Cancelled Book Series
Granted it hasn't happened all that much. The first instance was the Wicked series by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie! I read these as they were released, so in their singular format versus compilations. When I read the fourth book I was positively anxious for the next one! I was bouncing on heels because there hadn't been a titled listed like the previous times. A few months went by, then a year, I didn't know anything about the publishing industry at this time so I didn't know what was going on! When I learned you can email an author, I decided I had to do that! Because it'd been over a year and there was nothing! Nancy had told me that due to low sales the publisher wasn't wanting to buy a final book or more books. I was shocked! I mean, how can a publisher decide it's a better idea to cancel a series, one that was left with a HUGE CLIFFHANGER and be okay with it?
As an adult now I do understand all about saving money and cutting costs, but still, as a reader, I can't comprehend how one can cancel a series! It's just sickening! Thankfully there's a happy ending here for in 2009 due to an increase of sales, of those compilation novels I take it, a final book was born! And I was elated!!
The second time a series was canceled on me was Gena Showalter's Intertwined series. I fell in love with this series so quickly and devoured the books one after another, even though I did win the first two books, there was a minor wait of some period for that third book. And omg, what an ending! Then a similar thing happened. A year went by, no info for book 4 other than it would release in the following year according to Goodreads. This went on for a good few years. And then when I finally got to meet Gena for the first time and got to ask her about it, she told me the devastating news of the series cancellation and how she even felt a loss of her love for it.
But then last year, an amazing thing happened! Gena announced she would self-publish a final book! There's still no info on it as far as I know now. She has to finish her contracted projects first, then re-read the books and re-immerse herself with the world, but a final story will come! It may be novella length or slightly longer, or maybe even a full length book! I don't really know at this point, but I do know that I will anxiously be waiting and for the first time in I don't know how many years since I began blogging, will be re-reading the first three books to prepare for the finale!
So those two example had, or will have as long as all continues to go well, happy endings. And I know there was at least one self published series I was reading awhile back and it never got its final book which sadden me because I found myself really hooked with that story as well. Never did find out why he didn't finish the series. So it was saddening there too.
Have you ever had a favorite book series be cancelled? As in, the series was left unfinished, where there was clearly more to the story that needed to happen but it didn't? Do you remember what it was? Have you ever reached out to the author about it? Even if just to ask what might have happened to the characters to get out of said predicament and onto their HEA path?
I bought the compilations awhile ago so hopefully my contribution helped :D I'm so glad to hear it's going to be finished. I fell in love with the Jaz Parks series before I started blogging and Jennifer Rardin passed away at the end of the series. The last book was published very shortly after though so it is completed. I'm not sure I've run in to anything else like that.
ReplyDeleteUgh, this is the worst! I find this sometimes happens with serialized series that are usually shorter novella installments. You wait so long between novels and then suddenly they stop! Lots of the time it is because they are going to get published into a full novel but I hate that I invested so much.
ReplyDeleteI've really only had one series really leave me hanging on the edge and that was Alyxandra Harvey's Lovegrove Legacy. A HUGE cliffhanger that was taking the story into a fabulous direction is found at the end of Book 2 and then the 3rd was left unpublished. Eventually, she released a 30 page epilogue to wrap it up but very disappointing. The Ring and the Crown was another one but thankfully that first book had enough resolution to appease me.
I had something similar happen recently. I read two books in a series, it ended on a huge cliffhanger, but then over a year went by with nothing. The author even just seemed to disappear, no website, no social media posts, nothing. But just this month all the sudden the final book was announced and I got to read it and now I'm happy lol. But I'm in the middle of lots of series, and I'm pretty sure some of them are never going to be completed :-/ I can deal, at least, if there's no cliffhanger or major questions left hanging. In those cases it's just disappointing because I want more about those characters!
ReplyDeleteI'm almost done listening to Blood Born by Linda Howard right now. It was published in 2010 and is very good. There's actually a teaser for the next book, Warrior Rising, in the Blood Born physical book - so it was obvious when I picked both up that there was another book. When I first looked online for the sequel, it appears that Linda's publisher decided that vampires were out and cancelled publication of the 2nd book in 2011. I was freaking as it would have left the story hanging. Thankfully, I have since found that Linda-Winstead-Jones in collaboration with Linda Howard has recently self-published Warrior Rising. You'd better believe I'll be reading it!
ReplyDeleteI've actually never had this happen that I can remember. But I'd definitely be upset!!!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I don't know if it was a favorite series, but I would love to know how it ends -- Unicorn Killers by Diana Peterfreund. Way to leave me hanging. I am happy to report, that Shana Abe finally released the final book in The Sweetest Dark series. It took 4 years, but at least I will get some closure.
ReplyDeleteSam @ WLABB