Book Series That Go Sour

[RSLancastr]

Have you ever read a book series which starts out wonderfully, then goes horribly bad by the series' end?

There are many, but for me, the worst offender in this is Phillip Jose Farmer's Riverworld Series.

The first book, To Your Scattered Bodies Go (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345419677/qid=1061430307/sr=5-2/ref=cm_lm_asin/002-8338287-9707269?v=glance), was an amazing, Hugo-winning masterpiece.

The second, The Fabulous Riverboat (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345419685/qid=1061430307/sr=5-2/ref=cm_lm_asin/002-8338287-9707269?v=glance), continues the series admirably.

The third (of the supposed trilogy), The Dark Design (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345419693/qid=1061430307/sr=5-2/ref=cm_lm_asin/002-8338287-9707269?v=glance) was okay, but largely dsiappointing because Farmer didn't wrap it up as he had promised. The central mystery of the Riverworld was still not solved...

The fourth book, The Magic Labyrinth (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345419707/qid=1061430307/sr=5-2/ref=cm_lm_asin/002-8338287-9707269?v=glance), was a horrible letdown, in which the central mystery is solved with the most banal possible explanation that crossed the reader's mind a few pages into the first book.

The fifth, Gods of Riverworld (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345419715/qid=1061430307/sr=5-2/ref=cm_lm_asin/002-8338287-9707269?v=glance), was just crap, and reads like something Farmer hacked together over a weekend.

From the heights of brilliant Science Fiction to absolute crap, in five books.

::sigh::

So, what series went from brilliant to basura in your eyes?

[Glory]

I'll take on a few sacred cows with this one.

Biggest disapointment by far were the third and fourth books in the Ender series by Orson Scott Card.

Ender's Game was great.

Speaker for the Dead is one of the most brilliant books I have ever read.

Xenocide was promising but once they traveled outside the universe and introduced the ability to do virtually anything, I couldn't take it anymore.

Despite myself I read Children of the Mind and subsequently became very depressed. Suffice to say that Ender is one of the best characters ever written and he isn't really in the damn book.

There are other sequels which have some good moments but for the most part they don't do justice to the first two books. Very disappointing.

Running a close second in this dubious race is Arthur Clarke's 2001.

Loved the first one. 2010 was amazing. 2063 was entertaining. 3001 was partly canned. I had read parts of it before and the new stuff I found unoriginal and largely forgettable. I was nonplussed.

That's my contribution, such as it is.

I'm totally with you on Riverworld, BTW. That was my take on it exactly.

Glory

[reprise]

The Dune series, the Foundation series, and (sadly) even the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy series are ones where I wished the authors hadn't written "just one more book".

The Harry Potter series is heading the same way IMO.

[Reaver]

The _Wheel of Time_ seires by Robert Jordan, although this hasn't ended yet, the last 3 books have been craptastic.

[MRC_Hans]

I think the problem is money. Once a book or two in an intended series have been super-sellers, no publisher can afford to reject the next manuscript, even if it is below par, he knows it will sell anyhow.

Also, many good plots are characterized by the open-ended questions leaving things to the imagination of the reader. A "round up" will almost inevitably be anticlimax.

My addition to the list (another holy cow):

Athur C. Clarke, Rendezvous with Rama.
Intriguing, mystrious, well-written.

The next one, slipped backwards towards simpler thriller plots, but still very worth-while.

After this, the idea was whipped to death in (I think) two more sequels.

Also Jean M. Auel, Clan of the Cave Bear. In spite of race chauvinism and idiotic dogmas, it was a fascinating book. But from then on, sequels became ever longer, sillier, an more boring.

I'm reading "Otherworld" now, that is I read the first five volumes, and am currently waiting for the next to show up in the library (wouldn't dream of buying it). It has also been steadily downslope, although walk-away level (IMHO) has not been reached just yet.

Hans

Hans

[a_unique_person]

Yep, Foundation. The problem is, you feel obliged to read all the books in a series just because the first one was so good.

I think that is one of the things I read about a drug addict counsellor once, he would try to get his clients to realise that all the times they are using, they were only ever really trying to get the high they felt the first few times they used.

A fruitless task.

[reprise]

I forgot to include the Discworld series.


You can all stop throwing things at me now.

[coalesce]

For me, it was the Dune series. The first was justifiably brilliant, and then each successive volume got worse and worse and worse, to the point where I couldn't even begin to remember what happened after the first vook.

Michael

[Tricky]

Originally posted by Glory
I'll take on a few sacred cows with this one.

Biggest disapointment by far were the third and fourth books in the Ender series by Orson Scott Card.

Ender's Game was great.

Speaker for the Dead is one of the most brilliant books I have ever read.

Xenocide was promising but once they traveled outside the universe and introduced the ability to do virtually anything, I couldn't take it anymore.

Despite myself I read Children of the Mind and subsequently became very depressed. Suffice to say that Ender is one of the best characters ever written and he isn't really in the damn book.
I agree with you, up to Children of the Mind. But then Card got re-inspired, and went back to the original story, but told from the viewpoint of Bean, rather than Ender. I thought it would be cheesy, but it turned out to be brilliant.

One of the things I really liked about the first two Ender books was that they didn't make obvious violations of the laws of physics. There was time loss when people traveled at near-light speeds etc. But with Xenocide, he threw that away when he had characters "jump into another dimension". That where it jumped the shark.

Going back to the original story, though, he stopped trying to write his way out of scientific conundrums and concentrate on the characters again. Smart move, Card.

[Mr Manifesto]

The Black Cauldron series.

I'm a huge fan of the Riverworld series, and even I thought the last book sucked.

Arthur C Clarke's 'Rama' series has had it's go, as well as 200140234: More BEM's and monoliths.

[hgc]

The Bible Series.

The first book, Genesis is a real corker, with 800 year-old dudes, multiple wives and concubines, fratricide, talking serpents, big floods, and lots more.

But by the time you get to Leviticus, you have a bunch of mind-numbing rules and regulations, repetitive and irrelevant, that'll put you to sleep even in church on a Sunday. And that's still near the beginning of the series.

Things pick up later with the Samuel books, where this kick-ass king named David is the star attraction. He sends his top man to die in battle just so he can diddle the dude's wife. Whoa. For this and other "moral" crimes, he is prevented by the puppet-master from realizing his rightful crowning acheivement, building the great puppet theater known as "Temple." His wise son, Solomon, will get that on his own resume.

And all appropriate due should be given to the 2nd series of books in the same tradition, attributed to a different author, which focuses on another "king," known as Jesus. This ruler plays a prince and pauper kind of game, posing as a common man, displaying a wealth not so much in palaces in gold chains, but in righteousness and magic tricks (walking on water, raising the dead). He also gets the prostitute-with-a-heart-of-gold.

The finale, Revelations, can only be comprehended on Acid.

[Michael Redman]

I read Card's Tales of Alvin Maker series to a point (5th or 6th book) when he started to incorporate ideas from discussions on his web fora, and the last book I started, but quit, read like overheard dialog at a Society for Creative Anachronism meeting. I just couldn't take it.

But I agree with Tricky, the new books in the Ender series are pretty decent.

[RSLancastr]

Originally posted by Glory
Biggest disapointment by far were the third and fourth books in the Ender series by Orson Scott Card.Agreed. But as was said later in the thread, I think Card redeemed the series with Ender's Shadow and the subsequent books. Yes, they weren't as good as the first two, but at least they didn't continue the downward spiral.

Running a close second in this dubious race is Arthur Clarke's 2001.I never read beyond 2010. Now I'm glad...

Originally posted by reprise
The Dune series, the Foundation series, and (sadly) even the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy series are ones where I wished the authors hadn't written "just one more book".Yes, I had forgotten about Dune! I couldn't even read the second in the series. Just reading the titles of the remaing ones was sad. (What is next? Cost Accountants of Dune?)

As for Hitchhiker's... I was given an atrocious book written "in the style of..." which I didn't even finish the second chapter. Something about a Titanic-like space ship. ::shudder::

The Harry Potter series is heading the same way IMO.Let's just hope Phoenix was an abberation, and the next will be better...

Originally posted by MRC_Hans
Athur C. Clarke, Rendezvous with RamaYes, the last book was disappointing in the extreme.

Originally posted by hgc
The finale, Revelations, can only be comprehended on Acid.That's Revelation (so "s")! Fans of the book would want you to get it right. :)

Originally posted by Michael Redman
I read Card's Tales of Alvin Maker series to a pointCome to think of it, I never read the last book in the series. Just lost interest, I guess.

[Nyarlathotep]

I think the "Dirk Pitt" novels by Clive Cussler aren't as good as they used to be, though I am not sure if the books got worse or if my tastes have just changed.

[Glory]

Originally posted by Tricky

I agree with you, up to Children of the Mind. But then Card got re-inspired, and went back to the original story, but told from the viewpoint of Bean, rather than Ender. I thought it would be cheesy, but it turned out to be brilliant.

One of the things I really liked about the first two Ender books was that they didn't make obvious violations of the laws of physics. There was time loss when people traveled at near-light speeds etc. But with Xenocide, he threw that away when he had characters "jump into another dimension". That where it jumped the shark.

Going back to the original story, though, he stopped trying to write his way out of scientific conundrums and concentrate on the characters again. Smart move, Card.

I enjoyed Ender's Shadow very much and was thrilled to see Card returning to the chracterizations that make him so good. I still had a big problem though. Peter is just impossible to write. He was so evil in the first book and became the ominous shadow in the second. We finally meet him as a real character and he's just this self pittying little jerk. I didn't buy it and I still don't. That's just me, I guess.

Glory

[jj]

Originally posted by reprise
I forgot to include the Discworld series.


You can all stop throwing things at me now.

Throwing? Who's throwing? I'm HURLING at your comment.

And Granny Weatherwax rules.

Btw, did anyone notice the reference Tonks uses in the last Harry Potter book?

[VicDaring]

Originally posted by hgc
The Bible Series.

The first book, Genesis is a real corker, with 800 year-old dudes, multiple wives and concubines, fratricide, talking serpents, big floods, and lots more....

...The finale, Revelations, can only be comprehended on Acid.

That's one of the funniest things I've read in a while.

[Tricky]

Taking the opposite tack for a second, how about series which have remained constantly excellent? Has anyone else read Dan Simmons' Hyperion series? It is four tomes, but actually only two stories which, in spite of their length are packed with action, philosophy, novel concepts and truly great sci-fi from start to finish. There will never be a more enigmatic baddie than The Shrike, and I swear they stole The Matrix directly from Simmons.

Sadly, the other things I have read by Simmons have not measured up.

[Azathoth]

Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionovar trilogy. The third book is so bad, I can hardly believe it. I'm glad I didn't read it when he was new and hot, or I might never have picked up his later and much better fantasy works.

Anne McCaffrey's Dragon books. Somewhere around the 7th or 8th book.

Katherine Kurtz's Deryni novels. Somewhere around the 8th or 9th book

Anne Rice's Vampire novels. The first is passable, but the other two I've read weren't very good.

Can I stick up for the first two Xanth novels? I've never re-read them, but I made it into the third one before quitting the series, blessedly avoiding the next 70 books.

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally posted by Azathoth

Can I stick up for the first two Xanth novels? I've never re-read them, but I made it into the third one before quitting the series, blessedly avoiding the next 70 books.

Ugh, Xanth. I stuck it out for the first five or six books. By that time it had gotten more stale than a five week old bag of Doritos.

Come to think of it, Piers Anthony in general got old after a while. When I first read him, I really liked him. After a while I realized that all of his stories are structured nearly identically and his characters are so one dimensional as to be laughable.

[MRC_Hans]

Yeah, Hyperion was great. Mmm long time. Maybe I should re-read soon.

Heheh, I loved the one about Bible. And this reminds me of another sequel which started out nice and fascinating; I'm thinking of this "History of the World" (the name of the author eludes me at the moment).

"Prehistoric times": Rather philosophical, and a little bleak, lots of loose ends.

"Ancient Egypt": Now, this one rocks! Weird, sci-fi environment, mysteries and magic galore.

Then with "Hellas" Roman Empire" and a couple more, it's just super drama, true Hollywood material.

Already "French Revolution" begins to be weer into political and socioeconomic rambling, and later installments, while having still plenty of drama, are totally bogged down in politics and unresolvable intrigues.

I shudder to think of the upcoming issue.....

Hans

[Interesting Ian]

Originally posted by reprise
The Dune series, the Foundation series, and (sadly) even the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy series are ones where I wished the authors hadn't written "just one more book".

The Harry Potter series is heading the same way IMO.

The first foundation book was absolutely crap! :eek: The worse book Asimov has ever written. Even the others in that series weren't particularly good. On the other hand both "the end of eternity" and "pebble in the sky" were excellent :)

Disagree with you about the Potter books as well. The first 2 Potter books were fairly boring but number 3 and 4 were much better. The latest one wasn't quite as good, but it was still better than the first 2.

[Interesting Ian]

Originally posted by MRC_Hans
Also Jean M. Auel, Clan of the Cave Bear. In spite of race chauvinism and idiotic dogmas, it was a fascinating book. But from then on, sequels became ever longer, sillier, an more boring.

Hans [/B]

I was going to mention this seies of books if no-one else mentioned it. The first book was absolutely excellent. The 2nd one almost as good. The third was quite a bit worse, and the fourth was one huge yawn. I haven't even read the latest, the fifth book, but I've heard that it is seriously bad. Oh well :)

[reprise]

Originally posted by Tricky
Taking the opposite tack for a second, how about series which have remained constantly excellent? Has anyone else read Dan Simmons' Hyperion series? It is four tomes, but actually only two stories which, in spite of their length are packed with action, philosophy, novel concepts and truly great sci-fi from start to finish. There will never be a more enigmatic baddie than The Shrike, and I swear they stole The Matrix directly from Simmons.

Sadly, the other things I have read by Simmons have not measured up.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy (plus The Hobbit).

[Tricky]

Originally posted by reprise


The Lord of the Rings trilogy (plus The Hobbit).
Well, Lord of the Rings was really only one book. The publishers made him sell it in three volumes both to increase sales and to avoid scaring away customers with such a fat volume.

The Hobbit (which came first) was not nearly as good.

I couldn't even finish The Silmarillion.

[Hexxenhammer]

You guys have got me feeling good about not reading past "The Fabulous River Boat".

I never felt bad about not reading past "Enders Game".

Some say Heinlein got a little out of hand with his later books. I'm on the fence about that. The fifties and sixties really were his hey-day, but the later books have some good stuff too. I could have done without all the incest though.

[RSLancastr]

Here's another: The Thomas Convenant series.

I really enjoyed the first trilogy, but the second trilogy was unrelentingly depressing, to no good end.

[asthmatic camel]

As a child I enjoyed Ursula K. LeGuin's Wizard of Earthsea trilogy.
A few years ago I was foolish enough to purchase the sequel "Tehanu" thinking that it might be enjoyable. Wrong, incorrect, do not pass go, do not collect £200/$200, instead proceed directly to jail and hope that this is not one of the books stocked by the prison library.

Regards,

AC.

[RSLancastr]

Speaking of books read as a child, Baum's Oz series is another which took a huge dive into the craptank, as I remember.

[specious_reasons]

Just about any Piers Anthony series.

I'll pick on the Incarnation of Immortality series. The first book was a nifty concept, well executed. The rest varied in quality, but, really, how many times can you tell the same story? I only even liked the Nature and Satan books. The last book, about God, was an affront to the series.

[Glory]

Does anyone here read anything but science fiction and fantasy? Or is it just that the only genre's that end being series are sci fi, fantasy and mysteries?

Glory

[reprise]

I read horror and crime, but there are few series in those genres in which the first book holds out much promise.

It's worth adding the Rainbow Six series to the "went horribly sour" list.

[JamesM]

Originally posted by Glory
Does anyone here read anything but science fiction and fantasy? Or is it just that the only genre's that end being series are sci fi, fantasy and mysteries?

In my quest to seem edumacated and cultured, I only read 'literature', preferably by foreign authors. However, I am under no illusions that they are any less formulaic than 'genre' fiction, and also probably a lot less fun.

I can't think of many non-genre book series. A la recherche de temps perdu? The Sword of Honour trilogy? Philip Roth's books have the same characters in them. His last few novels have been pretty good, he's definitely currently beating Updike (the Rabbit books, there's a series) in the 'grand old man of American novels' stakes.

[davidhorman]

I'll add my vote for Rama. The first was excellent - like a lot of other Clarke books it had plenty of hard science and speculation, but at the same time managed to be concise (I think it runs to just over a 100 pages). Then along came Gentry Lee, and we had to suffer the shenanigans of conniving news reporters and the like. And yet, I still stuck with it and finished the series, despite literally cringing at the dialogue as I went.

And then the final revelation of what Rama was all about - pah!

Dune kept me engaged all the way through the series, although it did seem to get a bit wobbly in the last couple of books. I thought the "House" prequels were surprisingly good too, as I hadn't been impressed with Kevin J. Anderson's Star Wars efforts

David

[VicDaring]

Originally posted by Glory
Does anyone here read anything but science fiction and fantasy? Or is it just that the only genre's that end being series are sci fi, fantasy and mysteries?

Glory

Okay then. How about Robert B. Parker's Spenser series.

While still capable of some good moments, the overall quality has steadily declined for about 10 years.

Small Vices, in 1998, was pretty good, but it's clearly the best for quite some time.

[davidhorman]

How about the Ripley books? The first was great (although I prefer the film), but the rest went downhill, albeit slowly. The Boy Who Followed Ripley took some rather bizarre twists and turns, and Ripley Under Water wasn't a very satisfying conclusion (to the book itself, or the series).

David

[thrombus29]

I was addicted to the Piers Anthony stuff as a kid, I think I stopped the Xanth stuff with "Ogre Ogre", I just could not take it anymore.

I thought Chithon and Pithor were great books, and then someone decided to continue the series as torture porn.


With what Hexxenhammer said about Heinlein, I have to agree if you consider the last 3-4 books (# of the beast, Cat who walks through walls, Sailor of whaterver) a series. It went waaayy down hill.

What about Dick Francis? I read every one of his books up untill "Proof" when he changed from jockeys to winemakers.

Even Phillip Pullmans Compass books went down in quality each volume.

[SteveW]

Alot of series in the non sci-fi world have gone sour.

Patricia Cornwall - first books were great, now its just one justification of lesbians after another.

Johnathan Kellerman - I loved Alex Delaware but Kellerman is getting rather stale and out of ideas. His wife is still great though.

Jeffery Deaver - Bone Collector and Coffin Dancer were outstanding. The last one was just so so.

[asthmatic camel]

Originally posted by Glory
Does anyone here read anything but science fiction and fantasy? Or is it just that the only genre's that end being series are sci fi, fantasy and mysteries?

Glory

I read anything available Glory, including the corn-flake box during breakfast. I'd tentatively suggest that the Sci-Fi and fantasy genres are more open to further exploration as a result of their necessarily speculative nature.

For example, I can't imagine anyone writing a succesful sequel or prequel to Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre.

Just a thought, I'd be fascinated to read the opinions of others.

Regards,

AC.

[Mark]

I strongly disagree about Asmimov's Foundation series (including the tie-ins with the Robot Series). Marvelous books, all. "Foundation's Edge" and "Foundation and Earth" were amazing.

Although I have to say, the Foundation books written by others after his death, have been a total travesty. The weird thing is, they are all great authors on their own.

The Riverworld series was one of the greatest let-downs of all time. I don't think Farmer's career ever fully recovered. Although "God of Riverworld" was at least entertaining in a pot-boiler sort of way. I thought "The Dark Design" was fantastic although I, too, was let down by the lack of resolution at the end.

"The Magic Labyrinth"...well, I give him points for trying to come up with something different, but...

[Hexxenhammer]

Originally posted by Mark
The Riverworld series was one of the greatest let-downs of all time. I don't think Farmer's career ever fully recovered. Although "God of Riverworld" was at least entertaining in a pot-boiler sort of way. I thought "The Dark Design" was fantastic although I, too, was let down by the lack of resolution at the end.

"The Magic Labyrinth"...well, I give him points for trying to come up with something different, but...
Farmer made a big recovery with Nothing Burns in Hell (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812564952/qid=1061566601/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/103-9109741-6627027) . This is a great pulp detective story that his sci-fi fans might have never seen.

[Mark]

Originally posted by Hexxenhammer

Farmer made a big recovery with Nothing Burns in Hell (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812564952/qid=1061566601/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/103-9109741-6627027) . This is a great pulp detective story that his sci-fi fans might have never seen.

Thanks for the tip. I'll look for it.

[Stainless_Steel_Rat]

Originally posted by RSLancastr
Here's another: The Thomas Convenant series.

I really enjoyed the first trilogy, but the second trilogy was unrelentingly depressing, to no good end.

Dear lord, I thought I was the only tourtured soul to read all 6 books. I found them in my collection (probably donated by my aunt) when I was desperate for reading material...

Were you as incredibly frustrated with the density of the lead char as I was? I wanted to smack him every page of all 6 books :P

Ender's series... I agree with most. Children just got out of hand, but the Shadow ones are much better.

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. Great series, but the last 2 books have gone from "Vampire Hunter" to "Lust crazed bimbo"
Such a great series ruined by 1 plot twist 3 books back.
(***Spoiler!!***)


The last book was absolutely horrid. She didn't kill one thing (shot 2 vamps, but not fatally) in the entire book.


I'll probably read the next one, but if that plot thread doesn't die it will probably be the last one I pick up.


SSR

[Hexxenhammer]

SSR you remind me that the Stainless Steel Rat books went downhill after Harrison went to writing them with Slippery Jim being a young man. They were more along the lines of "Bill the Galactic Hero" plots. Bad satire. "Birth of a Stainless Steel Rat" was the last good one.

[Mark]

Originally posted by Hexxenhammer
SSR you remind me that the Stainless Steel Rat books went downhill after Harrison went to writing them with Slippery Jim being a young man. They were more along the lines of "Bill the Galactic Hero" plots. Bad satire. "Birth of a Stainless Steel Rat" was the last good one.

Oh, I don't know. While not classics the way the earlier episodes were, I still enjoyed "...Joins the Circus", and "...Burns in Hell."

Fluff, but entertaining fluff at least.

I had forgotten the Thomas Covenant series. A intruiging fictional world, completely populated by utter nitwits. I kept thinking things would improve by the end. They didn't.

[specious_reasons]

The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle book series goes down hill after she moves to the farm.

...and why-god-oh-why did the Cat in the Hat Come Back? It was just another alphabet book.

VOOM! Deus Ex Machina if ever I saw one.

[Stainless_Steel_Rat]

Originally posted by Hexxenhammer
SSR you remind me that the Stainless Steel Rat books went downhill after Harrison went to writing them with Slippery Jim being a young man. They were more along the lines of "Bill the Galactic Hero" plots. Bad satire. "Birth of a Stainless Steel Rat" was the last good one.

"Birth" was the first one I read, and probably the best. The others were good, just not AS good :)

Bill was ok for like 1-2 books, when I was young :P Now they're almost painful to look at.

As for the "Thomas Covenant" series, I too like the idea, but the charactures (espeicially Thomas) were annoying.

At the start of the second Trilogy, I was like, ok he was subject of a miracle (On that note, like ANYONE in the world wouldn't have wished his disease away) , next time he flips over he'll be a believer, well, we know how that went.... :rolleyes:

[jj]

Originally posted by thrombus29

I thought Chithon and Pithor were great books, and then someone decided to continue the series as torture porn.


Oh. Yeah. Any Jack Chalker series, now that you mention it.

"Irving, to me!"

[hgc]

Originally posted by Mark


Oh, I don't know. While not classics the way the earlier episodes were, I still enjoyed "...Joins the Circus", and "...Burns in Hell."

... I had a curious experience reading this. As I got to "... Joins the Circus," I had the momentary sensation that I was reading about the Curious George series, and was then jolted awake by "... Burns in Hell." Hey, Curious George does not burn in Hell! Despite that incident with the washing mashine.

http://www.kumachans.com/cglogom.jpg

[Mark]

Originally posted by hgc
I had a curious experience reading this. As I got to "... Joins the Circus," I had the momentary sensation that I was reading about the Curious George series, and was then jolted awake by "... Burns in Hell." Hey, Curious George does not burn in Hell! Despite that incident with the washing mashine.

http://www.kumachans.com/cglogom.jpg

LOL!!!!

[RSLancastr]

Originally posted by Stainless_Steel_Rat
Dear lord, I thought I was the only tourtured soul to read all 6 books. I found them in my collection (probably donated by my aunt) when I was desperate for reading material...Not only did I read all six, but I read them in a tortuous way. I discovered (and bought) the original trilogy all in one shot, and read them straight through. Loved them, even though yes, you want to beat the crap out of Covenant every chapter.

Then, a few years later, the fourth book (first book in the second trilogy) came out. I reread the first three, then read the fourth. When the fifth came out, I reread the fourth, then read the fifth. And yes, when the sixth came out, I reread the fourth and fifth before I read it.

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. Great series, but the last 2 books have gone from "Vampire Hunter" to "Lust crazed bimbo"Wow, I think I will look into reading the later ones! :)

Speaking of Curious George, I remember a David Letterman Top Ten List, "The Top Ten Least-Loved Children's Books". One of them was Curious George and the Electrified Fence.

[Mocker Wall]

[quote]Oh. Yeah. Any Jack Chalker series, now that you mention it./quote]

My first JC series that I read was the Soul Rider series which I loved up to the last book (Bleh!). I bought some more of his series and realised one thing. He's a one note writer. In all of his series, the main character will either a) change form, b) change sex, c) change form and sex or d) swap bodies with someone else. That's story telling the JC way.

There was one book that he wrote with 2 other authors that was somewhat enjoyable as you weren't really expected to take it seriously. Sadly, I can't remember the name of the book or the names of the other authors at the moment, but it involved a literary exercise where one author would write a chapter of a story, hand it to the next author where they have to write the next chapter and then they hand it to the next author.

It was interesting to watch each author try to write the next author in a corner with no escape. One funny sequence happened when Chalker did one of his "body switching" scenes at the end of his chapter. The next author at the beginning of the next chapter started cussing out Chalker. :)

[The Whether Man]

To be honest, I think Tom Clancy's 'Jack Ryan' series has lost it's way. I gave up after he became President because everyone else had been blown up, or whatever. Clancy was too unneccessarily wordy anyway, even for me.

[asthmatic camel]

I've just had to reconsider my view of reincarnation. Ender Wiggin appears to have returned to haunt us using the nom de plume Lord Kenneth.

Regards,

AC.

[Boo]

Originally posted by The Whether Man
To be honest, I think Tom Clancy's 'Jack Ryan' series has lost it's way. I gave up after he became President because everyone else had been blown up, or whatever. Clancy was too unneccessarily wordy anyway, even for me.

I have to agree. Clancy lost me during "Rainbow Six". I have tried 3 times to read it and have never made it more than 1/3 way through.

Another series that lost me was The Sword of Truth. First 3 were very difficult to put down. Got bogged down after that. The newest one holds promise though.


Boo

[Soapy Sam]

Seems to me there are two common factors here;-
1.No author, no matter how original, can go on mining a worked out seam indefinitely.
2.Readers get older.

I suspect we don't like to admit point 2. Not only do the ideas get less original, but we are prepared for the variants, because we are familiar with the original. More of the same is nice for a while, but then we want something new. Especially in SF, where we are seeking new viewpoints and ideas to start with.

Still, even when they do get repetitive, you sometimes hope for more. Can there be a single C.J.Cherryh fan who does not want to know what happened to Conrad Mazian?