It ain't just Stephenson who can't write endings. This seems to be a general failure mode of science fiction and fantasy writers from the last 4 or 5 decades.

It ain't just Stephenson who can't write endings. This seems to be a general failure mode of science fiction and fantasy writers from the last 4 or 5 decades. The reason I forgive Stephenson is because he can write a genuinely smart character. One the most infuriating things is reading a story where the "smart" character is clearly what a not-so-smart writer thinks a "smart" character is. Fantasy and alternate history is more prone to this than sci-fi, thankfully.