CHUD.com Community › Forums › ARTS & LITERATURE › Books and Magazines › What was the last series you've read that had a genuinely good final book?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

What was the last series you've read that had a genuinely good final book?

post #1 of 47
4/15/12 at 3:45pm
Thread Starter 
I just finished Mockingjay, the final book of the Hunger Games trilogy, and you might guess what my opinion of it is by this thread's title.

It's not that Mockingjay is a bad conclusion to the trilogy, it is just that what happens in it could have been covered in a book half the size. The rest of the book is filled with hair pulling indecision, angst, and PTSD. Suzanne Collins is good at writing action, so it is a pity that the action is primarily reserved for the last fifth the book.

This got me thinking about when was the last time I read a final book in a series that I liked. Though I liked the Harry Potter series, I didn't think the last book in it was particularly good. (I kind of hate the cop out of the 20 years in the future epilogue, it tells the reader how everyone ends up, but robs the reader of experiencing the wrapping up of all the emotional subplots) Really the only time I can think of being fully satisfied with an ending is reading the Lord of the Rings.

So, when was the last time you reached the final book in a series that left you feeling satisfied? (You still may have wanted to read more, but as far as you saw every question you had was answered and every character had a farewell.)

I need to know this, I'm running out of reading material.
Reply
post #2 of 47
4/15/12 at 4:10pm

What subplot didn't get wrapped up in Deathly Hallows?

Reply
post #3 of 47
4/15/12 at 4:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Schwartz View Post

What subplot didn't get wrapped up in Deathly Hallows?



They never explained what happened to the Russian in the Pine Barrens.

Reply
post #4 of 47
4/15/12 at 5:04pm
Thread Starter 
I wasn't saying that there were subplots that didn't get wrapped up. I was saying I would have liked to actually read final curve of the characters relationships and see the world react to the death of Voldemort rather than jumping ahead to them as adults.

The whole many years later epilogue thing I feel never works at giving closure. It verges into the whole telling and not showing realm for me.
Reply
post #5 of 47
4/15/12 at 5:23pm

The final book in the Gap series by Donaldson "This Day All Gods Die".

 

I have high hopes for Sanderson's capping of Jordan's series, God Emporer of Dune was a wonderful end to the Dune series, too bad Herbert put out two more and his son continues to shit on his legacy.

 

But your point is well taken, a good series capper is a rare and beautiful thing. I still think Tolkien takes the award in this category, RotK provides wonderful closure.

Reply
post #6 of 47
4/15/12 at 5:24pm

So you're annoyed when the book in your head isn't what the author had in theirs and put on the page?

Reply
post #7 of 47
4/15/12 at 5:35pm
Thread Starter 
^No.

I just feel that when it comes to the final couple of chapters of a final book in a series, Authors have a tendency to rush things and not give enough closure to fit what came before because they are so eager to finish.

In my experience the only consistant author which is good at ending a story is Terry Pratchett, though he doesn't write plot lines that span multiple volumes. Each of his books can stand alone and every one has a different antagonist, but just about every book I've read of his ends the plot and then lingers on with the characters just enough for the reader to see how their story truly ends.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3nnui View Post

The final book in the Gap series by Donaldson "This Day All Gods Die".

I have high hopes for Sanderson's capping of Jordan's series, God Emporer of Dune was a wonderful end to the Dune series, too bad Herbert put out two more and his son continues to shit on his legacy.

But your point is well taken, a good series capper is a rare and beautiful thing. I still think Tolkien takes the award in this category, RotK provides wonderful closure.

Thanks for the suggestion.
Reply
post #8 of 47
4/15/12 at 5:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3nnui View Post

The final book in the Gap series by Donaldson "This Day All Gods Die".

 

 


hell yeah, great series in general as well.  I'm re-reading these between new books at the moment, when I don't have anything new on the horizon.

 

The Crippled God, the final book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, was a fantastic capper.  So pleased that Erickson stuck the landing, and did it well.  Also a hell of an achievement, 10 book series finished in 10 years, each one a belter.  Not for everyone, but if you like the first one they just get better and better.

Reply
post #9 of 47
4/15/12 at 5:58pm

Speaking of Sanderson, I thought his wrap-up to his Mistborn trilogy really held up.  Lots of things happen that, looking back, were set up in the first two books, but still manage to be surprising and satisfying.

 

If it hadn't been for Mostly Harmless, the Hitchhiker's series would have had a perfect capper in So Long and Thanks for All the Fish.

Reply
post #10 of 47
4/15/12 at 6:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim K View Post

I wasn't saying that there were subplots that didn't get wrapped up. I was saying I would have liked to actually read final curve of the characters relationships and see the world react to the death of Voldemort rather than jumping ahead to them as adults.


Okay, but you did say exactly that even if it's not what you meant. 

 

I don't know, I didn't have any burning questions about how people would  react to Voldemort's death (I assumed they'd be happy).  The coda is an unnecessary two pages of fan service, but it has the nice bit about the son's name, so whatever. I think I disagree with you generally that there's any great rewards to be found by lingering on after the climax has completed.  LOTR's extended denouement does mostly work, but there's a specific thematic purpose served by it that would be lacking by ending on a more triumphant note.  And it's still not the most memorable part of the series by any means.

 

Reply
post #11 of 47
4/15/12 at 6:33pm

A lot of people aren't fans I know but I adored Pullmans final epic conclusion to His Dark Materials.

 

...but then I love The Matrix Revolutions as a trilogy conclusion, so I'm sorta off on my own sometimes.

Reply
post #12 of 47
4/15/12 at 6:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Rain Dog View Post

A lot of people aren't fans I know but I adored Pullmans final epic conclusion to His Dark Materials.

 

 

 

good call.

 

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

because I'm a sap I cried at what had to happen between Lyra and Will.  Perfect bittersweet ending.

 

Reply
post #13 of 47
4/15/12 at 8:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Schwartz View Post



Okay, but you did say exactly that even if it's not what you meant.

 


Fair enough. When posting my opinions on these boards I often find myself searching for the right turn of phrase to get my meaning across, and it doesn't work as often as I'd like.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Schwartz View Post


I don't know, I didn't have any burning questions about how people would  react to Voldemort's death (I assumed they'd be happy).  The coda is an unnecessary two pages of fan service, but it has the nice bit about the son's name, so whatever. I think I disagree with you generally that there's any great rewards to be found by lingering on after the climax has completed.  LOTR's extended denouement does mostly work, but there's a specific thematic purpose served by it that would be lacking by ending on a more triumphant note.  And it's still not the most memorable part of the series by any means.


I don't see a good ending after the climax as a reward. I just need some more pages to apply the breaks, say goodbye to the characters and then end. I realize this makes it sound hokey, but it's the type of person I am. I get so involved when I read any narrative that I am completely unaware of my surroundings. When I read I'm effectively deaf and dumb. So if a book ends semi suddenly, especially after a climax that was built up to over a long series, it annoys me. It's like being woken up in the middle of a good dream by ringing of my alarm clock.
Reply
post #14 of 47
4/15/12 at 8:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim K View Post


Fair enough. When posting my opinions on these boards I often find myself searching for the right turn of phrase to get my meaning across, and it doesn't work as often as I'd like.
I don't see a good ending after the climax as a reward. I just need some more pages to apply the breaks, say goodbye to the characters and then end. I realize this makes it sound hokey, but it's the type of person I am. I get so involved when I read any narrative that I am completely unaware of my surroundings. When I read I'm effectively deaf and dumb. So if a book ends semi suddenly, especially after a climax that was built up to over a long series, it annoys me. It's like being woken up in the middle of a good dream by ringing of my alarm clock.


But aren't you kinda saying you know how the story should end better than the author that came up with it?

Reply
post #15 of 47
4/15/12 at 9:06pm
Thread Starter 
It's an opinion. I try not to suggested solutions and don't venture to assume that I know better than the author. I just know that I am left unsatisfied, and am trying to pinpoint the reasons why. Obviously I'm not doing a good job of it if you think I'm trying to do better than the author.

I never intended this thread to be an attack on Rowling, Collins or any other writer. I just wanted to find out the opinions fellow chewers. What final books out there did you feel lived up to the books that came before?

I put down Deathly Hallows and Mockingjay as my opinions of books that I didn't feel lived up to what came before simply as a way to get the conversation going.
Reply
post #16 of 47
4/15/12 at 9:17pm

I know a lot of people were pissed off by it, but I thought Stephen King's Dark Tower series ended in a truly satisfying way.

Reply
post #17 of 47
4/15/12 at 11:48pm
Fall of Endymion - the last book in Dan Simmons' Hyperion series
Vortex- the last book in Robert Charles Wilson's Spin series

Both books left me feeling satisfied (and tearful). You get to spend some time with the characters as the story winds down, something I've always preferred in long scifi series. Hate it when they just....stop dead.
Reply
post #18 of 47
4/15/12 at 11:55pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suicideking View Post

Fall of Endymion - the last book in Dan Simmons' Hyperion series

This interests me. I liked the Fall of Hyperion, but couldn't get into Endymion. Maybe I'll give it another shot.
Reply
post #19 of 47
4/16/12 at 12:56am
Guillermo Del Toro/Chuck Hogan's Strain Trilogy was good all around, including the final book.
Reply
post #20 of 47
4/16/12 at 4:06am

The finale of Asimov's original Foundation trilogy is pretty damn satisfying. No need for the (much) later books.

 

Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour does a great job pulling everything together, although the film does better by Knives.

 

I was a little put off by The Amber Spyglass because Lyra and Will are sidelined for so much of it.

Reply
post #21 of 47
4/16/12 at 6:04am

Just curious Tim, does that mean you hate cliffhangers with no closure? Sometimes it's good when the Lady ain't talking and the Tiger can't speak.

 

I recommend Richard K. Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs series to anyone who will listen, but they only give you a glimpse of a much bigger world and leave a lot of threads dangling.

 

Ever since I've finished the third one I've been hungry for more. But maybe Morgan won't write more. It haunts me.

 

Now that's what I call good writing!

Reply
post #22 of 47
4/16/12 at 8:37am

Mitchell Smith's Moonrise.

Reply
post #23 of 47
4/16/12 at 9:03am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lightning Slim View Post

Just curious Tim, does that mean you hate cliffhangers with no closure?

I was thinking about this last night.

I don't hold quick endings against books so long as it works with the story. I hesitated to mention it in my first post, because I couldn't find an explication I that I felt could communicate my thoughts well enough.

For me it boils down to what the book was about and what came before. If the point or tone of the book is better served by a quick ending then it does work well.

I know I could help explain this better if I could think of examples, but my mind has only turned up examples of genre movies that fit this and every novel I have ever read has been pushed to the wayside. So I'll have to use what I got. Movies like Deep Rising, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing (1982) and Network have sudden or quick endings that work in favor of what came before. I think cliffhangers and quick endings can highlight the pulpiness, nihilism, or satirical message of a narrative, movie or book. These are not the only genres that work with a cliffhanger, just the ones that immediately come to mind.

It's an ineloquent explanation, but the best I can do at the moment.
Reply
post #24 of 47
4/16/12 at 9:20am
The BURKE series by Andrew Vachss (18 books total) petered out towards the end and got preachy, but the final two books did a nice job of bringing closure to everything in a fairly satisfying manner.
Reply
post #25 of 47
4/16/12 at 9:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim K View Post

I don't see a good ending after the climax as a reward. I just need some more pages to apply the breaks, say goodbye to the characters and then end. I realize this makes it sound hokey, but it's the type of person I am. I get so involved when I read any narrative that I am completely unaware of my surroundings. When I read I'm effectively deaf and dumb. So if a book ends semi suddenly, especially after a climax that was built up to over a long series, it annoys me. It's like being woken up in the middle of a good dream by ringing of my alarm clock.


 

I can understand that when you get involved with a certain set of characters, you want to say goodbye at your pace.  But I also think that when the story and character arcs are built up really well over time, then the climax itself will resolve most of what needs resolving.  And if you know the characters really well, you pretty much know what will happen to them afterward, and can fill in the blanks to your own satisfaction.  That's why I felt like dragging out Deathly Hallows after the bad guy is defeated would've been redundant.  The 20 years later coda pretty much confirms that everyone is where I expected them to be anyway, so I prefer to leave them in the glow of their greatest triumph rather than settling into office jobs and the magical suburbs.  This is also why I'm not enthusiastic for Mass Effect 3's extended epilogue DLC; although I love the game and those characters, I have my own ideas about how what happened to them afterward that don't really need "official" confirmation/denial. 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim K View Post

This interests me. I liked the Fall of Hyperion, but couldn't get into Endymion. Maybe I'll give it another shot.

 

I really liked the Hyperion books when they stuck to the space opera, but Endymion did some good characters disservice by forcing their story more and more into a polemic against the Catholic Church.  Sci-fi is made for allegory, dude, you can make these points without the villain literally being the Space Pope.

 

Reply
post #26 of 47
4/16/12 at 9:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Schwartz View Post


Space Pope.

 



Thank you, you have just named my retro doom metal band.

Reply
post #27 of 47
4/16/12 at 10:17am

SpacePope.png

Reply
post #28 of 47
4/16/12 at 12:12pm

Touche. This is news to me.

 

There's a whole world unavailable to the merely-casual Simpson/Futurama fan.

 

Edit: Still going ahead with it. He's going on the bass drum skins.

Reply
post #29 of 47
4/16/12 at 12:36pm

Go with Space Jesus, my son.

Reply
post #30 of 47
4/16/12 at 1:05pm

Jim Butcher, who writes the Dresden series, had another series called the "Codex Alera" series.  Six books total.  The first half of the first book is kind of a slog, but I love the rest.  Devoured each book as it came out, and was happy with the ending.  It's a mash-up of the lost roman legion and Pokemon!  Hehe, yup, but it's good.

 

Dresden is good too, but with like 10 books out so far (11?) he is only half way through with that series.  Yep, supposed to be 20 total books, and several side stories in other books.

 

Reply
post #31 of 47
4/16/12 at 1:43pm

The last book of Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy.  Characters live, but it sure ain't happily ever after.  And yet every resolution feels satisfying.

Reply
post #32 of 47
4/16/12 at 2:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lightning Slim View Post

Just curious Tim, does that mean you hate cliffhangers with no closure? Sometimes it's good when the Lady ain't talking and the Tiger can't speak.

 

I recommend Richard K. Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs series to anyone who will listen, but they only give you a glimpse of a much bigger world and leave a lot of threads dangling.

 

Ever since I've finished the third one I've been hungry for more. But maybe Morgan won't write more. It haunts me.

 

Now that's what I call good writing!

I'm with you there.  It was a great, thematic ending to a trilogy

 

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

"Quelcrist Falconer' coming back, or coming back as much as she can.

 but god damn do I want more.  And the possibilities are endless with resleeving.  I love how the first book is hard boiled detective, the second "war squad" on a mission and the third the most personal for Kovacs, all the while dealing with the "martian" legacy.

 

 So a fourth could be pretty much anything.

 

And Quellism is such a great invention. "'It's not personal' - MAKE it fucking personal" and  "That's fucking enough"  are some of my favourite ideals ever..


 

Reply
post #33 of 47
4/16/12 at 3:14pm
I gather that I am in the minority on this, but: That Hideous Strength. It's definitely not without its flaws (too much telling and not enough showing, mostly in a couple of infodumps that really could've been worked into a believable conversation between characters as is done elsewhere in the book,) and it's not the book that best fulfills the premises of Lewis's Space Trilogy (that'd be Perelandra, definitely,) but for me, at least, it's a damn satisfactory read and a suitably encouraging-but-ambiguous conclusion to the series. I know it's kind of all over the place, but that's more because Lewis is pulling out all the stops and going into such a balls-out crazy polemic on so many favorite topics that he can't figure out what to cut, rather than not knowing where to go.

When you're (qualifiedly) impressing George fucking Orwell and (arguably) prefiguring 1984, you know you're onto some good shit.
Edited by commodorejohn - 4/16/12 at 3:42pm
Reply
post #34 of 47
4/18/12 at 7:53pm

Do comic books with a planned beginning, middle, and end count? If so, Garth Ennis's Preacher and Hitman and Brian Azzarello's 100 Bullets.

Reply
post #35 of 47
4/18/12 at 8:57pm

nice call on preacher, I could of sworn that was in development as an HBO series.....that would be so incredible.

Reply
post #36 of 47
4/18/12 at 9:04pm

Oh and screw the haters, J.K.Rowling gave me one of the most emotionally wrenching yet satisfying endings to a book series I personally have ever come across.

 

SO much emotional payoff it felt like I'd run a marathon by the end.

Reply
post #37 of 47
4/18/12 at 9:17pm

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by 3nnui View Posta

nice call on preacher, I could of sworn that was in development as an HBO series.....that would be so incredible.

 

I always preferred Hitman, actually. The homophobic humor in Preacher got to me and taking away the majority of the cast for the too long Salvation arc hurt the book. Still, I love it and it really stuck the landing.

Reply
post #38 of 47
4/18/12 at 9:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3nnui View Post

nice call on preacher, I could of sworn that was in development as an HBO series.....that would be so incredible.


Mark Steven Johnson was producing. HBO pulled the plug when they realized they were working with Mark Steven Johnson.
Reply
post #39 of 47
5/24/12 at 4:26am
Orson Scott Card might have repellent political views but he,does have a way of sticking the landing with his series. The Enders Game Trilogy is quite the achievement given the tonal shift that happens in the second book from military sci fi to more philosophical sci fi. The spinoff series that features Bean as the protagonist was also a great read and stuck the landing in a very satisfying manner.
Reply
post #40 of 47
5/24/12 at 7:44am

Return of the King is one of the more satisfying conclusions to a series I've ever read. Even the slightly anti-climactic Scouring of the Shire has some aesthetic value, wouldve been curious how Jackson would have filmed it

Reply
post #41 of 47
5/24/12 at 9:25am

I hardly ever read science fiction (or fantasy) anymore, but John Varley's Titan-Wizard-Demon trilogy has always been one of my favorites and remains a go-to every few years. He manages the escalating insanity without ever losing control, and wraps up the principles' arcs (and whole societies') in a completely satisfying manner. Not to mention creating one of my favorite action heroes ever in Cirocco Jones; the fact that she's a rare action heroine hardly even comes into it. Sadly, the scale of the setting (massive budget), the bizarreness in the third volume and, more importantly, the weird-but-oddly-beautiful (and interspecies) sexual cultures on hand in the second pretty much puts this one squarely in the unfilmable category. Well, filmable, but no one would freaking dare.

 

ETA: And to be glaringly obvious given my handle, but John D. MacDonald caps the 21-book Travis McGee series with not just one of the top three entries of the entire run, but a send-off to a serial character that rivals any other, any medium.


Edited by Trav McGee - 5/24/12 at 10:29am
Reply
post #42 of 47
5/25/12 at 8:45am

Yeah, the final Travis McGee book is easily one of the best endings to any series in any medium. A perfect ending really.

Reply
post #43 of 47
5/30/12 at 3:43am

If you're okay with a slightly loose definition of 'book', even though it maybe went a little overboard with the codas, I'd say The Wake was an almost perfect ending for Sandman.

Reply
post #44 of 47
6/3/12 at 8:27pm

Glad to hear 100 Bullets caps it great.

 

Y: The Last Man has a hell of an ending.

 

I really quite like the Mistborn series and it's a damn fine ending.  He's writing more in the same universe, just 500+ years after the events in the trilogy, so I wouldn't really call it a continuation.

Reply
post #45 of 47
6/3/12 at 8:43pm

Two of the greatest crime writers to ever take breath, without hypebole, went out strong - perhaps even more impressive is the fact that their careers were cut short due to illness and unexpected death, not a planned exit.  James Crumley on The Last Good Case, which even if not among the best Sughrue/Milo novels, is pretty damned good.   Charles Willeford, on The Way We Die Now, although rumnors persist on a mostly-completed manuscript for a 5th Hoke Moseley novel.  Hopefully it will never be found.

 

Ed McBain's last 87th Precinct novel, Fiddlers, showed how he was one of the most talented and dedicated writers in the profession.

 

Mitchell Smith's Snowfall trilogy finished on Moonrise, which was maybe the strongest of the three.

 

When I first read Comanche Moon, the final book in the Lonesome Dove series (but 2nd chronologically), it pissed me off.  But I now appeciate it very much for what it is. 

Reply
post #46 of 47
6/5/12 at 8:07am

Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series begins in the shadow of the Great Depression, and ends in the wake of Watergate, and while you can feel a bit of Stout's control slip in some of the later installments, in the final book, A Family Affair, his white-hot anger at Nixon's betrayal was channeled into the most deeply personal entry in the series: certainly not the funniest of the Wolfe/Archie pairings, but a satisfying and appropriate conclusion.

Reply
post #47 of 47
6/9/12 at 6:47am

Agatha Christie's Curtain is still one of the great series closers, if not the greatest.

 

Plan B, the final (unfinished) tale in Chester Himes' Coffin Ed / Gravedigger Jones series, is a bizarre, experimental satire that departs from the mystery trappings of its predecessors. Not always successful -- at times, a mess -- but often brilliant.

 

Cobra Trap, featuring Peter O'Donnell's Modesty Blaise, is a collection of novellas that fills in the gaps of the series, and then definitively ends the series. Cleverly conceived.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Books and Magazines
CHUD.com Community › Forums › ARTS & LITERATURE › Books and Magazines › What was the last series you've read that had a genuinely good final book?