You know what though? Authors are people, and oftentimes people want to try new things and remix ideas and concepts into something different. I think it's unreasonable to expect every single book in a given series to work the same way or serve the same purpose. I think that a particular book in a series might not be as strong as the others but still be really, really important in terms of the overall development of the story. The middle books in trilogies, for example, are often overshadowed by the other books, but without what they offer the story as a whole would definitely be lacking.
But what happens when the book is an irredeemable clunker? Maybe the story is so nonsensical that you don't care what happens to the characters anymore (I abandoned the Shadow Wrangler series because of this.) Maybe one element has so dominated the rest of the story that the plot has slowed to a crawl (cough cough Anita Blake cough cough.) Maybe something happened in the story that you just find distasteful (I won't read the Feral Warriors series for this reason exactly.) If that's the case, then you know what? Life is too short to read bad books, and maybe it's time to move on and read a different series, different author, or different genre. I find that for every seris I abandon there are two or three more that I love and recommend, so I focus on those and leave the clunkers behind.
What about you? What are your favorite series books, and why? Are there any series that you won't read? What do you do about a less-than-awesome book in a favorite series?
5 comments:
I was so disappointed when the Anita Blake series started going south literally (hee hee). Those books were so good, and it was like LKH went crazy or something. I have completely abandoned that series. But she keeps on writing more and people keep on buying them, even though now, the books like cover 1 hour in Blakes life.
I have so many series that I've jumped ship on. But, I think it has to do with some series just have to stop. You really don't need like 8 - 20 books in a particular series. This is not a sitcom people!
I think 3 and 4 is a wonderful number. I usually don't go past 4.
Now, this is for books that cover one person. These large series that go on and on, like Anita Blake.
Other series that cover a world are different. They spice it up with different characters. Like Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series. The same characters make appearances, but in essence, it is a new character each time (well Elena comes back a lot).
Okay a series I gave up on was blue bloods by dela cruz..couldn't get into and by the time I had free time to read-- I didn't care what happened to them. The other one is Alyson Noel(summerland )
Now that I have read the 2nd book in the otherworld women, series I like the Elena character over the Paige , but now I understand that world better and also the Cat/Bones series. I love the Catching fire series and mortal instruments too. I'm also like the chloe neil -Merit. I also love the maggie of (shiver)
But as reader my tastes have changed over time , and if the story isn't moving or the author is dragging a series out too long --then I abandon them to find someone else to read.
Rachel- ugh Anita Blake. I stopped reading right before Narcissus in Chains (I think) because I read so many bad/gross reviews of pretty much every book since then. I enjoyed the Merry Gentry books for awhile but those seem to have disintegrated too. I read up to Swallowing Darkness but can't really motivate myself to go any further.
Personally I don't mind if a series is huge as long as it keeps me interested. I think it's really difficult to keep a series going for that long but if an author can make it happen then I'll keep reading.
Julie- I haven't read anything in either the Blue Bloods or the Summerland series, I guess they just never grabbed my interest.
I'm totally with you on the other series you mentioned- Catching Fire is on my TBR pile (I think I'm saving it because I know it's going to rock) and I have City of Bones to read as well.
Thanks for the comments ladies! :D
Although I've been trying to talk myself back into it, I gave up on the Riley Jenson series by Keri Arthur. I stopped after book 4, because barbed penises and Riley having sex with one guy and then another one a hour later just wasn't hot. But everyone keeps telling me they get better.
I just discovered the BDB, and I've been completely hooked! Each book is about a different brother which, I have to agree with Parajunkee, makes the series better.
I've only read one book in the Riley Jenson series, and I'm kind of glad I only read that one as it's the one where one of the points in the weird relationship triangle gets eliminated (it's the most recent one that came out.) I think the next one coming out is the last one in the series so I'll probably read that one just to see how it all works out, but I think I'd be in the same position if I'd read the other books as well. Love triangles just don't work very well for me.
Glad you like the BDB though- the books are seriously addicting!
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