B2P - I guess if you create a world with depth and breadth to it you’re likely to want to explore it further. It takes great effort to create a world and then leave it alone. I guess if I was to write several stand alone novels like this then I’d spend much less time adding details. As a one off it seems like a reasonably fun thing to dobut repeatedly would be quite a feat.
That's understandable. If I could explain my preference a little more thoroughly - I too, love the immersion and escapism I get from epic fantasy. And exploring wonderful or dangerous worlds, for me, is one of the most appealing aspects of the genre. But my wife, who mostly reads mysteries, thrillers, and romance novels, rarely ever has to commit to a series. She has the luxury (from my perspective) of hopping from character cast to character cast, and author to author, nearly every time she finishes a book. There's a freshness to that imo. Again, I'm a fan of the occasional series. But I can't help wishing I had more options for exciting, highly acclaimed standalone epic fantasy stories. I hope it doesn't mostly boil down to effort. I remember listening to a film pundit explain that digital animation studios love doing sequels, because they already have many of the models and characters on file. For example, Despicable Me 2 would require far less animation work than the first film.
