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

[greencat]

I try and avoid trilogies of any kind as most of the ones I've read have often been a bit flabby.

Often they seem to follow this pattern.

Book 1: Really good standalone book that doesn't need sequel or prequel. It is a massive but sometimes unexpected success so readers demand more of the same. Author obligingly rummages around in torn up plots and characters box.
Book 2: Slightly more stretched not quite as good ending on a cliff hanger.
Book 3: The second half of book 2 stretched out into a complete book.

Me - I am waiting for the sequel for To Kill a Mockingbird.

Can anyone recommend any really great trilogies?

[drofgnal]

I used to when I thought authors were reliable enough to finish them. George RR Martin has turned me totally off of reading anything serialized that is not complete. It has been five years and several delays since 'A Feast for Crows'. I've pretty much given up on him. I check his blog from time to time and he doesn't even seem that driven to complete it. Damn now that football season is on, it will be at least until spring if not later. I won't watch the coming HBO series as a result.

I kind of broke my vow on Cronin's 'The Passage'. But at least that was a complete story in iteself. I will also probably break my vow and read Follet's 'Fall of Giants', before the series completes, trusting in his reliability to complete it.

[darknessangel]

Trilogy? Bwahahaha! I started the wheel of time series and those are 12 books! I've seen the last 3 books getting written and published and I there's still 1 or 2 books left! XD

[Marc Johnson]

I have no problem buying trilogies if the series isn't finished. In fact, it's the only way I'll buy any fantasy series. For some reason, sci-fi doesn't have a problem getting out books for long series but fantasy does.

I'm only talking about high fantasy. Urban fantasy and paranormal romance have no problem getting out books. I've noticed only trilogies seem to be published in fantasy these days. That's good for me because I'll pick it up and if I don't like the first book, I won't read anymore.

I enjoyed Hunger Games and the Mistborn trilogies and had no problem waiting for those books. I no longer read an entire series at once anymore. I'm reading Kevin J. Anderson's new fantasy trilogy, which might take me awhile to read but only because of the e-price.

[SlowRain]

Originally Posted by thinkpadx

How do you relate to reading books that comes in a trilogy, do you wait for all the books to be published or do you start right away?

I tend to want to wait before all books is out and then start to read.

I guess this is not how the author would want it, but for me this is what works best.
This is especially true if the first book doesn't give any form of closure and you know it's a long time before the next one will be out.

I try to wait until the series is finished before reading it. I imagine the publisher would not want this otherwise they'd have to go many years before getting people to buy them. I'd say the majority of people don't wait. It would seem they like anticipation.

[Ohgo]

If it seems promising enough, I'd go for a book even though the series aren't completed yet. Although most of the time when the sequel actually comes out, I'm gonna need to reread it again. Doh!

[Lemurion]

I've been giving this a bit more thought, and I just came to an interesting conclusion: I don't finish most series I start. Give me a great big sprawling fantasy series, and while I may read the first two or three books, I almost never read them all the way to the end.

So really, there's no point me worrying about whether it's finished or not, because I'll probably drop the series before it hits that point anyway.

Again, your mileage may vary.

[DiapDealer]

I've been giving this a bit more thought, and I just came to an interesting conclusion: I don't finish most series I start. Give me a great big sprawling fantasy series, and while I may read the first two or three books, I almost never read them all the way to the end.

I'm in the same boat. Even my all time favorite authors are going to be hard-pressed to hold my interest longer than 2-3 books -- on the same subject matter, anyway. Brick-by-brick World-building isn't something I fancy very much... I'm more of a World-hinting <get on with the story and characters> kind of guy.

[blacktemplario]

if the book is good i buy.
I don´t care if the next books had long delays... i have others wonderful books with great stories with fantasy themes to read..

[wannabee]

I liked Douglas Adams forth book in his trilogy. Boy that was some time ago.

[Xanthe]

I read the books as they come out. I tend not jump on high fantasy novels when they first come out; I have to really be in the mood to start an epic. So usually by the time I start the series, the first three books of the supposed-trilogy are already out, and I don't face the aggravation of waiting for them.

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

I think this one beats that:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_Against_the_Chtorr

It's been 17 years since the last one ended on a cliff edge.

This was the first series that came to mind for me. I still check periodically to see if the next one is out yet (wiki says maybe July 2011).

I'm eagerly awaiting GRR Martin's books like everyone else. But I don't complain too much - better done right than done just to get done.

I'm NOT a fan of the Wheel of Time at all. I'll leave it at that.

I often read the series as it comes out, for my favorite authors. And I just re-read the whole series or trilogy again whenever the next book comes out.

[gmw]

For me it depends (bet that helps ;-).

Generally for a new author (new to me) I will wait until they have a complete work out (although I made an exception for Kylie Chan and haven't regretted it).

Once I know an author I will make my choice based on experience. One or two authors that I quite like I will always wait on because they've proven over the years that they can't be trusted to finish what we're waiting on. Other authors have proven that they will adequately finish each book even though the series itself is incomplete. And then the last category falls to someone like Stephen Donaldson. Any excuse to re-read the lot is good for me, so every time he publishes a new book I pick-em up and start again.

[Under the Covers]

I wait for all of any series to be out, then I read them, one after the other, so that it feels more like a coherent whole. I'm just not fond of reading a series dribbled out over the years; the spell is broken, and I lose interest, happily forgetting about that author and/or series.

James Michener could have split his massive Hawaii or The Source each into a series of books, but the reader would not have had the experience of the breathtaking sweep of history gained from reading them as a whole. Perhaps because I read books such as those early in my life, I look at books in any series as just "chapters" of an entire work.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

I'm eagerly awaiting GRR Martin's books like everyone else. But I don't complain too much - better done right than done just to get done.

Hear, hear!