[SPOILERS] Series with disappointing final books?

[Werthead]

Dune: Very strong first book, a classic, even. The sequels I can only recall as being more and more pants on head stupid.

I think the books' decline peaked at Book 4, and then 5 and 6 were okay. They were very adventure and action-based compared to the first four, but that's not such a bad thing. Aside from the Honoured Matres' tendency to sex everything in sight and then getting overpowered by the protagonist's sex-might (which is ridiculous, but it's only one small part of the two books), they had some reasonably effective moments.

Can someone vaguely spoil me with the ending of the Thorn and Bone series via PM please.

Errant Bards post makes me want to read it, but other reviewers make me not want to.

Is the ending so WTF stupid that it ruins the series? Or what?

The overall writing quality just declines massively. The feeling the author projects is that he was bored of it and couldn't muster any enthusiasm to finish the thing off. Some of the actual events are okay, but they're handled so badly that it's hard to read them.

[Errant Bard]

I think the books' decline peaked at Book 4, and then 5 and 6 were okay. They were very adventure and action-based compared to the first four, but that's not such a bad thing. Aside from the Honoured Matres' tendency to sex everything in sight and then getting overpowered by the protagonist's sex-might (which is ridiculous, but it's only one small part of the two books), they had some reasonably effective moments.

True enough, I guess. I remember I somehow liked Chapterhouse Dune, and Duncan Idaho as multiple-lived strange-eyed sex god. But for my defence, it didn't quite feel like it was even in the same series as Dune.

I wonder if I could have mentioned PERN and Darkover since I brought up long series. The last instalments I read were bad to a level only exacerbated by my teenage affection for the first (god, the masterharper of pern... or how Robinton was behind everything, everywhere. I wish I had stopped sooner)

The overall writing quality just declines massively. The feeling the author projects is that he was bored of it and couldn't muster any enthusiasm to finish the thing off. Some of the actual events are okay, but they're handled so badly that it's hard to read them.

Who cares about more wooden interactions and plot development when you have magical pyrotechnics and ludricous twists, and aliens, and no more (or way less) bloody fencing? Net plus in my book. One thing I regretted was the (subjective? can't quite remember) loss of berserker asskicking, though.

[Xray the Enforcer]

The Warrior Queen trilogy I think it is. The first book is The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling. The first book had such an interesting premise, I really liked it, and then the second book is pretty good too, but the ending is predictable. I had high hopes that she would finish strong, but it just felt like tying up lose endings. It's a shame. I loooooved the first book.

Oh hell yes. The first book was really interesting, and the second was still pretty good. But I couldn't even finish the third. A shame, all around. Come to think of it, the Nightrunner books had many of the same problems.

[Nerdanel]

Is The Born Queen really a worse final book than The Courage of Falcons (Secret Texts)? Is there anyone here who has read both?

At least, The Courage of Falcons is ludicrous in a decidedly bad way. That book could have used some more fireworks rather than heroes spinning their wheels. It wouldn't even have been that difficult, only necessitating a change of what was shown on screen. Instead we got rampant OOC, stupidity, and blatant filler to meet the page count.

And to think that the series started out so promising...

[Grack21]

Oh hell yes. The first book was really interesting, and the second was still pretty good. But I couldn't even finish the third. A shame, all around. Come to think of it, the Nightrunner books had many of the same problems.

Well, the nightrunner books are still going.

[AverageGuy]

Can someone vaguely spoil me with the ending of the Thorn and Bone series via PM please.

Errant Bards post makes me want to read it, but other reviewers make me not want to.

Is the ending so WTF stupid that it ruins the series? Or what?

It's been so long I don't remember, but I do remember disliking the third to an extent and the fourth to a greater extent while I liked the first two.

That, Dark Tower, and Otherland were the first to come to mind.

[mjgambino]

Overall, I still liked the Kingdom of Thorn and Bone series... even though the last book is kind of "blah."

I hated the fifth book of the Monarchies of God... thought it ruined the series.

I disagree about the Night Angel Trilogy's 3rd book being a letdown. I thought the entire series was a pretty consistant B level fantasy. I also liked the ending to Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, even if the epilogue was kind of cheesy.

[Corvinus85]

Godless world - I loved the first one, but not the second, never got to the third.

I have to disagree with you here. IMO the second one was the best, and the third is worth reading.

For me, the Ender series got worse and worse after Ender's Game (I am talking only about the Ender Wiggin books; I haven't read the ones about Bean)

Ender's Game was great, Speaker for the Dead was OK, Xenocide made me quit on them.

Also, The Broken Man trilogy, also known as Husk, by Russell Kirkpatrick, though I think is a good read, it's ending was a combination of too much weird epic stuff going on and things falling into place a little too neatly for the main characters. (might be that I'm being influenced by ASOIAF in this)

[marwyn]

It's been so long I don't remember, but I do remember disliking the third to an extent and the fourth to a greater extent while I liked the first two.

That, Dark Tower, and Otherland were the first to come to mind.

Otherland? Huh. I thought the last book in that series was actually one of the best. Book 2 and 3 really became immensely boring after a while - it seems Tad Williams was just doing a creative writing exercise coming up with as many silly virtual worlds as he possibly could, without any actual, you know, plot. But he tied it together quite satisfactorily in the last one I think..

[awesome possum]

I'll add my name to the list saying Kingdom of Thorn and Bone. The first two books had me hugely excited, but I don't think I ever finished the third let alone picked up the fourth. One day, maybe, but all the negativity I've heard just doesn't make me want to any time soon.

Otherland is another. What a fantastic concept ruined by Williams's tendency for overindulgence and bloat. I guess this technically isn't another final book vote for me, as I couldn't even finish the first. I quickly fell in love with the idea and the worlds, but sometimes reading Williams is akin to reading a chemistry textbook for fun.

[williamjm]

Otherland? Huh. I thought the last book in that series was actually one of the best. Book 2 and 3 really became immensely boring after a while - it seems Tad Williams was just doing a creative writing exercise coming up with as many silly virtual worlds as he possibly could, without any actual, you know, plot. But he tied it together quite satisfactorily in the last one I think..

I agree, I thought the ending of book 4 was better than I had expected given how much the plot had meandered in books 2 and 3.

[Derfel Cadarn]

I'll concur with A Kingdom of Thorn and Bone. It started out good but the last volume didn;t deliver.

I'd say the Runelords by David Farland but he still seems to be cranking them out, and it was more a case of promising first book, disappointing follow-ups. I didnt read past book 4, no idea if the series improved.

[Grack21]

I'll concur with A Kingdom of Thorn and Bone. It started out good but the last volume didn;t deliver.

I'd say the Runelords by David Farland but he still seems to be cranking them out, and it was more a case of promising first book, disappointing follow-ups. I didnt read past book 4, no idea if the series improved.

Dear God, you got to book 4? Thou art a braver man then I.

[jagilki]

Dear God, you got to book 4? Thou art a braver man then I.

I think I made it halfway through book 3, then just gave up.

I will be honest though, I keep thinking of trying to finish, but....

[Woofdog2]

Rhialto the Marvellous (The Dying Earth) is pretty disappointing as well.

I agree with your list, with this exception. I don't think Rhialto the marvellous was ever intended to be a 'last book in a series' or even part of a series per se - Vance's series are pretty clearly marked. The dying earth omnibus was stuff from various parts of vance's career put together by the publisher. Being last in the omnibus was a publishing issue, not a series order event in any way. The Alastor 'trilogy' is another example where there is no trilogy to have an end-book for. edit - the only 'series end' book in the dying earth complication is Cugel's Saga.

Redemption Ark was by far the single worst series end that comes to mind at present. So bad in so many ways. The author kills off the protagonist and antagonist from the last book in the first chapter in a blatantly contrived fashion. He then apparently doesn't write an ending, simply sticking an epilogue referring to some new super-duper thing that runs off the baddies that no one who didn't have arcane methods of accessing his galactic north story (which I understand was already written then) would have a clue what to make of.

I wonder if I could have mentioned PERN and Darkover since I brought up long series. The last instalments I read were bad to a level only exacerbated by my teenage affection for the first (god, the masterharper of pern... or how Robinton was behind everything, everywhere. I wish I had stopped sooner)

I am finding the Darkover books from the 60's and early 70's tend to be enjoyable overall. Some from the mid-70;s forward I have either wanted to quit or have quit very quickly.

The Dark Tower.....the last 3 books just got worse and worse with the last one being total garbage. What a shame, I loved the first 4. :(

I enjoyed them up through Wizard and Glass. When the fifth came out, I bought and read it, and disliked it so much I never bought or read the rest. 5 was written after his near-death accident, and I have wondered if the part of his brain that creates stories was still unsettled at this point because this book was crap. Doing at 3 at once seems like one of those reactive behaviors near-death can instigate.

[me399]

The Dark Tower.....the last 3 books just got worse and worse with the last one being total garbage. What a shame, I loved the first 4. :(

[Shryke]

The Dark Tower thing seems to be that his accident scared the shit out of him so he forced himself to finish the series instead of whatever he was doing before of waiting for inspiration to strike him.

Of course, King has rarely ended a book well, so I didn't have a ton of hope for a series by him.

[me399]

The Dark Tower thing seems to be that his accident scared the shit out of him so he forced himself to finish the series instead of whatever he was doing before of waiting for inspiration to strike him.

Of course, King has rarely ended a book well, so I didn't have a ton of hope for a series by him.

I have always believed this same thing. I think we would have gotten a much different ending if he did not have his "brush with death"

[Shryke]

Believe nothing, he flat out says this. His brush with death made him realise he might die before finishing his opus, so he set out to finish it. He even writes this into the story.

[me399]

Believe nothing, he flat out says this. His brush with death made him realise he might die before finishing his opus, so he set out to finish it. He even writes this into the story.

Okay... Thanks for clearing that up.

I have to admit that I am some what looking forward to the new DT book. I'm hoping he is more "inspired" with this one and that it will resemble the first 4 rather than the last 3. Maybe his son should proof the ending like he did on his last book. Together, they nailed it. ;)