This is why I like EMH better than Marble Hornets

[nilchance]

This is my book rant:

I do not require much of my books. Most times, I don't even require that they not suck. This is why I read Laurell K Hamilton. But right now, because I'm sick and stressed from the Maryland gay marriage voting process, I require the following: if there are cute animals involved, don't fucking kill them.

Apparently this is a lot to ask.

Aww look, a cute talking dog. I like those. But I am suspicious, I know a dead talking dog would just ruin my fucking day, and so I went and looked to check the safety and welfare of the dog. Call it Schrodinger's Talking Dog. I know how these things go in science fiction. If you are a cute animal, and you bring the only humor to a dark universe, you are a walking example of the ticking clock mortality of everything the protagonist loves. Even better if it's a pointless and horrible death! You are the Toto in the Refrigerator.

I get it, not everybody has this trigger, but. Were most authors published today ritually whacked upside the head with a copy of Where the Red Fern Grows?

Comments

[epeeblade]

OMG, I have the same fucking trigger. That's why I was so tempted when Angel 1089 came out to tell everyone that it was okay, the dog lives throughout the book...

[beetle-breath.livejournal.com]

ugh, Where the Red Fern Grows traumatized me as a little kid. Not only did we have to read the book, but we watched the movie. I had nightmares for weeks about falling on axes. *shudder*

so yes, I hate it when animals have to die in books/tv/movies.

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

I hated that book. I still hate that book. That book seriously traumatized the crap out of me.

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

So much hate, even now, for Where the Red Fern grows. And yeah, I hate that particular trope. :-P

[meret.livejournal.com]

There should be a section of the Geneva Convention about Old Yeller, Black Beauty, Where the Red Fern Grows, Charlotte's Web, and Bambi!

Have you read the Kate Daniels books by Ilona Andrews? I highly recommend them.
http://www.ilona-andrews.com/kate-daniels/

ETA - One animal does die in the series. It does have a name, but it's not a main character. I can tell you who it is before you read them if you want.

[fresne.livejournal.com]

And thus my general fondness for No More Dead Dogs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_More_Dead_Dogs) by Gordon Korman, which pretty much sums up that feeling.

[derryderrydown.livejournal.com]

I am currently writing a novel in which a very old horse gets to live out his days in comfort and peace. He will, eventually die, on account of being a very old horse, but it will happen long after the novel ends.

[embroiderama]

I totally consider warning for animal harm to be a good thing when it comes to fic. I'll warn for animal harm way more than something like recreational drug use. Or...boykissing! gah.

Edited because I am somewhat intoxicated.

[lomer.livejournal.com]

Yay being intoxicated!

Have you seen ff.net? They like to say things like "NOT SLASH!" in their notes. Um, there's a word for that. The word is "gen." *facepalm*

I approve of animal harm being a warning.

[khek.livejournal.com]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the animal living through to a hopeful future, and that what I'd rather read too. I think though, that critics somewhere, some when, decided that if an animal died after winning over everyone's heart, it became LITerature, rather than just a good story. Which is what made the bell toll for every beloved animal who appears when an author or editor decides they want critical acclaim...

I never recommend Where the Red Fern Grows, The Yearling, or Charlotte's Web to anyone without a lot of warnings to parents. It's amazing, though, how many want to read them to their toddlers, because they're "great".

[lomer.livejournal.com]

I don't have that trigger but I have other triggers. I have a huge death!fic trigger and to this day I'm incredibly pissed off at the SPN fic I read about two years ago where Dean is sick and goes to live with Sam and his new family. It's totally an adorable, fluffy, family bonding fic... and then Dean dies in the last chapter "because sometimes that just happens." Yeah. That's a dick move. Don't write a fluff fic and then surprise us with a death!fic so you feel artsy or don't know how to end it.

*hugs* I'm sorry you got triggered. Killing adorable fluffy animals isn't cool. I mean even in "I Am Legand" that poor dog didn't make it through the movie. You're right, people love killing the pets and that sucks. :( What a lazy way to make an "emotional impact".

[atypia.livejournal.com]

I cried so hard when that doggie died. It was a GSD too, which just added to the horribleness of it.

Killing animals SUCKS and I can't stand reading animal torture either. It upsets me far more than reading human torture ever could.

[rocketchick99.livejournal.com]

So much hate for that tactic! Even when I'm forewarned I have a hard time with it. I have not watched Will Smith's "I Am Legend" because I know it will just piss me off. If I'm gong to watch "Bambi" comfortably, I need to fast-forward past the part with his mother.

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

I Am Legend...the dog didn't talk, but good lord.

I also spent the entire run of the tv show Harsh Realm thinking they were going to eat the dog at any moment. Thankfully, they did not.