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Monday, October 7, 2013

Top Ten Best and Worst Series Enders


This week's topic is...

Top Ten Best and Worst Series Enders

Though I have become a bit wary and tired of the myriad of series over the years - sometimes preferring to read a satisfying standalone - I can't deny that I am still by and large a series girl. There are few things more rewarding to me about reading than a well done and fulfilling series ender. And conversely, there are few things more frustrating about reading than a completely unfulfilling, anticlimactic, or incomplete series ender. So without further ado, here is my list of best and worst series enders:

The Best:
Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3) by Beth Revis (My Review | Goodreads)
A solid and thrilling conclusion to an exciting series that never had a dull moment.

Monsters of Men (Chaos Walking #3) by Patrick Ness (My Review | Goodreads)
I really can't say why exactly I loved this series ender without revealing some serious spoilers. So just know that I thought it was PERFECT.

Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare (My Review | Goodreads)
I know people either loved or hated this ending, but I fall firmly into the LOVED camp. I couldn't have devised a more perfect ending for the beloved characters in this series.

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins (Goodreads)
Another divisive ending. I can't say Mockingjay was a perfect book as I did have my problems with it, as well, but I really couldn't see this trilogy ending any other way than it did. Katniss had just gone through way too much for a rosy ending.

The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings #3) by J.R.R. Tolkien (Goodreads)
This is another one where I couldn't see the series ending any other way for the characters. Frodo had been through too much and I liked the realism.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7) by J.K. Rowling (My Review | Goodreads)
I think at first I thought the epilogue was a bit too cheesy, but I've come to truly love it over the years. I want the best for my boy and the best he got.


The Worst:
Sever (The Chemical Garden #3) by Lauren DeStefano (My Review | Goodreads)
Boring and anticlimatic.

Reached (Matched #3) by Ally Condie (My Review | Goodreads)
Ditto. A series ender should go out with a bang! Not a whimper.

Requiem (Delirium #3) by Lauren Oliver (My Review | Goodreads)
Where was my closure?! I needed more resolution, especially for the love triangle. I feel like we were owed that for sticking with the series to the end and Lauren Oliver did not deliver.

Breaking Dawn (Twilight #4) by Stephenie Meyer (Goodreads)
The most anticlimactic of endings. Finally, I thought, Stephenie Meyer will deliver with a final epic vampire battle - NOPE. A battle solved WITH WORDS?! Sorry, not nearly exciting enough. The movie did the book a favour in this respect.

19 comments :

  1. I'm one of those people who hated the ending of Clockwork Princess but high-five on Mockingjay! I think the ending is perfect. <3 So glad you loved the ending of Shades of Earth as I'm yet to read it and Monsters of Men too! I haven't read the whole book but I've read the ending and it was super sad! Actually, I would've hated it with all my guts if there wasn't a novella set after it.

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  2. Mockingjay had a horrible ending. I really think it brought the whole series down for me. I definitely agree with ROTK & while I do like the Deathly Hallows ending I once saw an alternative on Pinterest that I believe would've been even better so it's sort of tarnished that ending some. As for the worst Ive only read Breaking Dawn from that list and I agree completely.

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  3. Mockingjay was my least favorite book in the series. I also thought that Sever was an improvement from Fever, which I really struggled to finish.

    could not agree more about Requiem. It made my worst endings list for the exact same reasons.

    Here is my TTT: http://jacquesbooknook.blogspot.com/2013/10/top-ten-tuesday-bestworst-series-endings.html

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  4. Your thoughts on Breaking Dawn made me giggle. :) Great list.

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  5. Harry Potter of course :D! Requiem makes me mad every time I think about it. I still wonder what Oliver was thinking when she wrote it..

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  6. I'm so glad to see that you liked the epilogue in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I felt like I was the only one! I didn't read Requiem but I read the other books in the series and I think I might have to read Requiem just to see how bad the ending is! I need to know why everyone is complaining! Great list :)

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  7. Monsters Of Men, Deathly Hallows, and Return Of The King were all amazing!
    -Scott Reads It!

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  8. I havent read many of these but of the ones I've I totes agree!!
    And you're right, series should end with a bang, not with a whimper, thats part of what I love about Deathly Hallows, that book put me through the emotional rollercoaster, and ended in such a good way :D

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  9. I totally agree with Mockingjay, and I also can't see the series ending any other way. I didn't like the epilogue of DH at first either, but it's grown on me. And as beautiful as the last paragraph or two was in Requiem, it still doesn't make up for how disappointed I was with lack of closure, Great list!

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  10. I hated the ending of Mockingjay. I liked what happened but I was annoyed because it seemed like she just gave up in some ways. And I've always liked the DH epilogue.

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  11. It's funny because I think I liked Breaking Dawn the best out of the whole series. I thought it was the least angsty. I just have so many series on the go right now that I need to finish. The list goes on and on and...

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  12. I do think the movie helped the end of Breaking Dawn. I'm glad you have Mockingjay on the Best list, because so many people I know hate that book. LOL I really liked it because it just made SENSE to me.

    And I love anything Harry Potter so I like the ending. There are things I wish would have happened...but in the end, I'm with you; I just want him to be happy. :)

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  13. Hmm my comment didn't post ... weird! Anyways, I posted that I just realized I'm terrible at finishing series. I'm great at starting them but always fall behind or just never get around to reading sequels. I've only finished HP (loved except for the epilogue) and Breaking Dawn (was forced to read it by friends and struggled to finish) from this list.

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  14. I think the only way that JK Rowling could get away with such a cheesy ending was because of how incredibly sad and sometimes tragic the rest of the series was. I remember reading it the first time and thinking "I should be gagging at this, but I love it! Harry deserves this and more!"

    Oh Breaking Dawn. I actually really loved it, but I agree the solving of the battle with words was super lame. I loved the movie version so much better!

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  15. Ha! I love how REQUIEM is on nearly every TTT I drop by - but it's so true! I hated how open-ended it was, too. I mean, the ending told us nothing. Did the revolution work or not? Did Hana make it out alive or not? And, most importantly, who did Lena choose in the end? I was so frustrated when none of these were even addressed. Gah!

    4. Mockingjay: Yay, I'm so glad to see this one in your "best endings" section. I can't understand the amount of hate this book has gotten. While I didn't like the EXACT ending (Katniss belongs with Gale, not Peeta), I agree: the book had to be dark and violent and unhappy, because that's what war and rebellions are all about. Not sunshine and daisies and butter mellows, that's for sure.

    5. The Return of the King: I only managed to make it halfway through THE TWO TOWERS before giving up on the series. I'm so disappointed in myself, but really. Tolkien shouldn't have spent so much time composing songs and describing Frodo and Sam, or Gandalf, Aragorn and Legolas tromping through woods and stuff. The impatient reader in me did not have a fun time. I do intend to continue with the series, though, and the fact that the last book was amazing is incentive enough. :)

    6. The Deathly Hallows: DO I EVEN NEED TO EXPLAIN WHY--No.

    7. Sever: Oh no! SEVER didn't work out for you? I can't say I'm very surprised, though, since the whole CHEMICAL GARDEN trilogy was nothing particularly ground-breaking for me. And, ugh, I dislike Gabriel with a passion. He's so dull and moody, and I can imagine how his presence would make the book boring. Lol, just kidding. But FEVER was already meh for me. :/

    Okay, so out of the ten listed here, I've only read three. I really need to buck-up with my reading! But great list, Aylee. :D

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  16. I loved Clockwork Princess and Mockingjay, too! There really are so many people that hate both endings, but I agree, I couldn't see it ending any other way...at least not for the characters. Mockingjay, especially. I felt that it was so realistic, and there was no way the final book was going to be happy...they were at war, war isn't happy and bad stuff happens. I also loved Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but I'm still not a huge fan of the epilogue. I loved the book, but the epilogue was so weird. haha

    I loved Breaking Dawn actually, but I read all 4 books in one straight go, so I really didn't have time to build up this big suspenseful conclusion. Plus, I felt like the way that Bella stopped all of the mental attacks was very powerful. I liked that Bella was finally being the one who was taking care of everyone else. She wasn't the defenseless human anymore, she was a strong vampire protecting the people she cared about. Like I said, I found it powerful actually...and the ending, so sappy...I loved it. I can't help but get a smile on my face when I think of the ending of that book. Reneesme is still weird though! haha And I still need to read Reached...but now I'm kinda worried. :S Hopefully I like it!!!

    Thanks for sharing your list, Eilidh! You've given me some stuff to think about. ;D

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  17. I totally agree with this list! Especially loving HP7 and Shades of Earth and not loving Breaking Dawn. Wow that one was a hot mess! :-)

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  18. Epic list! I totally agree with HP, LotR and Mockingay for best enders ♥ All the feels and awesomeness for those for sure :D I still need to read Across the Universe & TID though!

    As for the worst ones, Reached definitely would be on mine too, what a downer. I was one of the oddballs that actually like BD though >.< I don't know how I'd feel if I were to read it for the first time now, but while I was bummed about the pregnancy storyline at first, I loved that Bella finally became a vamp and the sexy times w. Edward haha One of my worsts would have been the final Narnia book :(

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  19. LOL! Yes, totally agree with what you said about Breaking Dawn. I thought finally, finally I would get epic battles. What was I thinking?! *sigh*

    I'm a fan of the HP epilogue, too. I know it's over the top and ties everything up in an incredibly perfect neat little bow, but I like that! There's something very satisfying about a happily ever after, and I'm glad J. K. Rowling gave us one. After everything we all went through together, I couldn't think of a better ending.

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