[Mugwump]

We’ve all encountered them: SF novels that leap forth and grab our emotions during the first few pages, but ultimately go on to let us down in the most heartbreaking fashion in the final few chapters.

List your if-only-they’d-not-stuffed-up-the-ending books here:

[Ward]

i thought Snow Crash 'crashed' at the end, seems like everything was drawn to a close in a couple of pages. still enjoyed it, a great book.

i've heard stephenson has a problem with endings sometimes, or perhaps i should say many readers have a problem with his endings.

i'm sure i've encountered others, but none spring to mind yet (selective amnesia?).

[ArthurFrayn]

To be quite honest, this is one the most common illnesses of SF if not of all genre fiction. I can't tell you how many books I've gotten to 10-20 pages from the end and said to myself "he/she's not going to pull this off in the pages left" and sure enough, they drop the ball. You have to enjoy the ride and forget the need for a definite closure. These people write these books too damn fast.

But, just to give a categorical example, I'd pick Phil Dick's books as a group. He drops the ball in 2 out of every 5 of his novels, and I'm probably being generous. Dropping the ball is part of his style. ;)

John Brunner is another. KW Jeter is another. AE VanVogt is another.That's off the top of my head.

[Phoric]

This may or may not be the most popular of opions, but its my personal one so here it is.

For me, Adams Hitchhiker books faded as they got along. The first three, I loved, but the last two... Towards the end, it just felt as if the pages were being forced out, and the casual sort of tongue in cheek wit from the previous books I loved so much just wasn't really there anymore.

I'd just have to say personally his trilogy of five could have been left as a trilogy of three, and been better served by that.

[Colonel Worf]

Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson is a great example. The book started out good and held my attention all through, but it never decides on a genre and becomes bogged down in its own complexity. But believe me.. the premise and the first 2/3rds and the epilogue of the book were great.