The End Of A Series

Any fictional series must have a chronologically last episode usually although not necessarily identical with its last published episode. This has to be true of any kind of series. We will shortly return to the special case of future history series, including Poul Anderson's Psychotechnic and Technic Histories.

The chronologically last episode of a series can be just another episode, interchangeable with any of the others. Alternatively, the author can try to create some kind of culmination or climax, with greater or lesser success. A central character can die since he is no longer required to appear in any subsequent episode. Poul Anderson knew when he was writing the last Polesotechnic League novel and the last novel to feature Dominic Flandry. In both cases, the text reflects this fact. Both van Rijn and Flandry sign off by telling us what they think about life. In van Rijn's case, the League has gone into terminal decline. In Flandry's case, a new generation, represented by his own daughter, is coming forward and, of course, the Long Night cannot be postponed indefinitely.

Sherlock Holmes is relevant both because Anderson mentions him several times and because Anderson's Time Patrol series crosses over with the Holmes series. That latter series survives the apparent death, then the retirement, of its title character and eventually ends with just an ordinary episode. Agatha Christie wrote her Poirot culmination earlier to be published later. The James Bond series survived, by my count, three apparent deaths of its title character, then ended with an appropriate epitaph for the character in the concluding sentence of the posthumously published novel.

Should a future history series build towards some kind of climax or culmination? More on this later.