4 ms·
Exactly. Some novel "series" are really just a single work. GRRM's and JRRT's are certainly examples. Rothfuss' is, too. The other example is something like S
by ubermonkey 5y ago
Exactly.
Some novel "series" are really just a single work. GRRM's and JRRT's are certainly examples. Rothfuss' is, too.
The other example is something like Scalzi's Old Man's War books. They are all in the same universe, and expand on the story told in the first, but they stand alone as novels, too. You don't need to have read the first to enjoy a "later" one, though the later one probably contains spoilers about the earlier one.
Then you get kinda neither one nor the other books, like The Revelation Space books from Alistair Reynolds. There IS an overarching plot, but you could also come in late, and each book has its own "local" plot.
- tsimionescu 5y agoAnother good example of a disparate series that has connected narrative threads but is nevertheless perfectly readable from any point, and where each individual novel is a complete work in itself, is the fantastically funny Discworld series from Terry Pratchett. There are recurring point of view characters who change and grow across the 50 or so novels, yet each novel is a complete story in its own right (well, with the only exception of the very first two, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic).
- the_af 5y agoFully agreed. The wonderful thing is that many (if not most) Discworld novels can be read standalone in any order. Yes, you'll miss some references and subtleties, and recurring characters are better if you know their traits, but still they work standalone. Some are truly standalone (Monstruous Regiment, Small Gods, Going Postal, The Truth, etc), some aren't but can be mostly read in random order (wizards, witches, city watch).