When Good Books Finish Too Fast

One pet peeve of mine in reading is when an author rushes through the whole darn story. Like rushing sex, you just don't have time to care before it's done, so why bother to even start it?

Another problem is the quick finish. You just get into all the juicy goodness, and Whoop! it's all wrapped up -- too neatly, like a television show with 10 minutes left. Books don't have time limits like that. At least they ought not to.

Here are two examples of storytellers who ought to slow down and let us enjoy our reading orgasms.

First, James Reese with The Book of Shadows. James builds a wonderful story, sparing no detail to suck us in and makr a reader not only fathom this complicated tale of dark times and even more complicated sexuality, but want to get to the bottom of it all.

In the first half of the book, there's a Gothic sense of mystery: Who is Herculine? What is the misunderstanding at the root of what is building, fermenting in this dark & dreary convent? As the reader discovers some details, others are held at bay, flirting with us, making us want more. Even when the great mystery is explained, there are events which make it clear that there is more, much more to happen to Herculine.

As the story continues, and Herculine meets others with answers, they are not easily forthcoming. We suffer with the lead to know more. We are placed along with Herculine on an adventure. Sent on a quest -- no, to fulfill a task -- that her mentors could not, the reader hungrily turns pages to see what happens. And that the author does give us, these details of Herculine's attempts to face her challenge, but it's as if the author then thinks that is all that is left of the story, for once the challenge is faced, the story ends. Perhaps he meant to give us the impression that there is more -- additional books, perhaps. But in the winding down of this story, this reader only felt frustrated at the anti-climax, and has no desire to continue even if other books emerge.

A terrible shame to have taken what was a good first story, only to disappoint with the later events. The second half & quickly slapped-together-ending made me wish he'd never written any of it. For the dark beauty of a dream he created at the start is undone with the poorly constructed ending.

My second example of rushing to conclusion, is far less disastrous.

In Danger is Sweet by Cornelia Amiri, we are taken back to Scotland for a romance. Bethoc, a Pict Princess is forced to marry the king's cousin, Malcolm. In a somewhat typical romance scenario, Bethoc 'doth protest too much' and it becomes clear that she and Malcolm love eachother. What's not typical about this story is the reason for Malcolm's reluctance to fall in love: he's a shape shifter, a selkie.

Cornelia does a fine enough job of creating enough interest in the characters that you care to see them run through scenes that are somewhat predictable -- not an easy thing to do with romances, especially with a woman who doesn't normally reach for titles in the genre. I must admit, I was drawn into the times, the culture and did root for the couple. But where Cornelia fails is, again, in not taking time with this story. I wish she had added another 10-15 pages, allowing for us to delve a bit deeper into this world and their love. Being a slim book, it's physical size, as well as the reader's appetite, could have handled them.

While this book did disappoint in some ways, the gift is that I do think about Bethoc & Malcolm from time to time. And unlike poor Herculine, I do not morn 'what could have been' for me as a reader, for their story. I do wish there had been more, yes, but I do remember them positively -- and that is a mark of a good book, to have it's characters & settings stay with you long after the book has been read.

But hear me, oh authors, please take a slow hand with your writing! Finishing first isn't the goal in the craft of storytelling any more than it is in sex.