I agree although I wouldn’t even say the ending, just halfway through the excitement stops maybe because of a weak villain, a weak generic story, too many side/supporting characters. Things that ruins the pacing or the plot.
Some Wips I’ve seen had too many pointless side characters, others had a terrible villain with no real motivation. One mistake I’ve seen a lot is when the MC is a very passive generic character dragged by the story.
Another mistake I’ve seen is when the MC is too safe, never in danger and has too many supporting characters on their side instead of having lots of enemies, this destroys tension, drama and conflict.
I can name the stories and their respective mistakes but then I’ll get in trouble haha so I won’t unless requested. All I’ll say is that Fallen Hero 1 and 2 does a perfect balance between story, backstory, setting, genres, characters and relationships. Balance is key.
Thanks for reading my response, I appreciate it