Books that should have sequels, but don't
Mar. 7th, 2012 02:39 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
aged-crone.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
queensthiefSome years ago, a newsletter about books to which I subscribed had us write in for an article about books that in our opinions should have had sequels, but didn't. Someone called it "Books Without Equals We Wish Had Had Sequels," which I loved.
So - leaving out any books that have come out so recently they probably will have sequels if we give the author five minutes to breathe, and leaving out series that stopped too soon (like Antonia Forest's Marlow family books - although now I find that someone else has written the "next book," whose arrival I'm awaiting with trepidation because what if it's terrible?), (which actually would make a good post on its own), what are some books that you think need sequels (and don't you just love parentheses)?
I can think of several, even at 2:30 in the morning when I'm staring at a computer screen when I should be sleeping but woke up abruptly and can't get my eyes to close again. Several of these are ones I just mentioned in the WSK post, which is what made me think of them.
THE WONDERFUL YEAR, by Nancy Barnes (which I submitted to the original article)
ENEMY BROTHERS, by Constance Savery
THE REB AND THE REDCOAT, also by Constance Savery (it has a little bit at the end about "what happened years later" that would make a great springboard for another book)
THE BORROWED HOUSE, by Hilda Van Stockum
CAMPION TOWERS, by John and Patricia Beatty
What these all have in common are characters that are interesting and stories that leave interesting possibilities for future events, even though they are complete in themselves. And while certainly I can imagine for myself what might happen next, I'd really rather have the author write it so I can savor the writing.
So - leaving out any books that have come out so recently they probably will have sequels if we give the author five minutes to breathe, and leaving out series that stopped too soon (like Antonia Forest's Marlow family books - although now I find that someone else has written the "next book," whose arrival I'm awaiting with trepidation because what if it's terrible?), (which actually would make a good post on its own), what are some books that you think need sequels (and don't you just love parentheses)?
I can think of several, even at 2:30 in the morning when I'm staring at a computer screen when I should be sleeping but woke up abruptly and can't get my eyes to close again. Several of these are ones I just mentioned in the WSK post, which is what made me think of them.
THE WONDERFUL YEAR, by Nancy Barnes (which I submitted to the original article)
ENEMY BROTHERS, by Constance Savery
THE REB AND THE REDCOAT, also by Constance Savery (it has a little bit at the end about "what happened years later" that would make a great springboard for another book)
THE BORROWED HOUSE, by Hilda Van Stockum
CAMPION TOWERS, by John and Patricia Beatty
What these all have in common are characters that are interesting and stories that leave interesting possibilities for future events, even though they are complete in themselves. And while certainly I can imagine for myself what might happen next, I'd really rather have the author write it so I can savor the writing.
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Date: 3/7/12 09:03 am (UTC)And like every other annoying reader out there, I'd love to read a sequel to Robin McKinley's Sunshine, but she doesn't seem inclined to produce one ever, which of course is her prerogative.
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Date: 3/7/12 05:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 3/8/12 03:20 am (UTC)(Don't *say* things like that! What if MWT decides that she has some sort of prerogative not to write another book!)
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Date: 3/7/12 09:24 pm (UTC)The book does have a sequel, but the library doesn't have it!!!!
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Date: 3/7/12 10:46 pm (UTC)Animist, by Eve Forward, was also an exceptionally good book set in a really cool fantasy world that has no sequel, and I wish it did.
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Date: 3/7/12 11:12 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 3/7/12 11:53 pm (UTC)But I def agree! More Kate and Chris is never bad for one's health!
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Date: 3/7/12 11:58 pm (UTC)But, yes, more Kate and Chris could never go wrong.
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Date: 3/8/12 02:21 am (UTC)Did you ever hear of Wilmer McLean? He lived along Bull Run, near Manassas Junction. The first battle of the Civil War, 1st Bull Run, was fought on his property. He decided (wisely, too, considering that there was a 2nd Bull Run) that this was not a salubrious place to live, so he packed up and moved.
To Appomattox. Grant and Lee met in his house for the signing of the surrender. The saying is that the war began in McLean's front yard and ended in his parlor.
Christopher: Well, Kate, here it is, our lovely, though soggy, new home.
Kate: Why, Christopher, it is beautiful (though soggy). Say, who's that lady over there in the green cape.
Lady in Green: Are you two *following* me? What *is* it with you people?????
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Date: 3/8/12 03:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 3/8/12 05:37 pm (UTC)But Kate would feel a little guilty as well, so she'd try to come up with a practical solution for the Fair Folk.
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Date: 3/10/12 02:22 am (UTC)In general, though, I find McKillip to have very interesting stories withe beautiful writing though they can be quite hard to get into, a bit hard to follow, and not always completely satisfying endings. If you can get into her stories, though, they're generally rewarding. :) If not, well, I can't blame you---it took me four books to actually start liking McKillip. :D
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Date: 3/8/12 01:05 am (UTC)Do the Cygnet books at least tell a complete story?
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Date: 3/8/12 01:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 3/8/12 01:46 am (UTC)The first speaker is a prince caught by an enchantment that transforms him each day into a firebird. The second speaker is the heir to her own holding, a young woman with the most insatiably curious mind for magic of any heroine I know, who is determined to break the spell.
"You used to look like a mage."
"What does a mage look like?"
"Like a closed book full of strange and marvellous things. Like the closed door to a room full of peculiar noises, lights that seep out under the door. Like a beautiful jar made of thick, colored glass that holds something glowing inside that you can't quite see, no matter how you turn the jar."
"And now?" she whispered. He came close; the light at their feet cast hollows of shadow across his eyes, drew the precise lines of his mouth clear.
"Now," he said softly, "you aren't closed. You're letting me see."
He slid his hand beneath her hair, around her neck. She watched light tremble in a drop of water near the corner of his mouth. He bent his head. The light leaped from star to star across his face, and then vanished. She closed her eyes and he was gone..."
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Date: 3/8/12 05:31 pm (UTC)Thanks to the power of suggestion... I just re-read this book. There's also the paragraph that I would never have noticed
pre MWTyears ago... about Randal intending to give Charlotte something gold, smaller than a circlet, instead of a crown... *squeak!*no subject
Date: 3/8/12 10:58 pm (UTC)GO AWAY IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK SO YOU WON'T BE SPOILED!!!!
she's talking to Patty Two and telling her about the Baltimores' being in England and so they'll meet all of them including the real Patty, and commenting that she's never likely to see the original Patty doll again, and Patty Two looks as if she knows better.
Well, think about what chain of circumstances are going to bring about that meeting!
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Date: 3/9/12 01:20 am (UTC)Secret Society by Tom Dolby
anyone heard of it/know of a sequal?
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Date: 3/14/12 06:54 pm (UTC)