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Do you read series?

Manny Bullpucky

Manny Bullpucky

New Member
I was just wondering if anyone here is into reading series/serialized novels. I'm kind of torn between reading them and giving them a pass. On the one hand I think the author should say what needs to be said at the maximum in a trilogy. I don't want to feel like I have to read/purchase 10 books just to finish the story. Not a value judgement, just my preference. But then some seem so compelling that I'm thinking about sticking with them. It's recently the way i feel about S.M. Stirling and his books about the change.
 
Depends, doesn't it? Some writers are better than others in this regard. I love the Ballad series by Sharyn McCrumb. While I guess it's best to read them in sequence, each title stands alone. I also enjoy the Anna Pigeon series by Nevada Barr. They too stand alone. The Stephane Plum series by Janet Evanovitch, and Eve Dallas series by JD Robb are best read in sequence, and I love them both. OTH, I gave up after the 6th book in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series...I couldn't remember why I was supposed to care about the principals..so I gave up. Your milage may vary!
 
I haven't read many series. But I thought the WATCHER series by Sergei Lukyanenko was amazing, And didn't repeat its self. I thought the Stephanie Plum books though were just the same thing over and over. Which I think might be how a lot of series are but I can't be sure having read so few.
 
the Stephanie Plum series are all more or less the same....but at the same time are fun to read....:)
 
I used to boycott series for that very reason. But one day I picked up The Hobbit without realizing it was part of The Lord of the Rings and that changed my opinion of series. Whether I continue reading after Book One depends on how much the author managed to get my interest. I'm not going to waste my time reading books I'm not that into. Life is short, read what you like!
 
I read quite a few series. Lately I tend to take breaks after a certain point, as there's only so many times you can read about the same characters and world (used to read as many books as I could find). I don't think every author should stop a series after three books. Terry Pratchett's been writing the Discworld novels since the 1970's and he somehow manages to find new things to say. Of course, it helps that not every book features the same main character.
 
One of the best series I have read is Lonesome Dove,by Larry McMurtry. Start with Dead Man's Walk, then Lonesome Dove, followed by Comanche Moon and then Streets of Laredo. It is a Western like no other western. A real page turner, and all the books are around 600 pages. I don't usually like thick books, but was sorry when this series ended.
 
I used to but not so much these last couple of years. I do have Updike's Rabbit series in my TRL and others, so I look forward to them.
 
I started with Robert Jordan’s Wheel of time novels and got to book seven “A crown of swords” when I heard that he passed away and didn’t finish the series.

I didn’t feel like reading the series further, if there wasn’t going to be a proper end. But now I read somewhere that Brandon Sanderson will now finish the series. Maybe I should go clear the dust off of the old book and finish the series now.

Still prefer trilogies over series though.
 
I love a good series. . .

I love a good series. I enjoyed reading Tom Clancies Jack Ryan series years ago. I still enjoy Clive Cusslers Dirk Pitt series, though it seems to be winding down. I'm currently working on Alexander Kent's Bolitho series (29 books) and the McCaskill series from Ivan Doig. C.S. Forester's Hornblower series (14 books) is excellent, Louis L'Amour's Sackett series (19 books & short stories) is a fun read, Bernard Cornwell's Grail series (3 books) is outstanding, as is Isaac Asimov's robot series and foundation series. Then there is the outstanding Lonesome Dove series by Larry McMurtry (4 books) and the Ramage Series by Dudley Pope (18 books).
 
I have a tendency to get hooked on characters, so I'm a big fan of series. I got hooked on them with characters like John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee and Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder.
The Louis L'Amour Sackett series gave me a bumch of characters to get into.

I just enjoy following a familiar character into different situations.
 
PFReader said:
I have a tendency to get hooked on characters, so I'm a big fan of series. I got hooked on them with characters like John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee and Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder.
The Louis L'Amour Sackett series gave me a bumch of characters to get into.

I just enjoy following a familiar character into different situations.
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I agree. However I love mystery series. Each book conveys a new crime but with the same detective developed over the course of 10 to 15 books.
 
I read a ton of the Dragonlance books years ago and am currently reading the George RR Martin books. This seems to be more of a sci-fi/fantasy type of thing.
 
I do read series. I have read most of Kathy Reich's Tempe Brennan series and the Inspector Lynley Mysteries by Elizabet George. I also love Arturo Pérez-Reverte's Capitán Alatriste series, and recently got hooked on the Kurt Wallander series by Henning Mankell as well as the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.
I was wondering if "shorter" series qualify as series or if they go by a different name (other than "saga", which I find kind of annoying lately, wonder why that is...). I mean, obviously series series like Harry Potter, The Dark Tower or His Dark Materials have a different structure than the ones I mentioned previously. And they certainly cannot be read in the same way.
Actually, it doesn't really matter what you call them, or more to the point, how the publisher decides to market them. If I enjoy one book I'll read another one and another one, until the series is over or I'm so disappointed by one of the books that I just give up on the series altogether.
 
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