Epic fantasy, are they getting too Long
By Omar1980
@Omar1980 (42)
November 12, 2012 9:07am CST
I am a big fan of epic fantasy, however longtime ago a trilogy was considered a long series but nowadays fantasy series like wheel of time of Robert Jordan and A song of ice and fire for George Martin are extending to 7 to 11 books.
Even the newly started series like the storm light archive of Brandon Sanderson is projected to reach 10 books
Don't you think that despite the beauty of such series and the amazing writing it is still too much?
Isn't better if they present us with multiple series instead of focusing just on a huge one?
5 responses
@Magz1989 (271)
• Philippines
13 Nov 12
Yeah, that prolongs our agony for we want the ending to know. a series up to 10 books is too much for my brain to digest...i will get indigestion with that...My mind will be in all BLACK OUT. But i still need to know the ending so i continued reading.
Well, i really hope that the writer must understand us but honestly, if the publisher want it to continue because it is most demandable in the market, so, the writer must continue it even though he/she wanted to end it.
So, still it is economic: The Law of demand and the supply...so, for readers , you must continue reading...
@Omar1980 (42)
•
13 Nov 12
Or maybe the writers if they are already established can sign a specific contract to preserve the integrity of their craft.
From day one they will say I will only write 3 or 4 books and that is it.
I believe this will encourage more people to start reading a series and it will increase the sales because it is clear from some of the comments that the huge size of an epic fantasy and the unknow limit of books is stopping some readers to like the genre
@flamez3r0 (319)
• Puerto Rico
12 Nov 12
Hello and welcome to mylot :). It's about milking the fat cow. What make a series a hit is really hard to define. If it was the setting of the story or the way it was presented then the author could easily write new series and, as long as he keeps the same style, they would be a hit too. However if it was the characters, or the familiarity, or the evolution of their stories that caused people to identify with some of them, then ending the series is an horrible idea, since it would mean that the next series will have to go through the possibility of not being as successful. In business its always better to go with the sure, tested thing, instead of risking failure. And if people still buy them its because they enjoy them, so there's really no victim in that :).
@Omar1980 (42)
•
12 Nov 12
You are right, it is a business decision done by the publisher and the writer.
But I believe that in one side of it they are abusing the readers. Yes, we are still enjoying it and this is partially why we are still buying but mainly we want to know the end.
We invested time in these characters and we need to know what will happen to them.
If they create other series it will be risky on the business side but better on the ethical side
@doroffee (4222)
• Hungary
12 Nov 12
I'm not really reading a lot of epic fantasy, but other kinds of books. I am for stand-alone books, because serial books now are... well, just milking the money cow. I hate it. I do think if a writer is really talented, they can tell a meaningful story in max. 300 pages. For me, stretching a story this far is just... well, when I'm reading a story, I want a proper beginning, end and a story arch, not randoms tories about a setting just because the publisher wants to get more money.
@XianLovesMe (171)
• Philippines
14 Dec 12
yeah I notice that too. Once I read an epic fantasy but it bore the brains out of me. Its beautiful actually just so long and so boring. The prose is so long however beautiful. Im still gonna read though, because I love reading epic fantasy.
