History ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill / Literature

** Palpatine created the [[DarkEmpire Galaxy Gun]] which does pretty much the same thing as Centrepoint, except that it fires physical missiles through hyperspace and "merely" destroys planets (or smaller targets; a lower-yield warhead can be used when appropriate). And the Galaxy Gun was destroyed by being {{ramm|ingAlwaysWorks}}ed by the Superlaser-equipped Eclipse II Super Star Destroyer, so it's a double example of this trope.

* In ''Literature/{{Relativity}},'' the villain Rasmas blows up ''an entire [[AmusementParkOfDoom abandoned amusement park]]'' in an attempt to kill the heroes. [[BondVillainStupidity It doesn't work.]]

* The end of ''Literature/MostlyHarmless'' has [[spoiler:the entire planet Earth destroyed, in all parallel universes to boot, with all the main characters on it]] because DouglasAdams was sick of being asked for more sequels. The radio drama [[spoiler:has them escape, in the nick of time]].

* Lampshaded in ''[[Literature/HowToTrainYourDragon How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel]]''. The witch and Alvin have literally every single one of their thousand warriors aiming their spears, swords, bows, axes, and rocket launchers right at Hiccup. Justified in that he has escaped from impossible situations before, and [[spoiler:sure enough, Hiccup manages to vanish right before their eyes, by being kidnapped by an invisible dragon]].

*** Later, the Red King tries to eliminate both Harry and Ebenezar [=McCoy=] by [[spoiler:killing Harry's daughter in a ritual that will kill everyone who shares her bloodline ([=McCoy=] is Harry's grandfather). Had the ritual been carried out successfully, it would've been maximum overkill. As demonstrated when Harry is able to reverse the ritual to instead target everyone of the Red King's bloodline, exterminating every last Red Court vampire on Earth.]]
** Even Later, in the novella ''Aftermath'', [[BadassNormal Karrin Murphy]] takes on a building full of bad guys. After all is said and done, she empties an entire clip of ammo into the evil wizard and uses yet another to make sure all of the other bad guys are thoroughly dead. But, as she says, when you're fighting the supernatural there's ''no such thing'' as overkill.

* Lampshaded in How to Sieze a Dragon's Jewel. The witch and Alvin have literally every single one of their thousand warriors aiming their spears, swords, bows, axes, and rocket launchers right at Hiccup. Justified in that he has escaped from impossible situations before, and (Spoiler: sure enough, Hiccup manages to vanish right before their eyes, by being kidnapped by an invisible dragon).

* In the ''Literature/HostileTakeoverSwann'' series, a colony using [[NoTranshumanismAllowed heretical technology]] is destroyed with the [[KillSat linac]], a kilometer and a half long [[MagneticWeapons railgun]] that accelerates projectiles to half the speed of light. The commander shoots three times, at a target the size of a small city. Note that this is a ''followup'' to [[NuclearOption dozens of nuclear devices]].

* In the ''Series/HostileTakeover'' series, a colony using [[NoTranshumanismAllowed heretical technology]] is destroyed with the [[KillSat linac]], a kilometer and a half long [[MagneticWeapons railgun]] that accelerates projectiles to half the speed of light. The commander shoots three times, at a target the size of a small city. Note that this is a ''followup'' to [[NuclearOption dozens of nuclear devices]].

* In the ''Hostile Takeover'' series, a colony using [[NoTranshumanismAllowed heretical technology]] is destroyed with the [[KillSat linac]], a kilometer and a half long [[MagneticWeapons railgun]] that accelerates projectiles to half the speed of light. The commander shoots three times, at a target the size of a small city. Note that this is a ''followup'' to [[NuclearOption dozens of nuclear devices]].

* In the ''Hostile Takeover'' series, a colony using [[NoTranshumanismAllowed heretical technology]] is destroyed with the [[KillSat linac]], a kilometer and a half long [[MagneticWeapons railgun]] that accelerates projectiles to half the speed of light. The commander shoots three times, at a target the size of a small city. Note that this is a ''followup'' to [[NukeEm dozens of nuclear devices]].

* In ''Literature/MrBlank'', [[spoiler: the Templar Eric Caldwell]] was shot twice in the chest with a .12 gauge, thrown through a plate glass window, run over, and set on fire.

* One of the [[Literature/KnownSpace Man-Kzin Wars]] collections contains the story of a ship called ''Catskinner'', which is a crewed ramscoop ship that has a largish number of 500-pound chunks of iron that it drops shortly before reaching its target system. It slows down by hitting the ''star''. For those lacking a grasp of the scale, the effect is like a relativistic shotgun blast the size of an entire star system. This was the ''diversion'' for the real mission, which was to insert (two teams of) assassins to kill the recently arrived representative of the Kzinti central government before he could mount a successful invasion of Earth. This manages to be both overkill (for a diversion) and under-kill given what they ''could'' have done to the system...

** Another TerryPratchett example is the multiple assassination attempts on Dom Sabalos in ''TheDarkSideOfTheSun''. The ''first'' one uses ''a black hole''.
* To ''CiaphasCain'''s [[PsychoLesbian Mari Magot]], word overkill is inherently meaningless.

* The StarWarsExpandedUniverse novel ''Literature/DeathStar'' describes its use as "overkill in the most horrifyingly literal way possible". And indeed, blowing up a pacifistic planet just to KickTheDog is clearly overdoing it.

** On a more personal scale, the NewJediOrder novel ''Star By Star'' features both the New Republic and Yuuzhan Vong revealing their newly-developed infantry. The Republic fields YVH [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Yuuzhan Vong Hunter"]] [[KillerRobot battle droids]] capable of dueling ''starfighters'' and winning, and capable of incredible feats of precision, correctly identifying and gunning down infiltrators in a crowd of humans without harming the civilians; YVH droids commonly go ten-to-one against standard Vong warriors and win. On the other side, the Vong begin deploying ''voxyn'', [[HeroKiller Jedi-hunting]] beasts [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke designed and shaped]] to be the ultimate killing machines, featuring razor-sharp claws and teeth, acid spit, blood that is both acidic ''and'' a neurotoxin, a deadly selection of retroviruses that live on their skin and spines, disorienting screeches, and neural-shock attacks. The voxyn ultimately lose, due to CripplingOverspecialization -- they're weak against MoreDakka.
* In the ''{{Halo}}'' expanded universe human ships ended up carrying salvos of "archer" anti-ship missiles that could decimate a human fleet (one archer could severely damage a destroyer) just to take down the shields of a covenant frigate. Justified that Covenant frigates can withstand tactical nuclear weapons.
* Perhaps the ultimate example of this trope in any form of media is found in ''[[{{Ringworld}} The Ringworld Throne]]''. Tunesmith, the Night Person Protector, uses the {{Ringworld}}'s meteor defense to shoot down invading starships. Said defense is an X-Ray laser powered by magnetically-fluorescent solar flares (yes, you read that right), creating a beam with enough width and power to vaporize - not "cause to explode into tiny chunks," but ''convert from solid into gaseous state'' - a planet.
* Lampshaded in ''[[TheDarkElfTrilogy Homeland]]'' by R.A. Salvatore. While he and Alton are being swarmed by spiders, Masoj looks down at his crossbow in contemplation and remarks, "Overkill?"

* The StarWarsExpandedUniverse has numerous cases of insane death machines like the Death Star, the Sun Crusher, and the World Devastators. There are also cases of species doing this, such as the Yevetha and Yuuzhan Vong, who are so fanatical they see winning a war as exterminating the enemy race. When the Yevetha and Yuuzhan Vong encounter each other, it's a CurbStompBattle resulting in the near-extinction of the Yevetha.

* E. E. Smith's earlier SkylarkSeries ends up with the "Good Guys" [[spoiler:destroying two galaxies by teleporting all the stars from one through hyperspace into collision with matching stars in the other.]]

** Granted, as described, the sister had overcome Jadis' armies and captured her (as a prelude to execution) when she used it.

* In the DaleBrown novel ''Act of War'', Zakharov sends several squads of men with anti-tank weapons and a helicopter gunship to kill one man. Naturally, when he goes after bigger targets he scales up accordingly. In ''Executive Intent'' a Mjolnir/Thor's Hammer [[KillSat orbit-launched kinetic kill vehicle]], capable of causing massive casualties on impact with the ground, is fired at a Russian fighter jet, destroying it so thoroughly that it is reduced to so much dust. The Chinese assault on Mogadishu is also brutally thorough: If even a shot of enemy fire is detected from a building, the Chinese do not try to storm the building - they just level the bloody thing. Any gathering of people that might be construed as regrouping enemy units is cut down to the last man even if it is ostensibly civilians trying to recover their dead.
* In ''EndersGame'', the M.D. Device, known as the Little Doctor, causes one atom to explode, then spreads to every other atom around it, causing it to explode. Ender uses this to destroy a planet and two entire fleets.

* One of the [[KnownSpace Man-Kzin Wars]] collections contains the story of a ship called Catskinner, which is a crewed ramscoop ship that has a largish number of 500-pound chunks of iron that it drops shortly before reaching its target system. It slows down by hitting the ''star''. For those lacking a grasp of the scale, the effect is like a relativistic shotgun blast the size of an entire star system. This was the ''diversion'' for the real mission, which was to insert (two teams of) assassins to kill the recently arrived representative of the Kzinti central government before he could mount a successful invasion of Earth. This manages to be both overkill (for a diversion) and under-kill given what they ''could'' have done to the system...

* In TheIronDruidChronicles, it is remarked by numerous people that the best way to ensure that a druid ''stays'' dead is to thoroughly pulp the body.

* It wouldn't be an overkill thread without the [[Literature/{{Lensman}} Lensmen]]. When you're dealing with a planet, sure, no weapon is too powerful - but a fleet? The enemy's surviving ships (a fairly large number is implied) are huddled into the ideal globular defensive formation, weapons pointed out, shields mutually reinforcing... and the good guys direct several ''planets'' into the centre of mass, in addition to multiple planet-sized antimatter bombs. Yes, you read that right. Subverted slightly in that even after all this butchery is done, there are still a few survivors to be finished off.

** Not to mention the devices used to destroy Ploor - not satisfied with ONE planet moving at fifteen times the speed of LIGHT, aimed at the planet, they fix up a second, identical one to fire at Ploor's sun. They then have to finish off the war ASAP because they're aware that they've finally created the universe's only unstoppable weapon, and if they don't beat the Big Bad within DAYS TO WEEKS, he'll duplicate it and they'll be fucked.

** Palpatine created the [[DarkEmpire Galaxy Gun]] which does pretty much the same thing as Centrepoint. And the Galaxy Gun was destroyed by being {{ramm|ingAlwaysWorks}}ed by the Superlaser-equipped Eclipse II Super Star Destroyer, so it's a double example of this trope.

* The StarWarsExpandedUniverse has numerous cases of insane death machines like the Death Star, the Sun Crusher, and the World Devastators. There are also cases of species doing this, such as the Yevetha and Yuunzhan Vong, who are so fanatical they see winning a war as exterminating the enemy race.
** The Bothans, with the death of Borsk Fey'la and the disintegration of the New Republic, declare Ak'Rai, a form of total war that they have only done twice in their history. It calls for every capable Bothan to lend their maximum effort towards defeating their opponent, killing every last male, female, and child of the species, slag their home planet to dust, and erase them from history.

--> "Blow up the building. THat works good for vampires. Then soak what's left in gasoline. Set it on fire. Then blow it up again."

** For that matter, the Expanded Universe seems to have a good amount of overkill--the Sun Crusher fires a pulse torpedo into a star to cause it to go supernova, killing the star system at large; the Centerpoint Station does this by firing a pulse blast ''through hyperspace'' to hit its target! Emperor Palpatine seems to have been particularly fond of these.
*** Palpatine didn't create Centerpoint, that was ThePrecursors. Palpatine ''did'', however, create the [[DarkEmpire Galaxy Gun]] which does pretty much the same thing. And the Galaxy Gun was destroyed by being {{ramm|ingAlwaysWorks}}ed by the Superlaser-equipped Eclipse II Super Star Destroyer, so it's a double example of this trope.

** Nukes don't have quite the same bang in space as they do on a planet. With no medium for the shockwave, the destructive range is only limited to a few miles, provided the target has sufficient shielding against radiation and EMP. There's a reason [[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter MAC rounds]] work much better than nukes.

** That being said, since it is determined to be impossible to effectively remove Bugs from a planet once they entrench themselves, the humans build a weapon that completely destroys entire planets and are using it by the end of the book.

** Special Literature/{{Discworld}} mention needs to go to the Piecemaker, though. There is a ''reason'' people generally endeavor to be a good distance directly behind Detritus when he fires the thing.
*** To elaborate: The Piecemaker is described as "a siege cross-bow that three men couldn't lift, [Detritus] had converted it to fire a thick sheaf of arrows all at once. Mostly they shattered in the air because of the forces involved, and the target was hit by an expanding cloud of burning splinters. Vimes had banned him from using it on people, but it was a damn good way of getting into buildings. It could open the front door and the back door at the same time. Hence, [[CrowningMomentOfFunny "If Mr. Safety Catch is not on, Mr. Crossbow is not your friend."]]