I've (read all and) enjoyed the annotations.
I have a comment on the last chapter's entry.
When I was younger, I always got mad at authors for having denouements that were too short. Perhaps I?d be angry at myself, if I were to read the book. (I?ve always wondered what Brandon the teenage reader would have to say about my current works.) Regardless, I?ve since become a fan of terse endings. I try to wrap things up thematically while still pointing out all the different ways the plot could go, if more were to happen.
Stories never really end. Any author will tell you this--we?ve always got more to say. That doesn?t mean that there will certainly be a sequel to this book. (See below) It just means that the characters live on in my mind, and that I want to give a sense that the world continues.
I still dislike denouements that are too short. That's a big problem I have with many of CJ Cherryh's books--especially some trilogies. They just stop right after the climax, and it's much too abrupt.
That said, I think your Elantris denouement is quite long enough. And I have no problem with having some loose ends. They are, as you say, natural. But if you didn't have this chapter and the epilogue to tie so many things up and provide a winding-down space, the book would be a lot less satisfying. When I finish a book, I want to feel satisfied, and an adequate denouement goes a long way toward that.
(I am so far not as satisfied with the end of HoA. Did you get my e-mail with my comments, by the way?)
