[YourCheatingHeart (his other mate)]] gives them a speech about how brave and loyal he is, while Mapleshade is refused shelter in [=RiverClan=] and told by Reedshine to [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown "go away, because she's caused enough trouble tonight."]] And then Mapleshade begins her revenge murder spree, became the most feared villain in the Dark Forest, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The point is, ''Mapleshade's Vengeance'' is a complete IdiotPlot because the whole chain of events could possibly have been avoided or gone in a different direction ''had anybody acted rationally'' (or let go of the JerkassBall for 2 seconds). But do you know what one of the worst parts is? Absolutely none of these characters besides Mapleshade herself have any significance to the overall plot of the series outside of this book, even though there were plenty of opportunities for them to appear as [=StarClanners=] in ''Omen of the Stars,'' which is a ''HUGE'' waste of potential. Partly because of that, post-mortem Mapleshade is a borderline GenericDoomsdayVillain whose only motivation is "manipulate events to make the Clan cats' lives suck, rally the Dark Forest, start a war, and destroy the Clans...oh, and also [[spoiler:fixate on Sandstorm and kill her because she had the life I feel like I deserved]]".

** Tropers/{{Snowsky}}: Speaking of ''Mapleshade's Vengeance,'' even if the writing weren't a travesty in itself, nearly every character in that book turns into a completely horrible person (well, cat) and grabs the JerkassBall, IdiotBall, or both, seemingly for the ''sole purpose'' of making Mapleshade's life hell until she snaps. [=StarClan=] sends a message to Ravenwing that Mapleshade's kits are half-[=RiverClan=] because...why? What purpose does this serve besides starting the DisasterDominoes? They have never done this to any other queen whose kits are secretly half-Clan. So Ravenwing knows now, and he figures out specifically that they were fathered by Appledusk, who (accidentally?) killed Birchface, Oakstar's son. Okay, this is bad, but surely Ravenwing can take two seconds to calm down and ''think about what's going to happen'' if he decides to spill the beans?[[note]][[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Unless]] he was so much of an asshole that he didn't care that he was about to get four of his Clanmates, three of them innocent children, kicked out of their home, but him being a jerk is not any better than him being an idiot.[[/note]] No, he goes and publicly blabs the secret to all of [=ThunderClan=]. Now every cat is furious at Mapleshade, which is kind of understandable. What is not understandable is Frecklewish turning on not just Mapleshade but her innocent kits, calling them "half-Clan creatures" and shouting for them to be driven out, when before she had loved them and promised to help care for them when she thought they were her brother's kits. And we're still supposed to regard her as sympathetic after this? (Nettlebreeze even refers to her as "poor helpless Frecklewish" in a later book.) Oakstar kicks Mapleshade and her kits out of [=ThunderClan=] and they prepare to head to [=RiverClan=], but her kits drown when they try to cross the river as it suddenly floods. [=RiverClan=] shows up and brings Mapleshade and the dead kits to their leader, Darkstar. Appledusk is there, too, is he going to understand? No, he blames Mapleshade 100% for the kits' deaths, calls their relationship a mistake in front of his Clan to get back in their good graces, and they welcome him back after Reedshine [[YourCheatingHeart (his other mate)]] gives them a speech about how brave and loyal he is, while Mapleshade is refused shelter in [=RiverClan=] and told by Reedshine to [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown "go away, because she's caused enough trouble tonight."]] And then Mapleshade begins her revenge murder spree, became the most feared villain in the Dark Forest, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The point is, ''Mapleshade's Vengeance'' is a complete IdiotPlot because the whole chain of events could possibly have been avoided or gone in a different direction ''had anybody acted rationally'' (or let go of the JerkassBall for 2 seconds). But do you know what one of the worst parts is? Absolutely none of these characters besides Mapleshade herself have any significance to the overall plot of the series outside of this book, even though there were plenty of opportunities for them to appear as [=StarClanners=] in ''Omen of the Stars,'' which is a ''HUGE'' waste of potential. Partly because of that, post-mortem Mapleshade is a borderline GenericDoomsdayVillain whose only motivation is "manipulate events to make the Clan cats' lives suck, rally the Dark Forest, start a war, and destroy the Clans...oh, and also [[spoiler:fixate on Sandstorm and kill her because she had the life I feel like I deserved]]".

** Tropers/{{Snowsky}}: Speaking of ''Mapleshade's Vengeance,'' even if the writing weren't a travesty in itself, nearly every character in that book turns into a completely horrible person (well, cat) and grabs the JerkassBall, IdiotBall, or VillainBall (or, hell, all of them) seemingly for the ''sole purpose'' of making Mapleshade's life hell until she snaps. [=StarClan=] sends a message to Ravenwing that Mapleshade's kits are half-[=RiverClan=] because...why? What purpose does this serve besides starting the DisasterDominoes? They have never done this to any other queen whose kits are secretly half-Clan. So Ravenwing knows now, and he figures out specifically that they were fathered by Appledusk, who (accidentally?) killed Birchface, Oakstar's son. Okay, this is bad, but surely Ravenwing can take two seconds to calm down and ''think about what's going to happen'' if he decides to spill the beans?[[note]][[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Unless]] he was so much of an asshole that he didn't care that he was about to get four of his Clanmates, three of them innocent children, kicked out of their home, but him being a jerk is not any better than him being an idiot.[[/note]] No, he goes and publicly blabs the secret to all of [=ThunderClan=]. Now every cat is furious at Mapleshade, which is kind of understandable. What is not understandable is Frecklewish turning on not just Mapleshade but her innocent kits, calling them "half-Clan creatures" and shouting for them to be driven out, when before she had loved them and promised to help care for them when she thought they were her brother's kits. And we're still supposed to regard her as sympathetic after this? (Nettlebreeze even refers to her as "poor helpless Frecklewish" in a later book.) Oakstar kicks Mapleshade and her kits out of [=ThunderClan=] and they prepare to head to [=RiverClan=], but her kits drown when they try to cross the river as it suddenly floods. [=RiverClan=] shows up and brings Mapleshade and the dead kits to their leader, Darkstar. Appledusk is there, too, is he going to understand? No, he blames Mapleshade 100% for the kits' deaths, calls their relationship a mistake in front of his Clan to get back in their good graces, and they welcome him back after Reedshine [[YourCheatingHeart (his other mate)]] gives them a speech about how brave and loyal he is, while Mapleshade is refused shelter in [=RiverClan=] and told by Reedshine to [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown "go away, because she's caused enough trouble tonight."]] And then Mapleshade begins her revenge murder spree, became the most feared villain in the Dark Forest, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The point is, ''Mapleshade's Vengeance'' is a complete IdiotPlot because the whole chain of events could possibly have been avoided or gone in a different direction ''had anybody acted rationally'' (or let go of the JerkassBall for 2 seconds). But do you know what one of the worst parts is? Absolutely none of these characters besides Mapleshade herself have any significance to the overall plot of the series outside of this book, even though there were plenty of opportunities for them to appear as [=StarClanners=] in ''Omen of the Stars,'' which is a ''HUGE'' waste of potential. Partly because of that, post-mortem Mapleshade is a borderline GenericDoomsdayVillain whose only motivation is "manipulate events to make the Clan cats' lives suck, rally the Dark Forest, start a war, and destroy the Clans...oh, and also [[spoiler:fixate on Sandstorm and kill her because she had the life I feel like I deserved]]".

** Tropers/{{Snowsky}}: Speaking of ''Mapleshade's Vengeance,'' even if the writing weren't a travesty in itself, nearly every character in that book turns into a completely horrible person (well, cat) and grabs the JerkassBall, IdiotBall, or VillainBall (or, hell, all of them) seemingly for the ''sole purpose'' of making Mapleshade's life hell until she snaps. [=StarClan=] sends a message to Ravenwing that Mapleshade's kits are half-[=RiverClan=] because...why? What purpose does this serve besides starting the DisasterDominoes? They have never done this to any other queen whose kits are secretly half-Clan. So Ravenwing knows now, and he figures out specifically that they were fathered by Appledusk, who (accidentally?) killed Birchface, Oakstar's son. Okay, this is bad, but surely Ravenwing can take two seconds to calm down and ''think about what's going to happen'' if he decides to spill the beans?[[note]][[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Unless]] he was so much of an asshole that he didn't care that he was about to get four of his Clanmates, three of them innocent children, kicked out of their home, but him being a jerk is not any better than him being an idiot.[[/note]] No, he doesn't just go to Oakstar and ask to speak privately or something, he goes and publicly blabs the secret to all of [=ThunderClan=]. Now every cat is furious at Mapleshade, which is kind of understandable. What is not understandable is Frecklewish turning on not just Mapleshade but her innocent kits, calling them "half-Clan creatures" and shouting for them to be driven out, when before she had loved them and promised to help care for them when she thought they were her brother's kits. And we're still supposed to regard her as sympathetic after this? (Nettlebreeze even refers to her as "poor helpless Frecklewish" in a later book.) Oakstar kicks Mapleshade and her kits out of [=ThunderClan=] and they prepare to head to [=RiverClan=], but her kits drown when they try to cross the river as it suddenly floods. [=RiverClan=] shows up and brings Mapleshade and the dead kits to their leader, Darkstar. Appledusk is there, too, is he going to understand? No, he blames Mapleshade 100% for the kits' deaths, calls their relationship a mistake in front of his Clan to get back in their good graces, and they welcome him back after Reedshine [[YourCheatingHeart (his other mate)]] gives them a speech about how brave and loyal he is, while Mapleshade is refused shelter in [=RiverClan=] and told by Reedshine to [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown "go away, because she's caused enough trouble tonight."]] And then Mapleshade begins her revenge murder spree, became the most feared villain in the Dark Forest, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The point is, ''Mapleshade's Vengeance'' is a complete IdiotPlot because the whole chain of events could possibly have been avoided or gone in a different direction ''had anybody acted rationally'' (or let go of the JerkassBall for 2 seconds). But do you know what one of the worst parts is? Absolutely none of these characters besides Mapleshade herself have any significance to the overall plot of the series outside of this book, even though there were plenty of opportunities for them to appear as [=StarClanners=] in ''Omen of the Stars,'' which is a ''HUGE'' waste of potential. Partly because of that, post-mortem Mapleshade is a borderline GenericDoomsdayVillain whose only motivation is "manipulate events to make the Clan cats' lives suck, rally the Dark Forest, start a war, and destroy the Clans...oh, and also [[spoiler:fixate on Sandstorm and kill her because she had the life I feel like I deserved]]".

** Tropers/{{Snowsky}}: Speaking of ''Mapleshade's Vengeance,'' even if the writing weren't a travesty in itself, nearly every character in that book turns into a completely horrible person (well, cat) and grabs the JerkassBall, IdiotBall, or VillainBall (or, hell, all of them) seemingly for the ''sole purpose'' of making Mapleshade's life hell until she snaps. [=StarClan=] sends a message to Ravenwing that Mapleshade's kits are half-[=RiverClan=] because...why? What purpose does this serve besides starting the DisasterDominoes? They have never done this to any other queen whose kits are secretly half-Clan. So Ravenwing knows now, and he figures out specifically that they were fathered by Appledusk, who (accidentally?) killed Birchface, Oakstar's son. Okay, this is bad, but surely Ravenwing can take two seconds to calm down and ''think about what's going to happen'' if he decides to spill the beans?[[note]][[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Unless]] he was so much of an asshole that he didn't care that he was about to get four of his Clanmates, three of them innocent children, kicked out of their home, but him being a jerk is not any better than him being an idiot.[[/note]] No, he doesn't just go to Oakstar and ask for a private meeting or something, he goes and publicly blabs the secret to all of [=ThunderClan=]. Now every cat is furious at Mapleshade, which is kind of understandable. What is not understandable is Frecklewish turning on not just Mapleshade but her innocent kits, calling them "half-Clan creatures" and shouting for them to be driven out, when before she had loved them and promised to help care for them when she thought they were her brother's kits. And we're still supposed to regard her as sympathetic after this? (Nettlebreeze even refers to her as "poor helpless Frecklewish" in a later book.) Oakstar kicks Mapleshade and her kits out of [=ThunderClan=] and they prepare to head to [=RiverClan=], but her kits drown when they try to cross the river as it suddenly floods. [=RiverClan=] shows up and brings Mapleshade and the dead kits to their leader, Darkstar. Appledusk is there, too, is he going to understand? No, he blames Mapleshade 100% for the kits' deaths, calls their relationship a mistake in front of his Clan to get back in their good graces, and they welcome him back after Reedshine [[YourCheatingHeart (his other mate)]] gives them a speech about how brave and loyal he is, while Mapleshade is refused shelter in [=RiverClan=] and told by Reedshine to [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown "go away, because she's caused enough trouble tonight."]] And then Mapleshade begins her revenge murder spree, became the most feared villain in the Dark Forest, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The point is, ''Mapleshade's Vengeance'' is a complete IdiotPlot because the whole chain of events could possibly have been avoided or gone in a different direction ''had anybody acted rationally'' (or let go of the JerkassBall for 2 seconds). But do you know what one of the worst parts is? Absolutely none of these characters besides Mapleshade herself have any significance to the overall plot of the series outside of this book, even though there were plenty of opportunities for them to appear as [=StarClanners=] in ''Omen of the Stars,'' which is a ''HUGE'' waste of potential. Partly because of that, post-mortem Mapleshade is a borderline GenericDoomsdayVillain whose only motivation is "manipulate events to make the Clan cats' lives suck, rally the Dark Forest, start a war, and destroy the Clans...oh, and also [[spoiler:fixate on Sandstorm and kill her because she had the life I feel like I deserved]]".

** Tropers/{{Snowsky}}: Speaking of ''Mapleshade's Vengeance,'' even if the writing weren't a travesty in itself, nearly every character in that book turns into a completely horrible person (well, cat) and grabs the JerkassBall, IdiotBall, or VillainBall (or, hell, all of them) seemingly for the ''sole purpose'' of making Mapleshade's life hell until she snaps. [=StarClan=] sends a message to Ravenwing that Mapleshade's kits are half-[=RiverClan=] because...why? What purpose does this serve besides starting the DisasterDominoes? They have never done this to any other queen whose kits are secretly half-Clan. So Ravenwing knows now, and he figures out specifically that they were fathered by Appledusk, who (accidentally?) killed Birchface, Oakstar's son. Okay, this is bad, but surely Ravenwing can take two seconds to calm down and ''think about what's going to happen'' if he decides to spill the beans?[[note]][[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Unless]] he was so much of an asshole that he didn't care that he was about to get four of his Clanmates, three of them innocent children, kicked out of their home, but him being a jerk is not any better than him being an idiot.[[/note]] No, he goes and blabs the secret to all of [=ThunderClan=]. Now every cat is furious at Mapleshade, which is kind of understandable. What is not understandable is Frecklewish turning on not just Mapleshade but her innocent kits, calling them "half-Clan creatures" and shouting for them to be driven out, when before she had loved them and promised to help care for them when she thought they were her brother's kits. And we're still supposed to regard her as sympathetic after this? (Nettlebreeze even refers to her as "poor helpless Frecklewish" in a later book.) Oakstar kicks Mapleshade and her kits out of [=ThunderClan=] and they prepare to head to [=RiverClan=], but her kits drown when they try to cross the river as it suddenly floods. [=RiverClan=] shows up and brings Mapleshade and the dead kits to their leader, Darkstar. Appledusk is there, too, is he going to understand? No, he blames Mapleshade 100% for the kits' deaths, calls their relationship a mistake in front of his Clan to get back in their good graces, and they welcome him back after Reedshine [[YourCheatingHeart (his other mate)]] gives them a speech about how brave and loyal he is, while Mapleshade is refused shelter in [=RiverClan=] and told by Reedshine to [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown "go away, because she's caused enough trouble tonight."]] And then Mapleshade begins her revenge murder spree, became the most feared villain in the Dark Forest, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The point is, ''Mapleshade's Vengeance'' is a complete IdiotPlot because the whole chain of events could possibly have been avoided or gone in a different direction ''had anybody acted rationally'' (or let go of the JerkassBall for 2 seconds). But do you know what one of the worst parts is? Absolutely none of these characters besides Mapleshade herself have any significance to the overall plot of the series outside of this book, even though there were plenty of opportunities for them to appear as [=StarClanners=] in ''Omen of the Stars,'' which is a ''HUGE'' waste of potential. Partly because of that, post-mortem Mapleshade is a borderline GenericDoomsdayVillain whose only motivation is "manipulate events to make the Clan cats' lives suck, rally the Dark Forest, start a war, and destroy the Clans...oh, and also [[spoiler:fixate on Sandstorm and kill her because she had the life I feel like I deserved]]".