Do you start on a trilogy knowing the last book is not out!

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by patrickt

For me, each book of the trilogy needs to stand on it's own merits. I read them as I get them and if a book requires another book I dump the series. If the author really wants to write one huge book, then do it. Don't write it and then publish it in pieces.

I just thought about how huge a book Auel's Earth Children or Jordon's Wheel of Time Series would be! It would take a forklift to handle the paper versions!

[DiapDealer]

Don't write it and then publish it in pieces.

I completely agree. I guarantee that if authors had to wait until their "one book spread out over 10-12 volumes" was completed to start getting paid for it... these series would start getting considerably smaller -- and more concise. The author would have to decide if his/her huge, magnum opus story was worth the sacrifice of writing for 8-9 years without getting paid.

I'm sure that there'd be less series overall because of that, but THE SERIES would be something special then... the exception instead of the rule in the SciFi/Fantasy genre. I mean, are authors first coming up with an idea for a great story (that turns out needing more than 1 book to tell)?... Or are they first coming up with an idea for a great series?

I would hope the former... but I suspect the latter.

[Lemurion]

I'm still waiting for Alexei Panshin's fourth Anthony Villiers novel - though I doubt it will ever see print.

My normal pattern is to buy books as they come out - but if the delay gets too long between books (and the series doesn't seem to be progressing when the books DO come out - I'm looking at you ghost of Robert Jordan) I'll shift and wait until they're all out before jumping back in.

As it is, I doubt that I'll ever care enough again to finish Wheel of Time - and am unlikely to start Martin's Game of Thrones.

[Latinandgreek]

I have no problem starting a series before the last book in the series is published. I plan on starting the Wheel of Time series this week.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I completely agree. I guarantee that if authors had to wait until their "one book spread out over 10-12 volumes" was completed to start getting paid for it... these series would start getting considerably smaller -- and more concise. The author would have to decide if his/her huge, magnum opus story was worth the sacrifice of writing for 8-9 years without getting paid...

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I'm still waiting for Alexei Panshin's fourth Anthony Villiers novel - though I doubt it will ever see print.

My normal pattern is to buy books as they come out - but if the delay gets too long between books (and the series doesn't seem to be progressing when the books DO come out - I'm looking at you ghost of Robert Jordan) I'll shift and wait until they're all out before jumping back in.

As it is, I doubt that I'll ever care enough again to finish Wheel of Time - and am unlikely to start Martin's Game of Thrones.

I would certainly agree with the Wheel of Time series; that one is hopelessly bloated. And it got worse with each book (talk about milking a series!). With Auel's series, very little could be deleted without leaving something worthwhile out. The only thing that I feel could be deleted would be where she recants what went on in previous books, a very small percentage of volume. Where is that forklift?

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

As it is, I doubt that I'll ever care enough again to finish Wheel of Time - and am unlikely to start Martin's Game of Thrones.

Martin's series is fantastic. Perhaps give it a try after the last volume comes out (in 20 years or so - Just kidding. I imagine the upcoming HBO series based on his books will help force him to speed the series along.) All joking aside, I really enjoy Martin's series and I have recommended it to many people, including my very picky husband, who thought the books were amazing.

[tyche]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

I have no problem starting a series before the last book in the series is published. I plan on starting the Wheel of Time series this week.

That's easy to say now that 13/14 of the books are out . 22 years is a long time to wait. I remember reading Eye of the World in 1990. Back then I didn't think about series being complete before reading but then again, they were usually real trilogies that came out within 2-3 years.

I read a few more WoT books and eventually stopped around book 6. Even with 4 books out at the time, I re-read them each time a new book came out to refresh my memory. I had to stop doing that and decided to wait until it finished. Little did I know how long it would be...

I've been buying the Malazan books and putting them on my shelf for years. I'm finally going to read it in 2011 when the last book is out. Haven't touched George R. R. Martin books either. Sanderson has started a planned 10 novel series. Not. Gonna. Touch. It.

I think my stance is this. If it's an honest to goodness trilogy, by an author I really like (top 5 favorite), I will start it at book 1 when it comes out. Anyone else, I'll wait for it to be complete. If it's more than 3 books, I'm going to wait until it's completed or at its last book before starting no matter who wrote it.

[DiapDealer]

Martin's series is fantastic. Perhaps give it a try after the last volume comes out

I'm waiting until someone can confirm that A Dance with Dragons does not suck like A Feast for Crows did.

Books 1-3?... fantastic! Book 4?... Should have been titled The Scheming Housewives of Kings Landing or Sansa's Adventures in Babysitting. Quite disappointing... even if you're willing to overlook the fact that everyone's favorite characters were left out.

I really don't care about the wait anymore.

[ziegl027]

Add me to the list of "feeling too burned by George R.R. Martin to get involved in a series that has not been completed," with a few exceptions. Harry Potter were light enough reads with a big enough financial momentum that I a) didn't lose a big chunk of my life reading the individual books b) was reasonably certain they would be brought to a close. And Daniel Abraham is a good personal friend since 3rd grade (although we're not in close touch now), so how could I NOT buy "A Shadow in Summer" as soon as it came out?

I still remember picking up the first of the "Song of Fire and Ice" books in the library. There wasn't any indication I could find on the cover blurbs that it was one of a series, and it was a BIG DAMN book; something like an inch and a half thick as a paperback. I figured it was a self-contained story. I had maybe an eight of an inch left when I started getting that sinking "Say, none of these plot lines are anywhere close to wrapping up" sensation.

[Dark123]

I would like to wait for them all to be out and then read them. However it's a problem for me, since someone spoils it thinking, Book 3 is out, so everyone must have read Book 1 and says something that just spoils the books for me, which is why I read them when they come out.

[Tattncat]

Originally Posted by stargazertony

Yes, I have, however, don't think I will do that again since I've gotten a bad taste for unfinished or delayed trilogies. Dean Koontz took about 4 years to get his third Frankenstein book out after his second. I stopped reading him for that entire period. Some younger readers I know are really fed up with Christopher Paloini because it's been years since his fourth (and maybe fifth) book was promised but never came. When authors do that, I move on and am not likely to go back to them as before.

Ditto on Christopher Paoloni and the Eragon series.

[Mark_A_Lopez]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

I have no problem starting a series before the last book in the series is published. I plan on starting the Wheel of Time series this week.

I started this series years ago, but gave up after book three. I remember thinking, 'what if this guys dies?' I wish he hadn't, but in retrospect I'm quite glad I stopped when I did. That particular series requires too much of an investment in time, at least more than I can afford right now.

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

Martin's series is fantastic. Perhaps give it a try after the last volume comes out (in 20 years or so - Just kidding. I imagine the upcoming HBO series based on his books will help force him to speed the series along.) All joking aside, I really enjoy Martin's series and I have recommended it to many people, including my very picky husband, who thought the books were amazing.

Every so often I think about giving it a try, but so far I always decide against it (and we have at least the first couple in the house in dead tree). Part of the problem is that while I liked Wild Cards, I've never been that big a fan of his writing - and I've read quite a bit of it over the years.

Who knows, I may get in another big fat fantasy mood and jump all over the series.

I'm also not impressed by the fact that he hasn't updated his Ice&Fire news since January 2008. I can understand that he missed the deadline - but no news after thirty-four months is a bit much.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

Every so often I think about giving it a try, but so far I always decide against it (and we have at least the first couple in the house in dead tree). Part of the problem is that while I liked Wild Cards, I've never been that big a fan of his writing - and I've read quite a bit of it over the years.

Who knows, I may get in another big fat fantasy mood and jump all over the series.

I'm also not impressed by the fact that he hasn't updated his Ice&Fire news since January 2008. I can understand that he missed the deadline - but no news after thirty-four months is a bit much.

Actually, he has made a few statements about the next book lately. He has 1500 pages completed, and is working on finishing off the last 5 chapters.

[TallMomof2]

I just finished reading the Anita Blake series, it's not a trilogy and even though more books will follow there are no cliffhangers. My next series is "The Hunger Games" and the main reason I'm reading it is because my almost 13yo daughter loved it. After that I'll probably take up Wheel of Time. In the past I'd read all the way through book 10 and part of 11 before moving on but I figure by the time I get all 12 books read 13 will be close to being published.

I used to read books in trilogies as they were published but not anymore, I wait until it's all available before I start. Life is too short and there are far too many excellent books to read.