The Reading Vent & Rant Thread

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There are some series where they should have stopped after the first book.

Before the first book.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Before the first book.

A perfect example of that is Ian M. Banks with his Culture series. The first book is abysmal. It starts off pretty good and goes downhill and ends up being abysmal overall.

[andyh2000]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

A perfect example of that is Ian M. Banks with his Culture series. The first book is abysmal. It starts off pretty good and goes downhill and ends up being abysmal overall.

Hah. I think a number of people might disagree with you on that one.

Andrew

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by andyh2000

Hah. I think a number of people might disagree with you on that one.

Andrew

And they'd be wrong too. I read the book for a book club and hardly anyone liked it.

[DrNefario]

Luckily I started with the second one, which was great. The Culture is just a set of stories in a shared setting, not an actual serial. Kind of like Discworld, which also had a weak opener.

I try to limit myself to one book ahead in series. It's hard to stick to that when there are bundles and omnibuses, but it does mean I'm only one book down if the series jumps the shark. And also that I don't sink a lot of money into something I might not read for years.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Luckily I started with the second one, which was great. The Culture is just a set of stories in a shared setting, not an actual serial. Kind of like Discworld, which also had a weak opener.

I try to limit myself to one book ahead in series. It's hard to stick to that when there are bundles and omnibuses, but it does mean I'm only one book down if the series jumps the shark. And also that I don't sink a lot of money into something I might not read for years.

Not at all like Discworld. Discworld is a true series with charters that evolve as series goes on.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Not at all like Discworld. Discworld is a true series with charters that evolve as series goes on.

Terry Pratchett also evolved and became a much better writer over time. Compare The Colour of Magic to The Last Continent or Unseen Academicals to see how he evolved as an author. For me, it also helped that Pratchett wrote multiple series and standalones within the Discworld universe. This allows books such as Monstrous Regiment and series such as Tiffany Aching to entertain us.

BTW, did you mean characters and not charters?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Terry Pratchett also evolved and became a much better writer over time. Compare The Colour of Magic to The Last Continent or Unseen Academicals to see how he evolved as an author. For me, it also helped that Pratchett wrote multiple series and standalones within the Discworld universe. This allows books such as Monstrous Regiment and series such as Tiffany Aching to entertain us.

BTW, did you mean characters and not charters?

The characters do evolve in the books. Even if you don't have the same main characters, you still have background characters that evolve. You don't want to spoil the background characters just because you think some books are standalone. The reality is that mist books in a seris that are said to standalone really are not.

Discworld is meant to be read in the order written which is also chronological order. After that when you go to read the series again, an order will do.

[ownedbycats]

I tend to read cozy mysteries in order too, even though most of them tend to work as standalones. After all, it kind of spoils the "are they the murderer?" in book one when you know that they're still around in book five.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I tend to read cozy mysteries in order too, even though most of them tend to work as standalones. After all, it kind of spoils the "are they the murderer?" in book one when you know that they're still around in book five.

Yep, I also always read mystery series in order. Often there are developments going on in the protagonists' life across several books, even though the main plot (murder) is standalone.

Of course I read most any series in order, no matter the genre. I just don't get people who read series out of order and don't even care.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Terry Pratchett also evolved and became a much better writer over time.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The characters do evolve in the books. Even if you don't have the same main characters, you still have background characters that evolve. You don't want to spoil the background characters just because you think some books are standalone. The reality is that mist books in a seris that are said to standalone really are not.

Ummm... you did notice that I said Terry Pratchett also evolved? The Terry Pratchett who wrote The Colour of Magic would not have been able to write Snuff without the intervening years of experience in his craft.