You’ve been riveted to a book for hours, unable to stop turning the pages for much more than a refill on your coffee and a bathroom break. You’re enthralled that the author has dragged the climax of the story out until the last five pages of the book. You hit the second from last page and you’re thinking “Wow, he’s cutting it close.” And then the book ends. No resolution, just two lines:

To Be Continued in

Book Two of the [insert name here] Trilogy/Series

You start frantically grabbing for a computer to find out the title of the second book. Your answer? It hasn’t been published yet.

Many series shy away from the use of cliffhangers, more commonly ending a fulfilling story with a resolved conflict with the gentle anticipation of another good story in the series. Cliffhangers, while wonderful as a tactic in making the reader thirst for more of the story, sometimes just provide a horrible end to a newly released good book.

I know this has happened to many readers, what are your thoughts on cliffhangers?