I am of the opinion that prologues and epilogues should only be used if they're absolutely necessary.
A lot of thrillers I read use a prologue as an opening gambit. And I rather like that use. Epic fantasies seem to use them to detail back story from a thousand years ago. And that use sort of frustrates me.
Epilogues I don't see much of in my reading. When I do, they're either in romance novels and utterly useless or in part of a series where the author is setting a hook for the next novel. I read them. But I always wish author had just closed the meat of their novel and wrapped up their loose ends tightly enough not to need an epilogue.
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A lot of thrillers I read use a prologue as an opening gambit. And I rather like that use. Epic fantasies seem to use them to detail back story from a thousand years ago. And that use sort of frustrates me.
Epilogues I don't see much of in my reading. When I do, they're either in romance novels and utterly useless or in part of a series where the author is setting a hook for the next novel. I read them. But I always wish author had just closed the meat of their novel and wrapped up their loose ends tightly enough not to need an epilogue.