Comments on: The Series Conundrum

By: Joni Mutters

Joni Mutters — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:45:48 +0000

Thanks for the read, but I have a question, where do you see it in about one years time, do you see it changing at all, for the better or worse?

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By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:22:56 +0000

Just another comment… I used to watch Siskel and Ebert and Roger Ebert would drive me crazy by giving a good movie a lesser grade because the movie’s director had done a better job with a different film. And he would talk about the other film that was so much better. What I’m realizing is that I’m getting to that point with my reading. So I’m seeking out new authors and genres that I didn’t used to read, partially because I’ve started doing an Ebert with romance novels.

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:16:34 +0000

I don’t mind an on-going series if it is good. Sometimes if it’s in HB I will skip it and wait for it to come out in PB. That means I get a long “break” between books and am ready for more. One author I have read for years and view as the queen of trilogies/continuing books is Nora Roberts. But the last 2 trilogies of NR have driven me batty. I know they got good reviews, but I found them so lacking and formulaic. She had already written the characters before and much better in previous books. Her paranormal kick does not appeal to me, but I love it in others’ works (Gardella series, Patricia Briggs). The In Death series (which I do not consider paranormal) continues to appeal to me because I really love the characters and they reach/touch me in a way that her recent trilogies have not. I also really love her world-building in that series. It’s familiar, but with a nice and creative twist.

I guess one of the things I am finding with authors is that I have fewer on my auto-buy list. I’m more inclined to wait and read a review (so you better get reading and posting, reviewers! and am also more willing to wait until I can check a book out from the library. That is partially due to the economy, but also because I read so many books I can’t keep buying marginal ones. There’s no more room!

By: Anne Gilbert

Anne Gilbert — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:25:20 +0000

All(continued):

There was a resolution, as I said, and this, to me, is more satisfying than something that’s so “open ended” that the author starts to tell the same story, over and over and over. And yes, I agree with those others who say an author who does an endless seried, often flags by the third or fourth book.
Anne G

By: Anne Gilbert

Anne Gilbert — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:22:12 +0000

I, too, have a "love-hate" relationship with series books, whether or not they're romances, or some other genre. I guess for me, it comes down to this: Does the series have a beginning, a middle, and an end? Or does it just go on and on and on? It's the latter type I hate, because there's no real attempt to develop the characters the series is built around. And after, perhaps the fourth or fifth book, it's often obvious that the author is telling the same old story. This is one or the reasons I stopped reading the Outlander series. Diana Gabaldon just kept going on, And on. And on, though it seemed to me after the third book, that this was the logical place to stop and do something elese. This has happened with other authors and other genres, too. OTOH, one of the reasons I think the Harry Potter series, and the Stephanie Meyers vampire series were both so successful, is that they didn't go on forever. They had a storyline that developed through several books, characters who grew and changed, and there was a resolution at the end of both of them.

By: RobinB

RobinB — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:45:55 +0000

All of the comments on this thread have struck various chords with me. Like many of you, I have a huge TBR pile, and there are many times when I pull a book from the pile, look at the back cover and the first couple of pages, and then put the book back because it’s Number 3 in a series, and I don’t want to read the books in the series out of sequence! I did that with Mary Jo Putney’s “Fallen Angels” series, and while I enjoyed the various books in the series very much, I have a feeling I would have liked the series even more had I read “Thunder and Roses” first instead of “Shattered Rainbows”!
The other problem with series that has been mentioned is the fatigue factor, and unfortunately that happened with me and “The Fiery Cross”, the fifth book in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I’ve been trying to finish the book for a very long time because I would like to read “A Breath of Snow and Ashes”, #6 in the series which by all accounts is much better than “The Fiery Cross”. It’s really sad when reading a beloved series becomes a chore rather than fun, and that’s what’s happened with me and the Outlander series!

By: library addict

library addict — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:19:31 +0000

I read, not red. Sorry.

By: library addict

library addict — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:17:37 +0000

Leigh said:
That is exactly how I feel. The books to me just run out of steam. I know that the In Death books have tons of fans (Library Addict- Hi) but after 10 books (and yes I lasted a lot longer with these books then most) I just got tired of the sameness.

I guess I just don’t see the sameness in the books the same way since there is character and relationship growth from book to book as well as the different cases Eve handles. Even going back for rereads I pick up different things each time as the characters are very layered. I enjoy reading about them all.

The In Deaths are the only series I red with the same characters all the time. The ones based on a town (like I understand Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series is) or workplace scenario (Gerard’s BOIs, St Claire’s Bulletcatchers, Feehan’s GhostWalkers) don’t always have the same characters in all the books like the In Deaths or series based on a family. And as I said those types are all hit-or-miss for me.

I gave up on the Plum series after a few books. But that was because I was tired of the Joe/Stephanie/Ranger love triangle. There never seemed to be a lot of character growth and I did feel the books had a sameness about them. So I totally get what you’re saying.

By: Leigh

Leigh — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:38:54 +0000

Lynn Spencer stated:I have to admit that I was full of enthusiasm when I started the Stephanie Plum books, but I ran out of steam about 7 or 8 books in. Trilogies or even 4 books aren’t so bad,

That is exactly how I feel. The books to me just run out of steam. I know that the In Death books have tons of fans (Library Addict- Hi) but after 10 books (and yes I lasted a lot longer with these books then most) I just got tired of the sameness.

And I am with you on the 10 brothers. It wouldn’t be so bad, except by the time we get to the tenth brother, we have 9 couples to keep track of. And of course the author usually has them all in the last book.

Sometimes I feel like I need to make up a family tree to keep all the characters straight in my mind.

And the cynic in me comes out too. . Why does the author need to tell the story on so many family members, buddy groups/ communities? Is it that she feels compelled to do so, or is it because she knows that she has a built in audience.

In a way, I look at series books the same way that I look at movie sequels. Does this add to the series, or is the author just using her previous success to sell books. I tend to give the benefit of doubt to authors that have had to do world building. It definitely takes more than one book to create a new world.

However, looking at the authors’ sales I suspect that I am in the minority. Sue Grafton, J.D.Robb, Charlaine Harris, Janet Evanovich have very lucrative careers from writing series books