I like stand alone stories that are all connected. They take place in the same world, with at least some of the same characters, but the plots may be completely unrelated. Would that count as single story or saga, as far as this thread is concerned?
I'm writing a saga! Anyway, it's different for me. Sometimes single books do the best job. Sometimes I love long sagas. I've been trying really hard to find a new saga to get into, actually. I just started the Dresden books in hopes that it becomes good. I'm about 1 1/2 book through it and it's decent so far. If anyone has any other suggestions for sagas, let me know. Is there a thread dedicated specifically to sagas? There should be. I've never really been one for trilogies. They seem too structured and limiting. That doesn't happen with single novels or sagas. Not that there aren't some great trilogies out there, of course.
It really depends on my mood, on which i like more. Stand alones, are part of life. I mean if you only read triologies and saga's, there is so much your missing out on (Not stories, but the whole structure of a good book). If i'm on holiday or its a wet weekend i love grabbing a stand alone and reading all day until its read. Triology - Apart from Lord of the Rings, i can't say im a Triology fan. I'm jut over the whole stucture of them. You just know how its gonig to go... Saga - Love them. I truly love huge worlds, plots, characters and the lot. I just cant find many that i can truly get a hold of these days.
Primitive, i know what you mean, because i also love to read single books when im unwinding and relaxing a bit. But i do also like trilogies, even though i haven't read that many. However, i am in love with sagas, i usually like to know what happens after a story ends, but after reading sagas i feel as if i don't really need to know what happens next, as i have read so much alread. The addition new characters and makes the new world seem so real. Fantasy books are good when they are long, but i do agreee The Wheel Of Time lasted too long, i still can't wait for the last book though.
If done well all the above are good but I think its become the norm for a good book to have at least two sequels. I'm sure people will disagree with me but I felt The Hunger Games could have been wrapped up in one book and due to this feel little urge to read the sequel(s). I admit this is a problem very apparent in books aimed at teenagers. That is when I have a problem with more than one book. I think a series allows you to become more lost in the world but a single book will tend to have more impact no matter which genre its from.
I completely agree with this, FMK. I usually end up loving the world that is created, but lose touch with the characters or just get tired of them. Many novels in the same world with different characters that only rarely or never allude to other characters is a great thing for me. Stand alone books, if well-written, are better than anything else in my mind. Trilogies, as said before, work great for fantasy novels; if and only if the characters hold up. Sagas get tiring, because, well, I get bored. Haha. - Steve
I like groups of trilogies. I haven't come across many, but like R.A. Salvatore's Legend of Drizzt series. They are often clumped together in 3 books and follow the same characters but with vastly different plots for each trilogy. But I really don't care either way.
I'd have to say saga - usually a finished saga - because I like to keep reading about the characters, and get to know them better.
Trilogy by far. I don't mind Sagas as long as they're written properly and don’t drag on, What I find with most Sagas is that the characters seem to dull, and eventually the author just runs out of ideas and twists that make the reader go, 'Oh no he didn't.' K
