tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6704985521814429917.post6339923290791042727..comments2023-11-03T03:30:26.920-07:00Comments on E.L. Wagner's Umbral Musings: Whither the Stand-Alone Fantasy Novel?E.L. Wagnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05631080231126783838noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6704985521814429917.post-38090827310074558172013-06-04T22:59:38.825-07:002013-06-04T22:59:38.825-07:00Ooh, I forgot stranger at the wedding. Yeah, I thi...Ooh, I forgot stranger at the wedding. Yeah, I think it is in the same world as her Silicon Mage books, as the same "rules" about magic seem to exist. But it is stand alone, at least, and the characters don't appear in her other novels. Kind of a shame, really. I rather liked them.<br />E.L. Wagnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05631080231126783838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6704985521814429917.post-43830789212869754592013-06-04T16:42:55.259-07:002013-06-04T16:42:55.259-07:00I actually remember reading and enjoying Villains ...I actually remember reading and enjoying Villains By Necessity, that other Eve Forward novel you mention ... but I am strapped for examples of this.<br /><br />Even Barbara Hambly's "Stranger At The Wedding" is, I think, in the same setting as some of her other books, even though as far as I know, it has no other connection.<br /><br />I've got to admit, while most of my works end with a, "Yes, but ..." that would probably invite a sequel, the idea of writing book after book in the same world (never mind with the same characters) gives me hives.Lindsey Duncanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06544943749349803429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6704985521814429917.post-8469997239820132082013-06-03T13:24:29.069-07:002013-06-03T13:24:29.069-07:00I think the concept of branding is definitely ther...I think the concept of branding is definitely there. It can take a long time to build up a fan base, and publishers are understandably reluctant to invest time and energy in a new writer if they are jumping all over the place. I imagine there's a lot of pressure (re options, contracts and so on) to commit to multiple stories involving a character or universe in the hopes that it will build up recognition and readers.<br /><br />And @Nyki's comment: I remember the Dragon and the George, and yeah, I never felt a burning desire to read the sequel when it came out. The first story seemed complete. Sometimes I think the desire to keep writing, to keep messing with your characters, can be to their detriment.<br /><br />Aside from the whole thing re getting stale and repetitive, the need to keep raising the bar may eventually lead to the earlier stories becoming sort of pointless. The end of the Hitchhiker's guide series comes to mind. It was almost like Adams was saying, "You made me keep writing sequels, so look what I had to do to my characters and universe!"<br /><br />Another example would be the Alien movies. The second one was, in my opinion, the best. The subsequent sequels made it so I don't enjoy re-watching the first two movies anymore, because the stakes and characters I'd so invested in were for naught as it turned out.E.L. Wagnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05631080231126783838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6704985521814429917.post-86425169832696887342013-06-03T12:03:36.671-07:002013-06-03T12:03:36.671-07:00I'm wondering if it doesn't have something...I'm wondering if it doesn't have something to do with the way we are supposed to conform to type, to be a brand. If you're Mrs Green Goblin in the Kingdom of the Trolls, then you have to keep producing Green Goblin stories. It's also that quite legitimately once you get immersed in a fantasy world, you see more possibilities for stories set in the same world. Since part of the originality of your story is the setting, you're already half-way to repeating the success of your first book. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6704985521814429917.post-20015598602324988322013-06-03T07:04:45.847-07:002013-06-03T07:04:45.847-07:00Neverwhere is kind of an oddball since it was orig...Neverwhere is kind of an oddball since it was originally a TV series. Really good book, though. I can't think of any other case of a novelization overshadowing the TV series or movie it was based on.<br /><br />I think there is a natural urge to reuse a setting that you've crafted. I imagine historical fiction writers tend to write more than one novel in a particular time period after doing the research to become familiar with it.<br /><br />Erikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04406903657837367974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6704985521814429917.post-14173162684507083612013-06-03T05:47:43.040-07:002013-06-03T05:47:43.040-07:00Some good points. As you say, there are good reas...Some good points. As you say, there are good reasons for the trilogy to be popular, and the format actually goes back as far as classical Greek drama, 2,500 years ago. I love a good series, but you're right that some books, or even some short stories, need to be one off.<br /><br />Another aspect of this is books that should have been one-offs but weren't. A classic example of this is Gordon R. Dickson's novel The Dragon and the George from the 70s - a brilliant novel that's both funny and exciting, and has a definite beginning, middle and end. Later, however, he wrote a sequel called The Dragon Knight, which I found dreary and very forced. He'd have done much better, in my opinion, leaving the original to stand alone.Nyki Blatchleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707481035530963855noreply@blogger.com