It isn't a question of "Good" winning over "Evil". The best stories (i.e., the ones that make you want to buy the next book from the same author) are ones that have three essential elements:
- the reader must feel empathy for the protagonist, the hero,
- the protagonist must face unreasonable challenges, and
- the protagonist must either: (a)win and survive, or (b)win and die, and a new hero arises
People of western civilizations and cultures call protagonists "good" and antagonists "evil". Eastern traditions, on the other hand, describe the struggle as "restoring balance". Both are merely labels, and have very little to do with any absolute universal Truth. People like the stories that fulfill an emotional need -- often described as "feeling good" -- again, twisting the meaining of "good" to describe something more basic: "sated."
I read stories to enjoy the adventure and to second-guess the author's decisions about how to unfold the plot, play-out particular scenarios, or create images and experiences in their readers' minds. I buy the author's next book if the story resonates with my personal sense of reality.
