> The really good fiction doesn't always have the conclusion at the end

I was going to say that for the opposite reason -- I don't think that something being a series or part of a larger whole makes it inherently better (sometimes it hurts; many a great book has been ruined by a sequel).

Some of the best books, however, have the conclusion right at the beginning and all the rest is "how we got there". C.F. much Vonnegut.