To boil the situation down to its absolute bottom line: people start reading a series that is incomplete. They then moan that the series is incomplete and they have to wait for the next book. Well, that's their own fault, to be frank.
I started reading JV Jones' SWORD OF SHADOWS series in 1999 when the first book came out. At that point Jones had released five big novels in less than four years, and it seemed quite likely that the four-book series would be finished quite quickly.
In 2009 we're still waiting for Book 4, which isn't due until next year and is half the size of the previous books in the series despite taking as long to write. The series has also expanded and there's two more books still to come.
Frustrating? Yes. My own fault for not waiting until it is complete? Yes.
I started reading WHEEL OF TIME in 1996 when A CROWN OF SWORDS came out in hardcover. I didn't bother doing any online research beforehand and started reading the series on the highly dubious grounds that, "It's the seventh book, it's got to be finished by now, right?" Yup, that came back to bite me as well. Given that even then some people were bemused by how long the series was and already a bit tired of Robert Jordan's traditional "It'll be done in three more books," spiel, I should have checked up a bit more.
In that case I didn't mind so much, as it was WoT that first got me involved in online forums and discussions, and led indirectly to me picking up other series like ASoIaF, MALAZAN, PRINCE OF NOTHING etc.
Essentially the problem is that in modern society too many people are used to getting what they want, when they wants it and being told that they have to wait makes them scrunch up their eyes, start crying and throwing a tantrum. It is very bizarre and eccentric behaviour from alleged adults, especially in the situation at the moment where there are so many good books around that you don't need to be so dependent on just one series. It happens in other mediums as well, like all the people moaning about the wait for STARCRAFT II or THE HOBBIT movie.
I started reading JV Jones' SWORD OF SHADOWS series in 1999 when the first book came out. At that point Jones had released five big novels in less than four years, and it seemed quite likely that the four-book series would be finished quite quickly.
In 2009 we're still waiting for Book 4, which isn't due until next year and is half the size of the previous books in the series despite taking as long to write. The series has also expanded and there's two more books still to come.
Frustrating? Yes. My own fault for not waiting until it is complete? Yes.
I started reading WHEEL OF TIME in 1996 when A CROWN OF SWORDS came out in hardcover. I didn't bother doing any online research beforehand and started reading the series on the highly dubious grounds that, "It's the seventh book, it's got to be finished by now, right?" Yup, that came back to bite me as well. Given that even then some people were bemused by how long the series was and already a bit tired of Robert Jordan's traditional "It'll be done in three more books," spiel, I should have checked up a bit more.
In that case I didn't mind so much, as it was WoT that first got me involved in online forums and discussions, and led indirectly to me picking up other series like ASoIaF, MALAZAN, PRINCE OF NOTHING etc.
Essentially the problem is that in modern society too many people are used to getting what they want, when they wants it and being told that they have to wait makes them scrunch up their eyes, start crying and throwing a tantrum. It is very bizarre and eccentric behaviour from alleged adults, especially in the situation at the moment where there are so many good books around that you don't need to be so dependent on just one series. It happens in other mediums as well, like all the people moaning about the wait for STARCRAFT II or THE HOBBIT movie.
My thoughts on authors that take forever to finish a series (a rant of epic proportions)
- 19/09/2009 09:37:23 AM
1263 Views
Some excellent points.
- 19/09/2009 04:44:58 PM
787 Views
Re: "fault"
- 19/09/2009 07:22:23 PM
744 Views
*NM*
people actually refuse to read anything else until a series is finished?
- 19/09/2009 09:53:57 PM
631 Views