Ending a Series

When a series ends, it can be a very sad thing.  The characters you loved enough to follow through countless adventures are finally retreating into the mountains of legend, or the twilight of old age.

Tears have fallen from my eyes after I have finished the concluding book to a much-loved world more than a couple of times.  I often find myself longing for the beginning again, and almost reaching for the first book to relive it.  But I don’t. 

All I keep thinking about is what is going on behind the curtain now.  What are they doing?  I imagine life is the rosy, blissful haze of contentment and joy they so richly deserve and worked hard for.  It would no longer do to write about them because hassle-free days are not exciting to read about.

I do, however, have more of a problem when a series ends on a note that says things are not solved.  The author does more than a little hinting that the peace they fought so hard for is never going to come and, worse yet, that I may never see what they get up to after the last page.  Ooooh that bugs me! 

Sometimes, there is no clear ending because the author doesn’t want to really write about the place/characters right now but doesn’t want to abandon them.  Sometimes, it is nothing more than a cheap ploy to get more sales because *gasp* this is the end of the long-running epic!  The latter example of that is a cheat, a con.  At least, that is how I feel…

What was the worst ending for a book series according to you?