Quote:
Originally Posted by Victoria
I can easily see why it wouldn’t grab you. You can definitely start somewhere else in the timeline. I did, and didn’t miss a beat.
I don’t think Agent of Change as a good starting point, because it was the first book they’d written, and the authors hadn’t developed their sea legs yet. So I find it a bit too slapstick and over the top. It’s not a good reflection of who the characters really are. And I don’t think the style of the first book reflects the authors’ later writing.
I don’t mean to dis the book. It can be a fun, campy read later, once the characters and Liaden customs are better established.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel
It's sort of how I feel about Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series -- I always start folks on #7 in the series, Breakup. If they like it, they can circle back to the beginning, and by the time they finish #6, they'll have a re-read of Breakup to look forward to. (Which, by the way, I'm re-reading right now, it being spring and all. )
|
I think many, if not most, series are best tried in a book that’s not the first. Obviously not a trilogy or something of that sort, where (you hope) there’s a definite story arc, but in ongoing series where the basics don’t change much from book to book as each book has a self-contained plot. The odd spoiler is usually not that significant and better that than to give up on a poor start when it’s it’s a series you’d like.
In fact, I think scrupulous adherence to series order has been enabled only by the digital age. Back in the paper day, you pretty much had to go with what you could obtain, whether because you were limited to library holdings or what was on a bookstore shelf, or even by what was still in print. The number of mystery series I started in the middle would make your head spin if that kind of thing mattered to you.