Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
Most people will give up before getting to book 5 if they feel the beginning books are just OK. The beginning books have to be better then just OK. They have to be enjoyable enough to bother to keep going.
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I thought Dresden steadily improved over the first 3 or 4 books. The 6 Alera books were very consistent IMO, and the first (and only so far) Cinder Spires was very promising - I'd like to see more of that than Dresden. The Alera books are set 2 years apart, which I thought worked well to advance the characters and story without losing continuity.
Most series I've read have improved significantly after the first book - Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, Jo Nesbo, Jussi Adler-Olsen, Louise Penny etc. One exception was The Expanse, which IMO was outstanding from page 1 (though I remember having to restart after 50 or 60 pages to get the characters and the initial events sorted out in my mind).
I'd always recommend starting a series with library borrows before purchasing. I'll often sample 2 or 3 new series before deciding which one to commit to next...