alohadave
Doing better
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- Dec 6, 2019
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It's the only book of his I've read beside The Running Man, and it was a good ending.
Sticking the ending (or not)
- Thread starter Wifetheif
- Start date
Britva415
"Alabaster," my ass
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Bookmarking this for linking from future 1p discussion threads
Actingup
Mostly Harmless
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- Feb 12, 2018
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For what it's worth, all the resources I've read on the point say that you can do it, but it has to be skillful. In this case it was not.
StillStunned
Mr Sticky
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- Jun 4, 2023
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Another one that felt like a waste of time: The Mallorean by David Eddings.
For five volumes, the heroes go around being superheroes, with the only challenges being that they have to figure out which of their superpowers they have to use. Essentially they're on a scavenger hunt, killing time until they're in a specific place at a specific time. There, the fate of the universe will be decided.
And the decision will be made by the super-god kid, who has to choose between destroying the universe or not. Seriously, all he has to do it say yes or no. And given that for that whole series, and half the previous one, he's portrayed as a happy, positive person, there's about as much tension there as when someone asks me whether I'd like a piece of chocolate cake.
For five volumes, the heroes go around being superheroes, with the only challenges being that they have to figure out which of their superpowers they have to use. Essentially they're on a scavenger hunt, killing time until they're in a specific place at a specific time. There, the fate of the universe will be decided.
And the decision will be made by the super-god kid, who has to choose between destroying the universe or not. Seriously, all he has to do it say yes or no. And given that for that whole series, and half the previous one, he's portrayed as a happy, positive person, there's about as much tension there as when someone asks me whether I'd like a piece of chocolate cake.
I was thinking about something similar recently specifically relating to crime fiction. If a mystery remains unsolved at the end of the book (or movie/TV show), is this an interesting subversion or is it a let-down?
As a hypothetical, say in the 2000s crime drama 'Cold Case' there had been a case reopened where a high school senior vanished without trace from her graduation in 1988 and had not been seen or heard of since. The episode follows its usual pattern of flashbacks to the time of the vanishing with music from the era, and interviews with witnesses in the present day. But any new leads go nowhere, one factor contradicts another at every turn and there is not a shred of hard evidence to support any theory. At the end of the episode the mystified Cold Case team have to concede defeat, and seriously ponder whether it is possible for somebody to simply vanish into thin air.
It would be interesting to see how such a story would have been received at the time, and how it would be viewed years later.
As a hypothetical, say in the 2000s crime drama 'Cold Case' there had been a case reopened where a high school senior vanished without trace from her graduation in 1988 and had not been seen or heard of since. The episode follows its usual pattern of flashbacks to the time of the vanishing with music from the era, and interviews with witnesses in the present day. But any new leads go nowhere, one factor contradicts another at every turn and there is not a shred of hard evidence to support any theory. At the end of the episode the mystified Cold Case team have to concede defeat, and seriously ponder whether it is possible for somebody to simply vanish into thin air.
It would be interesting to see how such a story would have been received at the time, and how it would be viewed years later.
