How often do you get a good distance into a multi-book story before realizing it's just not worth your time to finish it?

I enjoyed two of Christopher Golden's Buffy novels, so I gave another work of his a try: his Veil trilogy (The Myth Hunters, The Borderkind, and The Lost Ones). There was a lot of great invention, adventure, engaging character interactions. But by the end of the second book (which ended with a shameless cliff-hanger, by the way) I found I just didn't care enough about the characters and their plight to follow them around for another book and see how it all turned out. So I didn't.

It's not that I don't have the capacity for long stories. I loved Kim Robinson's Mars trilogy, and Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. But those were endlessly inventive books, with something intriguingly unexpected around every corner. Other stories (perhaps The Veil) may have only enough good ideas to sustain one or two books.

Other series abandoned: Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker books (the setting is wonderful, the first 3 were tightly written, the rest are screaming for a good editor). And I got 2 or 3 books into the Wheel of Time umptilogy before losing the story threads and my interest.

Every time I tried to read The Lord of the Rings, I lost interest in the middle of book two.

But mostly I tend to decide after reading the first book in a trilogy. For some reason, I can usually tell. I can't even put my finger on it, but I can tell after the first book if the rest will hold my interest.

I'm an extremely persistent reader under most circumstances. It's late at night and all I can think of at the moment that I've completely given up on is the series Fools Gold that begins with Sorcery Rising by Jude Fisher. I got two books in and just couldn't stand any of the characters. And even then I was curious about how it ended but not enough to put up with another book. I do make a distinction between books/series set aside for a time when I will be in a better mood for them and those put down because I just don't want to keep reading.

If I like a series enough to make it to the second book, I generally keep going. I have an almost touching faith in the belief that the pay-off for the time invested in characters and back storys will be worth the effort. So I choose my multi-book epics with care!

I do have an issue with series going on for book after book, with no real sense that the author knows how to finish it. Robert Jordan would be the obvious example here; I did bail out after 8 books, when the central story-line was all but swamped by seemingly irrelevant diversions. I like diversions generally but I draw the line when whole books start to look like exercises in procrastination.

I hated Fiona Mcintosh's Quickening Trilogy, hated it, from halfway through the first book, but I still read to the end.

I'm currently stalled, not started the third book of Joe Abercrombie series yet, I read the other two about 2 months ago. Did abandon the 4th Aurian book by Maggie Furey and took 2 years to get back to it.

Apart from books where I don't have the sequels yet I practically never abandon serieses.

I thought those Jude fisher books were great!

A few times. Didn't finish the Baroque Cycle the first time (quit reading after book 6, halfway through System of the World because it slowed down too much). Finished it later though.
Recently decided to not get the other parts of the trilogy after Poison Study, as the book can be read on its own, was quite mediocre, and the other parts are supposedly worse.

Almost never. I might leave it alone for a while but I will finish it eventually - I hate unfinished series (and books).

#6 I quite enjoed Poison Study (for a free book) and am looking forward to the rest at some stage.

If I've already bought the books I'll read them once, all the way through, no matter how bad - unless it's really exceptionally bad. But I've no compulsion about not buying the rest if I get to a low point in a series - normally I'm a sucker so if one book is bad I will perservre with one more, but after two duds it's history, not only for that series but probably anything else that the author writes.

Trilogies maybe if book one was ace and two a dud, I may well try book three - but only if I find it cheap somewhere.

I generally go the whole distance, if I keep on after the first book. It has however happened a few times that I didn't move on after two or three. I am thinking specifically of Lustbader's pearl books, which were horrendous. Also, Orson Scott Card's ender series... I never picked up the last one there. and Greg Keyes's bone and thorns series was another I skipped out on after 1½ book. I also read a few Terry Goodkind books before realising that the first one, which was quite bad, was the best of them all.

but a few I never read on after the first one is

Robert Newcomb's crime against humanity, the fifth sorceress
George RR Martin's song of ice and fire
Hal Duncan's Vellum

I gave up on Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series after, I think, book 7. He was dragging it out so brutally long that I just couldn't stand it anymore.

I read the first Sword of Shannara book and will never read another. Same for the first in The Sword of Truth series. Basically, I won't touch any more fantasy writers named Terry, except for Pratchett.

Those are the only ones that I can think of. There are a few books that are technically the first in a series but are generally considered stand-alone novels in their own right--like Dune and Ender's Game--that I've read and never intended to keep reading the rest. I don't think they count.

#8 I am kind of the same with a series, I will give it the next book a try and then just drop it (I rarely buy the whole series at once). Mind you I don't even have compulsion to finish any book but if its a series I have previously enjoyed I give it the benefit of doubt.

#5 I enjoyed the first two Joe Abercrombie books but I hated the third, although it is different from both of them so it f you weren't keen before it might be worth it.

I read the first two GRRM's Song of Whatever It Is books and then gave it up as a lost cause. I hated them, and I'm not sure why I even read that much.

Other than that, I'm not sure if I've ever read more than one book or less than all of a series (well, I've only read the first three Temeraire books, but that's because I haven't gotten around to buying any more), but I would have no problem stopping again if it happened again. I read as far as I enjoy it and that's it.

I was fascinated by the first, still quite fascinated by the second and totally turned off by the third book of the Riverworld saga by Philip Jose Farmer.

I am a quitter.....

If the first book of a series is bad, I won't go on to the next. The second book of a trilogy is usually the weakest, so even if I don't like it, I generally do persevere to the third book.

I frequently lose interest in longer or open-ended series, though, for the reasons others have cited: loss of focus, lack of anything new to say, plot derailment, character assassination, and so on. I did stick with the Wheel of Time despite the numerous frustrations of the later volumes because of my abiding interest in the basic situation and some of the characters; I'm looking forward to the posthumous book to answer the questions and wrap up the loose ends. On the other hand, although George Martin is a far superior writer, I did give up on his series after picking up the 4th book and being unable to remember whether I'd read it or not.

I, too, gave up on George R. R. Martin's series. I read about 2 books of it because I thought it was a trilogy and I was willing to finish a trilogy. When I found out it was going to keep going for books and books before resolution occurred, I wasn't ready to commit to all that.

I don't remember how much of the Wheel of Time I read before losing interest. Six or seven books? Even for a kid, which I was when the series started, it was too much prattle.

I remember liking Wizard's First Rule long ago, and reading a few books into it before deciding the author was playing with me.

There are many series or trilogies that, after I've read one book, I'm happy to stop there. But there are many trilogies I've happily read all the way through! The Baroque Cycle, Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders, Assassin series, Tawny Man series, (I read them all but the Soldier Son trilogy was very boring going!), etc. etc. etc. I read a lot of fantasy. I really liked the Poison Study trilogy and was impressed that the second book didn't feel much like a second book. Ok, so The Two Towers was unnecessarily lengthy and I won't re-read it (yawn). Oooh, ooh, a favorite: I really liked The Secret Texts trilogy, starting with A Diplomacy of Wolves. Delicious!

(edited to try to fix wonky touchstone)

Message edited by its author, Jun 26, 2009, 5:23pm.

#10 I did the same thing with Sword of Shannara and Wheel of Time. I liked the first 3 books of Wheel of Time, but after that they dragged too much. Stopped with Path of Daggers. I couldn't get past Sword of Shannara and I'm not even sure I finished it.

I have temporarily given up on George R. R. Martin until he finishes the series. I liked the first two but when I found out it's supposed to be 7 books, and they're taking a long time to write, I decided to wait.

Some series I've read the initial trilogy (or whatever) and just stopped there even though other books were eventually written and I did like the first ones. I've done that with The Runelords series by David Farland, which was a quadrilogy.

You know, I've never really thought about it.. Which is weird. Generally, I go a book at a time. If I finish a book and love it, I'll pick up the next in the series. But I'm just as likely to pick up a completely different series. I'm sure I've stopped in the middle of dozens of series, but I honestly couldn't tell you which ones. I'll come around again, if I'm meant to, sort of thing.

I stopped reading The Wheel of Time series in the middle of book 5. It just became too obnoxious.
Recently I've given up on Karen Traviss Wess'har series - book 3 was mediocre, and book 4 worse - and Elizabeth Bears Jenny Casey series in book 2.
I still want to know what happens in the Wess'har series, just not enough to read bad books..

Of open-ended series, like most urban fantasies are, I've abandoned Lilith Saintcrows Dante Valentine series after book two because it was so bad. Usually with urban fantasy series I can tell with the first one whether I want to read any more, but this one changed quality dramatically from book one to two.

I also stopped reading the Wheel of Time series after book 5, I think; I had 6-9 but was going to wait until the series was finished to pick it up again. Then I lost the whole lot of them in a flood and took it as a sign . . .

I'm now enjoying the third book in Jacqueline Carey's first trilogy (Kushiel's Avatar) and I'll probably end up reading the second trilogy at some point--after a break to read some shorter books.

ejj, I LOVED the first Kushiel trilogy, and Avatar is definitely my favorite of all of Jacqueline Carey's books, but I wasn't all that impressed with the Imriel trilogy. Even though I call her one of my alltime favorite authors. At least they're all in paperback now, for when you get to them. Naamah's Kiss just came out, though, and it's back to a female narrator, and I'm about 100 pages into it, and it's good already.

Actually, I suppose that was a ship I jumped! Whoa. Feelings of disloyalty, how you sting. I never finished the third book of the second trilogy, Kushiel's Mercy. Some day, some day.

I'm actually reading them from the library in hardcover--the darned things are so heavy I'm surprised I don't have bruises from resting them on my chest when I'm lying down!

I'll probably take my time getting to the second trilogy, but after all the effort that is going into finding Imriel, I do want to see how his story plays out. I think her first book is a stunning debut, though, incredibly creative.

I also think Dune is a great book, but the rest of the trilogy is weaker and the umpteen books following that are pointless (except for the money they made their author and his publishers, of course).

I read quite a few Robin Hobbs books, but I thought that they all ended painfully, the hero abandoned and their life sucked at the end, so I stopped reading those...

I really enjoyed Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card but couldn't stand Ender's Shadow, which I thought was so anti-Ender that I couldn't read anymore of the series, I just couldn't trust the integrity of the author...

Only once have I not finished a series & that was earlier this year & it was David Billsborough's Annals of Lyndormyn. I struggled through book 1 The Wanderer's Tale (it took me over 3 weeks & I usually read a book that size in 7-10days) & even though the story was left hanging at the end I couldn't bring myself to struggle through book 2 as well.

That rarely if ever happens with me. I drop books long before I get that far and series I start out really liking rarely change so much that I give up.

Hard to give up midway in something I've paid for. Keep hoping that I wasn't an idiot for spending the money.

I really, really hate giving up on any series, even if it starts going downhill. If I do stop, it's usually after the first, which is what happened with Wheel of Time, Sword of Truth, and Runelords.

Sometimes, my stubborn perseverance can really pay off. Shannara is an excellent example, where Elfstones is the best of them all (there's a movie script making rounds in Hollywood) but it's second after Sword.

Frank Herbert's Dune was worth pursuing the sequels for, although I was too young; I made it up to halfway through Heretics in seventh grade, then returned fifteen years later to finish that and read Chapterhouse. Through older eyes I found they were both fantastic. But skip his son's spin-offs, unless you're prepared for a big difference in tone and quality.

But the REAL heartbreakers are the series that sink themselves only in the last volume. Robin Hobb's Assassin Trilogy sorely disappointed me in that regard, and nearly any series by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman loses steam towards the end (exceptions: their original Dragonlance trilogies).

I've bailed on the Sword of Truth. I've read books 1-5 a couple of times, but never found the interest necessary to read the rest.

Also, I struggled that much with Gardens of the Moon that I never proceeded to any of the other books in the series, but I suspect I'll be giving them another go at some point because so many people mention them as brilliant.

Oh, and King's Dragon put me off so never tried the rest of the series.

Hmmm, I thought I wasn't a quitter, but clearly I'm easily put off!

I bailed on Sword of Truth at one. I hit myself for buying it in hardback...

I am actually amazed at the number of people who survived to book 7 of the Wheel of Time. I stopped after book 4 or 5. I just couldn't find the desire to follow the characters after that. (My Girlfriend has completed the series twice now. *sigh*)

As I get older and my reading time is limited, I admit I'm more willing to abandon series that just don't hold onto me. My big problem to this point has been do I own the book, or do I want to get rid of a book I own.

I attempted the first book of the Alvin Maker series. I was horrified that any editor would let such a good concept be so badly warped into an unsustainabe series. So not continuing that series.

Another one I've left behind is the Mode series by Piers Anthony. I had no desire to follow the characters and the first book was too difficult to follow. So I have all four books, but not proceeded beyond the first. (Another GF loved series...)

In principle, I prefer to finish any book or series I started. There are, however, a few exceptions of books/series which I probably won't revisit or finish.

I've read the first two books in Jude Fisher's Fool's Gold series, but abandoned book three. I got half-way through Xenocide by Orson Scott Card and could not continue (it became too unrealistic), and I read a grand total of two books in GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire. J. V. Jones's Baker's Boy also could not hold my interest.

I abandoned The Wheel of Time series at about book 7 like many others. I can only handle about 50 main characters, 200 or so secondary characters, and 27 sub-plots at a time. After that, it just gets silly.

Now that I read they're going to split the so-called "final book" into 3 (count 'em, three!) actual books released over three years, I'm very grateful I let that great mess go.

2> Same here. I've given up midway through The Two Towers twice now too.

I was given the first 4 of the Kate Elliott Crown of Stars series, I read them to 'read' something rather than to enjoy them. I bought the last few in a charity shop so that I could finish it, it wasn't my favourite series and the last 2 books dragged for me. I hardly ever start and then never finish a series as I get niggled if I don't finish it. I need to know how it ends!

However I have forgotton to pick up the rest of a series. It sometimes takes an age for some to come out and I forget to pick up the last few books. I haven't finished Trudi Canavan age of the five, I read the first two and don't really want to pay full price to finish it, so will wait 'til it's more reasonable or bookmoochable.

Oh Artur, I hadn't heard that! Not surprised, though; there are WAY too many loose ends to wrap up in one book.

Oh well, I'll probably slog through them all.

i used to love series and was totally committed to reading them all the way through - i think it's authors' faults that i didn't.

lord of the rings trilogy was okay - i was interested the whole way through. but then, all those books were already published, so it was a bit reassuring - i was reading a trilogy by melanie rawn and had to keep rereading to remember what had happened seeing as there were 3-5 years at least between books. i had the same problem with george r r martin which is why even though i bought one of the later books (in hardcover, stupidly), i just can't bring myself to read it because i have no idea what's going on and i'd either have to reread or google to get back up to date.

i have read all the published books of the wheel of time, perhaps it's just compulsion or something, but it's one of the few drawn out series that i was okay with. unfortunately, i was not able to get through system of the world but who knows, i may try again.

i think my real problem is series that aren't finished - it doesn't build anticipation for me, and it does make it a better story - usually it ends up just dragging on. you would think that publishers would request from some of these authors for a full manuscript and then they could decide how to divide it into 2/3/5/7 books, although i suppose that would mean the story would have to be complete and the author may struggle for a while. it's just hard as a reader to keep any kind of connection with a character after 3-5 years - sort of like keeping connections with real people.

I used to read all the books in a series out of some sense of needing completion, but I'm much pickier now.

I recently gave up on the Black Jewels trilogy when I realized I couldn't keep most of the characters straight, and those I could were making me snicker.

I have abondened the The Sword of Truth series....maybe I'll come back to it.

I abandoned The Sword of Truth at one... Was it different than anything that had gone before? Was it good enough for a hardback. Since I had read many hundreds of Fantasies by the time this arrived on the scene, it was not in my opinion. I don't think I shall ever go there again.

I too bailed on Wheel of Time. I think it was book 5 that made me throw in the towel. And the knowledge that it wasn't going to end any time soon. I also bailed on the Wodan's Children trilogy after the first book.

I gave up on four authors as a result of the series I was reading. I hate it when authors meander through a story without telling you anything you couldn't have guessed at the start of the book:

1. Robert Jordan - Wheel of Time - Horrifically long-winded and pretentious in the later books. Seems to take an age to develop a plot piece and characterisations are inconsistent.

2. Robin Hobb - Assassins Quest/Liveship Traders - Persevered to the Liveship books based on the fact that a friend had bought me a couple of the them for my birthday. Over-emotive and depressingly whiny lead character !!

3. David Feintuch - Seafort Saga - The single most depressing series of books I've ever tried to read. My dislike for the main character's incessant self-pity and whining only outdone by the patronisingly simplistic representation of the "feral" gangs involved. As for the blobby fish-thing that attacks them - if the central nemesis character in a sci-fi series is so ridiculous as to test the credulity of a lifelong fantasy/sci-fi fan then the author has got major issues !!!

4. Terry Goodkind - Sword of Truth - Just plain boring !!!

Sorry, bit of an unintentional rant there !!!

Message edited by its author, Oct 29, 2009, 1:22pm.

The Dreamers series (4 books) by David and Leigh Eddings.. I own them all in Hardcover but I just could not start the third book.. I love, love, love David Eddings work but these just felt sub-par.

I'm reading on and on, and kinda of had to put my two cents in.

I've abandoned the first book of Lord of the Rings at least 3 times. I think I'm too simplistic, I don't want to have an on going complex explanation of things. However, I am determined to finish the trilogy someday, as I heard it's good. *winks*

It's obvious that I haven't had enough "reading experience" to enjoy the other series out there and other books because I have no idea what series you guys are talking about!

I'm kinda sad to find that many of you don't like Sword of Truth series. I have read the first one (and so far, it's my favorite book, and the only book that I've read 5 times...see why I need to read many others that are just as good, or better?? :P ), and I've read 2nd and 3rd. I can see that by the time that it hits the 3rd one, it's like hearing the same story/ conflicts over and over. So, I've too abandoned mid-series. A friend of mine has read 9 of the Sword of Truth series, and she has said that it gets a little boring after hearing the same things happening to Richard and Kahlan over and over. I do think Goodkind is a good writer. I find his writing easy to follow compared to many others. I like James Patterson for the same reason. I don't have very large vocabulary, and I rather like simple stories but intense.

If you LIKE Sword of Truth, but don't want to be bothered by reading the rest of the series, read his latest book, The Law of the Nines. I found it pretty interesting. It's not the greatest book ever, but it's a nice book to tie in certain worlds (I don't want to reveal anything). It's considered Goodkind's first thriller, although, I don't feel like it's really a thriller, but it's not in a fantasy world.

Sometimes I wonder if an author that did so well (I can't think of anyone at this moment), with characters/world, and sold well, and they continue the adventures...however, I would think after 4th book, it can start to get tiring after awhile, so why not stop there and create a whole new world with the same style of writing?

The only series that I finished was...Harry Potter *ducks* and The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, but that's on going series, so technically doesn't count as a complete series.

I will generaly only read a series as long as I'm enjoying it. I have too many books to read and not enough time to read something just because I read the other books in a series. And some authors seem to write open ended series that never end.

I stopped reading George RR Martin's series after the third book because I found it difficult to remember who the characters were and what had happened in the previous books.

I read the first several books of Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series and then found that I wasn't interested in reading any more.

I agree with the Weather warden series.. I finished book five and just don't have the desire to read any more of them