SF Signal’s latest Mind Meld invited authors to weigh in on the best and worst endings in SF novels. There’s the potential for spoilery (obviously), but their choices are interesting.

As anyone who knows me can attest, I’m an endings kind of gal. (As in, I nearly always read the ending before committing to the rest of the book, and everybody who claims that “it’s the journey not the destination” can bite me.) I like upbeat endings, preferably with everything neatly resolved and all loose ends tied up in a pretty little bow. I enjoy Golden Age SF for this reason, and tend to eschew most of the stuff that Shadow “dark emotions are powerful and interesting” Jack gravitates toward. There are occasional exceptions: I enjoyed Hyperion even though the ending resolved NOTHING, and I liked Snow Crash, which ain’t exactly upbeat, but mostly I’m a give-me-a-satisfying-ending-or-give-me-another-book sort of reader.

To that end, I’m going to cop out and say that I can’t really choose either a best or worst SF ending of my own; I’m happy with any ending that’s tidy and positive, and if the ending is a bummer I probably haven’t made it all the way through the book anyway.

What are your nominees for best/worst SF endings?