AAAARRGGGHHH!!! (Or "Enough with the trilogies already!!!")

[drothgery]

[The Curse of Chalion by Lois Bujold]

I'm not sure you can really call it a standalone, though.

Well, the first two Chalion books have been very loosely connected, and I think the third is going to be the same way (though since Bujold isn't one of those authors whose work gets rushed from manuscript to printer, we won't see it until the middle of next year even though she's already turned in the book for final editing).

 

[mmu1]

I'm not sure you can really call it a standalone, though.

It fits his (revised) criteria, though - the story is completely self-contained, even if there was a follow-up.

 

[mmu1]

[The Curse of Chalion by Lois Bujold]

Well, the first two Chalion books have been very loosely connected, and I think the third is going to be the same way (though since Bujold isn't one of those authors whose work gets rushed from manuscript to printer, we won't see it until the middle of next year even though she's already turned in the book for final editing).

Gah... How much longer must we wait for another Vorkosigan book? Preferably one involving more of Mark, and some new galactic happenings. A Civil Campaign was one of her best, but Diplomatic Immunity was only about as good as Ceteganda, if not worse, and I for one have had enough of all this domestic stuff. Let's have another civil war, or something...

 

[Volaran]

Gah... How much longer must we wait for another Vorkosigan book? Preferably one involving more of Mark, and some new galactic happenings. A Civil Campaign was one of her best, but Diplomatic Immunity was only about as good as Ceteganda, if not worse, and I for one have had enough of all this domestic stuff. Let's have another civil war, or something...

I have a friend who is betting the next one is going to be about Ivan. I could do with another dose of Mark though. Something on Sergyar might be keen.

 

[reanjr]

Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!!!

Could someone please assemble all the heads of publishing for the various companies, lock them in a room with a nest of really angry hornets, and tell them they can only come out when they acknowledge that not every fantasy story has to be a multi-book epic!!! Sometimes I really, really want to buy a new book--one new book--read it and be done.

So, please, help me out. Tell me what good fantasy novels you've read that are complete, standalone, single novels. Not "the first of a series." Not even "Oh, it's part of a series but it stands alone enough that you don't have to read the whole thing." One book. Alone. By itself. One.

Thanks.

Can you clarify a little bit. For instance, Murder in Tarsis is part of the Dragonlance series, but is not a part of a trilogy or anything like that. Is this in a series, as per you?

 

[jhallum]

But...But...what about?

Tigana? You know, by that guy, yeah, that guy, Guy Gavriel Kay? One of the best fantasy books of all time, made better by the fact that it is a standalone book, and not stretched out into some series?

 

[Hypersmurf]

A Civil Campaign was one of her best...

"One of"?

I used to regularly reread all the Vorkosigan books because I enjoyed them.

Now I reread all the Vorkosigan books as an excuse to get to A Civil Campaign again.

-Hyp.

 

[mmu1]

"One of"?

I used to regularly reread all the Vorkosigan books because I enjoyed them.

Now I reread all the Vorkosigan books as an excuse to get to A Civil Campaign again.

-Hyp.

I like Mirror Dance best - A Civil Campaign is great, but it's sometimes a toss up for me who I enjoy reading about more, Miles or Mark, and I miss the mercenaries... Yeah, it's great that she moved on, and chose to develop the characters, but I haven't accepted The Little Admiral is dead for good, no matter what happens.

A Civil Campaign does make me laugh like no other book in the series, though...

 

[Particle_Man]

Re: Bujold -- ya never know. She might do an "earlier" story set when Miles is still Admiral Naismith (although it might also be set in that time, but while Miles is with his parents). Enough hints are dropped that there is room for at least one novel there (I bet Miles is instrumental in discovering the fourth planet of the Barrayaran empire).

On the other hand, present-day Miles left behind some pretty major enemies (anyone else remember the one said to be as smart as he, only she is a psychopath? And when does that guy (yeah, THAT guy!) which Miles put away get out of jail...a year? Think either of those two will just let bygones be bygones?) Miles may have forgotten them, but I be they sure as hell haven't forgotten him. So he might be in for some old troubles (and the Fleet might get involved somehow).

Er...I guess that was off-topic, describing a series of books in a thread devoted to finding books not in a series. Sorry.

 

[mmu1]

Re: Bujold -- ya never know. She might do an "earlier" story set when Miles is still Admiral Naismith (although it might also be set in that time, but while Miles is with his parents). Enough hints are dropped that there is room for at least one novel there (I bet Miles is instrumental in discovering the fourth planet of the Barrayaran empire).

What fourth planet? Barrayar, Komarr, Sergyar (which Shards of Honor takes place on, as I understand it), and...?