[July] What are you reading?

[delericho]

I'm trying not to start any more extended novel style series (I'm not sure what a good generic term for this is -- a series where each book isn't a complete story and/or end with major unresolved plot elements; the Wheel of Time or A Song of Ice and Fire are extended novels, while Bujold's Vorkosigan books or Brust's Vlad Taltos books are not) where the concluding volume doesn't at least have a scheduled release date (or the cover text doesn't make it explicit that this is a trilogy -- not anything longer than that).

Yeah, essentially the same for me. Except that I'm not going to start any new ones until the last volume is out. "Wheel of Time" and "Song of Ice and Fire" have cured me of that.

In fact, I'm becoming increasingly unsure whether I'll bother with any epic fantasy series in future. They tend to start really well, and then the story inevitably gets away from the author and we have a flood of characters and plotlines, or the quality fails, or the releases slow to a near stop leading to near-Lost rates of plot advancement...

Write me a good story, and I'll buy. Write a trilogy, and I'll consider it. But if your fantasy story requires more words to tell than "Lord of the Rings", I really have to question whether it's actually worth the telling. In my experience, the answer is usually "no".

 

[jonesy]

Yeah, if everyone waited, nothing would come out, right?

That's an excellent point. If nobody had bought the second book there never would have been a third, and so on. Not buying because it's a series that doesn't yet have an ending creates a situation where there won't be one.

 

[Starman]

[Sblock] With Bran now a greenseer under the tutelage of Bryndyn Stark, we now have the means to show almost any secret at the author's will.

I follow the speculation that Jon Snow is a lost Targaryen heir -- the "mummer's dragon" reference to Young Griff in ADwD certainly reinforces the possibility -- but has this been confirmed as fact? It certainly makes for a good story, but ASoIaF can certainly be resolved successfully with Jon being exactly what he is portrayed to be.[/sblock]

[sblock]It has not been confirmed, but the circumstantial evidence is pretty strong. Maybe Martin is throwing all of his readers, many well-versed in the usual fantasy fare, a curveball and Jon will turn out to be an ordinary bastard; but at this point I think that's highly unlikely.[/sblock]

 

[Croesus]

That's an excellent point. If nobody had bought the second book there never would have been a third, and so on. Not buying because it's a series that doesn't yet have an ending creates a situation where there won't be one.

Highly unlikely.

When a book comes out, potential buyers fall into various groups:
-Those who want the book so badly they pre-order, are waiting at the door of their local bookstore, etc.
-Those who are interested and will buy the book soon after release
-Those who are on the fence, waiting for good reviews or a friend's recommendation
-Those who check it out from the library or borrow a copy. Some portion of these will like it enough to buy a copy.
-Those who do not buy immediately, instead waiting to see if the series has legs, if it ever gets completed, etc.

So long as a book has a sufficient number of customers who fall into the first few categories, then those in the last couple can maximize their personal spending by waiting. And if there aren't enough in the first few categories? It's a good bet the series is lousy and isn't worth getting anyway.

BTW, this works for many items that we pay for. Whether we're talking new tech, software, movies, shows, music, whatever - those who are willing to pay to get it right away subsidize those of us who don't. It's the free market at its finest.

 

[coyote6]

Finished Dance with Dragons. What a rat bastard way to end a book.



Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

 

[Jack7]

The Consultants Guide to Proposal Writing
The Forbes/CFA Institute Investment Course
The Elements of Chemistry, by Lavoisier (I was originally gonna read Faraday but read this instead and haven't regretted it)
The Contemplative Life, Julianus Pomerius
A Coven of Witches: The Last Apprentice (best series of books I've read since Harry Potter)

And I'm listening to a lecture on Nanotech by Prof. Deborah Sauder

 

[Blastin]

Finished Dance with Dragons. What a rat bastard way to end a book.

My thought exactly.... There's like, what, four different cliffhangers?!?!
I'm actually kinda mad about it. It was a good read, but to end it the way he did and the prospect of another 4-6 years before the next book......

 

[jmucchiello]

My thought exactly.... There's like,

Spoiler

what, four different cliffhangers?!?!

I'm actually kinda mad about it. It was a good read, but to end it the way he did and the prospect of another 4-6 years before the next book......

Please don't talk about the book in this thread. Even that little piece of information is a spoiler since now someone who hasn't finished the book

Spoiler

will be expecting a 3rd and then a 4th cliffhanger

.

He claims it won't be 4-6 years the next time since he won't make the mistake of dividing the story in half like he did with AFoC.

 

[Tamlyn]

He claims it won't be 4-6 years the next time since he won't make the mistake of dividing the story in half like he did with AFoC.

I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[Crothian]

He claims it won't be 4-6 years the next time since he won't make the mistake of dividing the story in half like he did with AFoC.

So since he is not dividing the next book up it will take even longer to come out.