Quote:
Originally Posted by theducks
 Too much of anything at once, and it stops being  ...
Even Chocolate  |
Yep. Some series stand up to a binge better than others, but all series are improved by pacing yourself. I've mentioned this (to death!) in the audiobook forum, but I only let myself listen to Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin books in the summer, and I always break them up with something else. Not only do I appreciate the individual books more, I have a few more years of pleasure to anticipate.
I'll compare this to another series set in the Napoleonic War, Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe books. Lots of fun but fairly formulaic, and I'd be sick of them if I didn't let 'em lie fallow between reads.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by theducks
RCN was one of many that I gave up on, believing it 'wore out', at about book 3 (  maybe that is why there are so many Trilogies) |
Three is my magic number, too. Even Harry Potter and Game of Thrones (heresy in both cases, I know, perhaps slightly less in the second) were never as good after the third book. A book to set up the situation, one in which it's realized, and one to wrap things up. Done! I got a sense in both of the series I mentioned of the author's losing control and worse, where continuity was seriously abrogated by the demands of newly spun plot threads.
Series where the books are comprised of relatively discrete situations and where there's less overarching plot fair much better. They also don't have the problem where the reader forgets plot points over time, as they're not as important.