Escapists Uncensored: What We Miss Between Books…

Escapists Uncensored

Escapists UncensoredWait, how much time has passed since the last book? All of that happened in the interim?! Why didn’t I get to read about that?!

It seems as if every single time I open a sequel lately I ask myself these questions. Is it me or this is becoming a trend?

I know that many authors write novels that have a chronological order. These are intended to be stand alone books which tie together. Often times, they simply show the most interesting events in a character’s life so it makes sense to glide over months at a time. I think one of the most famous examples of this would be the Southern Vampire/Sookie Stackhouse novels. This method works for me but it seems to have gone out of trend.

Each sequel I read lately is meant to be a true continuation- taking place ‘right’ after the events in the prior book. My problem is the very loose definition of right after. In one recent read, the second book took place four to six months after the events in the first and had a ton of events. These life changes included characters getting married, dying, having kids and the like. Had this book been an epic fantasy I probably wouldn’t have cared much about social events. The problem is that the series heavily focuses on social events like who is romancing whom and what the entertainment is like at so and so’s party. Is it any wonder that I felt left out of the narrative when huge life changes are in sentence summary but I get a chapter about someone’s dress? Am I just expecting too much?

I initially thought this trend was only in urban fantasy or mystery, but now I am seeing it in science fiction and fantasy! There were three battles which fell between books in a series I read. Why are these details being glossed over?

For me the simple solution is for authors to write a short story. Since there are sometimes lengthy real time waits between novels, new stories help keep authors and fans invested in the story. Not only does is fill everyone in about the in between times, it is a great tool to promote an upcoming book or use social media. So why don’t more writers partake? Why must so many make me wonder what happened whilst I was off reading other books?

What about you dear LE readers? Are you noticing that there are eventful gaps between books that you actually want to know about? Do you feel unsatisfied by the imbalance of events?

About Natassia 143 Articles
I am a performer by trade and have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. My bookshelves are full of many genres but I have a love of fantasy, SciFi and steampunk which have only spurred my performing dreams to help one of these fabulous worlds come to life. I tend to read books with a lot of edge and grit; if it's got zombies, space battles or fantastical steam inventions, I'm in. When I'm not reading or off making my own adventures, I can be caught watching movies of every era, gaming, and being scandalously political like any good steampunk heroine.

1 Comment

  1. When I read a sequel, and find references to huge events, then I wonder if I have missed another book in the series or a short story. It’s possible (sometimes) that the author had some of the events in one of the books, but it was edited out (?). or maybe …. who knows. I know it takes a lot of work for an author to write a complete novel, so maybe expecting shorts on a regular basis might be asking too much. On the other hand… it might be fun to read.

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