Book series that are too long/not long enough

[terranova]

Oh, J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts), should have had Eve Dallas knocked up and living happily ever after about 10 books ago.

Totally this. I got bored of Dallas after about 5 books.

[RandomTrivia]

Auel's first two books were wonderful but she should have stopped there. Ayla just about invented everything, including a needle with an eye, a bra, tamed wild animals and the list just keeps on going on and on.

I agree with the poster above, I would love more Valdermar novels.

If it was a fan-fic, people would probably be griping that Ayla is a Mary Sue character, and they might be on to something. I read the latest book, but honestly, I skimmed a lot. I know there's probably a lot of research behind the series, but after the umpteenth description of a plant or a rock or whatever, I'm skipping ahead a couple of paragraphs.

I'm hoping for more Valdemar novels, I don't think Mercedes Lackey has said "no more" definitely, but she's taking a break. And, sadly, the last couple were a little fluffy (the Mags books). I liked reading more about how the collegium was started, but there's something missing. I'm pretty sure it was meant to be more of a YA series, but I think the Arrows books were too, and I don't get the fluffy feeling when I re-read those. Might just be nostalgia, though. The Vanyel and Tarma/Kethry books are still top of the heap, though.

Another series I hope continues is the Jade del Cameron series, by Suzanne Arruda. http://www.suzannearruda.com/jadeseries.html Six books so far, set in 1920s Africa, the author's working on a seventh, but the publisher isn't interested in doing more right now, as I understand.

[pomology]

YES THIS. I never liked Harry, it was the other characters I was much more interested in.

I would have liked to know more about Hermione's backstory, we're only given a taste. How did Hermione's powers manifest? More about her homelife and family? She has a sense of social justice, where did she get that from?

Also totally seconding the "wizards outside of Britain" point. It would be cool if there were witches and wizards in Asia and Africa whose stories we could hear. And I want to know more about the big wizarding schools which aren't Hogwarts, and the wizarding culture in general. Rowling seemed to have a lot of fun adding little "wizard culture" aspects to the stories, I hope in a few years she'll return again to the Potterverse and do any parts she enjoyed writing.

Yeah. My favorite book by J.K. Rowling by FAR is Quidditch Through the Ages. It's clever, well-written, funny, and best of all has absolutely nothing to do with Harry fucking Potter.

Maybe someday she'll write Hogwarts: A History. Now that would be a great book.

[Guest Anonymous]

YES THIS. I never liked Harry, it was the other characters I was much more interested in.

I would have liked to know more about Hermione's backstory, we're only given a taste. How did Hermione's powers manifest? More about her homelife and family? She has a sense of social justice, where did she get that from?

Also totally seconding the "wizards outside of Britain" point. It would be cool if there were witches and wizards in Asia and Africa whose stories we could hear. And I want to know more about the big wizarding schools which aren't Hogwarts, and the wizarding culture in general. Rowling seemed to have a lot of fun adding little "wizard culture" aspects to the stories, I hope in a few years she'll return again to the Potterverse and do any parts she enjoyed writing.

Hermione was my favorite. (But isn't she the favorite of all little girls?) I agree backstory on her would be amazing. I also thought maybe getting a.taste of Hogwarts (wow that's in the dictionary) from her view. We knew so much more about.Ron than we did Hermione. Oooh and Neville too! I would love to be able to see the things he saw and what his early life was like. Also there needs to be a real Life And Times Of Albums Dumbledore only maybe not Rita Skeeters version.

[Maggie Mae]

On the subject of Harry Potter, I think I would want more books set in the same time frame. Or maybe a spin off of different characters post-Hogwarts. I don't know if I want to know what happened to the gang between the end of book 7 and the epilogue, the epilogue was painful to read. Not because I didn't like how it turned out, but because it was cheesy and dumb and the names were stupid. It didn't even read like her writing at that point.

I want Hogwarts, A History.

I had an idea once to go back and write a fanfiction version of Harry Potter. It would be the same story, but from some minor character's perspective - sort of like that episode of Buffy where Xander has his own adventure while everyone else is fighting an apocalypse

[Arete]

I want Neville's story. That is all.

[Maggie Mae]

I was thinking. While the wait for every book (well, for me that was every book after 3) was horrendous, I wish she would have taken more time with them. I know she was rushed to complete GoF per her publisher's demands, and OoP could have used some more editing; I wanted a lot more of HbP. I guess my point is that towards the end of book 7 & that epilogue, I kind of got the impression that she just wanted to be done with Harry. I got it from reading the books & her interviews. She had been married & had young kids; I guess I can see why she didn't want to spend all of her time writing. That series was also so many years of her life (and ours) and I'm not entirely convinced she was prepared for that level of fame. YMMV of course. I'm not a JKR leghumper though. I never found her personally to be all that interesting. I liked the HP books, but her I'm ambivalent about. I was also disappointed about how one month she is naming "The Harry Potter Lexicon" Fan Site of the month, and then the next she sued it for copy write infringement. When she even admitted that she used it as a back up continuity guide when writing the last few books of the series. I also wish they would have split GoF into two films, OoP into two films, and done something different with HbP.

Now that I'm reading ASoIaF I am trying to be prepared for a very long wait for the last two books. Like, I fully expect that GRRM won't finish them :( .

[Athena]

The Anne of Green Gables series went on waaaay too long. I like how Kevin Sullivan changed the story of Anne for the TV movie - it was so much more interesting than the books.

[jokersshh]

We need a book about hermoine

[shesinsane]

Here's an article saying Rowling might write more about the Harry Potter world.

latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-harry-potter-jk-rowling-20120926,0,5878679.story

I agree with those that have pointed out Rowling made up such a huge wizarding world, there are lots of stories to tell besides Harry Potter's. I'm such a Weasley fan, I'd love to see books starring them, but I'm not picky. I think I'd enjoy anything new in HP world. I really hope any future Rowling Potter books includes a list of casualties from the Battle of Hogwarts, as I wonder if many of the minor characters survived.

[thekate]

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon has gone on way too long. She should have stopped with 2, although (without having read any of his spin-offs) I do find John Grey interesting, and he doesn't show up until book 3. I like the fish-out-of-water/theorizing about problems with time-travel aspect of Claire in the first books, but books 3+ are just generic bodice-rippers until the last 50 pages of the latest one. That sucked me in enough that I'll probably still read the next one when it comes out.

[Megan]

I love Harry Potter and would love more books. Like most of you (it seems), I'd prefer them to be in another era. I'd like to hear about the founders, about Dumbledore's early life, and about the first war. Re: HP Lexicon, I believe she was suing when they were going to publish it in a book format. That would be publishing almost exclusively her material, with little else added. I can see why she wouldn't support that but would allow the various books published analyzing the books/predicting stuff/etc.

I also agree that the Anne Shirley/Anne of Green Gables was wayyy too long. I think I stopped after House of Dreams when I first read them AND when I reread them a year ago.

Not sure if other people read them, but I've been enjoying the Thursday Next series less in recent books.

[keen23]

Not sure if other people read them, but I've been enjoying the Thursday Next series less in recent books.

I love Thursday Next! Such a smart series. I also thought Shades of Grey (the Jasper Fforde one, not the crappy Twilight fanfic) was an intriguing first book of a planned series. I've never been able to get into the Nursery Rhyme books by Fforde. Have you read his YA novels? I haven't read them yet.

[Megan]

I'm a huge fan of the early Thursday books! I'm always amazed at what Fforde comes up with - every time I reread one of the early books I find references I overlooked or wasn't familiar with before. I also love the jokes about the literary world, like the drama with ebooks and switching formats. It's all hilariously smart. I haven't read the latest one yet, but I'm hoping it's better than One of Our Thursdays is Missing, which was rather disappointing.

I thought Shades of Grey had a really promising premise but I didn't like it near as much as Thursday. It picked up a lot towards the end, so I'm hoping that #2 piques my interest more. I couldn't get into the Nursery Rhyme books, either, and haven't tried his YA novels. I'm hoping to find one cheap at a used bookstore/friends of the library sale one day.

[SpeshulTaterTot]

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon has gone on way too long. She should have stopped with 2, although (without having read any of his spin-offs) I do find John Grey interesting, and he doesn't show up until book 3. I like the fish-out-of-water/theorizing about problems with time-travel aspect of Claire in the first books, but books 3+ are just generic bodice-rippers until the last 50 pages of the latest one. That sucked me in enough that I'll probably still read the next one when it comes out.

I couldn't agree more. I loved the first three books. LOVED. But then the Fiery Cross came along with the first day that lasted 300 or so pages, and Brianna's breasts were mentioned on every other page, and a woman who studied biology should know that nursing until 3 does not mean you cannot get pregnant!!! Ugh. I only managed to sort of listen to the last two as audio books, and I'm glad I only got them from the library. Someone's getting raped! Jamie and Claire still have an amazing sex life! Claire gets into trouble and Jamie saves her! Please. Sometimes I think she just writes these long-ass descriptions of every little thing to fill pages, not because she still cares. I do want to know how it all ends, though, dammit.

I also agree about Anne of Green Gables. I own the entire series, but everything after the House of Drems was pretty boring. The kids annoyed me.

I'd never turn down another Harry Potter book. I want Neville's story, too. And Luna's.

I'm always anxiously awaiting new crime novels by a Danish author called Jussi Adler-Olsen. The Department Q series is great, I like the characters, and there's always an interesting plot twist.

[ElphabaGalinda]

I was thinking. While the wait for every book (well, for me that was every book after 3) was horrendous, I wish she would have taken more time with them. I know she was rushed to complete GoF per her publisher's demands, and OoP could have used some more editing; I wanted a lot more of HbP. I guess my point is that towards the end of book 7 & that epilogue, I kind of got the impression that she just wanted to be done with Harry. I got it from reading the books & her interviews. She had been married & had young kids; I guess I can see why she didn't want to spend all of her time writing. That series was also so many years of her life (and ours) and I'm not entirely convinced she was prepared for that level of fame. YMMV of course. I'm not a JKR leghumper though. I never found her personally to be all that interesting. I liked the HP books, but her I'm ambivalent about. I was also disappointed about how one month she is naming "The Harry Potter Lexicon" Fan Site of the month, and then the next she sued it for copy write infringement. When she even admitted that she used it as a back up continuity guide when writing the last few books of the series. I also wish they would have split GoF into two films, OoP into two films, and done something different with HbP.

Now that I'm reading ASoIaF I am trying to be prepared for a very long wait for the last two books. Like, I fully expect that GRRM won't finish them :( .

I'm worried about that too. I met GRRM in real life and that panicked thought hit me when I was waiting in line. I really didn't like the 4th book as much, and I hated the vast majority of the 5th book, but I want to know how it all turns out for the characters I've grown to love. I think a LOT of the 4th adn 5th book should have been cut because it was really boring ( does anyone find the Greyjoys interesting at all?). So I think that series could have been cut a lot shorter and although I'm anxiously awaiting the last 2 books - it better not take 5 years for the next one! - I hope they're not padded up with some unnecessary stuff too.

[samurai_sarah]

I couldn't agree more. I loved the first three books. LOVED. But then the Fiery Cross came along with the first day that lasted 300 or so pages, and Brianna's breasts were mentioned on every other page, and a woman who studied biology should know that nursing until 3 does not mean you cannot get pregnant!!! Ugh. I only managed to sort of listen to the last two as audio books, and I'm glad I only got them from the library. Someone's getting raped! Jamie and Claire still have an amazing sex life! Claire gets into trouble and Jamie saves her! Please. Sometimes I think she just writes these long-ass descriptions of every little thing to fill pages, not because she still cares. I do want to know how it all ends, though, dammit.

(snip)

Totally agree. It's the same old, same old now, to the point where I start to wonder whether she gets paid by the word. For me, pretty much everything after the second book isn't all that memorable, but I am going to continue reading, because I too want to find out how it all ends.

I like the Lord John series. I wasn't too keen on the short-stories she published about him, but liked "The Custom of the Army" (?) and "The Scottish Prisoner", despite the fact that Jamie Fraser was one of the protagonists in the latter. Despite, thanks to a case of severe Jamie-fatigue. Lord John however, is an interesting character, and the environment he moves in is quite a bit different from the ones we see/read/hear about in the Outlander series. YMMV.

As for the graphic novel "The Exile", that was really not worth it, in my opinion. Faces changed constantly, Claire's boobage kept expanding, and it all didn't really add anything particularly new. Did either of you read it? What did you think?

[terranova]

In the Harry Potter 'verse, I too would love Neville's story. What was his life like growing up with practically no parents and a domineering grandmother?

I've read some wonderful fanfics about the Weasleys pre HP, back when their older kids were younger. I'd love to see Molly and Arthur's stories too. And Hermione's and Luna's (how did she cope losing her Mother so young?), I'd like to hear about Dudley's life post HP, the early life of Prof. McGonnagall and also Hagrid.

So many possibilities, it seems such a shame to give up the universe just because she's done with Harry.

[Naga Viper]

Quoting myself from the old Potter thread:

Having already derailed this thread, can I just bitch for a second about Tonks' pointless death? I always thought she had spinoff potential, being sufficiently different from Harry (female, Auror, parent, metamorphmagi) that she could've been a wholly different perspective in an established world. Not that I'd have wanted Arthur Weasley dead either, but offing Tonks and Lupin (another favorite of mine, granted) just to fulfill Rowling's personal quota—and in such a cursory fashion too—has always bugged. If only Molly had gotten there sooner... [/rant]

I don't know that I need to see another entire book on Harry and his crowd, but I agree it's so rich a world that it'd be a shame not to see it ever again. Since my Tonks spinoff won't happen, I'm quietly hoping for something set somewhere else with a different character—Beauxbatons, perhaps, or a school we haven't heard of, in a post-Voldemort world. That way we might still hear of Harry's further accomplishments without having to dragoon him into action again; like the man himself said, he's had enough for one lifetime.

I don't follow fanfic, but I imagine even the most minor of the existing characters have had enough written about them that Rowling would be better off making a fairly clean break from Hogwarts. And if a new series were to take place in their adult future, she could still wedge in cameos or supporting parts for old favorites, like Hermione as a guest lecturer in one book or something; we could get that desired backstory, have her kick ass again in a pivotal scene, let her wonder aloud if she should've settled for Ron. Would also love to see Luna in that sort of capacity, since she was just too good a character to appear in only three of the books.

I'm hoping for more Valdemar books as well, although the lack of resolution about Mags' story in the last one leads me to believe we'll at least get more of that series. Like others, I'd rather she fill in some of the timeline gaps or, better yet, give us some more of Tarma and Kethry's exploits, but better the Collegium than nothing.

[thekate]

Totally agree. It's the same old, same old now, to the point where I start to wonder whether she gets paid by the word. For me, pretty much everything after the second book isn't all that memorable, but I am going to continue reading, because I too want to find out how it all ends.

I like the Lord John series. I wasn't too keen on the short-stories she published about him, but liked "The Custom of the Army" (?) and "The Scottish Prisoner", despite the fact that Jamie Fraser was one of the protagonists in the latter. Despite, thanks to a case of severe Jamie-fatigue. Lord John however, is an interesting character, and the environment he moves in is quite a bit different from the ones we see/read/hear about in the Outlander series. YMMV.

As for the graphic novel "The Exile", that was really not worth it, in my opinion. Faces changed constantly, Claire's boobage kept expanding, and it all didn't really add anything particularly new. Did either of you read it? What did you think?

I'll probably read whichever Lord John novels the library has. I'm not fond of graphic novels, so I'd skip The Exile even if it sounded well done. The exception to my graphic novel aversion will be when I grab a copy of The Shepherd's Tale from the Firefly-verse because I really want to know his backstory.

[samurai_sarah]

I'll probably read whichever Lord John novels the library has. I'm not fond of graphic novels, so I'd skip The Exile even if it sounded well done. The exception to my graphic novel aversion will be when I grab a copy of The Shepherd's Tale from the Firefly-verse because I really want to know his backstory.

Let me know what you think about the Lord John books, if you get the chance. I have a few minor gripes with them, in terms of characterisation. One lady in particular reminds me too much of Jenny Murray, so that jars a bit for me. Other than that, I find them quite enjoyable.

Definitely skip the Exile. Compared to other graphic novels, like, say the Sandman-series, it's really badly done. It's basically a recap of the first half of "Outlander", and the different perspective adds little to nothing, imo.