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Grasping for The Wind has an interesting blog post where they asked various scifi and fantasy blogs about their favorite book ending and then posted the answers here.
Many of the books that were referred to were ones I've never read, so I now have a whole bunch of new books added to my To Be Read pile. It's particularly enticing to pick up a book knowing that someone thinks that the ending is really good. Reading all the different answers also made me think about what it is that I like about an ending and which books that I have read lately that I have really loved. And the truth is that I really couldn't come up with anything.
I like endings that provide a resolutions to the story and tie up any mysteries or loose ends and I particularly like when the resolution is a surprising one. Brandon Sanderson is really great at providing these kind of endings with the various mysterious and character revelations being resolved in a surprising way. What I dislike are books that end with a cliffhanger, leaving the rest of the story be told in the sequel, which you usually have to wait at least a year for.
And while there are a number of books that I have read lately and really enjoyed, I wouldn't say that any of them had a particularly remarkable ending. In Grasping for Wind's blog post, a few people mentioned I am Legend, by Richard Matheson, as having a really great ending. I think I'll have to try that book next. It's certainly a different approach for me of choosing a book; to look for a book with a good ending rather then an interesting sounding plot.
2 comments:
I do have to agree with you. Brandon Sanderson is awesome at his endings. Not only do they pick up the pace at insane speeds but what you think of having no way to come together surprisingly fits together amazingly. Not even to mention his story telling abilities and magic creations.
I have been reading series lately. In the individual books themselves is a story. This one story is completed in that book. But there is an underlining growing storyline that carries over through all the books till the end of the series. I don't know if I would call that a cliffhanger. Its just the running connection for the stories.
But I have read books that literally end with a major cliff hanger that you have no idea what is going to happen and you need the next book. I hate that. I don't like to feel left out. Please finish the story in the book, unless your next book will be out in a month or two.
Great post!
I also appreciate it when, in a series of books, each individual book tells a story that is wrapped up in the end. This way, if you really like the characters and the writing, you have more books to read but you are not left hanging at the end. I hate cliff hangers.The ending for the Ilona Andrews books drive me crazy, as well as the Hunger Game books.
I like what Charlaine Harris does. Each book tells its own story but you are still left wondering how the different relationships will play out and you just want to follow the characters from book to book. With that said, I can't think of any ending from such a series that was particularly noteworthy.
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