In my last post, I examined what it
was about sequels that frustrated me and turned me off from reading
the next instalment. This week I want to share what I love about
sequels and what keeps me entranced with a series.
If you study my book wall (see below), which is
what I've named the stack of books in my bedroom which no longer fit
in my existing bookcase, there is certainly a trend to be found.
Aside from the fact that most books I read are YA Speculative
Fiction, and for some reason: the majority have a black spine, they
also tend to belong to a series. This started many years ago, when I
struggled to find authors which I enjoyed reading. I purposely
searched for novels in a series so that I could guarantee there would
be at least two more books that I could buy from the same author and
enjoy. Now it seems like the bulk of YA novels (especially in Spec
Fic) are part of a series, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a
stand-alone novel, which can be a good thing or bad thing—see
previous post! Today, let's focus on the good.
More of what you love plus something
you didn't expect:
A sequel is like a nice warm cup of
coffee (or tea–your choice!) that you have each morning: it's
familiar and comforting. It brings a sense of homecoming; the
characters are welcomed and beloved, the writing style is reassuring
and you can submerge into the world with ease. Yet sometimes you want
a dash of spice with your coffee (or my favourite: peppermint).
Great sequels do this, they maintain all the reasons you loved the
first book but also add something that is different and unexpected,
yet still fits within the world already established.
One of my favourite YA sequels is
Kendare Blake's Girl of Nightmares sequel
to Anna Dressed in Blood,
which has to be one of the best book titles of all time!
The sequel has all the
gore and fantastic creepy detail from the first book, but also feels
new and fresh by adding a layer of adventure that wasn't in Anna
Dressed in Blood. I can't recommend that duology enough, go read
it people!
Sequels flesh out the world:
World building is essential to good
Speculative Fiction, so no matter how unbelievable your premise is,
the reader can picture the world in their mind and are swept along
for the ride. This takes time, you can't just cram the whole world's
mythology down a reader's throat in the first few chapters, unless
you want to commit the dreaded “info dump”. The more complex and
different the world is to our own, the more time we need to spend
discovering it as we turn each page.
Often there are ideas and concepts only
hinted at in the first novel and sequels provide the opportunity to
develop these into fully-fledged themes and plots. It's a wonderful
pay-off for readers when they experience that light-bulb moment and
pick up on a small detail that was mentioned in book one, which
becomes paramount in the sequel. It's a great reward for those who
stick with a series.
Characters become more interesting and
detailed:
When you really love a book, you want
nothing more than to spend additional time with the characters and
see how they evolve. Whilst characters should always change in
someway by the end of a novel, often it's not until the sequel that
we can see the full extent in which the events of the first book has
transformed their lives. It allows characters to feel more real and
have greater depth.
As mentioned in my previous post, if I don't care
about the characters then I'm unlikely to return to the series. My
favourite books are character-driven stories, it's their lives,
plight and adventures that I am enraptured by. It's often said that
in a good book you cannot separate plot and character, that one is
fiercely intertwined with the other. Most of the series I have read
follows this structure and are strongly focused on characters in
addition to having a fantastical premise. With a series you have to
keep developing the characters from book to book, they cannot remain
stagnant, or the reader will become bored and find the story
predictable.
That's not to say I don't read and
enjoy stand-alone novels, but I always experience a feeling of dread
as I near the final pages of an enjoyable book, at least with a series
I know it's not over yet!
If you have any series recommendations
please let me know.
Until next time,
Astrid
My ever-growing book wall
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