Sunday, August 21, 2016

Keep Up with Book Series (Part 6)

So, after working through the R's in my alphabetical index of authors whose books I have reviewed, I find that I have a bookmark somewhere in almost 250 different series of books. Will I make it to the end of the alphabet before I break the internet?

| S |

Rafael Sabatini
  • Captain Blood series: I haven't read the two sequels, Captain Blood Returns and The Fortunes of Captain Blood. I may also try to catch Scaramouche (which also has a sequel) and The Sea Hawk, among other books by this prolific author.

E. Rose Sabin
  • Arucadi series: I've only read the first two of these four books. Books 3 and 4 are When the Beast Ravens and Bryte's Ascent. There is also a two-book spinoff series comprising Mistress of the Wind and A Mix of Magics.

Angie Sage
  • Septimus Heap series: I have read five of these seven books, which leaves Darke and Fyre, plus the novella The Darke Toad. There is also a spinoff trilogy called "Todhunter Moon."

Brandon Sanderson
  • Elantris series: I have yet to read Book 2, The Emperor's Soul. I'm also hoping there will be sequels to The Rithmatist, and I am interested in trying a lot of this author's other series.

Kevin Sands
  • Blackthorn Key series: I have yet to read Book 2, The Mark of the Plague.

Michael Scott
  • "Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" series: I have only read the first book, The Alchemyst. There are at least five more, starting with The Magicia.

George Selden
  • Sequels to The Cricket in Times Square: Yes, I know there are several more of them. I'm not on fire to complete the set, but I believe my next installment would be Chester Cricket's Pigeon Ride.

Darren Shan
  • Saga of Darren Shan: I still have 5 of the 12 books to catch up. Next in canon order is Allies of the Night.

Delia Sherman
  • Changeling series: I have yet to read Book 2, The Magic Mirror of the Mermaid Queen. I am also interested in some of her other work, such as The Great Detective and The Evil Wizard Smallbone.

Mike Shevdon
  • Courts of the Feyre series: I have yet to read Books 3 and 4, Strangeness and Charm and The Eighth Court.

Polly Shulman
  • Grimm Legacy series: I have yet to read Book 3, The Poe Estate.

Neal Shüsterman
  • Antsy Bonano series: I have yet to read Book 3, Ship Out of Luck. There are a lot of other titles by this author that I would like to try.

Alan Silberberg
  • Milo series: I have yet to read Book 2, Milo and the Restart Button.

Matthew Skelton
  • No particular series: I'm just interested in his other book to-date, The Story of Cirrus Flux.

Obert Skye
  • Leven Thumps series: I have read only the first two of these five books. I already own a copy of Book 3, Leven Thumps and the Eyes of the Want.
  • Pillage trilogy: Next up for me is Book 3, Ambush.

Alexander McCall Smith
  • No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series: I'm 13 books into this 17-ish-book series. Next up are a novella The Cleverness of Ladies and Book 14, The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon.
  • Isabel Dalhousie series: There are currently 10 books in this series, plus a couple of novellas; I have read the first four. Next up or me is The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday.
  • 44 Scotland Street series: I have read only the first of this (currently) 11-book series. Book 2 is Espresso Tales.

Clete Barrett Smith
  • Intergalactic Bed and Breakfast series: I have yet to read Book 3, Aliens in Disguise. His stand-alone book Magic Delivery might also be fun to try.

Roland Smith
  • Cryptids series: I have yet to read Books 3 and 4, Chupacabra and Mutation.

Sherwood Smith
  • Inda quartet: I read the first two books, and I own Book 3, The King's Shield. I'm not sure, but I might also have a copy of Book 4, Treason's Shore.

Lemony Snicket
  • No particular series: I notice he (or rather, Daniel Handler) has written a number of interesting titles since ending A Series of Unfortunate Events. I might look in on them.

Alan Snow
  • Ratbridge series: I have read only one book (Here Be Monsters!) of the trilogy that inspired the animated movie The Boxtrolls. Books 2 and 3 are Worse Things Happen at Sea! and Thar She Blows!.

Zilpha Keatley Snyder
  • Game series. I have a copy of The Gypsy Game, which is the sequel to The Egypt Game, as well as one or two other books by this prolific author, many of whose titles interest me.

Justin Somper
  • Vampirates series. I have only read the first of this six- or seven-book series. Next up for me is Tide of Terror.

Elizabeth George Speare
  • No particular series. I just happen to have a bookmark in a copy of The Bronze Bow, somewhere in my library.

Jerry Spinelli
  • It seems Stargirl has a sequel, titled Love, Stargirl.

Michael A. Stackpole
  • Age of Discovery trilogy. I decided after reading A Secret Atlas never to read another book by this author, for approximately the same reasons I never read a second book by Terry Goodkind. Just for informational purposes, Books 2 and 3 are Cartomancy and The New World.

John Stephens
  • Books of Beginning trilogy: I have yet to read Books 2 and 3, The Fire Chronicle and The Black Reckoning. I'm glad I stuck with doing this, because I had forgotten all about this series; now that I've refreshed my memory, I want to follow it again.

Robert Louis Stevenson
  • David Balfour series: There's a sequel to Kidnapped; it's called Catriona, and I think I have it on Kindle somewhere. It took me ages to find it; you'd think I would have read it by now!

Caroline Stevermer
  • Cecelia and Kate trilogy (co-authored by Patricia C. Wrede): This is one of those series I've wanted to read for years, but could never find Book 1 (Sorcery and Cecelia). I already have a copy of Book 2, The Grand Tour. Another book by this author I would like to read is Magic Below Stairs.

Mary Stewart
  • Arthurian Saga: I'm up to Book 4, The Wicked Day, and I own a copy of it.

Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell
  • Edge Chronicles: I only read the first three books of what now number at least 12. Next up for me is The Curse of the Gloamglozer.

Trenton Lee Stewart
  • Mysterious Benedict Society trilogy: I have yet to read Book 3, The Prisoner's Dilemma. As with a lot of other popular series, there are also add-ons that might be interesting, such as The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict.

Gillian Summers
  • Faire Folk quartet: I have read the first two books. Books 3 and 4 are The Secret of the Dread Forest and Queen of the Faire.

Shanna Swendson
  • Katie Chandler series: I read the first two of these seven books. Up next for me is Damsel Under Stress. I would also be interested in looking at her Rebel Mechanics series.

| T |

Cecilia Tan
  • Magic University quartet: I read the first book in this erotic fantasy series (I had reasons!), but I'm not very interested in continuing with it. If I did, the next book for me would be The Tower and the Tears.

G.P. Taylor
  • Mariah Mundi trilogy: I have yet to read Books 2 and 3, The Ghost Diamonds and The Ship of Fools.

Mildred Taylor
  • Logan Family Saga: Almost everything this author wrote is part of this series, including her two books that I have read. Of the remaining six books in the series, the next up for me would be Let the Circle Be Unbroken.

Patrick Taylor
  • Irish Country series: I have read five of the first seven books in this 11-plus-book series. I missed Books 5 and 6, An Irish Country Courtship and A Dublin Student Doctor.

Kathleen Tierney
  • Siobhan Quinn trilogy: I doubt I will ever go farther than Book 1 (Blood Oranges), but for what it's worth, Books 2 and 3 are Red Delicious and Cherry Bomb.

Stephanie Tolan
  • Applewhites series: I only now learned there is a sequel to Surviving the Applewhites, titled The Applewhites at Wit's End.

Roderick Townley
  • Sylvie Cycle trilogy: I think I have owned Book 3, The Constellation of Sylvie, for several years but never got around to reading it. I should probably admit that I have a problem dealing with the ends of trilogies.

Anthony Trollope
  • Barsetshire Chronicles: I have Book 1 The Warden on Kindle, and I was reading it at some point. One of those points, no doubt, when I was trying to read 20 things at once.

| The rest of the alphabet |

Anne Ursu
  • Cronus Chronicles trilogy: I have had Book 3, The Immortal Fire, on my self for years. See "my problem dealing with endings of trilogies." While I'm here, I'd like to leave myself a reminder to look at Ursu's other titles, including Spilling Clarence, The Disapparation of James, Breadcrumbs, and The Real Boy.

Vivian Vande Velde
  • User Unfriendly series: When I read Heir Apparent, I was either unaware or unconcerned that it was the middle book of a trilogy, the other two books of which are User Unfriendly and Deadly Pink. This author also has a long list of stand-alone titles that interest me.

Cynthia Voigt
  • Tillerman Family series: Of these six books, I have only read the first three. I also have Book 4 on my shelf: The Runner. I would also like to try some of Voigt's other series, such as the Mister Max trilogy.

John Vornholt
  • Troll King trilogy: This has been another one of my most frustrating trilogy-collecting fiascoes. I've read Book 1 (Troll King), I own Book 3 (Troll Treasure), but for the life of me, I can't find a reasonably-priced copy of Book 2 (Troll Queen). So, I'm stuck for now.

Scott Westerfeld
  • Leviathan trilogy: I have yet to read Book 3, Goliath.

Donald Westlake
  • Dortmunder series: Although my omnibus review of this 14-book series was based on reading about half of its books at random and trying to remember them years later, I would always welcome a chance to read any of the ones I missed. In fact, I would enjoy almost any Westlake title, any time. I'll just drop a link to the list of Westlake's books here and call it an all-purpose gift-registry.

Ysabeau S. Wilce
  • Flora trilogy: I have yet to read Book 3, Flora's Fury.

F. Paul Wilson
  • Repairman Jack series: I read the first six books of this 15-something-book series - it's hard to get a precise count, because it crosses over with Wilson's Adversary Cycle - then, because it was there (at the library) and the intervening books weren't, I skipped to book 15. What a mistake! The series ended on a downer. I might be too depressed about it to read Books 7-14, but if I recover enough, my next book will hopefully be Gateways.

N.D. Wilson
  • Well, I'm actually caught up for the moment with those series by this author that I have been following, though I think more Ashtown Burials books should be expected in the future. I'm interested in Wilson's other books, including his debut novel Leepike Ridge and the new "Legend of Sam Miracle" series, starting with Outlaws of Time.

Jeanette Winterson
  • No particular series - I just think The Battle of the Sun looks good.

P.G. Wodehouse
  • Jeeves and Wooster series, etc.: The issue of which books I need to read to catch up on my Wodehouse is so complex and would require so much difficult research at this point that all I can say is, "There's a lot more of this that I could stand to read." And I've heard good things about his Psmith books, too. Unfortunately, I've lost touch with whatever website it was that I used to find very helpful and informative about navigating the Wodehouse canon. Oh, well!

Gene Wolfe
  • Long Sun series: This is another author who likes to make it tricky to slice and dice his body of work, but I believe the book in my possession, Epiphany of the Long Sun, is exactly the omnibus volume of Calde of the Long Sun and Exodus from the Long Sun that I need to finish this massive tome. And to think I got myself into this simply by falling in love with the opening sentence of Book 1.

Patricia C. Wrede
  • Again, I'm actually caught up on the series by this author that I was following, but I am interested in her Mairelon and Frontier Magic books.

Rick Yancey
  • Alfred Kropp trilogy: Book 3 is The Thirteenth Skull.
  • Monstrumologist series: Books 3 and 4 are The Isle of Blood and The Final Descent.
By the way, I am no more interested in Yancey's "5th Wave" series than in Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" series. Judging by the movie franchises both films produce, they are already doing fine without any endorsement from me. It's not that I take credit for the success of any series I have promoted, but I can't interest myself in everything. I know, it's hilarious for me to say it at this point, but I've got to draw the line somewhere. Also, I started reading the Twilight series because my readers pestered me non-stop about it, and then it became a pop-culture movie phenomenon that imploded so violently on every level that it started me thinking weird thoughts like, "If they're making a big-budget movie out of a Y.A. book, it must be terrible."
Jane Yolen
  • Pit Dragon series: I thought this trilogy was over, but now I learn a fourth book, Dragon's Heart, was added in 2009 - over 20 years after the original trilogy wrapped up.
  • Rock'n'Roll Fairy Tale (co-authored by Adam Stemple): I actually missed Book 1 of this two-book series, Pay the Piper.

Mary Frances Zambreno
  • Jermyn Graves series: I never got around to reading Book 2, Journeyman Wizard.

So what's the total? I didn't count exactly, but I reckon it's in the neighborhood of 310. Definitely more than 300. I am somewhere between the first and last book of more than 300 series of books. I have that many To Be Continueds hanging over my head. God help me!

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