#8 Series or stand alone > Likes and Comments

Do you prefer reading stand-alone books or a series?

Both. I enjoy them equally.
I've been reading the Recluce series from L.E. Modesitt Jr. for many years.

Generally speaking, I prefer stand-alone books. I think that ideally a novel should be a satisfying read on its own, to put it another way. That said, there are many series that I follow and enjoy.

I agree, generally I like stand-alone books better. In so many cases, an author choosing to extend a series (especially many years later) results in the series going downhill or at best treading water. Extensions have to be really good and make a lot of sense. Game of Thrones comes to mind.

The best series writers are able to write books that read well as stand-alones. As long as each book has a complete story arc and doesn’t seem to end in medias res, there is usually no problem filling in backstory. Bujold and Cherryh are especially skilled at this.

I prefer stand-alones to series, but there are series that are better than average stand-alones. It is even more relevant not in SFF but in detective stories from Holmes onward

Let me try to give an original answer ;) . I like series that started out as stand alone novels , but ended up being so successful they became a series. Especially in the Sf/ Fantasy genre . For example :Dune & Hyperion. Even 'Wheel of time ' started out as a stand alone, and became one of the longest series ever written.

Even the best series has its ups and downs. WoT was criticized for the middle books not progressing the story fast enough. Vorkosigan, 26 pieces, has a few clinkers. A Dance with Dragons was also a holding pattern. Dune, Foundation & Gateway were hard to follow & the sequels never lived up to the first book. Hyperion may be more unique in that 3 of the 4 are excellent.

LOL, listing these out makes me realize that I like series more than I thought I did.

I prefer series but as many of you said or implied, it's important they be strong books on their own

Love them both, but respect an author more when they can write something good outside of the series world.