7 Reasons I’m (Mostly) Over Sequels

I used to be a dedicated sequel reader. If I liked the first book, I HAD TO read the rest of the series. In my mind, the story wasn’t finished until I read the whole thing. There was even a time I wouldn’t start the first book until the whole series was out, assuming I knew ahead of time.

In recent years, I’ve become less committed to reading sequels. Here’s why:

1. The first book is usually the best. Especially in the case of trilogies, the second book often seems like filler, and then the third finishes the story, but not always in a way I wanted.
2. The first book tells a complete story. Most first books don’t have huge cliffhangers. Knowing what I now know about the publishing industry, they wait to see if there’s going to be an audience before they commit to the others in the series. If I liked the ride in the first one, why keep going?
3. If there’s a romance in book one, there’s a break-up (or at least lots of conflict) in book 2. I like happily ever afters (or happy for nows). Usually, the romantic conflict in book 1 makes sense. In book 2, it often feels like the author said, “Okay, I need to add conflict in this relationship so here’s this random thing to arbitrarily break the characters up, only for them to make up by the end of book 2 then split up again in 3.” It causes me anxiety I don’t need. I’m an unrepentent shipper.
4. There are often plot holes or continuity errors. It’s really hard to anticipate every single thing you need to put in a book. So if the entire series wasn’t plotted out before book 1 was written, sometimes things get lost.
5. Resolved conflicts often get rehashed. At the end of book 1, everything seemed great. The antagonist was vanquished, the character arc was completed, birds sang and flowers bloomed. But in book 2, forget all that. The character is backsliding and the villain wasn’t really dead. I know in real life, change doesn’t always stick, but if I wanted real life, I wouldn’t be reading, would I?
6. Often I like the ending I pictured for a character better than what happens. Where a book ends changes it’s meaning. In real life, couples break up, good plans go bad, and happily ever after isn’t simple. But a book, depending on where it ends, can freeze a wonderful moment in time. The sequel has to introduce conflict and sometimes ends up going in a direction I don’t want to see happen for a character I love (or hate).
7. A character changes… too much. There are some series I loved. I loved the character and their arc that crossed several sequels. But then the character started to change in ways I didn’t like. They went in directions I never wanted to see. So at some point, I just stopped reading. I kind of wish I’d stopped before things went so wrong.

I don’t hate every sequel, of course. I loved all the Harry Potter books (because I’m not dead inside) and I will follow Jojo Moyes anywhere. It’s just that… there are too many books out there for me to live with the disappointment that sums up most sequels.

What’s your take on sequels?

S is for Scott Pilgrim

Hello, and welcome to Blogging A to Z 2017! Thanks for stopping by. Fellow A to Z-ers, please make sure to leave a link to your blog in the comments.

My theme this month is 26 of the Best Characters in Fiction.

80s stuff rocks! Effect done with Photo Lab Pro on my iPhone. 

I watched the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and loved it. It’s such an underrated movie. I guess it probably appealed to the 80s kid in me, with the many nods to classic video games.

The graphic novels are fun, and follow the same basic premise. Scott is pretty much a screw up who falls for Ramona Flowers after she starts using a subspace highway in his head as a short cut. So he dreams of her first, and then later meets her in real life.

Scott’s so determined to have Ramona date him that he agrees to fight her seven evil ex-boyfriends.

Scott isn’t perfect. In fact, he’s kind of a jerk. He doesn’t break up with his other girlfriend before starting to date Ramona. He doesn’t have a job or his own place. In real life, if one of my friends wanted to date him, I’d be like, “Run.”

But as the “hero” of a graphic novel, he’s actually pretty fun. Having him be such a screw up gives him a shot at redemption. Can he become less selfish? Will he defeat the evil exes? Or will he become one of them…?

Do you like graphic novels? What do you think about flawed characters like Scott?

B is for Bigwig

Hello, and welcome to Blogging A to Z! Thanks for stopping by.

My theme this month is 26 of the Best Characters in Fiction.

I love the book Watership Down, by Richard Adams, about a group of rabbits who travels from their home when one rabbit prophecies a disaster.

One of the characters I’ve always been most interested in is Bigwig. Of all the characters, he has what I believe is the biggest character arc.

He goes along with the main characters, Hazel and Fiver, partly because he believes in the prophecy, but partly to escape what he believes is unfairness and favoritism. At first, he’s kind of a bully at times, short-tempered and sharp-tongued. For him, life is black and white.

As the story progresses, he’s shown to be brave and kind. He might bully someone who annoys him, but he also protects the weaker. He complains at times, but he does the job. He’s honest, acknowledging when someone helps him, but his honesty also means that he says things that are hurtful at time.

There’s a scene early on in the book where he’s hurt and almost dies. I cringe every time this scene happens (and I’ve read this book many times), and wonder how different the book would have been without him. I can’t even imagine it.

That’s a good character.

Who’s your favorite character in Watership Down? And if you haven’t read it, what are you waiting for?