*pointing at the subject*. That's a HUGE pet peeve. OK, who doesn't find it annoying – you like a series, you are reading it and eagerly awaiting for years for the ending, when it gets cruelly chopped off and you NEVER KNOW what happens!!! J knows what I'm taking about (L.J. Smith – book 10 of Nightworld).
I found out that the Enchanted Inc series by Shanna Swendson was going to be 5 books, but the 5th one isn't going to be published. I haven't read these books yet but they were on my wishlist because I read an excerpt (I read the first few pages of the 1st book on Amazon) and thought it looked good. Anyone here read these books? That sucks! I feel all miffed on principle. Here is a post about what's going on at Shanna Swendson's blog. If you like her books you should buy them and up the sales. It may help get book 5 out. I'm going to read the first one to see how I like it.
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Unrelated to the Enchanted Inc series, but related to pet peeves – some of my other pet peeves to do with series:
1) Series that go on toooo long and the reader senses milking (I think about 7 books is near the max for me. I will allow more than this if books are from the viewpoint of different characters, or if the author is brilliant enough to pull it off, but after about 10, that. is. IT)!
2) Series that go on way too long because the author refuses to edit and cut things out. I'm thinking of some epic fantasies that are way too involved and could be pared down. This just feels like the author loves their baby and wants to show their world in great, excruciating detail, but the story should be more important, and sometimes less is more. This should be obvious - seeing the surface of the world and knowing it is so much more is better writing than reading about everything the author could possibly jam in. Tanith Lee is a good example of showing the surface and hinting at more.
3) Series that have some love triangle or two friends who you know are going to get together at the end, but the author keeps the reader hanging for 3-5 books or more. I can take this if the characters are young and growing up and the relationship is going to take time to start, or if there is so much more going on in the series than just that, but not if its just ridiculous and obviously a ploy. If much of the book is about the romance and its just going round and round, I get fed up and want to kill all the characters.
4) Books in the middle of the very long series where nothing happens.. not much advances in the plot and it feels like a waste of money.
I guess much of the above have this in common – I don't like being jerked around or feeling like.. someone is just doing this to keep a cash cow going at my expense.
specficromantic 