Example of classic tale ending too soon, in my opinion (7)
I believe the answer is:
epitome
'example' is the definition.
(I know that epitome is a type of example)
'classic tale ending too soon in my opinion' is the wordplay.
'classic tale' becomes 'epic' (as in an epic poem).
'ending too soon' means to remove the last letter.
'in my opinion' becomes 'tome' (to me).
'epic' with its final letter removed is 'epi'.
'epi'+'tome'='EPITOME'
'of' is the link.
(Other definitions for epitome that I've seen before include "Summary of a written work" , "Summary; embodiment" , "Ideal example" , "Exemplar - embodiment" , "Archetype, typical example" .)