Quote:
Originally Posted by Dazrin
Depends on the series and author for me. And the promises made by the author, either directly or indirectly, about how the book will end.
If it is supposedly a series of semi-connected books (Mystery/Monster of the Week style or something), then leaving it at a cliff hanger is not acceptable. If I know it is a series with a single long storyline then I don't have as much problem with it. If they are ambiguous even slightly about the type of book it become much less acceptable.
For author, if I trust the author enough to complete the next book in a reasonable time (less than 2 years), it bothers me much less too. The list of authors that I would trust in this situation is dwindling though. I can think of only 1 right now.
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Yeah, well, I was first and mightily burned (and infamously, I was far from the only one!) by Melanie Rawn, during Ruins of Ambrai. She'd had two very successful fantasy series before that, all set in the same world/universe and she popped along with Ambrai, did two books, stopped book two on something:
SPOILER, SPOILER!
and then, BAM the damn book ended and that was that. The promised third book never appeared, or if it did, it was seriously like 25 years later and I think I read it's dreck.
That was the beginning of the end for me with cliffhangers. I've been Rawn-burned.
By cliffhangers, I don't mean, longer-term unresolved story arcs, like..."will Harry Dresden get together with whats-er-name," or the like. I mean, failing to end a book with something that actually resolved the current plot elements of the current book. (Does Harry catch the murderer, or the like.)
I
don't have a problem with longer story arcs. But I do resent feeling like my goose is being plucked, to mix my metaphors, for the almighty $2.99 or what-have-you.
Hitch