Those “Hell Yeah” Moments
I love big moments in stories. I’m talking the big sweeping cinematic climax where the hero gets his moment in the sun, the culmination of all the struggle, all the lessons learned from the setbacks, released in an explosion of feelings and triumph—catharsis. And when it’s done you either read it again or lay in a heap on the floor in a reading hangover because it was just That Good.
Among my favorites are Paul and the Fremen riding the sandworms into Arakeen in the final assault on the Harkonens in Dune. Kaladin coming into his power to save Dalinar during the climactic battle in Way of Kings. The Miller getting it right with Eros and crashing it into Venus in Leviathan Wakes.
The sand worms breach the Shield Wall in Dune Part II.
These moments are good for the soul. For me, I love that things go right for a change. And not just right—spectacularly right. They offer hope that if you keep persevering, you’ll get there in the end. They are the moments that make being an optimist feel like a strength. It’s an antidote to the relentless negative news I read and see in the real world.
Though like the real world, a good author knows that this is one moment among many in the story. The examples above are all in the first books of series that go on to put our heroes through more challenges, through the fallout of big changes, through new players stepping on stage and changing the rules. The story goes on.
The big moments don’t have to be—and shouldn’t be—the be all and and end all of the journey. They’re the big (and sometimes small) wins along the way that show that it (whatever “it” is) can be done. That goodness matters, doing the right things matters. It’s worth trying because you may unexpectedly succeed, and that matters too. I think it’s why I’m so drawn to the sweeping epic fantasy and the science fiction space opera that spans years and galaxies. That sense of scale echoes the the scale of challenges we face in modern society.
In our current times, it can be easy to fall into cynicism about how no matter how hard you try to combat fascism and corruption, the corrupt always seem to win. It’s one reason I’m not a huge fan of grimdark stories, even when the good guys win—they still tend to be too bleak. I need that injection of hope, and every time I read through the end of book and get that big Hell Yeah moment, it sticks with me and makes working through my own struggles, big and small, seem that much more doable.
