Giant Novels/Long Delays..what do ya do?

[teahupoo]

I dont think A Dance with Dragons will ever come out.

I just read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Now i am going crazy waiting for the next book. I guess its been 2 years going on 3 since the first one was released. I'm glad i didnt read it when it came out or i would hate Patrick.

 

[Werthead]

Out of curiosity, why not wait until A Dance with Dragons?

I'm hoping it will be done by the time I'm finished with the reread, since I'll probably mix-up the re-read with some other books and I'm also going to campaign heavily for a review copy (although I believe Pat has already got first dibs on putting up the actual review, although I believe he still has AFFC to read ). Timing is important here.

 

[Astra_]

So,

How do you guys handle long dealys between books in a series?

Simple.
I do not read unfinished series.
- it can take ages to finish (requires a re-read - waste of time if you are not speed reader ot the series is the favourite of yours)
- the writer can loose interest (waste of time)
- the writer can die (waste of time)

waste of time - there are so many good books/series that you have not read.

 

[Scott]

For the most part, I will wait until a series is finished. I don't like to read a book and have to wait a year or more to continue the series. I use this forum and find completed series and read them. The only one that I read as it comes out is Erickson's. I'm going to re-read once it is complete. Other than that, I wait. I think a lot more authors should give a synopsis of what went on before for those that are in the middle of a long series. I think it was done more in the past than today, but could be wrong.

 

[Cranky Hamster]

Doesn't bug me in the slightest unless a book ends with a cliffhanger (AFFC, I'm lookin' at you) in which case it drives me nuts and can actually make me stop reading that author forevermore.

If a series novel ends with a semi-decent stopping point, even if the major storylines are unresolved, that's good enough for me. As Wert pointed out, if everybody avoided series until they were finished, they'd all get dropped by their publishers and none of us would ever find out the endings.

 

[DurzoBlint]

Simple.
I do not read unfinished series.
- it can take ages to finish (requires a re-read - waste of time if you are not speed reader ot the series is the favourite of yours)
- the writer can loose interest (waste of time)
- the writer can die (waste of time)

waste of time - there are so many good books/series that you have not read.

I disagree, on worrying that a series can't be finished due to an author's death. There a lot of great books out there. To not be given a chance to read something because you are worried that an author will die before it is finished seems like you are missing out on something.

If GRRM were to die before the series was over, I would still be happy that I read something that I enjoyed even if I never learn how it ended.

 

[mshnd06]

My initiation was Tolkien. Following LotR I started in on Jordan and Martin, big mistake (as I am not a very patient person). Now I typically read the first early to get a taste and then wait for the rest to be published so I can knock em off at once. I have a feeling that Malazan may consume quite the chunk of my time when its completed in the next year or two.

 

[Astra_]

To not be given a chance to read something because you are worried that an author will die before it is finished seems like you are missing out on something.

If GRRM were to die before the series was over, I would still be happy that I read something that I enjoyed even if I never learn how it ended.

I would be missing out something if there were nothing else to read and istead of reading unfinished series I would opt to another hobby. Fishing for example but my TRL is so long that I don't have to worry about running out of reading material.

I cannot enjoy a story if I am don't have a chance to learn how it finished.
When I read a book, love it but the ending if bad/disappointing, I cassify the book as bad. For me the ending is as important as the journey at the very least. Maybe even more important.
So, reading a book with bad ending or starting series, spending/devouting hours/days/precious time of my life that can never be spent on something else and get a frustrating ending and no ending at all is a unforgiveable waste of time.

Again, if I were a speed reader like a lot of people here, who read a book per week at least, maybe I would have a different attitude. However, I read one book 3-4 weeks, so I cannot afford bad reading (bad reading in my understanding of it).

 

[Werthead]

For me the ending is as important as the journey at the very least. Maybe even more important.

But the number of books, series or otherwise, that have a decent ending is microscopically small. Most books peter out or have an unsatisfying or contrivted ending that nevertheless doesn't cancel out the enjoyment of reading the books beforehand. To be honest, the chances of even ASoIaF or WoT having an ending that will please every reader is fairly low.

In addition, you have the other problem that many 'final books in the series' are now nothing of the sort, and the writer will keep adding new books, prequel series, sequel trilogies and so on to pay the mortagage or until they croak.

The other problem is that if everything felt as you do, no multi-volume series would be written, as no-one would buy Book 1 and the series would be cancelled.

 

[Astra_]

The other problem is that if everything felt as you do, no multi-volume series would be written, as no-one would buy Book 1 and the series would be cancelled.

There are more speed readers than slow turtles like me or people with a lot more time. They save the book industry I would contribute if I could.

 

[Seegee]

I would be missing out something if there were nothing else to read and istead of reading unfinished series I would opt to another hobby. Fishing for example but my TRL is so long that I don't have to worry about running out of reading material.

I cannot enjoy a story if I am don't have a chance to learn how it finished.
When I read a book, love it but the ending if bad/disappointing, I cassify the book as bad. For me the ending is as important as the journey at the very least. Maybe even more important.
So, reading a book with bad ending or starting series, spending/devouting hours/days/precious time of my life that can never be spent on something else and get a frustrating ending and no ending at all is a unforgiveable waste of time.

Again, if I were a speed reader like a lot of people here, who read a book per week at least, maybe I would have a different attitude. However, I read one book 3-4 weeks, so I cannot afford bad reading (bad reading in my understanding of it).

Astra, I can understand where you're coming from to an extent, although I also see Wert's point in that many authors don't totally 'complete' their series so that they can keep coming back to the gravy train. Raymond Feist immediately springs to mind. The ending to Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy so disappointed me that it took me forever to read Liveship Traders and from that point on I refused, and still do, to really rate a series in my own mind anyway until it was completed. I don't include books in unfinished series in my favourites when I occasionally make lists of these things. I tend to look at the series when it's done as one big book broken into a certain number of chapter and as it's rather unfair to rate a book on one chapter I see the series' as the same thing. Maybe that's totally wrong or illogical to many of you, but that's just how I look at it. Although I keep telling myself I won't pick up books until the series is done I often can't help myself and still do it. I have managed to resist Malazan up until now and I'm waiting until Sanderson brings out ALL of the WoT finales before I'll go back to that.

 

[Jon Sprunk]

I'll state up front that I have a dog in this fight, so feel free to take what I say with a grain of salt.

I understand the wait-and-see attitude toward series. It can be frustrating to wait for years for the next installment. But the SFF genre (fantasy, in particular) has a long tradition in multiple-book series. It's almost like our hallmark.

Like some movies. I didn't wait to see Star Wars: A New Hope (I was seven at the time) until Empire and Return came out. No, I saw them as they were released, and waited along with the millions of other fans for the next one to come out. Actually, it was part of the fun. Every new movie was like a holiday. A lot of people felt the same way about the new Harry Potter book, something that I didn't really appreciate because I bought them all after the series was done and read them in a row (my wife was a fan and I figured, what the hell?).

Just something to think about.

 

[metalprof]

I understand the wait-and-see attitude toward series. It can be frustrating to wait for years for the next installment. But the SFF genre (fantasy, in particular) has a long tradition in multiple-book series. It's almost like our hallmark.

This is an interesting discussion because in a way it parallels conversations in other (GRRM) threads about whether or not there's an implicit contract between the author of a series and the readers who have supported prior installments of the series through their purchases.

It's almost like a Tragedy of the Literary Commons. Everyone is justified in acting in their individual best interests, but when they do, the aggregate whole may suffer.

There surely is no implicit contract in a one-on-one sense between any one author and any one reader to produce any one product on any given schedule. But because readers' experiences (such as my own) with longer delays and incomplete series can sour our desire to delve into a series whose future is uncertain, we have a growing number of readers (like those in this thread) who are wary of taking the plunge into an incomplete series.

I am acting in what I consider my own best interest when I decide not to invest in a new series that is not close to completion. The author of a series who does not keep an existing series as his immediate top priority is also certainly acting in his or her own best interest to do otherwise, as there is another project or opportunity (or even just good family time) that outweighs the need to pursue the series at high speed. Neither player is in the wrong.

But then, as you and Werthead have pointed out, if the numbers of the "wait for it to be done" crowd grow large enough, the industry as a whole may suffer since publishers will be less inclined to invest in series whose readership is uncertain.

People acting in their own best interest together contribute to the possible decline of the whole. Gosh, this never happens anywhere else!

As an admitted card carrying member of the "wait for it to be done" crowd, I will gladly burn my card and start reading new books the day they come out IF all the sf/f authors will - the next time they hold their annual Super Secret Writers Meeting and Gift Exchange - collectively decide to guarantee no more than a year wait between books in a series except under extraordinary circumstances. Either that, or I'll take my wife's lead and start investing all my time and money towards Sue Grafton and Janet Evanovich.

Ken

 

[Bond]

The experience of reading a series as it is coming out is different from reading it all at once. There isn't the same sense of incubating anticipation when reading it when it is all finished. There also isn't the same opportunity to discuss with others and share speculation. On the other hand there isn't as much potential for frustration either. It's a gamble with a better payoff if things go well but a larger risk of loss or sense of waste if it doesn't.

By the way, the argument has been aired that making sure the author finishes the series and does not die on the reader is a plus. One should also take into account the flip side that there's no guarantee the reader is going to live long enough to see the end of the series either and settling for not as good but finished series could be seen as a waste in that context.

 

[Jon Sprunk]

I will gladly burn my card and start reading new books the day they come out IF all the sf/f authors will - the next time they hold their annual Super Secret Writers Meeting and Gift Exchange - collectively decide to guarantee no more than a year wait between books in a series except under extraordinary circumstances.

I will make that motion at the next Super Secret meeting. I can't speak for anyone else, Ken, but I'll do my absolute best to keep the wait to no more than a year.