ETA: 13 May: Please note, this comment thread is so amazing and interesting, but because we’re talking about series and when readers stopped reading and why (or why not), it can and does get spoiler-y. Proceed at your own risk, be ye warned, herein be spoilers, yarr.
On Tuesday at the Bosoms booksigning at the Clifton Commons Barnes & Noble, I got into a thought-provoking discussion with Sydney, Marisa, Kiersten, and the other ladies who came (who told me they lurk and never comment – I didn’t want to embarrass them but hi, folks!) about what makes us break up with a series. I realized later that I read and talked about the Bosoms for only a very small percentage of the time. Most of the hour was spent talking about romances we loved and doing that thing where romance fans get together and vacillate between, ‘OMG WIN’ and ‘OMG NO’ when talking about books. Since so many new series books have come out of late, that was a very lively topic, particularly as Jaiku pointed out at DearAuthor when you are flush with the feeling of wanting to quit, and and you just can’t do so.
The discussion spanned across a ton of series, including the latest J.R. Ward book, Lover Avenged, and Kenyon’s latest, Acheron, as well as the Anita Blake series (note: what in the name of epic ass is up with that website? I can barely read the text), Feehan’s Carpathians, the Sookie Stackhouse series, and Stephanie Plum. All of us had different points at which we did – or did not – break up with these different series.
A few people said they’d stopped reading Kenyon awhile before Acheron came out, but had to read Acheron just to find out what happened to him. One woman mentioned she loved the Sookie series unconditionally, and another couldn’t stop reading Ward, even though she wanted to. I said that I think the signal for me to stop reading the Anita Blake books came when Anita stopped being such a terrible dresser and somehow became a sexpot badass with an unending amount of personal lubrication. When she put away the fanny pack with the matching socks and polo shirt, it was time for me to stop reading.
When I asked why they’d break up with a series, the answers weren’t so far from mine. A few mentioned the “sameness” of the books, the feeling that they’d just read one of the earlier books with different character names, or the habit of reading subsequent books just to keep track of ancillary characters who would reappear in each new installment.
As I listened to the folks talking about when they broke up with a much-loved series, I think I figured out what their breakup point had in common: all of the stories we were discussing based their foundation on a lot of world building. Whether it was Trenton or an entire otherworld, the world in which the books took place played as much of a role in the early books as the characters themselves, and certainly that was part of the attraction.
But when the books became more about the characters, and less about the world, or when reader knowledge of the world was presumed by the text and therefore not built at all in later books, most of the women there, including me, started to lose interest. The world has to be as much a character that grows and evolves as the characters do, and when one is sacrificed for the other, or neither the world nor the characters evolve, the series is a lot easier to break up with and leave behind.
For example, I’m still way invested in Kresley Cole’s series because there is a larger plot facing the otherworld that develops in each book, as if that world of the Immortals is its own character. But I have stopped reading the Plum series back when it was still in the single digits because there wasn’t any evolution to the characters that I enjoyed – and what changes there were I didn’t like at all. I haven’t followed the Ward series past The Nomming of Butch By Vishous because, while often crackalicious, I didn’t care so much about the characters any longer, nor did I give a powdery ass about the Lessers, and on the whole felt that the world of the Brotherhood hadn’t changed much. I preferred to read Dark Lover again (and try to figure out WHY they can be so crack-luscious) than read any of the newer installments of the series. A few folks argued that Ward’s series was one they could not leave behind (no pun intended) because they loved the world within it so much, even as they didn’t love all the installments of the series.
Even when the author breaks the rules of that world, and breaks them hard, some of the readers I spoke with were still yearning to revisit it, either by reading older books or continuing to read the new ones. And while there was some agreement that one or two series had totally jumped the shark and kept on flying into the horizon, all of us had different breakup points with different series, especially those that seem as if they have no end in sight.
So what’s your break-up point with a series you love? Is it based on the world or the characters or a disappointment so great you’ll never get over it?
I have to admit to growing weary of Ward’s series… V and Phury’s books were way underwhelming… But mostly I’m tired of the guys being the only badasses in town. I much prefer Kresley Cole’s style of making the heroines as powerful/hardcore as the heroes, and that’s something I can get behind.
I’ll keep buying BDB, though, until it jumps shark… Which seems like it’s coming up quick.
I only have a couple of series that I am still following. Sookie Stackhouse hasn’t lost me yet. CJ Cherryh is on her 10th Foreigner novel without losing my vote. I wasn’t interested in any of Rachel Caine’s other series, but I still look forward to the Morganville vampire series. I like T. A. Pratt’s Marla Mason series. I gave up on Kinsey Milhone back at D is for Deadbeat and lots of mystery series I have enjoyed have given up on me—the Jill Smith mysteries by Susan Dunlap for example.
I think that Cherryh keeps me from losing interest by writing the series as a set of trilogies with an overall story arc and a conclusion. I enjoy visiting her world and I enjoy visiting her characters.
I don’t like series where the point of each book is a HEA (although I have nothing against happy endings) because that leads to the dreaded sequel book, and a bunch of characters standing around waiting their turn as if they are in line for an amusement park ride. If protagonists from one book appear in others I would prefer that they show up with something to do and that no big production is made about it. And OMG no big epilogue with all of the characters from all of the other books showing up. I hate those.
I think I can sum up all our mutual problems in three words: the author’s craft. If you love a story or characters, it doesn’t matter if the author is retreading a bit, makes little continuity errors, or has weird phrasing or dialogue. But if we can’t connect with the story or characters, we notice every little thing the author does wrong, and it drives us nuts! For instance, I never did get past book one of Queen Betsy because I was already annoyed with her character. Some of you enjoyed the story enough to keep reading. When the story/character got repetetive, people lost interest and couldn’t help but notice the author’s flaws.
What we want is to forget ourselves in a story so completely that we forget we’re reading it instead of seeing it firsthand. If I get jarred out of a series too often by an author’s poor craft, I will put the series away. If I can still enjoy the characters and stories despite those flaws, I will keep coming back.
That’s how it seems to me, anyway. I teach English, and when I read for pleasure, I really want to forget I’m an English teacher. I really get turned off a book when I feel like a book critic while reading it. It seems like series writers are more likely to get trapped into making the same mistakes by inattentive or complacent editors and the sheer popularity of their books.
The first author I recall breaking up with is Anne Rice;The Witching Hour was her last good book(I couldn’t beyond the first five pages of Lasher)and all of her vampires caught Louis’ ennui,making that series over and out for me.
Anita Blake,I stuck with for a long time but when I was in the midst of a chapter where Anita was being hit on by a vampire mermaid succubus who wanted her to bring her sons into their latent incubus power via sexing(I know this sounds like a bad joke,but Anita readers know what I’m talking about), I said to myself”Yeah,she just humped the shark there.”
I did read some of the Merry books but the rampant sexification took over way too soon. Still like Sookie,especially since True Blood had a great first season on HBO(just taking my time with those books),had enough of Betsy for now and totally digging Kim Harrison.
I’ve been finding new authors to enjoy such as Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty series(read all six of them in a row),Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth(due to watching Legend of the Seeker),Sherrilyn Kenyon(been reading them out of order,so right now I’m giving Acheron a whirl)and just read the first Mercy Thompson book and wanting to check out the others.
I think that it’s part of a healthy reader’s diet to put aside an old series to make way for a couple of new ones-keeps the mind light and lively there.
While I haven’t broken up with any of the series mentioned and I keep meaning to read the JR Ward series (I’ve been under a rock in Iraq and actually just learned about them), I have broken up with series in the past.
Most of the time, when i stop with a series, it’s because I stopped caring about the characters or an author took a series somewhere that had nothing at all to do with the core series. Character offshoots are fine, but I have to have some emotional investment in the character before I continue to plunk down money on a series for the series sake.
Another issue when I break up with a series, as others mentioned, is world building. I’m an absolute fan of Anne McCaffrey’s but I was crushingly disappointed with how one of her series turned, and haven’t picked up another one since.
Sameness is something I worry about in my books but I’ve stopped reading a NYT Bestselling author because all of the books ended up with a let down and they started to feel pretty much the same. It’s not that I won’t read them, I’ll just wait until I can pick it up at the library.
As a writer myself, I’ve written books in a series but I try to remember that each book must stand alone and if I don’t care about the characters, how can I expect my readers to?
Ultimately, it’s the thrill of discovery and journey that has me picking up a book. If I lose that, the series is a goner for me.
Jess
I’m glad somebody brought up the Discworld as an example of doing it exactly right. While technically a series, each book is a standalone in the same world, and the few stories with continuing plot lines (the Vimes and Sibyl relationship, for example) have progressed in a logical manner without a lot of needless will they?/won’t they? angst to try and prolong things. (And is it completely pathetic that I thought Pratchett was incredibly ballsy to treat Vimes’s drinking problem seriously instead of brushing it aside or treating it as a joke? In comic fantasy?!)
A couple of mystery series that have kept me engaged for several years are the Falco books by Lindsey Davis and the Fools’ Guild mysteries by Alan Gordon. Each book is a standalone and you don’t really have to read them in order (though it helps) but the authors have both done an excellent job at treading the fine line between keeping things fresh and different and keeping things sufficiently the same so you don’t think you’re suddenly reading a completely different series.
I break up with authors (pretty much all the ones that people have mentioned to this point, actually) when I feel like the author stole my time and money and I was used to gain sales and bestseller status without getting anything in return.
Sometimes I see the break up coming—I can sense that authors are starting to believe their own hype. But too many times, it’s all come as a surprise—the trying on boyfriends like trying on shoes for Sookie, for example—and there’s a mourning period.
Patricia Briggs is an author who tanked fast for me. I guess gratuitous rape doesn’t work for me. Too bad since I was really starting to get into her mechanic’s world.
I just wish all of this were sweet sorrow. But mostly it usually feels like betrayal.
Tammy, the book cost me AU$55. And I agree with you that the rate at which books are being written and published is not sustainable for a lot of these authors. Not everyone can be Nora Roberts (plus, she’s been writing for yonks).
Lady T, good call on Anne Rice. I was a devoted little reader of her Vampire Chronicles in high school and college. I decided to give her Mayfair Witches series a try, but was so pissed about the way she ended The Witching Hour that I refused to continue. She basically ended it in a cliffhanger, so you HAD to go out and buy the second book. Fuck that. I’d like a little closure after slogging through 1000 pages, please.
And I think I finally gave up on the Vampire Chronicles at The Vampire Armand. My boyfriend at the time got me the hardcover for Christmas since I was a fan and I couldn’t get past the second or third chapter. It had just become incredibly redundant boring to me.
I started to lose interest in LKH’s Merry series after Seduced By Moonlight and formally gave up at Mistral’s Kiss, because it was turning into All Porn No Plot. I mean, seriously – when it takes you some 500 pages to cover only three HOURS of plot, and none of it moves outside the heroine’s BEDROOM…no, thanks. I ditched Star Wars when the Legacy of the Force series turned out to be little more than Lucas-approved fanfiction, although really I bought most of those and the New Jedi Order books because, hey, Star Wars. They’re now in a pile headed for either the used-book store or the library. Queen Betsy I mainly get either at the library or used now. I refuse to pay $25 for a book with only 300 double-spaced pages. Bertrice Small hit my “Not Interested” list awhile back, because all her books from about Wild Jasmine on are the same plot with only marginally different characters, and the sexual slavery plotline gets really old really fast. Same deal with Jade Lee’s Tigress series – yeah, yeah, sex is the Greatest Force In The Universe and Solves All problems and is The Path To Enlightenment. Whatever.
OTOH, I loved the newest JR Ward, mainly because I’m really enjoying the switch to Urban Fantasy. I was hooked on Lover Avenged – even took it into a high-school dance concert with me and read it during intermission because I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. New Dresden Files books are always on my “must have NOW” list, same with Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels books.
I used to love series, but I’ve pretty much given up on all of them. I don’t have the attention span anymore.
There are a few series I still read if I happen to find one at a book sale or whatnot, but I prefer to have books that end their storylines after only one, or are very loosely connected to any books that follow. I’ve found quite a few of the very loosely connected variety at epubs, and that’s a lot more to my liking than trying to remember tons of characters and storylines. I guess I’ve gotten lazy, and busy. Sigh.
Oh, how unpopular I will be. I hesitate to even post this.
I still read LKH. I don’t mind the sexification (aside from the fact that her writing of said sexification is horrifyingly mechanical). I still dig enough of the characters and the plots are still interesting enough that it keeps me engaged. Maybe that’s tolerance built up from writing/reading a lot of erotica and erotic romance.
Ward’s Brothers, though. *sigh* i’m not buying this one full price in hardback. I just can’t. I’ve been too disappointed recently.
And Feehan. Am divorced from the Carpathians because it was just the same story with the same alpha males over and over. ugh. And her newest jaguar people one? That cover. I simply cannot do the animal print mantitty.
I never got into Sookie, or any of a number of other series mentioned here.
La Nora’s JD Robb books are still must-buy-immediately-you’d-better-not-get-in-my-way.
Still digging on Briggs, meh about Armstrong.
I have a real hard time breaking up with series.
A few of my sick relationships are with:
Sherrilyn Kenyon- Although I must admit, I still read them- I just don’t buy them anymore. The library is a saving grace during these hard economic times. I have to say I wanna know what happens to Nick and that’s about it.
Stephanie Plum- they still make me laugh but your right. No growth same old song.
Stephanie Laurens- wow, the first bar cynster were cool but the family members. Ok… another library pick for me.
Anita Blake- I really got sick of the ardor amore, whatever it is that makes boink everyone. I haven’t bought the last 3 but I’ve read them thru the library and it seems she might be getting a clue and bringing the STORY/PLOT back which gives me hope (I don’t know if it’s false or not).
Ward- U know I have to say L. Avenged brought back more world building not the same as the ones b/f Butch but I still think they have potential. I like them. I had to get it at the library but that’s b/c I can’t afford to purchase it.
The series I’m still looking forward to:
JD Robb
Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series
The Rachel Morgan series (the author eludes me at the moment)
The Meredith Gentry series by LKHamilton
I think its b/c it has given end. I think there are only 2 more left b/f the series is over. But if LKH decides to extend the series I think it will become a library pick for me.
Teh outrage! Teh outrage! I luvz it.
No, you are most certainly not the only one! Gah. Now I get the Anita Blake books from the library merely for the train wreck aspect. (“Holy crap, Batman, that 450 page book only covered two hours of elapsed time, 5 minutes of which was spent outside of a bed!”)
I’m not sure I made through more than three of the Betsy, Vampire Queen, books before I got too bored to continue. Sookie’s starting to bore me, but I’ll reread the Eric’s amnesia book over and over…
I’m hoping the BDB pulls out of the Phury death spiral. It’s really hard to make it through a book about the whiniest vampire evah. And the Lessers? Bore me. Moving on.
I think it’s sometimes easier for me to keep reading certain series, because I’m such a devoted library user. It’ll take a lot for me to buy a hardcover. A LOT.
oh wait let me add another must read although the series sometimes requires post-it notes or a referrance book on the past characters.
SUSAN BROCKMAN.
Another good one is Nalini Singh
Lora Leigh,- I like her Beast series. (And I think *rumor here* it might be ending soon?).
Ok those are the only other ones I can think of now.
Ahahahahah, that’s a great thought! Even though I still read the books, I’d be all for it.
I agree in general with what most people have said about series and the specific series mentioned.
But a series-killer for me is when the politics gets too complicated—all the different factions to appease and manipulate in LKH bored me and has me rolling my eyes in Sookie’s world (I’m still reading to see if anything will resolve with Eric, but I don’t love enough stuff about the series to keep going much longer if relationships don’t outweigh time spent on politics). The Dresden series is bordering on too much politics and so are Kim Harrison’s books. I was dismayed when I heard she got a contract for three more books (though normally I’m happy for writers who get contracts). It’s already feeling as if she’s dragging out plot points. (And a big AMEN to the person who pointed out how irritating Rachel’s whining and ignorance is. How many times already has Rachel made a decision by throwing up her hands and saying “what else could I do?” Ugh.) At this point, I’m pretty sure I have the strength to not read any more in that series until its DONE and I can read the rest of the books in one fell swoop to see how everything turns out.
Having to wait for each installment makes me much more impatient with a series. Cliffhanger endings are BAD and WRONG and CRUEL when the next book is going to be a year in coming. And my expectations are higher for a book I’ve had to wait for. I’m still reading Evanovich because until now I’ve been able to zip right through and they’re still making me laugh, even though I know I’m laughing at a lot of the same things (and if she keeps going with the series, Evanovich needs to get Stephanie in the sack again with Ranger—that triad is getting on my nerves). Bottom line, I really prefer starting a series that has a few books already available. I just read Toni McGee Causey’s first two Bobbi Faye books. They are hysterically funny (along the lines of Evanovich humor but with some voodoo thrown in—go read her *now*), but as much as I love them, I am praying that Causey keeps the series relatively short. The romantic triangle there is more developed than the Stephanie-Ranger-Morelli one, and I will resent it big-time if Causey drags it out.
I’m most willing to stick with a series when the books can be read as stand-alones but reading them in sequence reveals more about the characters, rather than simply rehashes character points.
My series likings and dislikings are probably not the same as most of the people who post here. Yeah, I still read Anita Blake and Meredith Gentry, and enjoy them for the sex, but I concede that the story is lacking. I thought the Harlequin one brought back some story into a plot which had become straight-on sex, but I’m not done with them yet. Apparently I have a boundless appetite for soft-porn… who knew?
BDB I gave up after book 4. I wasn’t in to the whole “street” slang stuff, and when characters are going “You feel me?” my response is “I’d rather not, actually.” I was only mildly interested in the series to begin with, and I just lost interest/
I also still read “The Dresden Files”, which I absolutely love, and Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series. And Laura Anne Gilman’s Retrievers series, which is still being published by Luna. I recently picked up Kresley Cole’s Immortals series, and read 4 of them while trying to recover from Sciatica. I liked them so far, and, well, I read many series- too many to list here.
I hit my limit on the Carpathians, and Acheron just made me hurt inside, and not in a good way, either. I will occasionally still read a Sherrilyn Kenyon, but the recent one told from the point of view of one of the series Big Bads just made me go, WTF? Even a villain needs an HEA, apparently.
I didn’t have a problem with the Lynn Viehl Darkyn series, though I liked the one with the female protagonist best- it certainly made me laugh in spots. I’m not sure I’ll pick up her new kyndred series, though.
I’ll pick one more series of series to rat myself out on: Linda Winstead Jones’ series that started with “The Sun Witch”, “The Moon Witch” and “The Star Witch” i enjoyed. I just picked out the last two of the third trilogy set in that world, “22 Nights” and “Bride by Command”. They look good and I look forward to reading them.
Spamword: Example 69- Anita Blake and Meredith Gentry have given us plenty of examples of 69.
1. When it seems like the author is focusing more on rushing a book through to meet a deadline for a contract/paycheck
2. Can’t remember what the hell the series is about and have to re-read the previous books out of necessity.
3. Marketing. If it says romance, is promoted by the author as romance, it DAMN well better have a HEA.
4. If a series is open ended. If book 15 is being published with no conclusion to one or several story arcs….its time to move on.
5. When you have to buy a GUIDE to help navigate the series (Ward, Kenyon)
5. If an author has an introduction that warns the reader about something major-that way they can say “it’s not like you weren’t told”….bullshit.
Karin Slaughter-Beyond Reach’s ending was a deal breaker
Stephanie Plum-9
Anita-3
Kenyon-9 (but I did buy Acheron, and will probably get Bad Moon Rising used simply to have a conclusion to my favorite story arcs. )
Carpathian-2
Frost’s Grave-1 (too religious and preachy)
Riley series-1 (just a new LKH series from a new author cashing in)
I’m still going to shell out the $$$ for Brockmann, Moning, Briggs
I meant 6-not two 5’s. 🙂
@ Maritza: I would like to see how Nick’s story ends too, but Kenyon totally lost what little respect I had left after she announced she was doing a prequel series for Nick.
RE: Cliffhangers: They aren’t deal breakers for me, as long as they’re done right. I didn’t necessarily agree with Moning’s major ending to Fae, but it still left me wanted the next, and despite the size of her fever series (and also, didn’t that book only cover like a week-if that???) eager to shell out the $ for the hardcover. Whereas Slaughter’s Beyond Reach which featured the death of a major player left me slack jawed and empty handed (wall banger).
I gave up on Stephanie Plum when I noticed I no longer laughed out loud while reading book #10. Prior to that each book was good for a few outbursts in a sitting. I will always remember introducing my friend’s mom to the series: she sat on the porch and devoured the first 6 books in a few days laughing a lot! Gave up on on Hamilton & Briggs after a few books each—too dark for my taste.
I do luv me some:
—Moning’s Highlander & Fever series. Although I do agree with other posts re: the cliffhanger in Fae—not cool at all!
—Ward’s BDB: agree that the last 2 books fell below the previous 3. Happy to note from postings here that the new Rev book seems to have put the series back on track for the time being.
—Robb’s Death series: Eve & Roarke forever!
—Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress: Cat & Bones the paranormal Eve & Roarke 🙂
—Novik’s Temerarie series: an amazing love story that has grown and endured thru 5 books and Napoleon!
—Kresley Cole: just finished the first Immortals and it definitely won’t be the last!
—Gabaldon: Yes, the last 2 books were long and drawn out. But will I be there when “An Echo In the Bone” comes out in Sept? You betcha!
First of all, series and even trilogies annoy me. Unless they’re really brilliant like Harry Potter, they’re a transparent attempt to draw readers in and get our money over a period of years rather than a serious attempt to write good books.
I loathe picking up a book within a series and feeling as though I have to struggle through a boring info dump to understand what’s going on, and I will NOT buy the previous books of tfe series so I can “get it.” Each book should stand alone.
If I have a moment of stupidity and allow myself to be drawn into a series, I’ll stop reading for a variety of reasons. If the author does something so ridiculous I can’t accept it, I’ll stop, i.e., <
>> the way Patricia Cornwell killed and then resurrected Benton Wesley.
Others have mentioned the boredom factor. I, also, stopped reading Evanovich for this reason.
The Bridgertons simply were too perfect for me, or perhaps the author kept telling me how wonderful this family was….enough already. Thank God they’re all married off.
Gabaldon…again, enough already.
I actually have a ‘three strikes, you’re out’ policy with authors. If I think they’ve made me spend $8 on three losers in a row, they are off my reading list forever.
I’ve broken up with series, so I completely understand the rant here. I didn’t even get through the first JR Ward book (I bought the first three at once) and returned the books to B&N and got my money back. Yeah, I said it, I’m not afraid to return a book because it sucked. Even if I read the whole thing, I’ll take it back and get a store credit…
I think the Anita Blake series got crazy when Anita got more monstrous than the bad guys she was fighting. I still read the Plum books because there is generally a belly laugh somewhere in those pages. I believe I have KNOWN old ladies like Grandma Mazur.
Breaking up with a series is not hard to do… there are always other series. I completely agree with your point about the world being a character… but I tend to like more plot driven than character driven books anyway so maybe some of that flies past my reading brain. spw
It’s a real shame when you find yourself hating a series you formerly loved, isn’t it? It feels like a real betrayal. For myself, all of the things mentioned above do the trick, or even just the overwhelming sense that the writer was enacting something like a Dame Sally Markham scene while squeezing out the story does the trick of turning love to hate.
Or maybe resentment is the better word – when I get to a point where I want to know what’s going to happen next in the series and resent the hell out of the answer once I get it (and that I PAID for that knowledge) that the tide turns for good. And like Mr. Darcy, once my good opinion is lost, it’s lost forever, so I’ve been getting a little more sensitive lately to the notion of trying to stop before I get to that point. I’d prefer to break up when I can still hold some respect and positive feelings in my heart, though of course that’s not always possible when a series takes a sudden nosedive as opposed to a slow leaking of air out of the balloon.
The only series/author that I’ve deliberately broken up with is LKH for reasons stated in so many other posts as well as the fact that she is a complete and utter *insert nasty word here* towards anyone who doesn’t fall down and worship at her feet.
I still love the Dresden Files, the Rachel Morgan series, Sookie, Ilona’s Magic series, and Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series.
I wouldn’t hold your breath on Merry’s story stopping after two more books. From what I’ve read on her blog, it sounds like she’s going to milk this as long as possible just like the Anita books.
The first three books are the weakest in the series. They should have been rewritten and polished a lot more before being published. Whenever I rec these books I always tell people to start at book 4 because that is when Harry really starts to shine.
I’m codependent and OCD enough that, once I start collecting a series, I feel compelled to have a complete set. And if I like the series enough, I want first editions. Preferably signed. So it’s a big decision when I finally pull the pin and walk away from a series and ruin the set. I have signed first eds of the first 10 or 12 Plum books, though they started losing me somewhere around 6 or 7. When the secondary characters are more interesting than the primaries, it’s problematic and most likely past time to end the series. The most recent books have begun to improve marginally, but they are still nowhere near as good as the first 5 or so. The main characters less likeable, and the plots have become interchangeable. I know I read the last one, since I’ve read them all, but I sure couldn’t tell you what it was about. (Well, general plot points that haven’t changed in 14 books I can tell you. Specific capers or bad guys or who did what, whether she’s with Morelli or Ranger at the moment or why either would want to be with her anyway, and which cars got blown up this time… no clue)
As many said above, JE definitely seems to be phoning it in these days. With each additional book it seems like the font spacing and the margins get a bit wider, the page count goes down while the price of the book goes up. Actually, conspiracy theorist that I am, I’m not convinced she even writes them anymore. I wouldn’t be surprised if she gives a ghostwriter the idea, the GW writes the draft, then she takes it back and adds a few zingers and embellishes here and there during the edits. That would, to me, explain why the books are so ‘meh’ most of the time, with the occasional flash of former greatness or a LOL moment. I also get the impression that there’s an alarm that goes off in her word processing program once the contracted minimum word count is reached. I say this because I’ll be reading along in the book and all of the sudden it’s as if she said, “Whoa. 230 pages. Time to wrap this up,” then she abruptly ties it all up in a tidy little bow and ends the story within four pages. Very disappointing, and not remotely cost-effective at HB prices.
I still buy the books and read them, but I can wait for the remainders these days.
Another thing that irks me is more of a category series phenomenon – when HQN will pick a theme or a general plot (same hometown, college reunions, all work in the same hospital, etc) and then have several authors write connecting stories over several months or years. While technically the books can stand alone, in reality so much of the book is spent on back story or setup for the next book that I lose interest. Besides, I think it’s almost an insult to my intelligence when the publisher assumes (hopes? expects?) that just because I like Author A, I’ll pony up for the next three books by B, C and D just to keep the set symmetrical, even tho I don’t like some of the other authors. The fact that I fall for it more often than not REALLY pisses me off, too! Did I mention my OCD tendencies? :oP Yet obviously this type of marketing is incredibly successful, to the point where it’s hard to find a stand-alone category.
It’s like in the old days of three or four television channels, pre-cable, pre-VCR, when the networks began showing miniseries like Roots or The Thorn Birds. The first one or two were unique and interesting and everyone dutifully stayed home to watch. When the networks decided to cash in and minseries became a common event, it was almost insulting. As if they assumed (knew?) that we had no life, and nothing better to do than stay home every night for a week and watch their silly miniseries.
A great series is a wonderful thing, but they are few and far between. Sometimes what separates the good from the bad is that the author knows when to continue and when to end the series and move on to the next tale.
For the most part, I’d much prefer a nice stand-alone single story. Not every plot idea needs to be continued.
rant
Diane :o)
Oh man I wish I could quit. I’m still reading the Anita Blake and Merry Gentry books, but usually from the library. When I come home this summer, I’ll be playing catch up at my local library.
I don’t know what it is that I can’t seem to stop reading series, even if they bore me (Kim Harrison’s Hollow Series – the last one I barely made it through, mostly b/c without Kistin I just stopped caring about it I guess)
I only read the first Stephanie Plum book and I just couldn’t get into it, so I never really started. Same thing with Sue Grafton.
I got bored with Stephanie Laurens, Catherine Coulter and Johanna Lindsey. I guess if the series bores me, that’s what makes me put it down finally.
My husband refuses to even start reading a series until it’s finished. Hence, he’s still on Book 4 of Harry Potter.
Wow, DeeCee, I had forgotten about that Karin Slaughter thing. That was a total shocker for me, too. I’ll probably read her next book from the library, just to see how she deals, but I can’t imagine the series hooking me again without that character.
And thanks, Anaquana, for the tip on the Dresden files. I liked the first book enough to go out and buy several more in the series. But the third book just stalled me totally, and they’ve been gathering dust for many moons in my TBR pile. Even though I’m totally anal about reading a series in order, maybe I’ll skip to book four just this once and try to re-engage. Give my OCD a workout, LOL.
Forgot to mention Elizabeth Moon’s series. Not romances, but one of my current favorite SF series. She writes interesting military space opera: strong but flawed female characters, complicated good guys, and plenty of twisty bad guys.
One more post. All of the above are the one reason I ask one question before I start reading anything these days. Is this a series? Is it open ended? If it is, I don’t even look at it, I don’t care how much I love the author—sorry!
If I’m going to read a series, I look for ones that have a certain amount of books allotted, a trilogy—love trilogies—or 4 or 5 books. Besides, what is wrong with a stand alone book? One where ALL the characters are well developed and the plot resolved by the end? Nothing like a GREAT stand alone.
I haven’t read all the posts, but one thing that emerges from a fair number of them really surprises me. Just as many people seem to read through to the bitter end books that they are not really enjoying, some of you will apparently carry on with a series even after it starts to get on your nerves. Why? Life is too short to spend time on books that are supposed to give pleasure but which are not delivering that any more. When reading for professional reasons, it may be essential to keep going even if the book is poorly written and deeply boring. That would apply to fiction if one is a literary critic or teaches ‘the novel’, I suppose, because it is then an essential text, but if one is simply reading for leisure and relaxation, it seems to me that only a masochist would keep going if he/she is not deriving any enjoyment from the book or series any more.
I don’t know many of the series mentioned here, but in two cases that I was unfortunate enough to encounter myself, the (?) Davidson ones with that breathtakingly silly, half-witted vampire woman, and the Evanovitch Stephanie Plum books, I am fairly stunned that anyone read even a second book. I didn’t finish the first Plum one, and only finished the first Betsy thing because it was such a quick read (reading age for about an 8-year-old, I would guess), and I was knitting at the same time, so at least I wasn’t totally wasting my time.
🙂
I’ve given up on quite a few series:
JR Ward – her series bit the dust when the heroine became a ghost. Done…Done…Done.
Davidson’s Betsy after book 4—books are too short and too silly for hardcover price; plus she always has a lot of errors (date of birth makes the daughter older than the mother, wrong character speaking, etc.)
Kenyon’s Darkhunter series after book 5 – enough already; I wanted Acheron’s story, but by the time it came out (what 4 years after I stopped reading the series?) I didn’t even crack open the book at the book store to check it out.
Anita Blake’s series—stopped after LKH lost her mind and became totally obsessed with writing porn.
Catherine Coulter’s FBI series – stopped after book 7 or 8 when she became so careless with her writing that she changed the name of a character from “Fast Eddie” to “Malcolm” (or it could be the other way) and didn’t even know she did it. She had a lot of errors in the previous books: changed Sherlock’s eyes from green in first book to blue in later books; had Savich’s parents babysitting in one book but then his dad had been dead for 8 years in another book, etc. Just couldn’t take the fact that she cranked the books out without any regard for previous books or continuity within the current book.
Karen Marie Moning’s Fever Series – returned the last book when it ended on a gang rape. Seriously??? You’re going to end book 3 of a 5 book series on a gang rape and expect the readers to wait a year for the next story. Buh bye! If I see anyone looking at the series I warn them about book 3’s ending.
I was getting close to giving up on Suzanne Brockmann’s books, but now that she stopped being so preachy about gay tolerance since Jules had his own story…I’m enjoying her recent books more.
Like others, I will NEVER give up on Robb’s “In Death” series —some are better than others, but all are better than most other books that I will read in the year they come out. Love the relationships and the way Eve keeps on developing/improving.
Lizzie and Lady T: OMG, I had totally forgotten about Anne Rice; that’s how long it’s been since I broke up with her. hahahaha. I read up through Pandora (which I really liked). But then Armand came out and I was like, “I already know all about Armand from Queen of the Damned. What the hell do I need another book about him for? How Gabrielle? Or any of the myriad other interesting characters she introduced in Queen?” Plus, when she intersected her Vampire and Witch series, it was shark jumping, imo. Anyway, I could go on and on and on but I won’t. Needless to say, I believe Anne Rice was my very first break up. aw.
through55: I would NOT be able to make through 55 books on Lestat.
That should have read, “How ABOUT Gabrielle…”
I understand people hating series in romance because they are easily avoidable. But hating series in urban fantasy? That I don’t understand. I’ve only read one excellent stand along UF (Sunshine by Robin McKinley). And I’m glad that most authors don’t have set numbers of books they are writing.
And the Betsy books are a bit too silly for me. Those have fallen down the list to borrow and read. The last straw was when I noticed how ENORMOUS the margins are in her trade paperbacks yet they are still $14. You are paying $14 for essentially a novella. No thank you.
There’s no one reason, I think.
Laurens – because her plots are the same. But I re-read “Devil’s Bride” and enjoy it.
Ward – I was never completely invested, but I have two unread Ward books on my shelves, and I doubt I’ll read them now. Jane’s fate really appalled me, and her world got more and more illogical.
Kenyon – I’ll still look, and I still take note of the releases.
Brockmann – I’m still fully invested in the Troubleshooters, and thinking about it, it’s because she’s a great writer. Her mastery of her subject, her total immersion in the world and the way she depicts it gets me every time, even if I don’t like the hero of a particular book.
Feehan – still reading the Ghostwalkers, more or less given up on the Dark series. I love her earlier books, club-me-over-the-head and all, and although her writing definitely improved in the later books and she’s made great efforts to change up her world, it doesn’t pull me in like it used to. I think it’s the superman syndrome – her Carpathians are more or less indestructible, so enemies don’t stand a chance.
Balogh – I’ve found that she writes two or so really good books and three meh ones in a series, at least for me, so I’ll keep reading, but I’ll wait for the blurb and reviews.
My disillusion or just boredom or whatever with long running series made me rethink the way I approached my own, so yes, I think this will have a knock-on effect with a lot of writers. I’m now doing shorter story arcs, no more than 5 books, set in the same world, and the newest world (STORM) is set to change as it goes on. What’s more, it’s more fun to write.
No-one’s mentioned why authors keep going with series so long. I suspect there are two reasons: either the author’s only got one good idea, and wants to milk it, or the series has been sufficiently successful that it’s worth the author and publisher trying to make as much out of it as they can, rather than risk losing the readership with a new series.
Janet Evanovich lost me when Stephanie broke off her engagement with Morelli for apparently no good reason except the continuation of the franchise.
My only current “waiting impatiently for publication date” authors are Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs and Lee Child. And one TV series (and I don’t even have a TV) – Supernatural.
@ Faellie, do you feel that Reacher has just about reached his time limit? or that the stories are starting to feel the same? I just recently finished Nothing to Lose, but didn’t feel that is was Lee’s best work. I still tend to turn to the older stuff to reread of his, Tripwire or Persuader or even One Shot for a great read.
I don’t read a lot of romances, but I do read a lot of series. The ones I like best are the 4 book series (pretty much every YA series that Tamora Pierce has written) and the slightly longer series by some SF/F authors. I have a pretty high tolerance, but like many people I stopped with the LKH around Narcissus in Chains. It just took an abrupt change from ballsy woman to all sex. I’ve read a couple since then, but only borrowed from friends or the library.
I don’t think that I have ever “broken up” with a series, but I am coming close with the Kay Hooper SCU books. I admit that I did not start with the series, but once I got into it I made sure that I read them all. The latest book really held nothing different for me, and since the next book is a continuation of the first in the new trilogy I doubt there will be anything different in that one either. The last one reminded me a lot of one of the earlier books, and that is one of the biggest no-nos in my opinion.
One of the problems that I have with series books is that as the series progresses, there is less to write about. Its the same way with some television shows that have gone on too long. I used to watch Alias religiously, but once they jumped into the future and gave Vaughn a wife I started to think there was nothing left for me anymore. For awhile I thought that I was going to stop reading the “In Death” books because it seemed like the plots were getting worse and worse. However, the book that I decided would be the last one if it didn’t get better, did get better, so I’m still reading and I can’t wait for the next one.
Sarah: Considering this post spurred 160 + people to comment, I don’t think you should have been surprised that we got slightly away from BHB! I do think a discussion of what makes a series light a fire and what an author does that is the equivalent of putting out a birthday candle with a garden hose, was awesome and tied in nicely with our discussion of romance.
I am still working my way through all the comments, but I realized after seeing Star Trek on Friday night (*AWESOME*), that unlike movies or television shows, series can go stale due to a lack of fresh perspective. How many authors take their work, hand it off to a group of new writers and say “Hey, I’ve done all I can with these characters in this world. Why don’t you give it a go?”
That said, I’m done with Kenyon (maybe around book 7?). Sarah, I know you saw me standing there with my hand hovering over the Acheron paperback, but I’m going to read a synopsis, ‘cause I don’t thing I want to devote the time to it. Feehan (somewhere around book 5), the Cynsters (book 9, although I still adore Devil’s Bride and will keep it until the spine separates), Stephanie Plum, Catherine Asaro (I just haven’t read the last two…maybe because they’re so involved), and Diedre Knight’s Parallel series (whoa…too many intersecting storylines – and I’m GOOD at that kind of thing, so you know it was confusing).
I’m still hangin’ on with Lara Adrian, and have the latest in the series. I still derive enjoyment from Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series. I remain enthralled with Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark, Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changeling Series, and P.C. and Kristen Cast’s House of Night series.
Series I’ve actually completed: Rowling, Piers Anthony’s Incarnations of Immortality, Angela Knight’s Master series (if another comes out I’d read it). That not a lot considering how many books I read. I hope that doesn’t say something about my attention span!
Lastly, I know it’s totally cliche, but I just can’t quit you Black Dagger Brotherhood. GAH!
spamblocker: trying73
and I will keep doing so!