A gripe about series….. or maybe it’s just me.

I love a good series. It’s a joy to follow a well-built world or hero through several books, watching their secrets and adventures unfurl.

And yet…..

I don’t love series with large gaps between release that rely on detailed knowledge of what happened earlier. This was experience with the last season of the wonderful BBC series Shetland. The most recent season, S6, was released earlier this year after a two and half year gap. Its plotline relied heavily on a series of events that took place in S4 which came out four years ago. In order to make sense of this season, I had to read a detailed recap of S4. Now I realize I’m old and not as sharp as I possibly once was. That said, I suspect I’m not the only viewer that was lost.

I’m having a similar experience with my advance copy of Raven Unveiled, the third book in Grace Draven’s marvelous Fallen Empire series. In order to make sense of this book, one must recall several subplots from book one, Phoenix Unbound, and from book two, Dragon Unleashed. Reading on the Kindle app makes this easier to manage–I just went back to both books, searched for characters’ names and read again their backstories. (This is Siora and Gharek’s book.)

This is a small complaint–I adore both Shetland and the Fallen Empire series and am thrilled to be able to experience them. Perhaps what I’m really kvetching about is my poor memory!

Is it just me? What do you think?

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