I think the reason we need death in SF is that there is no bigger threat than that, except maybe in my Warrior Wisewoman 2 story. In that, the whole population of the asteroid dies. But compared to Neil Asher, for example, you and I are minor killers of characters. In his novels, entire planetful of people die.
I hadn't thought about this before your post, but once I've gotten comments from an editor on a mystery fantasy in which no one dies that the stakes are not high enough, and that I should try a literary market. That story, (not sold yet) and two others that I've sold, are the only one in which no one dies.
And the submissions we get are also riddled with bodies and ashes of worlds. Some are so dark that the entire Human species is dead.
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I think the reason we need death in SF is that there is no bigger threat than that, except maybe in my Warrior Wisewoman 2 story. In that, the whole population of the asteroid dies. But compared to Neil Asher, for example, you and I are minor killers of characters. In his novels, entire planetful of people die.
I hadn't thought about this before your post, but once I've gotten comments from an editor on a mystery fantasy in which no one dies that the stakes are not high enough, and that I should try a literary market. That story, (not sold yet) and two others that I've sold, are the only one in which no one dies.
And the submissions we get are also riddled with bodies and ashes of worlds. Some are so dark that the entire Human species is dead.