Is it worth starting to read uncompleted Fantasy Series?

TheIrishGrover

I just bought the first three Stormlight Archive books. I'm only about 40% through the first book. The thing is, I initially thought this was a completed trilogy. Now I discover it's part of a planned 10-part series. (It was always planned as 10. I just did not know this initially. My bad)

Fantasy fans have been burned so many times as series start off as trilogies and then they creep on and on and on with longer gaps between novels, bloated filler installments, writers losing interest in the series and, let's be brutal, writers unfortunately dying before the end.

So here's the question: Having been burned so many times, is it worth waiting until a writer finishes their series before starting or do you risk it, enjoy the ride as it goes in the hope that they will finish?

Grassey

If its a quality writer like Sanderson I'd snap up any new book that came out as soon as it's published.

Then as each new book in the series is due... you get to reread all the preceding books again each and every time!

It's the gift that keeps on giving!!!

Lu Tze

I did not know this was going to be a ten book series! Approaching the end of book 2 on audible, similarly presumed it was a trilogy. You do get an awfully lot of book for your money though!

Sleepy

Think his plan is to have two major arcs of 5 books each in an overall 10 book series.

Since Sanderson is both reasonably young and pretty much the authorial equivalent of a clock, spitting out a couple of books a year, I'd have no fear of him finishing his opus.

Nody

Even series I highly doubt I'll see the end of the series (for example The Name of the Wind, Game of Thrones etc.) I still appreciate the story told so far in the series and they have shown interesting ways of telling stories other books have not. Even taking a master piece series such as Dune which got a very poor bastardized ending was worth reading even if the ending was a let down by a third party because of the story and skill of the author.

Trojan

If it's a Rothfuss or GRRM, well you'll be waiting a long, long time.

If it's a Scott Lynch, it'll eventually arrive after 25 false publication dates.

If it's a Sanderson, you can set your watch by them.

stesaurus

Nody wrote: »

Even series I highly doubt I'll see the end of the series (for example The Name of the Wind, Game of Thrones etc.) I still appreciate the story told so far in the series and they have shown interesting ways of telling stories other books have not. Even taking a master piece series such as Dune which got a very poor bastardized ending was worth reading even if the ending was a let down by a third party because of the story and skill of the author.

This!

It's not the destination yada yada...

Enjoy the books for what they are and hope you get a satisfactory ending. TV on the other hand can feck off if its cancelled I usually drop it. Far too many TV shows to watch but with books there's never enough

ancapailldorcha

As an aside, is Sanderson worth reading? I've heard mixed things about the Mistborn books.

ancapailldorcha

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

As an aside, is Sanderson worth reading? I've heard mixed things about the Mistborn books.

Mistborn isn't great imo but everything else he has, is. Love his books.
Stormlight is by far the best imo but elantris and warbreaker are standalone iirc if you want to give those a go

Nody

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

As an aside, is Sanderson worth reading? I've heard mixed things about the Mistborn books.

Read the first book as a stand alone and forget that there are more books and you'll do fine as it gives an interesting world and magic system. It is downhill from that point however which is why I recommend stopping after book 1 (and it's probably the only time I've ever done that) and it's fairly ok from a story arc perspective as well to end there.

Trojan

If you don't read after the first book, you miss Wax and Wayne, which is a fantastic series in a great world.

ancapailldorcha

Nody wrote: »

Read the first book as a stand alone and forget that there are more books and you'll do fine as it gives an interesting world and magic system. It is downhill from that point however which is why I recommend stopping after book 1 (and it's probably the only time I've ever done that) and it's fairly ok from a story arc perspective as well to end there.

Are the latter Mistborn books really that bad? Might check some of these out, thanks!

shrapnel222

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

As an aside, is Sanderson worth reading? I've heard mixed things about the Mistborn books.

for a bit of balance, no he's not. can't stand his style and books.

He's very much a marmite kinda author, so you'll definitely hear mixed reviews.

Nody

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Are the latter Mistborn books really that bad? Might check some of these out, thanks!

I've tried to finish the third book 4 times and failed every time to date. I don't know anyone who've rated them higher over the first book or generally recommend them (Trojan might be an exception here :P). Don't get me wrong; I don't have any real problem with him as an author but the books are so damn boring and slow that I ended up preferring doing anything but finishing the series.

Trojan

Nody wrote: »

I've tried to finish the third book 4 times and failed every time to date. I don't know anyone who've rated them higher over the first book or generally recommend them (Trojan might be an exception here :P). Don't get me wrong; I don't have any real problem with him as an author but the books are so damn boring and slow that I ended up preferring doing anything but finishing the series.

Forget the third book so and jump straight to Alloy of Law. See if you're not hooked after 50 pages of that.

If is by Stephen Donaldson, it will start well for the first book or two. But, you can tell when he gets a contract to produce x number of books for rest of the series and switches into churn out 'content' mode.

L

Trojan wrote: »

Forget the third book so and jump straight to Alloy of Law. See if you're not hooked after 50 pages of that.

I had the opposite experience on this- wasn't mad about the third book, finished it and couldn't make myself read more than a couple of chapters of Alloy of Law. It's where I quit the series

ixoy

It's a good question. Currently, I'm making a concerted effort to finish all the series that I've outstanding that are completed - most of my "What Are You Reading" entries have been book 2s in various series. That's because I found I'd forget various plot deals, characters, etc.

Of the recent series I started, I knew they were either complete or would be complete by the time I was ready to read the third book. Or where their publishing history suggested they'd finish it out - so, like many, not worried about Sanderson finishing the Stormlight Archives bar some unfortunate incident. Sure Sanderson is the new Netflix of unfinished series - much like they hope Netflix picks up a show when it gets cancelled, people hope Sanderson will polish off a series if it ends abruptly for some reason.

Any series I start after finishing all these, is again ones where I've faith in them or they're done. So Tchaikosfky is another example where I'd have full faith given how quickly he writes so I'd be happy to pick up the first book in a new series.

Whereas for the likes of others.. Well Martin's just caught up in his own plots and probably feels like it's almost too much hassle, Lynch is caught up with his own personal problems as is JV Jones (last book was 2010!) and Rothfuss is caught up in his own ego. They're frustrating and I wouldn't recommend people start their series to be honest.
I do have sympathy more for Steven Erikson - his Kharkanas trilogy is on hold and it took a long time too. But he showed form with the Malazan series where he cranked them out solidly so I know he's up to the task. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and imagine his upcoming Karsa series will appear more regularly.

Dades

Just read it.

You might wait 10 years for the series to be complete before you start, and find yourself bored after book two or three. A great opener doesn't guarantee quality throughout.

ShauntaMetzel

You would need to conduct a complete research before buying books.

Greyfox

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

As an aside, is Sanderson worth reading? I've heard mixed things about the Mistborn books.

Yeah he is, he's arguably the best fantasy writer alive today. The final empire is in my top 3 best books ever written, his magic system is really refreshing, the 2nd and 3rd books are both excellent but not as good as the first. I'm tempted to buy the first stormlight archives book myself but decided against it. I'm confident it will be excellent but I think its always best to try to avoid book series where the end is way off, why put yourself though the pain of waiting when there's a wealth if other stuff out there

Nody

Greyfox wrote: »

Yeah he is, he's arguably the best fantasy writer alive today. The final empire is in my top 3 best books ever written, his magic system is really refreshing, the 2nd and 3rd books are both excellent but not as good as the first. I'm tempted to buy the first stormlight archives book myself but decided against it. I'm confident it will be excellent but I think its always best to try to avoid book series where the end is way off, why put yourself though the pain of waiting when there's a wealth if other stuff out there

Consistent in production etc. yes but best fantasy writer alive? Sorry but not by a long shot.

TheIrishGrover

OK. The poll is currently about 75% in favour of risking it. So, as a kind of additional question. I was going to post this originally but wanted to see the outcome of the poll.

Do you think authors/publishers take advantage of this loyalty? This perpetual expansion of these series' seems to be specific to Fantasy. Sure there are many thrillers etc that have many many books but, in general, they are standalone books with some overlap. What do you think would happen if a crime author was planning a two-part crime novel where you only find out "who-dun-it" at the end of the 2nd book. Only for that book to expand to 5 or 5 over 8 or 9 years? The readers would go crazy.
Fantasy readers are more acceptable of series ever-expanding as it build a a richer world. But then there less pressure on actually finishing a series other than financial. (This has probably changed recently given the focus GRRM has received about Thrones series catching up with books)

Edit: As per next 2 comments. Yeah, "taking advantage of" is too harsh. What I meant by that was: Is there less incentive/pressure on authors/publishers to complete a series given that the books will be bought regardless.

beauf

They might might simply be enjoying writing it.

Nody

I don't think they are doing it to take advantage of loyalty; I think the problem is more similar to Kickstarter campaigns that becomes huge successes in that as they get more and more successful they feel they can grow their vision even further with more scope etc. while their publisher who was only willing to pay for 3 books now offer to pay for 5 or 10 books series instead. That in turn means they can expand their world and plots etc. and they simply bite off to much to deliver as the world becomes to big with to many plot lines to tie together somehow. That expansion is not a case of 1 +1 = 2 in writing but rather 1 + 1 = 4 in the additional workload and complexity it brings to the writing. The fact the publishers will not reign them in as well because they are so successful and their next book will be a major hit only helps to exaggerate the issue at hand further.

Also to add; if they wanted to milk their readers then releasing a lot of books of middling quality would be the route to go; GRRMs rewriting to perfection is the opposite end for making money of their user base after all as they would make more money selling one or two books a year over selling one book every 8+ years at twice the price.

Sleepy

FWIW, the first draft of the first book of the Stormlight Archive was written in 2002. He shelved it for over a decade before completely re-writing it because he reckoned it was his opus and wanted to improved his writing before attempting it. If you've liked anything he's written, and possibly even if you haven't, the Stormlight Archive is worth the read, it's head and shoulders above his other stuff (and I like a lot of his other work).

L

Nody wrote: »

The fact the publishers will not reign them in as well because they are so successful and their next book will be a major hit only helps to exaggerate the issue at hand further.

I think that's the nub of the issue alright - I've an opinion that most authors who talk about needing a series to finish their story don't need more books, they need a better tougher editor.

It's also a running problem with Sci-Fi and Fantasy where it's a little easier to get more readers to buy another book in an established world than to bite off something completely different.

Micheal Clark

It has its own charm.

lordgoat

It's a hard no from me. Why wait, there are loads of books out there to pass the time. I'll start reading a series when I have a publish date for the last book. They ones I have started and am waiting for:

GRRM - but i'm actually happy to just watch the tv show and leave it. Way too many unnecessary pages and characters.

Rothfuss - this i will read. I'd rather he came out and broke his 3 books thing if it got him out of the bind he has written himself into.

Weeks - Lightbringer - simply as he changed the number of books in this series! Looking forward to going back to it.

Wheel of Time - I was young and foolish before I realised how poor (imo) this series is. Path of Dagger is one of the worst books I've ever read.

Trojan

lordgoat wrote: »

Wheel of Time - I was young and foolish before I realised how poor (imo) this series is. Path of Dagger is one of the worst books I've ever read.

WoT is an interesting case. IIRC the first 4-6 books were quite good, it was only 7-10 where it went downhill fast.

The other thing is the context: the first 6 books were published between 1990-1994. Back then, we had nothing like the amount of quality fantasy that new readers have available to them now.

keane2097

Greyfox wrote: »

Yeah he is, he's arguably the best fantasy writer alive today. The final empire is in my top 3 best books ever written...