The Lily CafeFantasy with Friends: Series or Standalone?
Briana and Krysta at Pages Unbound are hosting a fantasy discussion meme this year called Fantasy with Friends. Since fantasy is my favorite genre, I thought it would be fun to take part. This week, their question is:
Do you currently prefer standalone fantasies or series? Is there a certain number of books that seems like “too much,” whether that means the series feels intimidating to start or just that the author might need to move on to something else? Is there a point at which you worry that a series is just a “cash grab?”
Once, mostly when I was in high school, I almost always only picked books based on how many books were in the series. The longer the series, the better, in my opinion. It made hunting down my next read easier, and faster. I had a somewhat odd method of finding what I wanted to read next, which took a lot of time.
In a way, I still feel like that. I love getting to spend as much time as possible with some favorite characters in an amazing world. I would gladly take more books with them. I always believe there are more adventures out there, and I always wonder what the aftermath of the big clash is like and how the heroes deal with life afterwards. I feel like the epic high fantasies could turn into delightful cozies as we follow the heroes from the beginning to the big battle and then to what happens next when life settles down.
At the same time, sometimes the story is just over and I don’t feel like I need or want to know what comes next. At that point, it definitely feels like it’s “too much” in that the author should probably move on. Sometimes it feels like some authors just get stuck and they run out of interesting stories to tell. I don’t think I ever feel intimidated by long series; I feel like I never have enough time. Between my never ending work as a mom and my pursuit of publication, I just don’t have as much time as I’d like to spare for everything I want to read. So, if it’s a really long series, it goes on a mental list that I quietly promise I’ll get to one day when I’m old and my kids are, hopefully, self-sufficient. Or at least don’t need me to make food for them every few hours.
During this season of my life, I’ll take either a series or a standalone. I just want a whole story, however many books it takes. Sometimes I feel like a series really needs more than 3 books. Other times, one probably would have been good enough.
This blog is my home base, but you can also find me on:
Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Jen Twimom
Sylv Kerslake PA
Sander VK6VCC
WIST Quotations
Steam & Epic Games | Daily
