The Series Malaise

[ravenus]

Of course this is just my POV and it's likely very tinted but will it get that fantasy and SF readers find it difficult to enjoy anything that is not part of a humongous multi-volume series? I personally can't stand the idea of a story that requires (as opposed to merely providing added enjoyment) me to trudge through multiple tomes.

[dwndrgn]

I like both, but I prefer multi-volume tomes because when a story is good and the character is good more is better - to a point. I don't like it when a series continues after it has lost it's spark.

[Winters_Sorrow]

you get series of books in normal fiction too - patrica cornwell or bernard cornwell are good examples.

I think you have a point in that some authors seem to feel there 'vision' is so grand it could not possibly be contained in one volume, but it depends what the story you're trying to tell is.
I do think that fantasy has this problem more than sci-fi though, as I can think of a few good sole sci-fi novels I've read but it's harder to find individual fantasy books..

[rune]

I dont mind trilogies I think they are more focused than numerous books in a series.

Some series that have a slightly different story each time but based on the same characters are quite good. e.g. Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

But generally I think authors do better to keep a series relatively short and move onto new projects

[Leto]

Well, for once, I'm more on Ravenus side. If the serie worth it why not ? But lately, most serie could easily take place in one or two book and being much more interesting (Otherworld by Tad Williams and Peter Hamilton's Night Dawn trilogy are the first to come into mind).

[Chimeco]

I disagree. Otherworld deserved it's run. It was a great story, one of my favorites, although the ending left much to be desired. It left a real ending to be desired, actually. I don't know what was up with that big brain idea of his... But it deserved it's 4 volume run.

[Leto]

IMO it was too long, could have been easily shorten within 2 books. The feeling I've got is that most new authors capitalize on series to be sure to have several books published.
I don't mine a serie if it's really worth it, and if each books as a real ending.
In this aspect, Otherworld was a real pain to read, the first book finish when you finally get into the history.

Ok, that's the same work with LOTR but in Tolkien's mind, LOTR was supposed to be ONE huge book, not a trilogy.

[Teresa Edgerton]

I think most new authors are just concerned to get ONE book published, Leto. Which they have a better chance of doing if they happen to be writing a series or a multi-volume novel, because that's what SF/Fantasy publishers are looking for these days.

And I think it's already reached the point where the majority of Fantasy readers prefer to read a new book in an old series to a stand-alone by someone completely new.

[Leto]

Originally Posted by Kelpie

I think most new authors are just concerned to get ONE book published, Leto. Which they have a better chance of doing if they happen to be writing a series or a multi-volume novel, because that's what SF/Fantasy publishers are looking for these days.

And I think it's already reached the point where the majority of Fantasy readers prefer to read a new book in an old series to a stand-alone by someone completely new.

I know that's what publishers are looking for, at least they take the chance to publish new writer and that's good. What I regret is the way some books are formatted into series when they don't need it.
I'm not sure in this case all readers who read book 1 and are disappointed by the ending (or its lack of) will go to book 2, and next time they'll be less interested into buying a book 1. At least, that's the case here. And usually publishers don't even print the end of the serie because sales dropped long before the end. Except if the serie comes from US or UK, and is already ended, then they print and sale the whole thing at once.
On this said note, my favorite book is a serie (7 novels).

[Teresa Edgerton]

As I understand it, publishers pretty much expect a certain fall-off in terms of readers between book one and book two. This doesn't matter if the series hits it big and the first book stays on the shelves, attracting new readers all the time. If sales are only OK, the publisher takes it as given that the rest of the series is doomed.

[Rane Longfox]

Personally, I love a big, fat, chuncky series to get my teeth into. Especially if its one of my favorite authors, one book is never enough to satisfy my taste for it... (OK, taking the food analogy a bit too far now)

They have to be written in the right style though. Look at Jordan for a good example of a promising series gone bad after he started procrastinating.

[Sirathiel]

The biggest problem I see with multitome series is the investment. If I get the first one and it's good, I'll buy the second. And after that I feel obliged to get the rest. I'm very surprised with myself that I haven't gotten Malloreon 2-5 yet. I'm actually pretty proud of myself in that respect.

Many series are a good read and leave you satisfied. But others take the meaning of long-winded to new heights. I greatly enjoyed Otherland, but I will always remember it with the feeling to have read a marathon.

If I go book shopping with no concrete goal in mind, I often put interesting sounding books back on the shelf simply because they're part of a multipart series. It just puts me off these days.

Well, I don't know if I've made any sense, but I'll stop ramblilng now.

[knivesout]

I'm with ravenus. One story per book please, complete and whole. It's part of why I'm sort of drifting away to mainstream lit'ry fare just now.

[Neon]

I think that a lot of popular fiction books also use the multi-volume books to their advantage. However, it seems that fantasy & sci-fi take the time to actually title the series and thus categorize it as one. Take for example Dan Brown, one of the most popular fiction writers after The Da Vinci Code hit it big. His main character appears in several other works, and because of that probably keeps him popular.

[GrownUp]

No. No mention of The Da Vinci Code. Not now, or ever. Please. As my friend. Let the subject go.

I cannot predict what might happen otherwise. It may involve violent feelings, confusion and possibly tears.