I went to see Project Hail Mary in the last weekend it was running at my local theater. It was a delight. “A story about two funny little guys,” as my housemate said.

“I’m so glad it had a happy ending,” I said whenever I talked about it.

Don’t misread me; I love a bittersweet ending. As an author, I love making my characters suffer. But in the realm of scifi, fantasy, and horror, a happy ending is a rare thing. Horror is probably the worst for this, for obvious reasons, but I don’t remember the last time I saw a happy ending outside of a romance. It’s not a problem, but it does make me wonder why.

This isn’t a call to arms; feel free to write your grimdark fantasy and kill off the protagonist’s mentor if it serves the story. But it has put the thought in my mind, and I will be on the lookout in case the opportunity arises to say “it all works out.”