whiplash endings

I'm a sucker for trilogies. I love series books. I enjoy reading about the same characters and traveling with them on their journeys.

When I found the latest book from Cinda Williams Chima in her "Heir" trilogy, "The Dragon Heir," I couldn't wait to get home and start reading it. Once I began the book I realized that it had been longer than I remembered since I read "The Warrior Heir" and "The Wizard Heir." I had a bit of trouble at the beginning remembering all the different characters and their histories. Gradually I regained my bearings with the larger story arc and settled in to enjoy the book. Chima has created an interesting world peopled with strong male and female characters. She piles on the conflict and the 'gray' area in decisions/choices. This book, however, has so many plot threads to tie off and so many characters to deal with that at times I felt like I wasn't immersed in the story and was watching the author put together a very large jigsaw puzzle. It was akin to observing her say, "oh, what about that character, I need to wrap up that story line...let's put him/her over there...."

I've always admired JK Rowling's deft hand in juggling so many characters through so many stories. It is quite a talent and when it works, it is seamless. When it doesn't work, you can see every stitch.

When I reached the books' last chapter I had a major moment of whiplash ending. The two main characters of this story successfully resolved their issues in short order and then in the final two pages the author did a line by line synopsis of every other characters' conclusion. It was rushed. It was hurried. It was contrived. It was..."Oops, we've reached 499 pages and time to quit."

I was disappointed in this final book. Chima has a solid talent for writing teen characters, but this last book didn't leave me with a smile on my face.