Is it worth starting to read uncompleted Fantasy Series?

TheIrishGrover

I just bought the first three Stormlight Archive books. I'm only about 40% through the first book. The thing is, I initially thought this was a completed trilogy. Now I discover it's part of a planned 10-part series. (It was always planned as 10. I just did not know this initially. My bad)

Fantasy fans have been burned so many times as series start off as trilogies and then they creep on and on and on with longer gaps between novels, bloated filler installments, writers losing interest in the series and, let's be brutal, writers unfortunately dying before the end.

So here's the question: Having been burned so many times, is it worth waiting until a writer finishes their series before starting or do you risk it, enjoy the ride as it goes in the hope that they will finish?

Grassey

If its a quality writer like Sanderson I'd snap up any new book that came out as soon as it's published.

Then as each new book in the series is due... you get to reread all the preceding books again each and every time!

It's the gift that keeps on giving!!!

Lu Tze

I did not know this was going to be a ten book series! Approaching the end of book 2 on audible, similarly presumed it was a trilogy. You do get an awfully lot of book for your money though!

Sleepy

Think his plan is to have two major arcs of 5 books each in an overall 10 book series.

Since Sanderson is both reasonably young and pretty much the authorial equivalent of a clock, spitting out a couple of books a year, I'd have no fear of him finishing his opus.

Nody

Even series I highly doubt I'll see the end of the series (for example The Name of the Wind, Game of Thrones etc.) I still appreciate the story told so far in the series and they have shown interesting ways of telling stories other books have not. Even taking a master piece series such as Dune which got a very poor bastardized ending was worth reading even if the ending was a let down by a third party because of the story and skill of the author.

Trojan

If it's a Rothfuss or GRRM, well you'll be waiting a long, long time.

If it's a Scott Lynch, it'll eventually arrive after 25 false publication dates.

If it's a Sanderson, you can set your watch by them.

stesaurus

Nody wrote: »

Even series I highly doubt I'll see the end of the series (for example The Name of the Wind, Game of Thrones etc.) I still appreciate the story told so far in the series and they have shown interesting ways of telling stories other books have not. Even taking a master piece series such as Dune which got a very poor bastardized ending was worth reading even if the ending was a let down by a third party because of the story and skill of the author.

This!

It's not the destination yada yada...

Enjoy the books for what they are and hope you get a satisfactory ending. TV on the other hand can feck off if its cancelled I usually drop it. Far too many TV shows to watch but with books there's never enough

ancapailldorcha

As an aside, is Sanderson worth reading? I've heard mixed things about the Mistborn books.

ancapailldorcha

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

As an aside, is Sanderson worth reading? I've heard mixed things about the Mistborn books.

Mistborn isn't great imo but everything else he has, is. Love his books.
Stormlight is by far the best imo but elantris and warbreaker are standalone iirc if you want to give those a go

Nody

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

As an aside, is Sanderson worth reading? I've heard mixed things about the Mistborn books.

Read the first book as a stand alone and forget that there are more books and you'll do fine as it gives an interesting world and magic system. It is downhill from that point however which is why I recommend stopping after book 1 (and it's probably the only time I've ever done that) and it's fairly ok from a story arc perspective as well to end there.

Trojan

If you don't read after the first book, you miss Wax and Wayne, which is a fantastic series in a great world.

ancapailldorcha

Nody wrote: »

Read the first book as a stand alone and forget that there are more books and you'll do fine as it gives an interesting world and magic system. It is downhill from that point however which is why I recommend stopping after book 1 (and it's probably the only time I've ever done that) and it's fairly ok from a story arc perspective as well to end there.

Are the latter Mistborn books really that bad? Might check some of these out, thanks!

shrapnel222

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

As an aside, is Sanderson worth reading? I've heard mixed things about the Mistborn books.

for a bit of balance, no he's not. can't stand his style and books.

He's very much a marmite kinda author, so you'll definitely hear mixed reviews.

Nody

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Are the latter Mistborn books really that bad? Might check some of these out, thanks!

I've tried to finish the third book 4 times and failed every time to date. I don't know anyone who've rated them higher over the first book or generally recommend them (Trojan might be an exception here :P). Don't get me wrong; I don't have any real problem with him as an author but the books are so damn boring and slow that I ended up preferring doing anything but finishing the series.

Trojan

Nody wrote: »

I've tried to finish the third book 4 times and failed every time to date. I don't know anyone who've rated them higher over the first book or generally recommend them (Trojan might be an exception here :P). Don't get me wrong; I don't have any real problem with him as an author but the books are so damn boring and slow that I ended up preferring doing anything but finishing the series.

Forget the third book so and jump straight to Alloy of Law. See if you're not hooked after 50 pages of that.

Tow

If is by Stephen Donaldson, it will start well for the first book or two. But, you can tell when he gets a contract to produce x number of books for rest of the series and switches into churn out 'content' mode.

L

Trojan wrote: »

Forget the third book so and jump straight to Alloy of Law. See if you're not hooked after 50 pages of that.

I had the opposite experience on this- wasn't mad about the third book, finished it and couldn't make myself read more than a couple of chapters of Alloy of Law. It's where I quit the series

ixoy

It's a good question. Currently, I'm making a concerted effort to finish all the series that I've outstanding that are completed - most of my "What Are You Reading" entries have been book 2s in various series. That's because I found I'd forget various plot deals, characters, etc.

Of the recent series I started, I knew they were either complete or would be complete by the time I was ready to read the third book. Or where their publishing history suggested they'd finish it out - so, like many, not worried about Sanderson finishing the Stormlight Archives bar some unfortunate incident. Sure Sanderson is the new Netflix of unfinished series - much like they hope Netflix picks up a show when it gets cancelled, people hope Sanderson will polish off a series if it ends abruptly for some reason.

Any series I start after finishing all these, is again ones where I've faith in them or they're done. So Tchaikosfky is another example where I'd have full faith given how quickly he writes so I'd be happy to pick up the first book in a new series.

Whereas for the likes of others.. Well Martin's just caught up in his own plots and probably feels like it's almost too much hassle, Lynch is caught up with his own personal problems as is JV Jones (last book was 2010!) and Rothfuss is caught up in his own ego. They're frustrating and I wouldn't recommend people start their series to be honest.
I do have sympathy more for Steven Erikson - his Kharkanas trilogy is on hold and it took a long time too. But he showed form with the Malazan series where he cranked them out solidly so I know he's up to the task. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and imagine his upcoming Karsa series will appear more regularly.

Dades

Just read it.

You might wait 10 years for the series to be complete before you start, and find yourself bored after book two or three. A great opener doesn't guarantee quality throughout.

ShauntaMetzel

You would need to conduct a complete research before buying books.

Greyfox

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

As an aside, is Sanderson worth reading? I've heard mixed things about the Mistborn books.

Yeah he is, he's arguably the best fantasy writer alive today. The final empire is in my top 3 best books ever written, his magic system is really refreshing, the 2nd and 3rd books are both excellent but not as good as the first. I'm tempted to buy the first stormlight archives book myself but decided against it. I'm confident it will be excellent but I think its always best to try to avoid book series where the end is way off, why put yourself though the pain of waiting when there's a wealth if other stuff out there

Nody

Greyfox wrote: »

Yeah he is, he's arguably the best fantasy writer alive today. The final empire is in my top 3 best books ever written, his magic system is really refreshing, the 2nd and 3rd books are both excellent but not as good as the first. I'm tempted to buy the first stormlight archives book myself but decided against it. I'm confident it will be excellent but I think its always best to try to avoid book series where the end is way off, why put yourself though the pain of waiting when there's a wealth if other stuff out there

Consistent in production etc. yes but best fantasy writer alive? Sorry but not by a long shot.

TheIrishGrover

OK. The poll is currently about 75% in favour of risking it. So, as a kind of additional question. I was going to post this originally but wanted to see the outcome of the poll.

Do you think authors/publishers take advantage of this loyalty? This perpetual expansion of these series' seems to be specific to Fantasy. Sure there are many thrillers etc that have many many books but, in general, they are standalone books with some overlap. What do you think would happen if a crime author was planning a two-part crime novel where you only find out "who-dun-it" at the end of the 2nd book. Only for that book to expand to 5 or 5 over 8 or 9 years? The readers would go crazy.
Fantasy readers are more acceptable of series ever-expanding as it build a a richer world. But then there less pressure on actually finishing a series other than financial. (This has probably changed recently given the focus GRRM has received about Thrones series catching up with books)

Edit: As per next 2 comments. Yeah, "taking advantage of" is too harsh. What I meant by that was: Is there less incentive/pressure on authors/publishers to complete a series given that the books will be bought regardless.

beauf

They might might simply be enjoying writing it.

Nody

I don't think they are doing it to take advantage of loyalty; I think the problem is more similar to Kickstarter campaigns that becomes huge successes in that as they get more and more successful they feel they can grow their vision even further with more scope etc. while their publisher who was only willing to pay for 3 books now offer to pay for 5 or 10 books series instead. That in turn means they can expand their world and plots etc. and they simply bite off to much to deliver as the world becomes to big with to many plot lines to tie together somehow. That expansion is not a case of 1 +1 = 2 in writing but rather 1 + 1 = 4 in the additional workload and complexity it brings to the writing. The fact the publishers will not reign them in as well because they are so successful and their next book will be a major hit only helps to exaggerate the issue at hand further.

Also to add; if they wanted to milk their readers then releasing a lot of books of middling quality would be the route to go; GRRMs rewriting to perfection is the opposite end for making money of their user base after all as they would make more money selling one or two books a year over selling one book every 8+ years at twice the price.

Sleepy

FWIW, the first draft of the first book of the Stormlight Archive was written in 2002. He shelved it for over a decade before completely re-writing it because he reckoned it was his opus and wanted to improved his writing before attempting it. If you've liked anything he's written, and possibly even if you haven't, the Stormlight Archive is worth the read, it's head and shoulders above his other stuff (and I like a lot of his other work).

L

Nody wrote: »

The fact the publishers will not reign them in as well because they are so successful and their next book will be a major hit only helps to exaggerate the issue at hand further.

I think that's the nub of the issue alright - I've an opinion that most authors who talk about needing a series to finish their story don't need more books, they need a better tougher editor.

It's also a running problem with Sci-Fi and Fantasy where it's a little easier to get more readers to buy another book in an established world than to bite off something completely different.

Micheal Clark

It has its own charm.

lordgoat

It's a hard no from me. Why wait, there are loads of books out there to pass the time. I'll start reading a series when I have a publish date for the last book. They ones I have started and am waiting for:

GRRM - but i'm actually happy to just watch the tv show and leave it. Way too many unnecessary pages and characters.

Rothfuss - this i will read. I'd rather he came out and broke his 3 books thing if it got him out of the bind he has written himself into.

Weeks - Lightbringer - simply as he changed the number of books in this series! Looking forward to going back to it.

Wheel of Time - I was young and foolish before I realised how poor (imo) this series is. Path of Dagger is one of the worst books I've ever read.

Trojan

lordgoat wrote: »

Wheel of Time - I was young and foolish before I realised how poor (imo) this series is. Path of Dagger is one of the worst books I've ever read.

WoT is an interesting case. IIRC the first 4-6 books were quite good, it was only 7-10 where it went downhill fast.

The other thing is the context: the first 6 books were published between 1990-1994. Back then, we had nothing like the amount of quality fantasy that new readers have available to them now.

keane2097

Greyfox wrote: »

Yeah he is, he's arguably the best fantasy writer alive today. The final empire is in my top 3 best books ever written...

Buford T. Justice XIX

lordgoat wrote: »

It's a hard no from me. Why wait, there are loads of books out there to pass the time. I'll start reading a series when I have a publish date for the last book. They ones I have started and am waiting for:

GRRM - but i'm actually happy to just watch the tv show and leave it. Way too many unnecessary pages and characters.

Rothfuss - this i will read. I'd rather he came out and broke his 3 books thing if it got him out of the bind he has written himself into.

Weeks - Lightbringer - simply as he changed the number of books in this series! Looking forward to going back to it.

Wheel of Time - I was young and foolish before I realised how poor (imo) this series is. Path of Dagger is one of the worst books I've ever read.

I watched the first series and left it because the best characters were left out of the series, I thought. I loved the buildup with Rob on the wall and the training and life there:(

Greyfox

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

I watched the first series and left it because the best characters were left out of the series, I thought. I loved the buildup with Rob on the wall and the training and life there:(

A song of ice and fire is a brilliant book series but the game of thrones tv show is far far superior, Martin does characters better than anybody else but when you consider some of the slow parts like much of a feast of crows your better off finishing the books after the tv show. People only have a certain amount of patience, waiting 2 years for the next book is manageable but if your invested in the characters anything more and it's too painful a wait.. find something else in the meantime

Fian

Greyfox wrote: »

A song of ice and fire is a brilliant book series but the game of thrones tv show is far far superior, Martin does characters better than anybody else but when you consider some of the slow parts like much of a feast of crows your better off finishing the books after the tv show. People only have a certain amount of patience, waiting 2 years for the next book is manageable but if your invested in the characters anything more and it's too painful a wait.. find something else in the meantime

I read the song of ice and fire books (those that were published) in 2005. Been a long wait since for the series to finish.

I enjoyed the TV show more because I had read the books I think -0 I mean more than i would have had i not read them. Having said that I think the TV show suffered because it followed the books to the extent it did. GRR Martin seems to have completely lost control of the plot and the characters and has no idea how to draw it back together to a conclusion.

The TV show also expanded its scope (not quite as wide as the books) too broadly to be able to elegantly draw it all back together in this season, so the ending is going to be more abrupt and truncated than it should have been

I will be delighted if they prove me wrong and I end up being embarrassed by this post. Will find out in 4 weeks time.

lordgoat

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

I watched the first series and left it because the best characters were left out of the series, I thought. I loved the buildup with Rob on the wall and the training and life there:(

I enjoy the TV show but it's no means perfect. It does cut out a lot of boring and imo pretty time consuming characters. I'm thinking Dorn, the younger siblings in Stark and Lannister and Lady Stoneheart. The show did nail how annoying Theon is so top marks there. Oh and Sam too.

Fian wrote: »

I read the song of ice and fire books (those that were published) in 2005. Been a long wait since for the series to finish.

I enjoyed the TV show more because I had read the books I think -0 I mean more than i would have had i not read them. Having said that I think the TV show suffered because it followed the books to the extent it did. GRR Martin seems to have completely lost control of the plot and the characters and has no idea how to draw it back together to a conclusion.

The TV show also expanded its scope (not quite as wide as the books) too broadly to be able to elegantly draw it all back together in this season, so the ending is going to be more abrupt and truncated than it should have been

I will be delighted if they prove me wrong and I end up being embarrassed by this post. Will find out in 4 weeks time.

In no way a big fan of GRRM but I disagree with pretty much all of this. I am very confident GRRM knows exactly how the series will end. I think he may have some juggling to do around time and pacing and moving the story along as it was easier to do this when main characters were on different land masses. That said I fully expect the book ending to be far more complete and fleshed out than the TV show.

Since the show has surpassed the books I think the scope has narrowed considerably. It's a rush to the finish line. The ending will be pretty much the lord of the rings. Hell he's made no qualms about loving how Tolkien wrapped up that series. So you have the night king = Sauron and Cersei/Kings landing = re taking the shire.

Pretty confident that Dany will die, Jon Snow will piss off on his own somewhere akin to Frodo, Sansa will be top of the pile (or at least queen in the north). The only things of interest to me are Bran and the what is his purpose (which I think will be dealt with far better in the book) Also expect Arya to die no way she comes out alive after killing big bad. Cersei to kill her.

Fian

lordgoat wrote: »

In no way a big fan of GRRM but I disagree with pretty much all of this. I am very confident GRRM knows exactly how the series will end. I think he may have some juggling to do around time and pacing and moving the story along as it was easier to do this when main characters were on different land masses. That said I fully expect the book ending to be far more complete and fleshed out than the TV show.

Fair enough, though he has repeatedly described himself as a gardener rather than an architect, which suggests he waits to see how the story will grow rather than planning it out. I also think he would just bang out the books to get everyone off his back & make himself a fortune if he actually knew how to finish them. He may have an idea of how the white walkers are ultimately defeated but maybe not. I really don't think he knows how the other plot lines and characters will all come to a conclusion. don't believe we will ever find out either tbh.

Hope I am proved wrong!

Dades

I like his gardener approach and hope he doesn't change. It's the the reason why key characters get slaughtered as "real life" doesn't have a plot.

Something that seems to be lost now in the show.

smacl

Fian wrote: »

Fair enough, though he has repeatedly described himself as a gardener rather than an architect, which suggests he waits to see how the story will grow rather than planning it out. I also think he would just bang out the books to get everyone off his back & make himself a fortune if he actually knew how to finish them. He may have an idea of how the white walkers are ultimately defeated but maybe not. I really don't think he knows how the other plot lines and characters will all come to a conclusion. don't believe we will ever find out either tbh.

Hope I am proved wrong!

I agree and also reckon he's lost a very large part of his audience by now. I got about half way into the fourth book and had had enough. I still enjoy the show but can't say I've much interest in how, when or if GRRM finishes the books at this point.

One thing I find with longer series is that the author really has to be on their game to keep the standard up. IMO, you have to hand it to authors like Joe Scalzi, who while not always brilliant is reliably very entertaining. GRRM falls down badly for me in this way.

Sleepy

There's no way GRRM will finish the books, but if he did, there's no way he'd butcher the ending as badly as Benioff and Weiss have.

Nody

smacl wrote: »

I agree and also reckon he's lost a very large part of his audience by now. I got about half way into the fourth book and had had enough. I still enjoy the show but can't say I've much interest in how, when or if GRRM finishes the books at this point.

One thing I find with longer series is that the author really has to be on their game to keep the standard up. IMO, you have to hand it to authors like Joe Scalzi, who while not always brilliant is reliably very entertaining. GRRM falls down badly for me in this way.

I think many would read the last book or two (assuming they are ever written to wrap up the series) simply to see a "proper" ending compared to the TV show; they may not get it all as many characters are cut/merged but that in turn may trigger them to read the whole thing instead.

ancapailldorcha

Sleepy wrote: »

There's no way GRRM will finish the books, but if he did, there's no way he'd butcher the ending as badly as Benioff and Weiss have.

I'm not so sure. He has so many absurd threads going that he'd need well over the two books I'd last read he was planning on to wrap it all up.

Sleepy

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I'm not so sure. He has so many absurd threads going that he'd need well over the two books I'd last read he was planning on to wrap it all up.

I did read a comment from his wife a few years back that even she thought he'd need 3 books to finish it out...