Worst Ever Ending to a Book

[megthered]

Originally Posted by Mickey330

The one I hated was the ending to a Nicholas Sparks book, Message in a Bottle. I've put the spoiler parts inside the tag - but suffice it to say I heartily disliked it ... enough to sneer at every Nicholas Sparks novel since.

Spoiler:

The whole book is based on this women recovering from her husband dying. She is in incredible pain and suffering and the first half of the book details her clawing her way back to happiness again. She meets another man and the remainder of the book details how she convinces herself it's okay to love again. She is happy, fulfilled and has passed through the terrible suffering of losing a loved one. She grew as a person and now is starting a new life with this new man. Happily ever after, right?. NOT. At the very end of the book, Sparks kills HIM ! What the heck? All that just to start over again! Srsly? First book I ever threw across the room. Hateful thing.

But, then again, it was Nicholas Sparks. What was I thinking?!

Marilyn

P.S. Still talk bad about that book to this day...

Oh that is horrible! I have never read any of his books, now I will stay far away.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by megthered

Oh that is horrible! I have never read any of his books, now I will stay far away.

It's seems lots of stories do similar things. It's popular in movies too. I've read more than one interview with writers who say "Well, real life rarely ends in a tidy, happy-ever-after package."
To them I say: "Screw you. When I want real life, I'll put the novel down and live it my self."

I like tidy little packages at the end of my fiction. Call me quaint.

An as for series books, I don't mind one or two side threads left open to entice me to read other stories, but yes, finish the darned story you are telling!

And lastly, it's funny, but like others who have said they purged the books from their mind, I clearly recall reading a book not too long ago, loving it all the way through, stayed up all night to finish it, then because of the last chapter threw it down in disgust. I felt betrayed and angry at the author.
And for the life of me, I have NO IDEA what book it was or what it was about. I have successfully blocked the betrayal and anger out of my memory.

But I hope I remember if I ever start reading that book again....next time, I'll need to try to remember enough about it to avoid it in the future.

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by bookfanmd

A friend at work recommended Atonement to me and I still haven't forgiven her. Horrible, Horrible book where the end negated the last 2/3 of what I'd read. It reminded me of the end of the the TV series Roseanne where you found out a large part of the series was in her imagination.

Oh, yeah, that was pretty bad. I think it actually worked in the movie, but I did get mad when I read the book.

[Mickey330]

Originally Posted by ApK

It's seems lots of stories do similar things. It's popular in movies too. I've read more than one interview with writers who say "Well, real life rarely ends in a tidy, happy-ever-after package."
To them I say: "Screw you. When I want real life, I'll put the novel down and live it my self."

I like tidy little packages at the end of my fiction. Call me quaint.

Just re-posting this because all I can say is: What s/he said! That's why I read...

Marilyn

[eppythacher]

I hate endings where the hero/main character dies at the end. Spoilers:

.
.
.
.
The Bible, where not only does Jesus die, but the End of Days messes up the earth
Bravehart
Romeo and Juliet
Swan Lake
Old Yeller
charlotte's web
The end of the 9 book Simon R Green Deathstalker series, where not only does almost everyone die in the end, the main female protagonist is the main bad guy that kill trillions. That being said, Deathstalker is a great series if you like SciFi/Horror/Swordplay

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by eppythacher

I hate endings where the hero/main character dies at the end. Spoilers:

.
.
.
.
The Bible, where not only does Jesus die, but the End of Days messes up the earth
Bravehart
Romeo and Juliet
Swan Lake
Old Yeller
charlotte's web
The end of the 9 book Simon R Green Deathstalker series, where not only does almost everyone die in the end, the main female protagonist is the main bad guy that kill trillions. That being said, Deathstalker is a great series if you like SciFi/Horror/Swordplay

LOL! Good point. Also, the Narnia books and any Shakespeare tragedy, not just R&J, are like that. Shakespeare did like to end his tragedies with bloodbaths and the comedies with marriages. The Little Match Girl and The Little Mermaid, to name two short stories, also qualify.

[Rizla]

The City of Ember has a real stinker. It's ends on a huge deux ex machina. It's laughable. The book is not entirely without merit, but the author doesn't know how to plot, though it does contain some heart (which is why I finished it).

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by ApK

It's seems lots of stories do similar things. It's popular in movies too. I've read more than one interview with writers who say "Well, real life rarely ends in a tidy, happy-ever-after package."

Books are not real life. I have a real life. I don't need to read about it

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by bgalbrecht

According to some authors and publishers I've talked to, the real problem is that the author has just written a very long book, and the economics of dead tree books is such that it's too long to economically print in a single book, and the publisher makes the author split it into two books.

This is, I think, what happened to the first part of Michael Scott´s Nicholas Flamel series, The Alchemyst. Most series have an ongoing storyline and each separate book in the series has an individual/sub storyline which ends at the end of each book. The Alchemyst just ends. There is no sub storyline resolved and it just feels like it was part of a longer book that was cut in multiple parts. There wasn't even a real cliffhanger to entice you into getting the next part.

Although the story in itself was okay I was so annoyed with this non-ending that I refuse to go on with the series (I usually give a series 2-3 books to prove itself if I find the first part okay).

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

This is, I think, what happened to the first part of Michael Scott´s Nicholas Flamel series, The Alchemyst.

I hope I don't embarrass myself too much, but please, someone else tell me that they, too, thought that Nicholas Flamel was a character made up by JK Rowling...I didn't know till looking him up just now that he was a real person.

ApK

[Enkidu of Abydos]

Originally Posted by WillieMcIntyre

a serial killer (yawn) who is always one step ahead of the law. He enjoys toying with the cops and everytime they think they have him cornered, he thwarts their plans.

Just like every serial killer in fiction ever. I absolutely hate movies / series about serial killers that are popping up like mushrooms lately, and I'd never read a book about one.
I find this modern fascination with serial killers idiotic. Just goes to show you how idiotic modern society has become, it's geeky and uncool to be smart / curious / knowledgeable (and as people are taught from elementary school geeks are to be despised and never get the girl), while all of a sudden killing people on mass is cool !?

Originally Posted by WillieMcIntyre

I was reading the last few pages while waiting for a train and nearly threw myself under the Glasgow/Edinburgh express.

You just made me think of an advantage of paper books over e-readers which never occured to me before.
If you had been reading a paper book which turned out to be total crap, you could have thrown it under the train in frustration. You also could have thrown it on the ground and stomped on it, or ripped it page from page, or flung it as far away as you could, or tried flushing it down a public toilet, or set it on fire and laughed hysterically while watching it burn, or done a number of other frustration-relieving things to it.
Now as you were reading it on an e-reader (I presume), you had no way of relieving your frustration (without destroying valuable electronic property) other than pressing the delete button, which is obviously not very satisfying.
So if the book had been only a little worse you might have had thrown yourself under the train and ended your life tragically, all because of a stupid book.
So how to solve this problem ? Well this is what I suggest (although there may be other solutions) to all you out there - if you are reading a book you are not absolutely sure you are going to like, you should carry with you a printed out picture of the author (like a portret) and a .357 Magnum. Then if you don't like the ending, you just take out your portret / target and put some hot lead right between the eyes. If you're still feeling cheated and frustrated after that, take some gasoline and pour it over the picture, and then set it on fire with a match or lighter and watch it burn.
If that kind of wonderfully brutal and excessive violence still doesn't calm you down, then go watch some "Sledge Hammer" episodes. The end.

[Xanthe]

Originally Posted by Zetmolm

Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg.
Actually, I cannot say that the ending is bad. Rather, the ending is missing. It's a thriller, and in that genre you expect all mysteries to be resolved in the end. It's as if the author was afraid to make some choices, and just stopped writing rather than complete the plot.

Thank you. Now I realize why I can never remember the way that book ended.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by Enkidu of Abydos

Just like every serial killer in fiction ever. I absolutely hate movies / series about serial killers that are popping up like mushrooms lately, and I'd never read a book about one.
I find this modern fascination with serial killers idiotic. Just goes to show you how idiotic modern society has become, it's geeky and uncool to be smart / curious / knowledgeable (and as people are taught from elementary school geeks are to be despised and never get the girl), while all of a sudden killing people on mass is cool !?


You just made me think of an advantage of paper books over e-readers which never occured to me before.
If you had been reading a paper book which turned out to be total crap, you could have thrown it under the train in frustration. You also could have thrown it on the ground and stomped on it, or ripped it page from page, or flung it as far away as you could, or tried flushing it down a public toilet, or set it on fire and laughed hysterically while watching it burn, or done a number of other frustration-relieving things to it.
Now as you were reading it on an e-reader (I presume), you had no way of relieving your frustration (without destroying valuable electronic property) other than pressing the delete button, which is obviously not very satisfying.
So if the book had been only a little worse you might have had thrown yourself under the train and ended your life tragically, all because of a stupid book.
So how to solve this problem ? Well this is what I suggest (although there may be other solutions) to all you out there - if you are reading a book you are not absolutely sure you are going to like, you should carry with you a printed out picture of the author (like a portret) and a .357 Magnum. Then if you don't like the ending, you just take out your portret / target and put some hot lead right between the eyes. If you're still feeling cheated and frustrated after that, take some gasoline and pour it over the picture, and then set it on fire with a match or lighter and watch it burn.
If that kind of wonderfully brutal and excessive violence still doesn't calm you down, then go watch some "Sledge Hammer" episodes. The end.

I actually did want to hurl the book 'March' by Geraldine Brooks against the wall with great force, but could not, as it was an ebook.

I could only vent my frustration by giving it a one-star review on Amazon, instead.

But since there are only a couple of books in my lifetime that I have wanted to throw against the wall, I'll take my ereader.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by bookfanmd

Thanks for the head's up. I can't see attempting to read another of his books though, it's been over 2 years since Atonement and I still get ticked off when I think of that book.

McEwan is an incredibly skilled writer, but his plots can be tough to take.

Do try Saturday. I think the ending is artificial but it's not a downer.

I don't remember how On Chesil's Beach ends, so I guess it must've been okay

I think both are worth reading. I got a sample of Solar but I didn't like the protagonist so I skipped it.

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by Enkidu of Abydos

You just made me think of an advantage of paper books over e-readers which never occured to me before.
If you had been reading a paper book which turned out to be total crap, you could have thrown it under the train in frustration. You also could have thrown it on the ground and stomped on it, or ripped it page from page, or flung it as far away as you could, or tried flushing it down a public toilet, or set it on fire and laughed hysterically while watching it burn, or done a number of other frustration-relieving things to it.
Now as you were reading it on an e-reader (I presume), you had no way of relieving your frustration (without destroying valuable electronic property) other than pressing the delete button, which is obviously not very satisfying.
So if the book had been only a little worse you might have had thrown yourself under the train and ended your life tragically, all because of a stupid book.

That's what 1-star reviews are all about.

The more angry you are at the book, the more sites you post it to--Amazon, goodreads, your blog...