[Victoria]

Originally Posted by issybird

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.

I agree, it’s often a better experience, and a better test of whether you’ll enjoy the books. It can also be quite interesting to read the first book(s) later, after a series has been well established. When you see how the author has developed their early ideas, you see their maturation along with their characters and storytelling.

Originally Posted by issybird

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.

I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s absolutely true. I never let something being out of sequence stop me from reading it. It was just the way things were. If necessary, you could ask someone to fill in missing pieces.

Remember the all the yearnings that came with knowing your favourite authors had earlier, unobtainable books? It seemed like a miracle the first time my local bookstore offered to go on “the internet”, to search for a copy of an out-of-print book that I longed for. I still have the two second hand books he ordered all the way from New York for me, completely unthinkable a few years before.

Originally Posted by CRussel

The Turtles are the ultimate Deus Ex Machina. You just know when they show up that things are about to get very interesting.

Yes! Speaking objectively, I often think Lee and Miller are guilty of frequent Deus Ex Machina problem solving, a trait that usually bothers me. But in their case, I always forgive them, because it’s usually just so satisfying .