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Do you sometimes refuse to read sequels?


emelee

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What is your opinion of sequals? When a book gets so popular that the author quickly decides to write a continuance story that was never planned in the first place...

 

That the the good thing about books/movies. You can CHOOSE yourself if you want to continue to read - and then make up your own mind if you accept the sequal or refuse it. You can actually end a story yourself, saying "that is how it ended" and forget there ever was a sequal, or judge it was unofficial and not really part of the story. ;)

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I don't think I've ever read a series that wasn't intended to be a series. I refuse to watch 24 though! I enjoyed the first series, I know the second series was unplanned but gave it a go and it was just stupid (Kim and the cougar anyone?).

 

If I was to read a series like that I'd give the second one a go, but I wouldn't keep going if I didn't enjoy it.

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I know what you mean! After reading Inkheart by Cornelia Funke I loved the story so much and loved the ending and thought that she should have left it like that! But when I found out there were more coming out in the series and read the overview to the plot I was horrified as she seemed to split all of my favourite characters up and ruin my love of Inkheart so I vowed never to read Inkdeath and so on!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'll virtually always read at least the first sequel, and if I like it, I'll continue, otherwise I won't bother with the rest (but I will google them to find out what happens!)

 

I was orginally going to say I didn't think I had read any such books, then Christie reminded me that the Inkheart trilogy is such a series. I have yet to read Inkdeath, but personally I loved Inkspell and while, yes, the initial book stands alone excellently, I also love the depth of character afforded Dustfinger by the second book, so I really couldn't help but love it.

 

As for movies, the same principle applies.

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I tend to read all sequels of a series, even if I wasn't impressed with one of them. I just might not be as eager to get them the first week they're out. Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith is a good example of this. I felt that the first few books were pretty poor, but they got better as the series went on. So I'm glad I kept reading.

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I love to read sequels. Not that they always measure up, but I give them a shot at the least.

They do tend to run out of steam though, it's true. I found that Sue Grafton's series became so...I don't know...the same book after book, or had twists that made no sense in light of past actions of the protagonists. Ennh.

 

I do enjoy Diana Gabaldon's books, even though they are a bit up and down. Usually by the time another in the series comes out, I have to at least skim the previous books to know where the heck I am! :D

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If I enjoy the first couple of books I tend to keep reading. I do usually mix up my reading though so I don't tend to read more than 2-3 books of one series before grabbing a different book or another series. That way I get to read a big bulk of what's going on but after the 'rest period' I can come back to the story with fresh eyes! Plus it gives me a chance to see how much of my brain acted like a sieve & check how much I have forgotten or retained lol :blush:.

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I like series that don't have to be read in order. One of my favorites is the Ballad series by Sharyn McCrumb. I read two or three of them before I read the first title in the series, and I'm so glad I did it that way. The first title is If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-0 and I think it's the weakest book in the series. McCrumb was just getting warmed up with that one. Subsequent titles are much better.

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In general terms, I'm annoyed by series. They take up space, time, and often end up milking one good idea well past its sell-by date. There have of course been exceptions to these findings, but I do try to research series 100% more thoroughly than standalone books, for I have much more to lose than with standalones should they turn out to be horrible. Although I believe in the reader's right to abandon a book, I don't like doing it unless I'm utterly forced to, so much so that even though I couldn't bear to finish HP6 and 7, I will get Stephen Fry to read them to me for the sake of completeness. Then, having experienced them, I can pretend like they never happened.

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In general terms, I'm annoyed by series. They take up space, time, and often end up milking one good idea well past its sell-by date. There have of course been exceptions to these findings, but I do try to research series 100% more thoroughly than standalone books, for I have much more to lose than with standalones should they turn out to be horrible. Although I believe in the reader's right to abandon a book, I don't like doing it unless I'm utterly forced to, so much so that even though I couldn't bear to finish HP6 and 7, I will get Stephen Fry to read them to me for the sake of completeness. Then, having experienced them, I can pretend like they never happened.

 

 

I'm much more likely to do more research these days too. Some series are worth sinking the time and energy into trying to read them in order. Others deserve to be abandoned in mid series. Life is short and there's more books in the Literary Sea. That said, I have some favorite series I like to recommend to anyone who'll listen :blush:

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That said, I have some favorite series I like to recommend to anyone who'll listen
Oh, so do I (Jasper Fforde should start paying me commission any day now :D!), I just wish authors whose story would make a marvellous standalone had the courage of conviction to write that one marvellous book rather than ruin the whole story by dragging it out beyond the pages it's meant to fill.
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Oh, so do I (Jasper Fforde should start paying me commission any day now :D!), I just wish authors whose story would make a marvellous standalone had the courage of conviction to write that one marvellous book rather than ruin the whole story by dragging it out beyond the pages it's meant to fill.

 

 

Definately...I'm thinking now of the late Robert Jordan...I gave up on the Wheel of Time series after the first 5 books. I just couldn't keep track of it all. One monster book would have been sufficient.

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  • 1 year later...

I hate when a single book or filmed is turned into trilogy just because it's popular (Pirates of the Caribbean). It always ends up spoiling the first.

 

Even worse is when a series just keeps going even after a perfect ending to a trilogy (Alien Resurrection). Don't think I've read any books where this happens but I'm sure I will sooner or later.

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Havn't as of yet, although I've just read A Game of Thrones and although I think the book is extraordinary, I'm not going to read the next one for a while as his books are massive and I don't want to be reading all of Geroge's books for the next 2 or 3 months :P

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I've only ever read two major series (shock horror I know) and they both came highly recommended to me, by my now brother in law who has similar reading tastes. Hunger games and Game of thrones will be my next two, but as odd as this will sound, it never really occurred to me to read a series until I had met my now brother in law.

 

Though as I write this, I do remember reading the goosebump books as a kid (it got turned into a decent tv series as well) but they were more of a single story contained in one book kind of series, so it didn't matter what order you read them in.

 

 

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If it's a series - I will read them all.

But if it's a stand-alone sequel, I probably would give it a miss.

 

I have refused to read 'Scarlett' (Gone with the Wind) and Oliver's Story(Love Story) - can't think of others right now.

I unfortunately read 'Heidi Grows Up' (Heidi) and hated that so much - and have done all I can to wipe it from my mind.

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  • 4 months later...

I really have grown tired of authors, returning to series that have come to an end. Piers Anthony is a serial offender. Split Infinty Trilogy became 7 books. Incarnations of Immortality went from 5 to 7 and now 8 books. Bio of a space tyrant has gone from 5 to six books. Has anyone else come across this? I also think David feintuch , Nicholas Seaforth saga at 5 was a book too long.

Edited by dex
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With books, I don't think I've ever done that. I usually want to read the entire story, and even if I wouldn't read the books that came after the first one, I'd always be so curious. I have to confess that I'm usually not really aware if a sequel was planned or not, but I don't think that matters to me.

 

I know that Hannibal Rising was written under pressure of producers and that Thomas Harris didn't really want to do it, but it was a choice between doing it and having someone else write it. I still read the book, but admittedly did not really enjoy it.

 

I'm more inclined to stop watching a TV series if it's really bad or stops interesting me, but that doesn't happen often either. I quit The 4400 in the middle of the second season, and I don't plan on watch the new season of Glee, for instance. It does happen more often that a channel will stop airing a TV show mid-season, or not air new seasons, and that can be a reason why I haven't seen new seasons of a show.

 

 

I really have grown tired of authors, returning to series that have come to an end. Piers Anthony is a serial offender. Split Infinty Trilogy became 7 books. Incarnations of Immortality went from 5 to 7 and now 8 books. Bio of a space tyrant has gone from 5 to six books. Has anyone else come across this?

 

At the moment, I can only think of L.J. Smith returning to the The Vampire Diaries series.

Edited by Alexander the Great
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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm not sure that's always the case Amelie, I'm sure there are some authors who have a set story in mind and decide up front where the story is going to go, and how many books they think they will write it in, but there are definitely some, who I suspect are prompted by their publishers, to write a sequel based on the success of their first book.

 

Of course, this may work the opposite way - some authors plan a series of books, but if they're not successful enough, the publisher may decide to pull the plug.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I just wish that with the 'Noughts and Crosses' "trilogy" (which then wasn't a trilogy anymore...) that I hadn't bothered. Noughts and Crosses was a really good powerful book and I feel that the books that came after just let it down.

 

...And yes I did just keep reading them just to find out what happened next because I just have to know and I did keep praying a little bit that the next would be in league with the first but I was sadly disappointed :(

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