When A Series That You Are Reading Hits Fail Mode!

What do we do when we really become devoted to a book series, and that series hits an epic fail? That has happened to me twice now. The first time it happened it was with an author that I had followed for years. Her books (mysteries) were exceptional. After she died, her publisher came out with two more books. The first one was a simple disappointment - obviously written from her notes, but not well done at all. The last one was screamingly bad - whomever wrote it (and it was published under the well known author's name) had never, ever read her books. By the time that I finished the book, I had made the decision to throw it away, rather than pass it on to someone else. It was really that bad, and a piss poor representation of this author and this particular series. When I went to leave a review - really the one and only bad review I have ever put up - I could see that other readers felt exactly as I did. The book was a travesty. However, I have and still reread her other books.

The second series that hit an epic fail is an author that I only recently (within the past couple of years) started to follow. I have only read three of the books in this series, but I would rate them from good to exceptional. The exception book was followed by her latest book - which is an epic fail! The family dog (which, I admit, was elderly) died and was replaced. With no explanation. Suddenly a character from her previous book was now four years older, had been adopted by the protagonist and her husband (with no clue as what happened to the aunt that had adopted her when her father, the protagonist brother, died), and the protagonsit step-son was in college with a girlfriend. I will reread the two books in this series that I know were good, and perhaps read some of the earlier books, which other reviewers are noting as being good, but I doubt that I will purchase anything more in this series. A good idea gone bad. Also, the author went into overdrive on information not relevant to the book. (She has done this to some extent in her previous books, but she left a huge footprint of yuck in this book.) 

It is difficult to deal with disappointment - we want a good series to go on forever. As authors, we can learn from this. Build strong characters, keep plots tight, and edit out anything that is not relevant to the plot, or to the character's growth.

How is your day going?

(c) August 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.