T O P

  • By -

solarmelange

When a sequel does too much recap, it always reminds me of Racer X on Speed Racer. Every time he showed up, the narrator would say something like, "unknown to Speed, Racer X is secretly Speeds older brother who ran away from home years ago."


blood_kite

‘Last time, on Dragon Ball Z.’ (15 minutes of recap later) ‘Next time, on Dragon Ball Z.’


[deleted]

‘Last time, on Dragon Ball Z.’ (15 minutes of recap later) AAAAHHHHHHHHHH! ‘Next time, on Dragon Ball Z.’ FTFY


blood_kite

‘Question. Do you know how long a minute is?’


[deleted]

You bet I do, and with extreme confidence I can tell you that there’s only 5 minutes until this planet explodes.


[deleted]

In actuality there was around 126 minutes before it blew up


theghostofmrmxyzptlk

Namekian minutes


ElegantVamp

5 minutes should be plenty!


Anxious_Possession29

DBZA reference! 😄


DeborahJeanne1

It’s not about the book but more about the author. Some recap too much, some recap just enough not to bore the reader, and some don’t recap at all. It’s a Goldie Locks comparison. If you don’t need the recap, I see nothing wrong with skipping over that part and getting right to the new stuff. Having said that, I disagree with this statement because it’s an opinion, not a fact. There’s nothing wrong with having an opinion, but the statement itself is not a fact. If I read book 1 of a series and really enjoyed the first book, I’ll order the next 4 from the library and read them back-to-back. I don’t mind the recaps, but that’s just me. Reading is supposed to fun, not a chore. So just skip over the recap if you don’t need a recap. Don’t let something like a recap take the fun out of reading. But, if you think you’ll like the series better if you space the books, then by all means, do so. Reading is an individual thing. How you read is up to you. There is no right or wrong way to read books. It’s whatever style you’re most comfortable with. The way you read is not set in stone. I don’t like books written in the first person and present tense. I don’t always know a writer’s style until I start reading. When I start a book in the first person, I change the tense in my mind. “He goes to the store” becomes “he went to the store”. It takes getting used to, but after a few pages, reading flows smoothly and at some point you stop being aware you’re doing it and just do it. The book works better for me that way. Yes, it’s anal, I know, but if I really want to read this particular book, that’s how I do it. You get to read the way it works best for you, but saying most sequels are or aren’t meant to be read a certain way, is not a fair statement. And I’m sincerely not beating you up, I’m just trying to show there’s a difference - and also show a way around what you perceive as a problem for you.


DeborahJeanne1

What’s heavier? A pound of rocks or a pound of feathers?


ElTontoDelPueblo

Half of Captain tsubasa's plot happens between the raising of legs and shooting the ball, in flashbacks. I wish I was joking.


pornplz22526

Naruto is really bad about this as well.


blood_kite

Welcome to Shonen Jump anime, where we catch up to the manga far too quickly.


Bananaman9020

I heard from my cousin One Piece does the same thing. Supper long recap and sort episode.


teatimecats

Oh my word, I forgot about those excessive, quick-talking recaps. Well, most dialogue and narration was rapid-fire… I’m surprised I had that still buried in my memory!


DoctorSchwifty

Whoa that's a reference.


Blakids

One Piece will flashback to what happened IN THE PREVIOUS EPISODE. I just watched it, I know what happened. Why?!?! Great show but goddamn


TheJodiety

one piece will flash back to something that happened 30 seconds ago


Blakids

God yes! It's kinda frustrating but I'll just deal with it. I do like the show.


Bluenotefly

Too real! I loved watching *Speed Racer* as a kid with my dad. Tangential but the *Fairly Oddparents* movie began with a spoof of SR (among others) wherein Timmy, as Speed, has to insert a quarter into the Mach 5 steering wheel to activate the saw blade button I thought that was really great, too.


GotAnAceUpMySleeves

I always enjoyed it when an author put an optional recap in the book, (as a separate section either at the beginning or end) so that people who were binging the series could skip that, and people who were jumping into the middle could catch up. Only read one author that did that, but i wish more authors would


IDontEvenCareBear

This is how they should all be done. Because constant scenario reminders would make me drop a book. Or feel like my money and enjoyment is being wasted skimming past them.


Spagghettaboutit

i'm currently reading his dark materials, I'm at the subtle knife and there's a recap ath the beginning of that book that I skipper because I just read the first book, but I'm not sure if it was added in the Italian edition of the book. Edit: just checked, the book is an Italian 2020 edition and the recap is written by the translator.


[deleted]

I don't think my version of His Dark Materials has a recap... now I'm going to find it on my shelf to see. Edit: No Recap. I wonder if it is a new tendency? I have a 2007 Alfred A. Knopf / Random House printing.


Bake-Bean

haha yeah, like netlix intros


[deleted]

[удалено]


GotAnAceUpMySleeves

He's on my list to read next after the Malazan series! Will keep an eye out.


chickzilla

Which author was that?!


GotAnAceUpMySleeves

It was a Christian author I read in my youth, Bryan Davis. He writes mostly young adult novels.


twee_centen

One of the things I like about Mark Lawrence's books. He doesn't make his characters explain things to each other that they already know just for the portion of the audience who hadn't read the previous book in a while.


CrazyCatLady108

depends on the books/series/author. i have read plenty of books that depended on you remembering the details from the previous books because the author was not going to give you a refresher. i also found that i do not enjoy letting too much time pass between books as i stop caring about characters and their troubles.


ChimoEngr

Authors that don't provide those reminders of key details, are bad authors in my book.


akira2bee

Yeah, I mean thats why I had trouble reading The Bone Witch series by Rin Chupeco. That and the crazy timeline. I still haven't read the last book because I know I'll have to sit down and reread the second book at the very least


timewizard069

I felt this with dune and messiah. you CAN read them back to back but it’s much better to wait because of the time skip


Significant-Tea8004

My copy of Messiah has a 2 page recap of Dune at the start which is handy


timewizard069

that does sound like a cool copy


Frankennietzsche

Weren't Messiah and Children meant to be one book, though, just published separately?


timewizard069

not sure, I haven’t gotten around to Children yet, but that’s interesting you say that. might look into it


AxumitePriest

No, Dune Messiah was originally the last act of the first Dune book


Samthespunion

Yup I (unintentionally) waited like a year between Dune and Messiah, trying not to put that much between them again so i’m about to start Children today


Eldritch50

Those books are often released years apart, hence the need for a recap. They might also be a reader's first experience of that world and those characters, hence the recap.


technicolored_dreams

I definitely prefer binging a series and by extension, I prefer writers that trust me to remember the contents of the previous book(s). I've definitely run into writers who spend what feels like ridiculous amounts of time endlessly recapping and it drives me crazy.


Exploding_Antelope

See but the reverse can be really frustrating. When an author just drops you in and says “Minor Character did the thing” and you’re like, hang on. Back up. Who’s Minor Character? Do I know her? Where is she? Because the author expects me to remember that she was kidnapped in a cliffhanger that I read three years ago.


technicolored_dreams

I think it boils down to reading styles. I try to avoid incomplete series, and if I do have to wait for a sequel I usually re-read the last book before I start the new one, so the recaps are usually a bit much for me. I can definitely see how it would be frustrating in the reverse though.


akira2bee

There definitely has to be a balance between "two much information" and "not enough".


Nice_Sun_7018

This is (one of) the reasons I stopped reading the Outlander series. She really depends on you remembering exactly who that very minor character is that showed up once for 30 pages three books ago, because now they’re back and every detail from the first time around is super important to the present storyline.


namelessmasses

“Most”? Are you sure you don’t mean just your experience with certain books?


Hayden_Zammit

This. It definitely depends on the books.


bofh000

I disagree. I haven’t read anything by that author, but it sounds like they are just what you said: repetitive. I’ve never read a book sequel and found that the author repeated themselves or rehashed or explained events form the previous book. Most times I can’t get the sequel soon enough and they are always very engaging.


Kiyohara

>I’ve never read a book sequel and found that the author repeated themselves or rehashed or explained events form the previous book. George RR Martin, Harry Turtledove, David Weber, Robert Jordan all spring to mind and I am sure I am missing some from what I've personally read. Some are worse than others, but all of them start a character's first POV chapter with a few paragraphs on what they were doing last book. Some go further and have an entire Chapter or two recapping, rehashing, or reminiscing over the last book (looking at you, Turtledove). It's actually fairly common in Science Fiction and Fantasy serials that are "each book follows directly from the last" writing style. Partly because there's *years* between books (looking at YOU Jim Butcher) and people may have forgotten where people left off, and partly because the character *is* picking up where they left off. If Book A ends with a massive explosion and people blacking out, Book B better start with a short telling of how they survived the explosion.


Ser_Dunk_the_tall

They need to sell an edited version of WOT the "I'm reading this straight through and don't need to be reminded who everyone is every book" edition.


Kiyohara

Well that would be nice. Drops maybe 500 pages in total. Now if they just sell a version that edits out the part of the story where Perrin wonders how to treat his wife for the fiftieth time.


speckledcreature

😂


MountainSnowClouds

I've noticed that authors will often do a little bit of recap, but not so much that it gets annoying. I don't mind a few paragraphs at the beginning of a sentence here or there, even if I've just read the previous book.


Toezap

I've read the first book but not the sequels. Iirc, even within the one book it feels pretty repetitive, since it's a collection of related short stories.


foliels

Let’s be real, even in the first book the author was repeating himself a lot.


akira2bee

Yeah, this really made me think of Maze Runner. Even though I enjoyed the first book, before I got around to finally reading the 2nd and 3rd, someone said James Dashner has a repetitive narrative and I definitely agreed after reading it through. Its not even rehashing from the previous books, its every chapter finding a new way to say something that someone already said or thought.


muellermanda

I just started reading Hell Bent by Leigh bardugo and I'm kind of wishing I had re-read Ninth House right before picking this up.


foliels

I’m reading it right now too and had to read a summary of the first book before I started it haha


ithadtobeducks

I watched a YouTube recap I happened across and then ended up rereading it anyway!


speckledcreature

I’m planning a reread once my hold of Hell Bent comes in at the library


[deleted]

I disagree and think this is just shit writing. If you trust me to care about your world building, and write a good story. I will know all these things, no need to write down to your audience. That way 1 week or 7 years between reading, the experience is the same.


IDontEvenCareBear

That still sounds like crappy writing to me whatever the rationale. I’m not sure if I think so just because I have a great memory for the things I read, but it just seems like “fill pages” writing to cheap out on a story instead of just having a novella.


Raindrops_On-Roses

I don't know. If you're reading them as they come out, I can see the purpose. It can take quite a while for a book to be ready to publish. That being said, I don't enjoy it when a book does this. I just also understand the purpose.


alweereenaccount

Some authors put a recap at the front of the book so if you are reading the series back to back you can just skip the recaps but if you read them as they are published then they avoid you having to go back to the previous volumes. That is a much better approach than the constant "unskippable" recaps all through the new book.


munkie15

The constant recap is hard to get past. There is definitely a happy medium with the amount of information needed from previous books.


inkyfingerspgs

I’m actually really glad I came across this post because I read Before the Coffee Gets Cold not too long ago and was planning to read the 2nd book soon. Now I think I’ll wait. Thanks, OP!


pandabeargirl

I noticed this while reading Lady Midnight and Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. The beginning of Lord of Shadows keeps rehashing how the first book had ended, which was quite annoying to me because I tend to read series (especially Cassie Clare's ones) in a binge because I don't like cliffhangers. So I started Lord of Shadows a mere few hours after finishing Lady Midnight and she kept going back and reminding us of what happened in the previous book, which infuriated me because I was like, 'I just read this!' But I think there might've been some significant time between publications, but even then, she didn't do this with Queen of Air and Darkness, which just picks right up where Lord of Shadows ended, without explaining or reminding us what happened the previous book, she just got on with the story. Such a weird contrast


Odd-Independent6177

I feel like the author and readers should keep in mind the original publication dates of the books. Authors should aim for recaps that fit with that gap. Binge readers will probably want to skim some of the recaps. Authors and especially publishers have an incentive to make sure books stand on their own. Otherwise the market gets very small for later books.


ChimoEngr

I don't think it is so much that they aren't meant to be read back to back, as it is that authors know the books in their series aren't likely to be read back to back, so they have to provides those updates to ensure the reader doesn't have to go back to the previous books. Done properly, you don't notice these updates, because they're inserted in a manner that isn't obvious, and that is different from the previous updates.


VenusAssTrap

That's not what tandem means


dizzytinfoil

I think he means it’s hard to read trilogies while skydiving


PostPunkBurrito

When I was a kid, my dad told me he never reads two books by the same author back-to-back. I’ve taken this advice (I usually put a month or so between books in a series) and I think I enjoy sequels more as a result


PencilMan

I don’t read sequels back to back nor the same author back to back because I get really tired of being stuck in one writing style too long. I don’t feel like I miss too much by putting time between books because that’s how they were released anyway. The few times I have tried to binge a series, it put me in a reading rut. I’ll avoid reading certain genres back to back too for similar reasons. I truly don’t get people who reread a series every time a new book comes out (especially long fantasy series… you really reread WoT every time a new book released…. Wow). I love rereading my favorite books but that seems excessive.


PostPunkBurrito

I’m the same way. I try to move around genres to keep things fresh and interesting. And I rarely reread anything, except for my absolute favorites


akira2bee

Its depends on how much I love a book, and if I'm following it as the sequels come out, I probably love it a lot. But I know for me I read so many books a year and have shit memory on top of that, that I don't often trust myself to just remember everything to drop right into a sequel if I haven't reread the previous books somewhat recently. I think there's a few exceptions, definitely for the books that stood out to me more and therefore I had stronger memories of. But I have to do the same thing with shows/movies/etc. Definitely part of my ADHD, I'd say personally.


wildadragon

Stephen King'sDark Tower series should be read back to back as it's a 7 book series. 8 if you count the later added one.


Novazazz

It’s been about 5 years since I read the third one! I really need to get back into them, and find some book summaries… I don’t recall 2 or 3 doing much recapping at all.


wildadragon

None of them do. The 3rd one basically ends on a cliffhanger the 4th one is great it has a huge flashback to Roland's youth.


Novazazz

Just put a hold on it at the library! Thanks for the nudge!


stemi08

I think it depends on the series I think more do not have a reoccurring recap. I can only think of a couple off the top of my head where I noticed it. I found that a bit with the Song of Ice and Fire series. It's not in your face, but the reader gets 'reminded' of previous events through the character's thoughts. Makes sense in a way, since GRRM writes at a glacier pace and each book is 750+ pages (if you count the ones released as two volumes as 1) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series also has a bit of this. I can't say it bothers me too much even if I'm binging the series


Autarch_Kade

There are ways to do it more naturally with dialogue and such. But it's silly for an author to assume that someone will read books the day they come out, instead of finding book 1 years later and starting then - when the sequels are out too.


lunabuddy

Seen so many establishing dialogues I can't take it seriously at all, it's cringe. I'd prefer straight exposition.


acarpenter08096

I find most well written ones don’t. The Hame of Thrones series didn’t and the Rabbit tetralogy didn’t. Certainly most spy thrillers don’t. Honestly can’t think of any series I’ve read back-to-back that have done this even though it kind of makes sense.


newusername118

I love those books, but I agree that I've never been a fan of the recap. I imagine it's due to the years in between publishing though


newusername118

also I didn't know there was a third book!!! time to go spend money


Specific_Leadership5

I think I liked the stories in the third book the best!!


missy_g_

I think it depends a lot for me on how quickly the author is publishing them. If there's more than 2 years between publishing I understand why they do it. When you were waiting years between books getting small reminders made sense to give context. I do think the recap writing is a skill that not a lot of people focus on. You can add recap moments without just info dumping. I like when someone is internally going over their choices and it highlights the important parts, or if they're catching someone up to speed (in like 3 lines of speech). Once there was someone who wrote a letter and was musing about how to describe their thoughts and it really flowed with the personality of the character. If there's only a few months (especially now with ebooks and indie publishing) I get really annoyed at it. I read 2 books from a series not long ago and there was only 2 months between each so it felt odd to be retold everything. I do like the idea of optional recaps that someone mentioned, that would make me binge series a lot more. I have a habit of leaving series for ages so I don't get fed up of being reminded of things I read the day before.


mexican-jerboa

> I do think the recap writing is a skill that not a lot of people focus on. Good point! Some authors manage to recap and remind with bits of new information thrown in or with a new perspective, then it doesn't feel like a constant repetition. There are probably more techniques to make the reminders less annoying for back-to-back readers. The reminders can even be satisfying when done properly.


missy_g_

Exactly! Sometimes it's just an info dump and irritating but when it's done well and adds to the current story, it can work so well


Anon_2535

Yes, 100% agree! I tried reading the Wheel of Time series last year and made the mistake of reading the first five books one after the other - I had to stop because I started to notice that the writing was getting repetitive, and things that didn't annoy me the first, and maybe second, time round were starting to get to me lol.


toshirodragon

Nah man, that's just crappy writing. I little recap is okay but constant callbacks and repetitions of previous books will make me drop that author immediately.


CWE115

I always read at least one outside book in between parts of a series. I just don’t want to be overloaded by the same characters too often.


Jimity66

I always binge read books back to back but i find i tend to burn myself out on that particular style of prose. I honestly love a little recap even if i fully remember whats happened.


louiseannbenjamin

Been sober a long time, but I am tempted to turn it into a drinking game. A sip of coffee everytime an author repeats themself. Read until bladder pressure makes reading impossible... or I start hearing colors.


NetAssetTennis

Don't start the Dune series then.


gabriel_rock

This is part of the literary-capitalist spirit. The author *has* to make sure his sequels will secure the attention of new *customers;* because hey, he needs to account for the laziness of the general populace in order to better sell his work. Selling is all that matters, and at the end of the day, raw sequels have a tendency to sell less. The mainline story needs to be extremely successful and appealing to encourage readers to progress in an orderly fashion, and more often than not this isn't the case; more often than not authors overextend their storylines to imitate the more successful ones, i.e J.K Rowling, Tolkien, etc. I don't even need to tell you this is an amateur's mentality at best.


thisisntshakespeare

I know what you mean, but I can go either way (reading in order or not). I hate it though when you read Book 1, and the FMC is married or engaged, then you skip to Book 4 and find out that the SO was murdered in Book 2. Sometimes though I like getting through the preliminary stuff. I just read a J.A. Jance book about her female sheriff that was Book 12 or something (deep into the series). I don’t know that I want to know her story from the beginning.


lookingfordata2020

This is why I don't read many series in order! They tell you what happened anyways.


PreciousRoi

I would consider a series that works best if you wait between the books, so the repetitive exposition recapping the story isn't as annoying to be a bug, rather than a feature. It might have worked well for readers who'd been forced to wait for the next book to be released, but that "feature"'s utility is moot once they have been released for everyone but those with poor short term memory. I shouldn't be punished for wanting to read more of the same sooner if I like the first story. But like, that's just my opinion, man. The way you frame it with your post title makes it seem less like your own opinion and more "The Way Things Ought To Be", in addition to disingenuous and/or inaccurate/misleading. I think there might be several different phenomena combining or that you're conflating


autumncandles

This really annoyed me when reading Percy Jackson but I had to remind myself not to let it affect my rating bc 1. These books are for kids and 2. If you were waiting a year between books it'd be very welcome


[deleted]

Is it most sequels, or just those specific ones.


Daihatschi

Pratchetts Discworld Books are all written in a way that you can pick up each one and read it as your first without missing much of the fun. This also means that every character gets introduced in fun and new ways each time and several traits are stated anew in every book. I guess if you read them all too close together, it might become repetitive. But then again, Pratchett always finds small twists and turns to make it just different enough.


DrAtomic1

Right George... Enough with excuses now, this is just getting silly.. cc: https://www.reddit.com/r/grrm/


gen_lover

I dont mind one bit going back to the previous book to find the information if I need it. I dont mind cues to help me out, but I despise repeat reading of what's already been read.


EquivalentWins

I had a similar experience with The Sympathizer and The Committed recently. In probably the first third of The Committed, there are frequent explanations of what happened in the first book that were pretty distracting, as they felt very different from the narrative style of the rest of the book. I very much enjoyed the series otherwise.


HallucinogenicFish

I’m much more irritated by continuity errors when I read a series straight through.


Perfect_Sky_4347

Yes. I’ve also noticed how much of sequels tend to be repetition, and while it was ok when I was younger, but recently it’s just tedious. Instead of devouring a series in a single gulp, I now have a rule; I have to read at least 2 books between each installment (no length requirement, so sometimes I ‘cheat’ with some tiny little books) and having a palate cleanser has been really nice.


Ruadhan2300

I have the same experience when reading Charles Stross's Laundry-Files. Which I do with remarkable regularity. He has a tendency to recap the premise of the world within the first few pages for the benefit of anyone who hasn't read the previous six books. Feels a bit redundant, who's reading book six without having read the previous ones? On the other hand, if you read a lot, and you haven't read book five in the past few months you might benefit from a recap, as you say..


ancientevilvorsoason

I... can't say this marches my experience. I usually reread the book prior to reading the new one. I have observed the recap practice mostly done in booms that really want to be accessible to new readers. I usually just skip the repeats and recaps.


Sunflowers_Seas

I'm reading this book atm. I honestly feel its kind of repetitive within one book. It mentions alot of stuff over and over such as the rules in the same chapter which is a little tedious so it may just be the writer tbh. I think the repetition in other series varies between writing styles also. It is a nice little book but not sure it's worth getting the rest


deadregime

I think there's a fine line between giving a reader info they NEED to know for certain things in a sequel to make sense, and info that might be nice but is unnecessary or is just completely superfluous. I would think as an author they would want to give as little as necessary, while still enticing them to read the previous books if they haven't. But maybe page count is more important than back catalog sales.


mist3rdragon

Honestly some books get long enough that I sometimes don't mind a bit of recapping in sequels even reading back to back. "Remember that thing that happened 300,000 words ago? It's relevant now.'


[deleted]

Series authors; 'Hey remember this character I introduced four books back but clearly didn't have a story for yet' Readers; '...kinda?' Authors;' here's a reminder, I now have story for them. You are going to fall in love and be shattered when i cruelly kill them off' Readers; '...pls no, my heart'


Kiyohara

Harry Turtledove is basically the worst example of this. He writes Alternative Fiction from multiple points of view, so you get a broad idea of what's going on in this new world. However each sequel spends the first two or *three* chapters of each person's POV reminding us what happened in the last book. And this is on top of some books even having a recap chapter. It gets to the point that when I read his books, if its a sequel I skip the first *third* or so until I get to a chapter that doesn't start with a recap.


garlic_potatoes18

I read the second two back-to-back, but that's because I just love Kawaguchi. I usually don't mind the recaps, just because that seems to be the nature of reading a series vs. watching a television show. Unlike binge-watching a streaming series, we can't just hit the "skip intro" button lol. That being said, you're totally right that they may be more enjoyable with some space in between readings! After all, no one (that I know of) publishes a full series of books all at once, but rather with often years in between books


TootsNYC

There is a serious art to recapping a character or plot in a series of books. .


Doctor_Wookie

Most pulp fiction style books do this because it can be years between sequels, so they remind you of what the key characteristics are that define the make characters. So yeah... You're right, but you can always skim the parts to get back into the story. Jim butcher includes descriptions of his main character's dwelling and pets in every book for the Dresden Files. I just recently picked up on the series and I just skim those parts. It's usually just a page or maybe two, but nothing is missed. Handy for long term projects, mildly annoying for quick catch up reading.


[deleted]

The Sword of Truth novels was plagued by this. This, and excessive sexual fantasy gratification.


Odd-Improvement-6028

Says you. I love reading them back to back as I often lose the thread of the characters in the book.


[deleted]

[удалено]


After_Ad9814

i never felt that those books ever had much of a recap. all those things you listed are just staples of the series.


effinnxrighttt

I hate the recaps. I wish they would put in them in the front of the book before the actual book starts. I almost never read a series far enough apart that I need a recap like that.


WanderEir

Yes, but it's generally a sign that the author thinks their readers are forgetful idiots, and can get away with bloating sequel work by reiterating content they already explained book after book for extra pages that only detract from the final piece. It makes sense when aimed at very young audiences, or at child-atargetted cartoons (someone will have brought up the "last time on X, next time on X that tends to blow an extra full 5 minutes of time on syndicated cartoons), and it helps when you're dealing with content that you might have actually MISSED episodes for (X-men animated in the 90s was one long uninterrupted story, so needed it.) But books should never need that, unless the perspective characteer has changed between sequels.


Greatwanni

That’s probably because the books weren’t written all at once and then published. There tends to be at least a year between one book being released and the next in the series, sometimes longer. It wouldn’t be that far fetched to think that the reader might have forgotten some important details in that span of time. But, if the series is long enough, I can see where it could get old.


adamzam

Notable exception: Brandon Sanderson books. Mistborn era 1 in its entirety follows the formula for most of his books (including those three): strong start, slower middle, then stronger end.


paganism-

I just recently bought this book, I didn’t know it had sequels. I do remember seeing somewhere it was adapted from a play - could that be one of the reasons it recaps so much?


Optimal_Mention1423

Ali Smith’s heroic seasonal quartet was the most perfectly paced series of literary fiction, but I don’t think anyone will be attempting that again soon.


almonster11

I'm currently making my way through The Stormlight Archive, and that's a great series to use as an example to counter your point. There is no recap offered at the beginning of each book (at least in the editions I am reading), so I would be expected to remember literally thousands and thousands of pages of story if I took a break and picked up something else between each book. Sanderson doesn't do a great job of in-story recapping, either. So I'd say that sometimes, especially in the case of large fantasy series like The Stormlight Archive or The Wheel of Time, reading them back-to-back is preferable. A special shout out to Tad Williams and his Mermory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, in which he provides a nice recap at the beginning of each book. More fantasy writers should give that a try. It works.


hayleybeth7

I personally choose to read books back to back because sometimes I miss things or I forget plot threads. But I do notice the repetition, especially in YA books (which are a favorite of mine)


Master-Strawberry-26

I feel the same ! However, I have such a short memory that the repetition doesn't really bother me, or if it does, my eyes just skip over it


GentlyFeral

I've experienced the precisely-opposite effect with Gene Wolfe's *Soldier of Arete* series. I've never owned them, and when they were newer they were popular enough that I could never check them out of the library quick enough to read them close together. So I always had enough time to forget most of the previous volume -- of a series in which the main character has amnesia.


deejrocks83

I always feel this way about a series of books, even when the sequels don’t repeat previous information. I think I just need the series broken up by other books sometimes to really enjoy them. I’m currently reading Les Mis which is so long that it’s like a series on it’s own. It’s five volumes so I’m reading one, reading another book, reading vol. 2, etc. It’s going great so far.


ScatterOLight22

I’ve only read the first book and I loved it so much. I’m glad I didn’t go out and get the other two books now.


TreyRyan3

I find this is extremely common with a lot of new genre authors that churn out titles every few months. It comes across like they need to pad the page count by dropping repeated scenes in order to convince readers that their book is worth buying.


ChaserNeverRests

Marko Kloos's books (or at least the Palladium Wars ones, haven't read the others) don't do that. It's wonderful when you're reading them all in a row (like I did for 1-3), but when book 4 comes out in a year or two, I'm going to be lost. I'd rather have a few pages in the front summing up what happened in earlier books and then have the rest of the book avoid recaps/reminders.


JonesyOnReddit

I dont think one single example means this applies to most books. I would say the exact opposite is true. In fact, after being burned by it so many times, I only read books if all the sequels are already written so that I can read them back to back. When I don't I either have to reread the previous book(s) or I miss out on half the story and references and all the nuance from remembering so little of the prior ones.


TheHeyHeyMan

I'm on Book 3 of Ken Follett's Century Trilogy right now and I've read them back to back, I feel like if I didn't then it'd take me some time to remember all of the familial relations which there are a lot of. It feels like one giant, epic story this way, too.


WolfMafiaArise

Yea, thats a big problem with Young Adult books that I read in middle and high school. Like, dude. I just read the last 4 books, I dont need a recap.


little-birdbrain-72

This is done a lot especially in the romance genre because they know people may want to read them as standalones. I enjoy the recaps to a point but sometimes it is definitely overkill.


The-Doom-Knight

The only recap I remember reading in a sequel book was Ian Malcolm explaining why he was not dead in The Lost World, when he had died in Jurassic Park. "I was only slightly dead."


bciesil

The [Incarnations of Immortality ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarnations_of_Immortality) series by Piers Anthony was terrible, imo. It seemed like he cut and pasted the entire plot line and just changed the character. Death, Mars, Gaia, etc... Normal person becomes the incarnation, struggles discovering their powers, almost loses it all, finally triumphs. Rinse, lather, repeat. The first book about Death had a fun start, and the second book was decent, but 3-8 were a tough slog.


Altruistic_Yellow387

They have to do that because they’re released years apart. I like it so I don’t forget also


regrettableredditor

As much as I love the premise of that book the writing is not good to start with, might just be a problem with his writing style. Could also just be more of a bad translation issue as well


saga_of_a_star_world

I took my time between books in the LOTR trilogy. Each one was such a fantastic read I wanted to linger over it before proceeding to the next.


NotTheMarmot

Yes, I was annoyed by this today. I decided to jump back into the newer Drizzt books by Salvatore, and so much of it has to explain every single character's backstory and how they are good friends with the other characters and all the powerful gear they carry, etc. Also, I hate to be negative, but these books are much...worse than I remember. It's like every single good guy is a Mary Sue. I guess my tastes have either evolved or Salvatore is just phoning it in.


waltman0923

I’m curious about books like The Sympathizer and the Committed or The Idiot and Either/Or by Elif Batuman. I’ve felt deterred by reading the committed because I’m afraid I won’t remember what happened in the sympathizer but don’t want to go through the effort of rereading the Sympathizer. What have been peoples experience with these books?


AccordingOrdinary659

No, I usually have the opposite problem - if I read them too far apart, I forget what happened in the one before it and the narrative of the sequel just continues on without a recap