Top 5 Wednesday was originally created by Lainey @GingerReadsLainey – you can join the Goodreads group HERE
Well That Dragged
This week’s prompt recognises that March last year was the start of the first lockdown in many places of the world (including the UK). I think most of us would agree that this past year has been a difficult one. I’m guessing there are very few people who have been unaffected by this worldwide pandemic and a lot of people have lost loved ones (I include myself in this number, sadly).
I originally wasn’t sure about partaking in this week’s topic (it could be seen as a bit… dismissive of current events) but life does go on and I myself have found myself reluctant to waste my time on books/series that seem to meander on without ever coming to a conclusion or without an end in sight.
Ultimately, I decided to complete this because maybe I’ve been overthinking things (or being oversensitive) – I have a tendency to do that and my mental health has been a bit up and down lately and can sometimes cause me to create mountains out of molehills!
So, before I go even more off-topic (and I’m late posting this as it is), I have decided to focus on series that went on well past their sell-by date or I just gradually lost interest in (these are all fantasy/urban fantasy incidentally). I’m only including series I have personally read at least a couple of books from:
1. Janny Wurts – Wars of Light and Shadow Series
This is definitely a series that has just gone on and on without an end in sight. I think about ten books have been published so far (correct me if I’m wrong) with more planned. Janny Wurts is a decent writer (despite her tendency towards purple prose) and I’ve loved her other work (especially her collaboration with Raymond E. Feist – who is also on this list – see below!) and I did enjoy the series at first for the most part. However, after umpteen books I just got fed up and I definitely have a lot of series fatigue for this one – I just don’t care anymore.
2. Raymond E. Feist – The Riftwar Cycle
So many books! I kept up with this series for years (I did love the setting and most of the characters). I actually have read 24 books (yikes!) and I probably will read the later ones at some point, but at the moment I am taking a long break. There were so many books it got hard to keep track and since they jump around in the timeline its difficult to follow. I would probably need to re-read the previous books in order to understand the last books and that’s just something I don’t have the time or the energy to do right now (probably for a long while).
3. Michelle Sagara – Chronicles of Elantra Series
This book is sitting at fifteen books right now with more forthcoming. I’ll be honest, I made it to book three and just… gave up. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the writing or anything but the main character doesn’t seem to grow, like, at all. Maybe that changes but I got sick and tired of how ‘special’ the protagonist was, despite never really seeing anything that would make her worthy of that description. She just seemed to be stuck in a state of arrested development, and I couldn’t deal with her anymore.
4. Kalayna Price – Alex Craft Series
I loved this series when I first read it and devoured the first three books in quick succession. However there was a gap between books three and four (I believe the author had some struggles so no blaming here) and I kinda just moved on from the series? Like, maybe I will get back to it at some point but I think I’ve moved on and I don’t really see myself returning to the series even though it does seem to be picking up steam again. It’s a shame, but it is what it is… 😉
5. Terry Brooks – Shannara Series
This one is an interesting example because even books that didn’t seem to be related turned out to be part of this over-arching series! A series I personally really enjoyed and thought was a standalone from this author called The Word & The Void was was revealed to be linked when The Genesis of Shannara series was released (mind blown). I enjoyed the early Shannara books (although, I read them after reading The Lord of the Rings and they seemed like a pale imitation even to my pre-teen self) but I lost interest after book upon book was subsequently released. I don’t have any kind of desire to return to these books but I suppose never say never…
🖤🖤🖤
I thought about including A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin (and it certainly qualifies as a series in the midst of losing its way) but I doubt very much we are going to see this series completed (or even ever see the long-promised The Winds of Winter) so it will need to be an honorary entry!! 😀
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