This post is out of order. For some reason I always forget to log passages into my "Last Lines" series, even though there are some who would argue that last lines are more important than first lines. Last lines set up the following book in a series and/or provide the final word to the reader from the author.
Therefore, the last line of the last book I read:
O’Malley had already flown to the beach, taking the reporter with him. Morris hoped the Reuters correspondent would be able to file his last story on the war before he moved on to something else— an after-the-war story, no doubt. Reuben James had escorted the damaged America to Norfolk for repairs. He looked down from the bridge wing at the harbor he knew so well, mindful of the tide and the wind as he docked his frigate. One part of his mind pondered by itself What It All Meant.
A ship lost, friends gone, the deaths he had caused, and those he had seen himself . . .
“Rudder amidships,” Morris ordered. A puff of southerly wind helped Reuben James up to the pier.
Aft, a seaman tossed a messenger line to the men on the pier. The officer in charge of the special sea-detail waved to a petty officer, who keyed the announcing system.
What It All Means, Morris decided, is that it’s over.
A crackle of static emerged, and then the petty officer’s voice.
“Mooring.”
Clancy, Tom - Red Storm Rising
It sends a particular despondent and somber note to a long, long book that is full of action. It's almost like that moment sitting on the bench after a game that you helped your team lose, and realizing that it's not the end of the world.
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