Ahira's Hangar

Just wondering what people think of big unexpected gaps in between releases of books in a long series?

There seems to be a lot of frustration, for example, on the part of fans of George RR Martin right now due to the big gaps in between releases of ASOIAF books.

Other series with unexpected delays in between books would be Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards (the author is apparently having unidentified/unexplained personal problems leading to a delay in the release of the third book) and Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles (for an explanation that anyone could/would accept see ). I am sure there are others I am either not aware of or cannot remember off the top of my head. Oh wait - Jean Auel (spelling?) makes GRRM look like Speedy Gonzalez in comparison. Will she ever finish Earth's Children???

Are you generally OK with big unexplained gaps no matter how long? Are you OK only if the author explains what is going on as Rothfuss did (or Robert Jordan did when he was terminally ill)? Do you ever just give up on an author or series if the delay goes on for too many years without (or even with) explanation?

If I've started the series, I wouldn't give up on it no matter how long. Hell, I waited 15 years for King to finish the DT books. And I read the last Auel book when it came out, and will read the final one whenever she releases it. (And I've been waiting longer than that for those... )

--A

I'm with Av on Earth's Children; I've been following Ayla since the original release of The Clan of the Cave Bear. But, I have to admit I found the most recent addition a bit of a disappointment, after the wait.

Ah well, I'll stick with the series anyway. No matter how long.

I've mostly stopped reading series that are in progress (except for TLC, Malazan, and ASoIaF-which I may have quit, I just don't know unless another book actually comes out). I haven't read the Gentlemen Bastards books, but from what I gather, they're all standalonish, so it wouldn't bug me to wait 10 years for the series to end. And the Malazan books come out almost faster than I can read them, so it doesn't bother me. They're pretty standalonish, too. Martin, on the other hand, is a giant pain in the ass. Long delays and multiple cliff-hangers per book do not make me happy. I kind of wish I never started the series now, even though books 1-3 were probably the best run I've ever read.

There are so many completed trilogies and longer series out there that I haven't read that I don't feel the need to start something like Rothfuss. I don't read a whole lot of new books, anyway. I don't particularly like reading (or paying for) hard back books. I've been reading e-books whenever I can the last couple years, anyway, and it's really annoying to see hardback prices for a 500 kb download.

Martin's delays are annoying me. I posted at the Watch that I suspect he's got some sort of ginormous writer's block going on with the next book, and is marking time with these other projects.

I read "The Lies of Locke Lamora" and wasn't intrigued enough to read the second book -- so a delay in that series doesn't bother me.

Speaking of Erickson, I got an e-mail from Amazon.co.uk this morning -- they've begun taking pre-orders for "Dust of Dreams", which has a projected release date of late August. Whoo hoo!

Ali, I would not be surprised about the writer's block thing if it turns out to be true. And I think Martin has brought a lot of frustration onto himself with all of those initial promises that the book was nearly done and that fans would not have to wait long for it back when AFFC was released. At this point there is some sort of obvious problem with him finishing the book - it has been years - and he should just come out and be open and honest about it rather than being evasive.

I read the first Lynch book upon hearing that it could be read as a stand alone. It was mind candy - a gang of filthy mouthed young dudes for whom thieving is a literal religion - the fantasy equivalent of a heist movie. While fun, I have not run out to get the second book.

I read the Rothfuss because his publisher was proclaiming that the trilogy was finished and that they were just spacing out the releases for business purposes. Obviously that was less than the truth. It was actually mediocre and needed editing horribly - but the writing was good enough that I will give his second book a try.

I actually wish Erikson would slow down to an every other year release schedule. His books are screaming for editing, and I strongly suspect given their length that rough drafts are being printed up and sent to the stores. This series could be an all time fantasy masterpiece if they were only subject to a ruthless editor.

I honestly do not know if I will read the next Earth's Children book or not if it ever happens. The long delays combined with the ginormous drop in quality with the last book (which was pure excrement) are a huge turnoff for me. With a twelve year gap (or whatever is was), the book had better knock my socks off rather than be poop!

Wow, I was aware Jean Auel had written some sort of sequel to Clan of the Cave Bear, but I thought that was it. Um, how many books in this "series" are there so far? I didn't know there was even more being planned. (Not that I would, as I'm out of touch on a lot of things.) And I'm sorry to hear that the last book was pure excrement!

I haven't been much bothered by long waits in between books...mainly because I've tended to read series that were already complete when I got to them. Of course I'm waiting for Book 3 of the Last Chronicles, and that's...whoa...only one year (and a half) away! No big delay for that one, I'm sure. Donaldson's a fairly disciplined writer with regards to deadlines.

I haven't started a new series in a long time, and this discussion about long delays doesn't exactly encourage me!

Now that I am thinking about it, book four was pretty bad, too!

At least there wasn't a twelve year wait in between three and four, the way there was between four and five.

Yeah, 4 was a monster of a book and boring as hell.

--A

Now that you mention it, I'm not even sure I read book 4 of Auel's series, let alone book 5. Clearly they made a huge impression on me.... I do remember liking the first two books a lot.

Wait -- is book 5 the one where they finally make it to his home settlement and they're living in the cave with the rest of the tribe?

Hahaha, that about covers it.

Speaking of long unexpected waits, I'm ashamed to admit I'm reading the WoT series again. Maybe by the time I'm done, the last book will be out. (Well, maybe not...I've read the 1st 3 in four days or so...)

And this thread made me go and check my LotR books...all three were published in two years. Things sure were different back then.

--A

Also remember that they're not actually a series. LotR is one novel that was published in volumes.