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What do you do when one of your favorite light novels suddenly... ENDS!
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@Thomask said in What do you do when one of your favorite light novels suddenly... ENDS!:
Over a decade later and I’m still hoping for a Farscape restart or mini-series...
Babylon 5? Just need more. ;)
B5 is technically complete - it was always meant to be a five-season show, afterall. The issue was that the network (Sci-Fi, I think) decided part way through S4 to cancel it at the end of that season, causing JMS to have to rush certain arcs that were meant to be in S5 (the return to Earth, etc) to fit them into what was left of S4. They then later decided to fund a S5 afterall, causing him to have to figure out what the heck to do next...
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@AerosAtar said in What do you do when one of your favorite light novels suddenly... ENDS!:
@Thomask said in What do you do when one of your favorite light novels suddenly... ENDS!:
Over a decade later and I’m still hoping for a Farscape restart or mini-series...
Babylon 5? Just need more. ;)
B5 is technically complete - it was always meant to be a five-season show, afterall. The issue was that the network (Sci-Fi, I think) decided part way through S4 to cancel it at the end of that season, causing JMS to have to rush certain arcs that were meant to be in S5 (the return to Earth, etc) to fit them into what was left of S4. They then later decided to fund a S5 afterall, causing him to have to figure out what the heck to do next...
And taking the series finale, which was produced for the end of S4, and moving it to the end of S5 instead. Which is why Ivanova showed up there when she wasn't in the rest of S5. (Alas for missed opportunities. ;_; )
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@unknownmat said in What do you do when one of your favorite light novels suddenly... ENDS!:
Just responding to the OP (I haven't read the entire thread).
I'm reminded of something Neil Gaiman wrote in response to a fan who was disappointed with the pace of George R. R. Martin's writing:
You're complaining about George doing other things than writing the books you want to read as if your buying the first book in the series was a contract with him ... No such contract existed. You were paying your ten dollars for the book you were reading, and I assume that you enjoyed it because you want to know what happens next.
I find Gaiman's argument compelling. I've paid for the current volume and the author's only responsibility to me is to write the best damn content he can in this volume. And by the very fact that I enjoyed it enough to want to keep reading, it sounds like he/she upheld their end of the bargain.
If publishers start putting in large print "no promise of closure" disclaimers at the beginning of their media then I will start believing that this is part of the established 'social contract', but until then I personally feel that authors just sound like they are making self-serving excuses to distract from the failure of their friends to uphold their ends of an implied bargain.
From a legal perspective of course the purchase is just for one book, but it is generally made in the good faith belief that the author and publisher will endeavour to provide a conclusion to the story. What Gaiman (whose books I adore by the way) and co are seemingly proposing is for everyone who dislikes unfinished stories to withhold their custom until the story is complete. Their economic model is just not designed to handle such consumers becoming the norm, and so it is a proposition which can only ever be the exception to the rule.
Why is it that publishers don't put in "risk of no conclusion" warnings? I expect it is because they think it could result in readers not buying the book. And why is that? Because it would disabuse potential readers of their legitimate expectation that the author and publisher will endeavour to conclude the story.
I'm not saying that every book series must have a satisfying ending, but that a failure to conclude a multi-part story (and a failure to acknowledge such a breach of legitimate expectation) should be acknowledged as a valid basis for people to feel aggrieved.
Stay shiny, y'all.
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I’m glad not all authors feel that way, one of my favorite authors that has a 15 book series released over 20 years opted to self publish the last two novels because the publisher dropped the series after book 13. He felt strongly enough that the fans were owed the conclusion that I would guess he probably lost money on it.
I’m not saying this should be the norm for authors, that’s not realistic. However, with the case of someone like GRRM it comes down to one of two things.
A) he is inept and can’t figure out how to drag together the convoluted mess that is the ASOIAF series at this point in the novels ( A very real possibility)
Or
B) he is lazy and can’t be bothered
Honestly I remember at the time thinking the 6 years for a dance with dragons was bad but at this point 9 years with no sign of the final two books, it’s just ridiculous. I won’t even be purchasing the final two novels if he ever does actually release them, I have no more interest in ASOIAF.
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I was reading a series that was stuck at 25 volumes for over 12 years until #26 finally hit... last I checked it’s at #35 (2019) but it’s been difficult to pick back up... the interest in the series waned.
Well, the two movie adaptions completely sucked and made it fodder for pundits.
Even if I’m invested in the main character(s) heavily.
That said, I love to dig in and just read a whole shelf at a time... so I know I’ll pick it up again eventually.
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@catstorm said in What do you do when one of your favorite light novels suddenly... ENDS!:
This has actually altered my reading patterns, I’m now very cautious about starting books with fewer then 3 volumes released because I’ve been burned to many times.
Walking my second path
Mistaken genius
Gear drive
Beast head
Seriously seeking sisterJust to name a few from J novel club that I was very into that stopped abruptly.
@Jon-Mitchell said in What do you do when one of your favorite light novels suddenly... ENDS!:
@catstorm said in What do you do when one of your favorite light novels suddenly... ENDS!:
This has actually altered my reading patterns, I’m now very cautious about starting books with fewer then 3 volumes released because I’ve been burned to many times.
Walking my second path
Mistaken genius
Gear drive
Beast head
Seriously seeking sisterJust to name a few from J novel club that I was very into that stopped abruptly.
at least Beast Head completed an arc...what drives me nuts is when we're just left hanging...
Well, I'm happy that we've got to read them at least, even though it will never be completed, I'm very glad that J-Novel Club had licensed Deathbound Duke's Daughter for example.
For the same reason I would love it, if J-Novel Club would license Two Saints Wander off into a Different World. Even though it's not complete and it probably will never be, the story is really good and the art of the novel version very pretty, I wouldn't want to pass on it.
Sure, it feels bad to never see a proper end, but it would bug me way more to never get the chance to even read it.@Thomask Which series was it? It doesn't sound like a light novel.
💖Always be yourself, unless you can be a unicorn - then be a unicorn!💖
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@Liber-Monstrorum said in What do you do when one of your favorite light novels suddenly... ENDS!:
Well, I'm happy that we've got to read them at least, even though it will never be completed, I'm very glad that J-Novel Club had licensed Deathbound Duke's Daughter.
For the same reason I would love it, if J-Novel Club would license Two Saints Wander off into a Different World. Even though it's not complete and it probably will never be, the story is really good and the art of the novel version very pretty, I wouldn't want to pass on it.
Sure, it feels bad to never see a proper end, but it would bug me way more to never get the chance to even read it.I agree, it is far better to read a series that ends prematurely than to never be able to read it at all.
To riff off of Tennyson, tis better to have read and lost than never to have read at all.“There’s always a story. It’s all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it. Change the story, change the world.” ― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky
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@Lily-Garden Oh yes, I fully agree with you. On this note, while I can understand a little bit the people who lament that J-Novel Club picked up unfinished light novels again, I'm each time very happy that I get the chance to read and enjoy them (well, not every novel, but the ones who are to my taste). I wouldn't like to miss on that.
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The ending to me in one of the most important part of a story so it frustrates me to no end if something I read doesn't have a proper conclusion. I purposely avoided reading series if I found they were axed or put in indefinite hiatus. I can be satisfied with just the end of the current story arc if there isn't a cliffhanger and there aren't too many open plot points remaining, but in general thee more closure I get the better.
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@Lex said in What do you do when one of your favorite light novels suddenly... ENDS!:
The ending to me in one of the most important part of a story so it frustrates me to no end if something I read doesn't have a proper conclusion. I purposely avoided reading series if I found they were axed or put in indefinite hiatus. I can be satisfied with just the end of the current story arc if there isn't a cliffhanger and there aren't too many open plot points remaining, but in general thee more closure I get the better.
Agreed. Although I understand that some say that reading an unfinished work can be enjoyable; I only have so many hours in the day to dedicate to reading, so I'd prefer to invest in works that at least have the potential of the 'payoff' i.e. a satisfying conclusion. For that reason I am loathe to begin a series that I know is unlikely to be completed by the author. At the same time, I also like NEW stories; therefore some of what I read is done without the knowledge of an 'end' likely.
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@Lex @Jon-Mitchell You know, if we wouldn‘t get such axed novels, then we would have much less to read. Nowadays it‘s a fact that many good novels get axed or discontinued otherwise, either because it doesn‘t sell well, even if many people like it or the author can‘t continue it because of real life issues.
This aside, some of the best stories I know of are unfinished. -
I am kind of scared to go and read my light novels now, kind of scared to find out which one has ended.
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@NiteRain
Unfortunately, you'll never know until it's too late. Some are designed to end, or have a non ending as is very popular with Japanese light novel's, some get canceled and some actually come to a conclusion. My best advise is to just enjoy them for what they are. TV series get canceled all the time in the same way, so don't deprive yourself due to the fear that it might not reach a conclusion. -
@Jon-Mitchell yeah, plus I'm very curious, if a series seems interesting I'm not able to wait years to see of it reaches a conclusion, so in the end completely avoiding the risk is impossible.
@Liber-Monstrorum while technically there are likely more completed series than I'll be able to read in my entire life, I can't say that I truly regret having read series like Clockwork Planet it being stuck at four volumes...though had I known in advance I might have skipped it.
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@Liber-Monstrorum said in What do you do when one of your favorite light novels suddenly... ENDS!
@Thomask Which series was it? It doesn't sound like a light novel.
John Norman’s Chonicles of Gor.
It’s very detailed writing and highly descriptive... maybe that’s where I get the tolerance for the minutia found in Asian writing, especially some web novels like Wortenia for... (then again he doesn’t take 2 volumes to say the same three paragraphs)
It’s a medieval setting on a counter earth... mostly POV written if memory serves, often in the form of a diary sent back to earth...? No magic tho, no technology.
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@lighthawk96 said in What do you do when one of your favorite light novels suddenly... ENDS!:
@NiteRain
Unfortunately, you'll never know until it's too late. Some are designed to end, or have a non ending as is very popular with Japanese light novel's, some get canceled and some actually come to a conclusion. My best advise is to just enjoy them for what they are. TV series get canceled all the time in the same way, so don't deprive yourself due to the fear that it might not reach a conclusion.There’s always fan fiction to fall back on... some good writers out there continue stories and some re-envision them.
What am I reading?
0) Bookworm- Seirei Gensouki
- Realist Hero
- Wortenia Senki
- Fushi no Kami
- Arifureta
Waiting for catchup to fantran - By The Grace of Gods
- Ideal Sponger Life
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@Thomask
Very true. I've even thought of doing that at one point, and even wrote a movie script to one of my favorite stories. Some are very good and worth reading. -
I don't know if this is good or bad but light novels got me stop caring if there is an end or not. I pick up and drop them on a dime. I also enjoy every second I'm reading though. Have this "it's about the journey not the destination" feeling about it.
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My experience is that some stories demand a good ending. For example, any epic action adventure involving a conflict between good and evil pretty much wouldn't be worth its weight in paper without a proper conclusion. I mean, how many people could honestly say that they think the The Lord of the Rings would've had anywhere near the same impact if it had ended after The Two Towers? (The Lord of the Rings, btw, is about the same length as roughly 10 average light novel volumes, and it was written in full before the publisher ever got its hands on the manuscript.)
Then there are other stories where you're pretty much moving from mini-arc to mini-arc, and the whole point of the story is the journey and not the destination. This seems to be rather common, perhaps even the norm, among light novels and web novels. In such cases, I wouldn't feel too upset if there was a half-assed conclusion, or no conclusion at all. I'd still prefer a conclusion, though. At the very least an epilogue.
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I don't mind stories that go on and on, even with extended waits between release of volumes. There are few series "I drop" if ever. Put it on long pause maybe...
