Book Series That Go Sour

[catsmate]

Wrong, Revelations is the best part! The NT as a whole was much more readable than the OT. Having it narrated from four different viewpoints was great, and the story was far more cohesive. It had some great one-liners too. If I had to choose only one I would definitely go for the NT. Pity more Christians don't do the same.

Revelation. It's a common mistake.

 

[a_unique_person]

The third and set last of four books, The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, was even tougher. And when I say tougher, I mean better. Stephen Donaldson started writing it 21 years later, an effort that all Thomas Covenant fans greatly appreciated. I have the final book, The Last Dark, in hard cover.

Donaldson also wrote a science fiction series called The Gap, but for some reason it didn't enthuse me at all.

I went to the bookshop, picked out the last book, read the last chapter and put it back/

 

[P.J. Denyer]

I went to the bookshop, picked out the last book, read the last chapter and put it back/

I did the same thing with the Bible. Spoiler: The Devil did it!

 

[The Great Zaganza]

"I like to read a murder mystery.
I like to know the killer isn't me."

 

[theprestige]

"I like to read a murder mystery.
I like to know the killer isn't me."

Don't read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, then.

 

[Planigale]

In at least two of those series there's also the aspect of "I wish the author's copyright holders hadn't decided to get someone else to write'just one more book'"

This has become a thing in part to prolong copyright. Copyright runs out so many years after the death of the author, if the rights-holder get another (younger) author to write a novel using the characters then they can prolong copyright to after the death of the sequel author.

 

[Planigale]

Sometimes I think the author writes themselves into a corner. An example is I believe Peter Hamilton's Confederation Universe series, the first novel Reality Dysfunction was excellent, but he created an enemy that was 'undefeatable', so to complete the trilogy and complete the story he had to introduce a literal 'Deus ex machina' solution that was unsatisfactory and the search for an unsatisfactory solution really meant that the whole third novel of the trilogy was quite tedious.

I think the same thing may be the explanation for the disappointment of the subsequent Riverworld novels; the author didn't have a good ending.

 

[jimbob]

Sometimes I think the author writes themselves into a corner. An example is I believe Peter Hamilton's Confederation Universe series, the first novel Reality Dysfunction was excellent, but he created an enemy that was 'undefeatable', so to complete the trilogy and complete the story he had to introduce a literal 'Deus ex machina' solution that was unsatisfactory and the search for an unsatisfactory solution really meant that the whole third novel of the trilogy was quite tedious.

I think the same thing may be the explanation for the disappointment of the subsequent Riverworld novels; the author didn't have a good ending.

Absolutely.

Interesting idea and pretty good for most of the book then. Um. Really?

ETA, the Reality Dysfunction, not read Riverworld

 

[alfaniner]

I loved the original Lensman series by E.E. "Doc" Smith. It just kept escalating and the conflicts got bigger and bigger until you had galaxies clashing. The follow-ups after his death were more about the side characters and ultimately forgettable.

 

[ahhell]

Sometimes I think the author writes themselves into a corner. An example is I believe Peter Hamilton's Confederation Universe series, the first novel Reality Dysfunction was excellent, but he created an enemy that was 'undefeatable', so to complete the trilogy and complete the story he had to introduce a literal 'Deus ex machina' solution that was unsatisfactory and the search for an unsatisfactory solution really meant that the whole third novel of the trilogy was quite tedious.

I think the same thing may be the explanation for the disappointment of the subsequent Riverworld novels; the author didn't have a good ending.

It's the journey that matters, not the destination? Same goes for the Dark Tower, I loved the whole thing right up to the last half or so of the last book.

 

[ahhell]

I loved the original Lensman series by E.E. "Doc" Smith. It just kept escalating and the conflicts got bigger and bigger until you had galaxies clashing. The follow-ups after his death were more about the side characters and ultimately forgettable.

Lensman was one of my earliest exposure's to SciFi, my grandfather was a big fan of pulp sci fi in the day. I didn't realize some of the books were written by others. In retrospect, some weird and creepy ideas in those books, and moderately racist even for the time. The later ones anyway, the early one's were about normally racist for the time, maybe even for progressive for time.

 

[jimbob]

Lensman was one of my earliest exposure's to SciFi, my grandfather was a big fan of pulp sci fi in the day. I didn't realize some of the books were written by others. In retrospect, some weird and creepy ideas in those books, and moderately racist even for the time. The later ones anyway, the early one's were about normally racist for the time, maybe even for progressive for time.

Have you read Harry Harrison's
Star Smashers of The Galaxy Raiders?

Ever so subtle parody of the Lensman series

 

[alfaniner]

Have you read Harry Harrison's
Star Smashers of The Galaxy Raiders?

Ever so subtle parody of the Lensman series

No, but I'm big into Green Lantern (the comic, even before the Ryan Reynolds movie -- haven't seen the new TV series yet) which appears to be a ripoff of the Lensman series.

 

[Guybrush Threepwood]

Have you read Harry Harrison's
Star Smashers of The Galaxy Raiders?

Ever so subtle parody of the Lensman series

So subtle it seems like a parody of the same authors Skylark series!

 

[LSSBB]

I did the same thing with the Bible. Spoiler: The Devil did it!

That's fine, but the whole thing suffers from consistency issues because it involves too many authors, and there isn't a consensus on what is even canon. I like the character development of God though.

 

[Ron Obvious]

Don't read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, then.

As this year marks the book's centenary, I suppose I can let you slide without a spoiler warning.

 

[ahhell]

No, but I'm big into Green Lantern (the comic, even before the Ryan Reynolds movie -- haven't seen the new TV series yet) which appears to be a ripoff of the Lensman series.

A. The Lanterns were always a bit of a ripoff of lensman.
B. I have not read the starsmashers.

 

[erwinl]

Sometimes I think the author writes themselves into a corner. An example is I believe Peter Hamilton's
Confederation Universe series, the first novel Reality Dysfunction was excellent, but he created an enemy that was 'undefeatable', so to complete the trilogy and complete the story he had to introduce a literal 'Deus ex machina' solution that was unsatisfactory and the search for an unsatisfactory solution really meant that the whole third novel of the trilogy was quite tedious.

I think the same thing may be the explanation for the disappointment of the subsequent Riverworld novels; the author didn't have a good ending.

Commonwealth saga.
But yeah. It's a failing of Hamilton, where he has amazing ideas but just can't write a satisfactory end to the story.

It was in that Commonwealth saga, with Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained, but equally in the Night's Dawn Trilogy (Reality Dysfunction, Neutronium Alchemist and the Naked God).
I haven't read any of his other books, set in that universe, so maybe these are better?

Which is a shame.
Hamilton really can write and have believable, truly alien aliens, but he also has a knack of thinking about what some different sorts of technology would mean to a human culture.

Only those endings.
Oh well. It's the journey, not the destination, that counts.

 

[jimbob]

Commonwealth saga.
But yeah. It's a failing of Hamilton, where he has amazing ideas but just can't write a satisfactory end to the story.

It was in that Commonwealth saga, with Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained, but equally in the Night's Dawn Trilogy (Reality Dysfunction, Neutronium Alchemist and the Naked God).
I haven't read any of his other books, set in that universe, so maybe these are better?

Which is a shame.
Hamilton really can write and have believable, truly alien aliens, but he also has a knack of thinking about what some different sorts of technology would mean to a human culture.

Only those endings.
Oh well. It's the journey, not the destination, that counts.

Although IMHO, Alistair Reynolds does both and more so. Better journey and worse endings.

 

[erwinl]

Although IMHO, Alistair Reynolds does both and more so. Better journey and worse endings.

I don’t know him, but will check him out.