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| Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish |
Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic: Top 10 Worst/Best Series Endings. I'm splitting this in two; my top 5 best series endings, and my top 5 worst series endings.
Top 5 Best Series Endings:
- Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz: The end to the series was very bittersweet and I know a lot of Readers didn't like it. But a series like this one needed a bittersweet (i.e. a realistic) ending, so I loved how it ended.
- Inkworld Trilogy by Cornelia Funke: I was so worried that after everything that happened to Meggie and Mo and Resa, that they would hate the Inkworld and leave. So I was thrilled how it ended. Granted, some villains didn't meet the ends I wanted, but not every villain can die, right? Overall, I found it to be one of the most satisfying endings ever.
- A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket: Yes, a lot of fans were disappointed and irritated because the Author didn't explain every blessed thing in his stories. Whoever expected that were setting themselves up for disappointment. I knew Snicket wouldn't explain everything; there's no possible way he could in one novel. But she answered the most burning question, and the end was bittersweet and could still very well lead into a companion series.
- The Dark Unwinding Series by Sharon Cameron: I loved how A Spark Unseen ended. It was very conclusive, but had hints that other things happened in the characters' lives that we Readers won't be privileged to see. I like it when endings give an indication that the characters' lives continue even after we've closed the book.
- Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld: Though there were many things that bothered me about this trilogy in general, I did really like the end. It was perfect for the trilogy, it wrapped everything up, and it was what I was expecting.
Top 5 Worst Series Endings:
- Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini: Even as an anti-fan, I agree that the end to this series was atrocious. Not only because of its shocking similarity to The Lord of the Rings, but because it was cliche, cobbled together, and let true fans down in every way possible. I wasn't expecting anything different, but it was still horrible and I feel bad for dedicated fans who were massively disappointed.
- The Chemical Garden Trilogy by Lauren DeStefano: Too rushed, too convoluted, not at all conclusive, and cobbled together in its own way as well. Too much happened in a short span of time, and not enough was wrapped up.
- Eve Trilogy by Anna Carey: It was way too sudden. Not only did nothing happen in the last book, but it just ended. Without warning and without wrapping everything up.
- Matched Trilogy by Ally Condie: She had an entire book that could have - and should have, and was promised to be - devoted to a rebellion. But instead the rebellion happened in the first two chapters, and then the book just meandered, and it ended on a note of hope, but didn't have a very conclusive feel.
- Timeless Series by Alexandra Monir: This whole series was as dull as a bunch of rocks, so I don't know why I expected the conclusion to be any different. But it wasn't; it was dull, rather pointless, and just . . . well, dull.
I haven't finished any of those series except the Leviathan Trilogy, but I am glad to know which five to avoid.
ReplyDeleteI am a little surprised by your Leviathan pick, though. Obviously I had my own issues with it (my ratings for the series went from a five-star to a two-star to a three-star), but I found the end a little ... meh. The Tesla bit was somewhat interesting, but Alec throwing away everything (literally) and then getting a dream job with Deryn didn't sit well. Too easy, too convenient, too stupid. I was with Volger: you didn't have to be emperor, but you could have done something a tad smarter. Also, though I was generally okay with Deryn and Alec as a couple, I still had a sour aftertaste from the handling of it in Book 2; even Book 3's coming back to earth in terms of character portrayal didn't fully erase that.
I have a confession: the LEVIATHAN pick was mostly because I couldn't think of any other books, and I was tired of searching through my reads shelf on Goodreads (it's too loooong). ;-) I recall liking the ending to the LEVIATHAN TRILOGY, but I'm sure if I went back a re-read it, I wouldn't put it as a top 5 favvie.
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