EndingsI recently finished a book that just came out. It has excellent reviews, a lot of press, and it a thrilling premise. I whipped through it. I could not wait to see where the different threads that had been dangled so tantalizingly would lead.
Trouble is, they did not end up leading anywhere. The book just ended. Rather, the thing that I was expecting happened. Namely ***spoiler alert, though I do not plan on saying the name of the book*** the main character got acquitted of committing murder. But when it came to all those yummy threads, it was like the cook ran out of the ingredients.
Now I am not saying every book needs to have an unforgettable twist at the end. But in this case of this book, the framework was there. The other thing that annoyed me was that it ended on a philosophical note that had almost no backup in the plot. Imagine I were to spend ten minutes telling you a story about a car crash and then ended it with a statement about over consumption.
One could make an intellectual link between the two, sure, but it still might bug a person interested in hearing how fast it took for the ambulance to get there. Leads need to lead somewhere. Or they can get lost, as they notoriously did on the show Lost, which was why Lost lost me as a viewer. But then again many, many people did not give up on that show.
I can only speak for myself, and for the books I read and write. Don’t take me down a gilded path if there’s nothing waiting at the end.
Thank you for such a fascinating guest post! Be sure to check out E.A. Rigg's blog and Casey Barnes Eponymous, which was released on 1st January 2012.
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