I found the final book of the His Dark Materials trilogy, The Amber Spyglass, a bit loose. No untidy loose ends, but Philip Pullman uses more words to describe less action as the climax approaches. I do appreciate the bittersweet ending, though. You don’t get to save the world and live happily ever after. Think of Frodo at the end of The Lord of the Rings. Even in victory, something may be lost.
I’m an optimist, generally, but a bit of pathos never hurts.