It’s no secret that my tastes for fiction runs dark, so dark sometimes that it’s rare when I come across a happy ending. In my experiences, it’s even rarer when I stumble upon a happy ending in a dark science fiction title.

So, to prepare for this article, I turned to Mary Robinette Kowal who has written several short stories. Her debut novel Shades of Milk and Honey, will be released next year. When I asked her why there weren’t any happy endings in science fiction she pointed out that:

I’m not sure I agree with the question. It might be the fiction that I gravitate towards, but I think there are lots of happy endings in science fiction ranging from John Scalzi’s Android’s Dream to Julie Czernada’s Thousand Names for Stranger. One of the things that impressed me about Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl is that he manages to pull off a happy ending even amidst a bleak and tragic larger story of the future. Oh, there are loads of dystopian views of the future and world’s where the apocalypse smashes everyone down, but there’s no shortage of happy endings. — Mary Robinette Kowal, Author and Puppeteer

In many ways, Mary’s quote is very insightful because she pointed out my blind spot. I think she’s absolutely right that whether or not you can name a happy ending in a science fiction story depends upon your personal tastes, which is probably why several people in my network couldn’t name very many either. At Apex Book Company, there are two titles that could fit into the category of “upbeat” endings. Jason Sizemore had reminded me that HebrewPunk by Lavie Tidhar is a collection of interwoven stories that have a more positive ending. I Remember the Future by Michael A. Burstein is another short story collection that’s full of mostly upbeat science fiction.

Even though there are stories out there with happy endings, for those of us who enjoy dark science fiction it can be pretty tough to identify which ones those are. Yes, while just about everyone might point out the ending from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, I see each film in the series as the end of a story arc, in part because there are dozens of books in that universe that do explore some fairly dark storylines.

Of course, the real question here is: What is a happy ending in a science fiction story? I feel that even that answer is open to personal interpretation, because at the end of the day, the ending is often “happy” depending upon the reader’s point-of-view. If the story involves man versus machine and man wins — does that make the ending “happy?” What if, in order to take down a big, bad alien, everyone but one character dies? Of course, not every plot is the same so it’s exceptionally challenging to define what that happy ending is for everyone.

An ending that a reader might deem “happy” is simply one that causes them to react with a positive emotional response. To me, that means that there might be a broad spectrum of happy endings in science fiction ranging from bittersweet to jump-up-and-down for joy. As an author, I don’t necessarily write a story that will automatically provide a happily-ever-after, happily-for-now, or happily-never-after ending, but in some cases I do. In those cases, my endings focus on what happens to the main characters involved in the story. (If you’re a fan of Star Trek, you might recall the joke about what happens to secondary characters that wear red shirts.) My goal is to help provide my readers with an emotional connection to the main character (or characters), so you become emotionally invested into what happens to them in the story.

In the end, while my initial question might have been too broad, I think we can all agree that a happy ending might mean something different to everyone. In science fiction, what does a “happy ending” mean to you?

MONICA VALENTINELLI is a professional author and game designer. Described as a “force of nature” by her peers, Monica is best known for her work in the horror, dark fantasy and dark science fiction genres and has been published through Abstract Nova Press, Eden Studios, White Wolf Publishing, Apex Magazine and others. Her credits include: a short story entitled “Pie” in the award-winning BURIED TALES OF PINEBOX, TEXAS anthology through 12 to Midnight and the upcoming release entitled THE QUEEN OF CROWS through Flames Rising Press. For more information about Monica, her work and her contact information, visit www.mlvwrites.com.