In English Class, we were given the book "Anthem", written by Ayn Rand to read. The book had about 300 pages, and we were told a fair amount of them was of the first draft and the editing done to it. I shrugged it off and decided to read with regard.

The story is good, and the action rises at a very nice, steady pace. The conflict of the story heats up, and the main character is forced to start breaking the rules he has known his entire life.

Just when you think the introduction to the story is over and you are now reading the "rising action" phase of the story.... it ends... just like that, it ends. The author spends a hundred pages introducing us to the main character and the society he lives in, and about ten or less pages of his love interest.

Has this ever happened to you? Your reading, or watching a story unfold, and just when it seems like it's time for the ball to really get rolling and the plot to start thickening, it just suddenly ends? If so, what story/movie/show/whatever was it that did this to you, and how did you feel afterwards?


For me, I was surprised I guess. I didn't realize that 75% of the book was made up of rough drafts. I was starting to get into the story and really enjoy the direction it was taking, and than, bam... it ended.

I can't really think of anything specific. There have been instances. I think TV series are probably most guilty of this, because of the way they are funded and structured -- just as I'm getting into this neat, niche little nugget of viewing pleasure, the network will decide to cancel it.

[Edit: removed. This topic is ironic. Let's leave it at that... No, let's not. If you're going to critique something, make sure there isn't a really big, glaring error related to what you're critiquing, in your post. It detracts from your critique.]

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack. Great movie----svcky ending...what the hell am I talking about there was no ending, It was all left open! If you really want to know how the story ended you haved to read the noval.

I used to watch a BBC series called "Survivors". They left the end of series 2 on a real cliffhanger, then the show was cancelled and we never got to find out what happened. Very annoying.

A lot of BBC series are cancelled at the end of the second season. It's quite an odd model to have and, yes, incredibly annoying. Don't make me sit through two seasons of something if you've no plans to support it past that. The Office, Outnumbered...

Other than how I mentioned the rough drafts at the beginning of the post, followed by the "I didn't expect 75%", I don't really see what you mean. If it is about the rough drafts, Iike I said, I didn't expect them to take up 75% of the pages that the book is made from.

Maybe I am just to tired to notice it. I'll probably see what you mean in the mornign and facepalm.

They're still making Outnumbered aren't they? I'm sure they made more than 2 series...

Game of Thrones. When it cuts from the lead up to the battle straight to the aftermath. I'll be honest, I was looking forward to some bloodshed, I love fight scenes and to miss it was dissapointing.
(Why is there so much empty space beneath my post?)

Monty Python and The Holy Grail had a rather unexpected ending.

A Feast for Crows.

The Walking Dead TV series.
Not the book since I've not read much of that.

Ermmm, Lord Of The Flies to me seemed rather meh even though it's something I would have enjoyed.

Fallout 2
Fallout 3: Broken Steel
WW1
Hancock

(the reason Anthem svcked was because Ayn Rand wrote it)

The ending to Last Argument of Kings is both satisfying and frustrating.

true. That was the most anti-climactic ending to a movie I'd ever seen, though that was probably the point.

Ooh, I love criticizing anti-climactic stories. I feel like there are two different types. The more common is when the build-up is there and you get all excited over the last moment and nothing ever happens. But there's also times when the climix is perfect but there was no build-up so you didn't see it coming. It just kind of hits you before you're ready.

Anyway, things that I've seen/read with those endings -

That Hideous Strength
Lost
The first story of Foundation & Empire.
Any deus ex machina, going right back to the origins http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medea_(play).

Yeah, I remember being quite upset by that first time I watched it! Still, if they're going to have to cut it short due to running out of money (as I believe was the case) it was quite a stylish way to do it.

Eh, ignore that. You just did something that brings my inner [censored] out. Not your fault, mine.


Are they? Oh good. I'll have to hunt that down.


This just became a mess somewhere during season 2 or 3. Definitely anti-climactic, though. Too much build-up. There was no way they could live up to the hype.


I don't have a problem with some of these. Sometimes it's appropriate.

The movie 'The Grey'. If you've seen it you'll know why.

Ayn Rands a great writer to think over, but she has a bad habit of droning on about every detail in a scene. I knew this one girl who kept pawning off Atlas Shrugged like it was the Holy Bible, thinking by spreading the word of it she was the most intelligent person ever. Annoyed the hell out of me. The books alright, but I got bored a few chapters in from all the descriptions. I mean, describing a scene is fine, but come on.

The United States of America.

And she writes terrible dialogue. And her characters have horrible arcs. Really all she's good at is thematics and metaphor, etc. I don't think her stories are very interesting, TBH. The ideas behind them, maybe, but the stories themselves?

I was going to say that book as well. Very disappointing. I was waiting through the whole book for something to happen.



My dad sees a film nearly every week and I ring him up to talk about it. Last week it was The Grey. He said it wasn't what he was expecting, and the ending was really abrupt. I probably won't go and see it. I think my dad only saw it in the first place because it was Liam Neeson punching things, and who doesn't want to see that?

Lol, I honestly think a large portion of her writing is more or less 'How can I thinly veil my belief in ___ with a symbolic central location in the story?'. I mean, it's not a secret Rand's books are just thick propaganda leaflets.

skyrim

I actually thought it was a good movie, but the end was definitely abrupt.