Wednesday 15 June 2016

The Series Series #3: When Enough Is Enough

Wednesday 15 June 2016
We all have that one series, the series that starts off great and you will explode if you have to wait a second longer for the next book but then comes the next book, and the next one, and the next one, and the next one, until suddenly there are 10 books in the series that all echo the same theme. This is the type of series that begs the question: when is enough, enough?

Sometimes I fall head over heels in love with a great series. A series that has gripped me from start to finish and then it ends and it is so much more beautiful and wonderful than I could ever imagine. But then I realise that - wait - there are still two more books left. I understand writing long series, I really do, if it's a series that is well loved, well written, and, well, hasn't finished yet. But when it seems that a series is over, the plot was moving towards being completely wrapped up then I really don't see why there needs to be any more books. I may or may not be talking about The Vampire Academy in this paragraph. I may or not may not have finished the series yet but I also believe that it really only needed to be four books. -spoiler- Why can't Dimitri just stay dead? It seemed completely unnecessary to me that there had to be some kind of miraculous twist that hey, guess what? He's still here! It's just getting old and boring,

Another thing that really gripes me is when a series just seems to be dragged out. I promise this is a different point to the one above. I mostly see this in trilogys or towards the middle of a long book series, but when I read an entire series and realise that there is absolutely no way they needed three (or more) books to do all of that. I feel like this towards the Angelfall trilogy and Delirium. Half of the 'plot' was unnecessary and could have been edited out to make one beautiful, beautiful book. (In fact, the entirety of Pandemonium was pretty much useless in terms of plot). In fact, throughout Angelfall and World After there is an entire plot that Susan Ee is building up towards, but then comes End Of Days and apparently the book is going in a completely different direction than what we've been gearing up to for two entire books. Why not just cut it down and leave it as is. Now it just feels like I read the first two books for absolutely no reason besides Raffryn. And seriously Cassandra Clare, was City of Ashes actually that important?

I don't have much to say about this topic as I feel like there isn't anything new that I can add to the discussion. Leave a comment below telling me how you feeling about long series?

14 comments :

  1. Awesome post, Natalie! :) Certain series, like The House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast, and The Pretty Little Liars series, are SO strung out. There are unnecessary plot twists and new characters and new drama. It works for some books, but not others. Plus, when the final book in a series comes out, I reread everything so all the information is fresh in my mind. But trying to reread 15 books? Yeah, no way. It's almost a waste of time!

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    1. I loved The House of Night series when it first started but I eventually gave up because it was just going on for way too long and it was completely unnecessary. I'm the same with rereading for the final book but sometimes it's just not worth it.

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  2. I love long series if the books and plot are worth it. Harry Potter: awesome, but definitely doesn't need any more books. Sometimes an author just needs to decide how much story they have and how many books they need to cover it. I have a feeling many of them feel pressured to make series and to add new books, instead of going with the thing that's best for the story.

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    1. I completely agree! They get so focused on producing what the think the fans want but it's ends up almost destroying the story that they started with and that's never want the fans are after.

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  3. It is not even funny how many unfinished series I have. I get SO hyped up about sequels but then somehow never read them and completely lose interest. Which is probably the main reason I am SO tired of trilogies - because I never get around to finishing them and then it's basically just like WHY DID I EVEN READ THE FIRST ONE THEN? And when they extend beyond trilogies - yeah, forget it.

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    1. HAHAHA! I'm not quite that bad. It's usually that I'll read the first two books/first books in the series in preparation for the final book to come out and when it does I take ages getting around to it and I've lost all momentum for the series which doesn't make for a great experience.

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  4. I definitely agree with you. I feel like some series are drawn out to be a trilogy or more just to get more money. For instance, the Matched trilogy could have easily been at least one or two books only. I do know that the reason that the Angelfall series was supposed to be five books originally. That's why the first two books seem to be building up to something that isn't there in the final book. Ugh, City of Ashes was so pointless. I don't even remember what really happened. Also talking about drawn out series, why couldn't TMI end after City of Glass?

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    1. Although I loved the storyline with Sebastian I totally agree with you. The series had such a good and clear ending with City of Glass that adding any more books felt unnecessary.

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  5. I definitely agree with this post as a whole! Some series just go on way, way too long. Like the Pretty Little Liars series - there's like 16 of those books and three entire story arcs. And don't even get me started on James Patterson's Alex Cross series. It has nearly 25 books in total and there's no good reason for it

    I, umm, don't agree with the VA bit though. Yes, they could have been combined/cut down a little more than they were, especially the beginning of book four, but I don't think they should have stopped after the fourth. I would have died if they did! But maybe that's just my attachment to Dimitri speaking??

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    1. Hahahaha! Maybe I'm just not attached enough to Dimitri, I guess! I haven't read the last two yet so maybe my mind will change on this.

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  6. I pretty much avoid starting any series that already has more than 5 books out because it's too much money and too much commitment. I feel 3-5 books is my ideal number, though there are exceptions, of course. One of my absolute favorite series is currently doing a spin-off but still has all the characters from the first series in it too, and I would be happy if that one just kept going forever. Like, if she wants to write 70 books? Awesome! I would read them all lol.

    But I like series that actually have some sort of overarching series goal, and those types of series really should end once the story is over. And in the case of a long series, I think it's good when there are exit points so that readers can get off the ride while still getting a complete story. For example, if it switches to a different MC after three books and has completed the goal of the first MC, that's an exit point. I feel that's fair.

    And I completely agree with you on books being stretched out into series. That's how I felt about The Selection. The first book was like the intro, the second was the middle section, and the third had the climax and the wrap-up... but every individual book is supposed to have all those things. That kind of thing really aggravates me.

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    1. Long series are great if the plot is still going strong, but as soon as it feels like the story line has trailed off into nothing, there's where I've got a problem.

      Yes to exit points!

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  7. Ah, tis so sad when this happens. The House of Night series is one that comes to mind. I adored the first few books, and eagerly anticipated each of the next releases ... until I didn't. I just got over that series, which is kind of sad. I mean, I can look back on the first two or so books and go: yes, they were good and I loved them. But dear god, how did that storyline keep going on and on for, like, ten books? I have no idea.

    Ohmygod, City of Ashes, HAHAHA. That was just the ~forbidden love~ book, let's be real.

    I have been falling out of love with series more lately than ever, I think. And it's because I am truly realising how little time there is to read all the books I want to, and I am ready to drop a series if I am not keen on it anymore, whereas I used to HAVE to finish them.

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    1. Oh my god House of Night brings back so many memories! I was so hooked until it got too long and I just lost complete interest - it was dragged out for way too many books.

      My issue stems from that it just takes me forever to read series, because I can't buy books at the rate that I'd like so if I read the first one it'll be months or even a year until I buy the second and so on and so forth that in the end it's difficult for me to keep up/remember what happened and I lose interest. Agh. Too many books, so little time.

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