What if OotS never ends?

[CaptainIreland]

Not if there's no end to the story, but for whatever reason, you never got to read it because it was never finished. Let's say it happens after the most recent comic posted before you read this thread?

How would it color your impression of the comic?

[Ancalagon]

At one point, it'd get stale and lame. Characters either got dragged through it and decayed long after their character-delevopment was over (the point was made) or stuff goes on and Character Development piles on Character Development until it becomes awkward to ridiculous.

A good story needs a good end. Or at some point it stops being a good story.

[CaptainIreland]

At one point, it'd get stale and lame. Characters either got dragged through it and decayed long after their character-delevopment was over (the point was made) or stuff goes on and Character Development piles on Character Development until it becomes awkward to ridiculous.

A good story needs a good end. Or at some point it stops being a good story.

No no, I mean let's say the comic just stops being made, and there's no notes left for anyone to finish the story.

[Ancalagon]

No no, I mean let's say the comic just stops being made, and there's no notes left for anyone to finish the story.

Now, that would be... bad.

[Vorynn]

I'd be sad :| I really love the writing, the characters, and the story arcs in OOTS. I look forward to finding out where the character arcs are going to end up.

One of the reasons I obsess over this comic is that I know how much the Giant appreciates good writing (as evidenced by his commentary about JMS/Babylon 5 in a recent book, I think it was DStP?), and I know that he has the major story arcs plotted in advance. I'm glad he's keeping those secret until the appropriate time, but it does create a risk if he doesn't manage to finish the intended story.

I already went through the "stopped being made" scenario once and in that case the author HAD left notes (Robert Jordan, who died before finishing the Wheel of Time), but I still lost faith in the series. (I haven't actually read either of Brandon Sanderson's follow up books... I am waiting until he FINISHES the damn series, because I refuse to get burned the same way again if he gets hit by a bus. C'mon Brandon, one book to go, you can do it!).

[CrazyBlue]

You might as well read those books in Wheel of Time, they're the best out of the series honestly. The 5 before it are practically filler in comparison.

[rewinn]

No no, I mean let's say the comic just stops being made, and there's no notes left for anyone to finish the story.

It would mean the Snarl got loose.

The End!

[Zevox]

No no, I mean let's say the comic just stops being made, and there's no notes left for anyone to finish the story.

Well, that would suck, but there wouldn't really be anything we could do about it, so... meh? I don't know, what're fishing for here?

Zevox

[Morquard]

You might as well read those books in Wheel of Time, they're the best out of the series honestly. The 5 before it are practically filler in comparison.

I'm currently re-reading the entire series (there's just so much going on I always forget half of it), then add the 2 Brandon Sanderson books I've not yet read, so i'm ready for the last one in October or when it's going to be released.

To the OP, I hope it won't come to that.

[Kish]

I agree with Zevox. What are you looking for? If the comic abruptly ended in the middle then...the comic would have abruptly ended in the middle.

[Lissou]

It would be sad. If there are never notes or anything to let anyone know what the end could have been like, it would be a great loss, a mystery, and I would torture myself wondering how it would have ended.

So I'll just hope this won't happen. Seriously, it would be bad, and I don't think anything would make it better, be it someone else taking the story (but without notes to go from) or fans providing various interpretation of what they think the ending should be...

[King of Nowhere]

Yeah, not much to say besides "this sucks!". And an eulogy to rich if his trepassing was the cause of the halt.
HEck, if *I* was hit by a bus, my last tougth may well be "No! I'll never get to know how oots ends!"

[ThePhantasm]

Holy Threads of Hypothetical Depression, Batman!

[Knaight]

You might as well read those books in Wheel of Time, they're the best out of the series honestly. The 5 before it are practically filler in comparison.

That would be because Sanderson is a much better author than Jordan is.

[Kobold-Bard]

I'd be more concerned for the forums at large since The Giant runs them & if he's not doing OotS any more I can see him probably not keeping them up either.

[CrazyBlue]

That would be because Sanderson is a much better author than Jordan is.

Agreed. I can only stand a braid being tugged so much before I stop caring.

Overall though, I think he read the abridged WoT and went out of his way to avoid making the same mistakes. I wonder how many books Jordan intended for the material that Sanderson is presenting to take... probably 10.

[Vorynn]

Agreed. I can only stand a braid being tugged so much before I stop caring.

LOL! So very true. I'm still not going to read any of Sanderson's work until he finishes it though, no matter how well written it is :)

To quote the protagonist from Secret Window (the movie at least, I never read Stephen King's book): "The ending is the most important part of the story." So before I start reading a story these days, I want to know that it ends well. I certainly do NOT want to know HOW it ends (eek, spoilers!), just that after reading it, people aren't disappointed by a lackluster ending.

It is for this reason that I generally wait until TV series have finished their entire run before I even start watching them on DVD (still haven't seen Lost!), and for novel series to finish their run before starting them (I made an exception for Wheel of Time and look where that got me... I was 1 book into it when I found out that Jordan had, in fact, died two weeks before I bought the book) :P

[The Pilgrim]

(...)
So before I start reading a story these days, I want to know that it ends well. I certainly do NOT want to know HOW it ends (eek, spoilers!), just that after reading it, people aren't disappointed by a lackluster ending.
(...)
(still haven't seen Lost!)P

Don't bother, then. After six seasons we learned that the scrpit was being written on the go. At the end, the writers were unable to wrap up all the loose ends (in fact, they were unable to tie ANY loose end) and chose to substitute the proper ending they were unable to produce with a cheap sentimental shot.

Spoiler

Show

So, that's the reason for everything? a giant cork?

[ThePhantasm]

Don't bother, then. After six seasons we learned that the scrpit was being written on the go. At the end, the writers were unable to wrap up all the loose ends (in fact, they were unable to tie ANY loose end) and chose to substitute the proper ending they were unable to produce with a cheap sentimental shot.

Spoiler

Show

So, that's the reason for everything? a giant cork?

That's not true, and plenty (almost all) of the loose ends were tied. They might not have been to your satisfaction, and they might not have been tied in a fully explicit way (some were implicitly obvious). But this thread is not the place to discuss this anywho.

Don't listen to him Vorynn, if you want to watch LOST, it is a great show, and I definitely recommend it. It isn't a perfect show, but it is really worth watching.

[Blue Ghost]

I'd be more concerned for the forums at large since The Giant runs them & if he's not doing OotS any more I can see him probably not keeping them up either.

Let's pray that doesn't happen.

[MoonCat]

Not if there's no end to the story, but for whatever reason, you never got to read it because it was never finished. Let's say it happens after the most recent comic posted before you read this thread?

How would it color your impression of the comic?

Do you mean if the Giant would just stop updating?

[Kobold-Bard]

Do you mean if the Giant would just stop updating?

I think that's the idea; either because he can't finish it or just chooses not to anymore (eg. burn out, lottery win, massive trolling of the fans by not telling us the end, etc.).

[MoonCat]

I think that's the idea; either because he can't finish it or just chooses not to anymore (eg. burn out, lottery win, massive trolling of the fans by not telling us the end, etc.).

Oh. Hmmm. I'd probably be incredibly depressed and haunt the OoTs forum talking about what might happen. And arguing about whether the lack of updates is a long waiting time, or whether everything's over.

[dps]

LOL! So very true. I'm still not going to read any of Sanderson's work until he finishes it though, no matter how well written it is :)

I'd stopped reading them before Jordan died--I still haven't read the last two he finished. Well, I started on the 9th book, but quickly realized that it had been so long since the 8th volume came out that I'd forgotten who most of the character were. I had been losing interest in the story anyhow, because the last few books hadn't really been very good, and I just didn't want to have to go back and re-read them to refresh my memory.

[Warren Dew]

How would it color your impression of the comic?

If the comic stopped now, I imagine my impression of the comic would be what it is now, too.

[TimelordSimone]

if *I* was hit by a bus, my last tougth may well be "No! I'll never get to know how oots ends!"

This made me chuckle. Good work sir or madam.

(I have nothing to actually add to the discussion.)

[Hastur Avaddon]

Consider the following story from real life:

Stephen King begins writing the Dark Tower Series.

After getting in 3/7 books, Stephen King decides to take a LONG time off until writing the forth book and onwards.

During this time, Stephen King refuses to tell even old grannies on their death beds whether or not Roland reaches his tower...

Granny dies, (along with many others), doesn't get to read the rest of the book series which comes out some odd number of years later. (After Stephen King almost dies after being hit by some truck driver).

The Moral of the Story:
We should be thankful for what we've got.
(And hope that Rich doesn't get hit by some guy in a truck).

[Katana_Geldar]

I'd be thinking that as well, to be honest.

[Thanatosia]

That would be because Sanderson is a much better author than Jordan is.

I've tried reading some on Sanderson's other works after he was announced to be the torch bearer for the Wheel of Time, and frankly, they didn't seem that good, I just could'nt really get into them.

This had me terrified for the ending of WOT, but when they came out, I was pleasantly suprised to find that I actually prefered them to any of the ones Robert Jordan actually wrote.

I don't think its so much that Sanderson is a better author overall, but somehow Jordans Material with note guidance and Sanderson's writing style somehow combined Voltron-like into something better then either of the two seperately.



Also, along with OOTs, I live in terror every day that something will happen to George RR Martin before he finishes song of Ice and Fire or Jim Butcher before he finishes the Dresden Files. I do so hate that sense of unease that comes from being so deeply involved into an ongoing serries that has yet to be finished.

[veti]

If the comic stopped now, I imagine my impression of the comic would be what it is now, too.

For myself, I don't think that would be true at all.

The sense of an "ending" is tremendously important to how we view fiction. (Arguably, it's the most basic difference between real and fictional stories.) A story that promises and builds systematically towards an ending, and then doesn't deliver it... that's an unusual thing, and it provokes an entirely different kind of interest.

My guess is that most of us would experience it as a mild (to moderate) form of loss, and would go through the usual phases of denial ("It can't be true, it must be a hoax"), anger ("what the ... WHO DID THIS? Let me at them!!"), bargaining ("maybe Rich would continue if we send him money?"), depression, and acceptance (at which point they're simply getting on with their own lives).

As part of the "bargaining" stage, I imagine some of the more creative fans would start up their own fanfic attempts to finish the main plot. Some of these might be good enough to gain a modest following, although based on what we see daily on the forums, my expectations wouldn't be high.

And finally, after a few months, the OOTS would be pretty well forgotten. Only diehard fans would continue to visit, maybe link to their favourite comics from time to time to make a point... but in terms of general buzz and new readers, there would be - none, ever again.

As against that: if the story does finish and successfully wrap up its loose ends, I can see it as a cult classic, gaining a small but steady stream of new followers for decades to come.