NP--here comes the judge

[The Great Quail]

Steve defends,

> 1) _Blood Meridian_ was published in 1985.

That's still contemporary as far as I am concerned. It's not like you posted
the ending to "Hamlet," or "Ulysses."

> 2) It's not a whodunit or a potboiler.

That should have nothing to do with it. The ending of a good book is
delicately crafted, the author has put a lot of thought into it, it balances
and completes the work; it should have an impact on the reader whether or
not it reveals the solution to a mystery. And in any event, it *is* telling:
at the very least, anyone who read your "excerpt" now knows the fate of the
character called "the judge."

What about the ending to "Vineland?" Imagine reading *that* before reading
the entire book. "Vineland," too, is neither potboiler nor mystery, but
reading the ending first would certainly affect the way a reader read the
entire book. The ending of a book is just that -- the ending -- and I think
it is disrespectful to suddenly expose an audience of unknowing people to
the final paragraphs of a work, unless it is patently up for discussion or
analysis. 

> 3) The penultimate paragraph (preceding the epilogue) seems to me as if it
> may be of interest to some who frequent this forum.

That may be the case, but that doesn't stop you from writing "SPOILER" or
indicating that you were going to print the last few paragraphs of the book!
I mean, that's just common sense. I have no issue with you posting an
excerpt from the book, only with the way you did it.

> 4) Great Quail, please use some manners when addressing me. I generally do
> not respond to attacks such as yours and likely will not do so again.

Manners? You are the one who, in my opinion, violated a cardinal rule of
Netiquette. And calling my post an "attack" is an exaggeration. I believe
that I was within my rights to express irritation at what I believe was a
crass and unnecessary action. I stand by my post. Please, in the future,
have some consideration for those who don't like having their endings
spoiled. 

--Quail