T: Trilogy or More

T:  If you've visited me before, you know I write epic fantasy.  Epic fantasy and many other types of fantasy, usually means a multi-book series.  Science fiction often is delivered in a series of novels set in the same world and involving the same characters.  Mystery, romance, suspense and other genres tend to come in series also.  And why not?

If a reader falls in love with the world and the mythology created, they'll come back again and again to the adventures and intrigues the author composes. But how long will the reader return? At what point does the series drag on too long?  It depends.

The author must keep the storyline from getting repetitive. TV series face the same challenge. Is there a bad guy of the week or of the novel? Many mystery series are like that.  Is the new criminal, the new threat to world peace, interesting with new quirks and higher stakes? If there is a continuing story arc, does each novel move it forward? Are more and more questions asked and are some old mysteries solved and explained? Is the tension rising from novel to novel?

I used to think all fantasy series were best if kept to a trilogy.  Perhaps Tolkien taught me that.  Then I started reading authors like Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind who spin their epic fantasy out over more than a dozen books.  Some of the books in each series were better than others, but I intend to keep reading them as long as they keep going.  So three is no longer a magic number in my opinion.

Have you ever read a book series you thought went on too long? Do you enjoy reading series or do you prefer stand alone novels?

S: Series, Gotta Have Em

Fantasy lovers, readers and writers, expect series.  Between world building, invented civilizations, and the never ending battle between good and evil, fantasy stories have trouble staying between the covers of a four hundred page novel.  Fantasy fans want a story rambling and running through many books.  My first fantasy series, The Futhark Chronicles, is four books long.  I like a series of three or four books but I've enjoyed many that are ten or more books long.

Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series is still going strong after a dozen heavy tomes. The late Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is being finished by the super talented Brandon Sanderson.  I think that series is at number fifteen.  The final installment will hopefully be released at the end of this year.

Harry Potter is YA's answer to fantasy lovers.  I took my second son to at least six midnight release parties for those books.  He was old enough to drive to the last one by himself but I went along anyway.  Fantasy lovers can't wait for the next book in their beloved series to come out.

Romance readers also enjoy series but the stories are different.  Usually, but not always, romance series are stories set in the same place or world but with different protagonists in each book.  Often the couple in a second book is introduced as secondary characters in the previous book.  Couples sometimes make guest appearances in new books in the series, fulfilling a reader's believe in the happily ever after of favorite characters and their relationships.

Readers pick up a second book in a series because they trust the author to create an engaging tale based on the content of the first book.  The author has a responsibility to ramp up the intensity and preserve the integrity of the characters.  The author and publisher also must deliver the series in a timely fashion.  If the reader has to wait to long for the sequel, they can lose interest and find something else to read.

What is your favorite series?  Have you read a series that disappointed after the first few books?  How long have you waited for a sequel and how much time is too long?