SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion

Very late in the game, I recently started JD Robb’s ‘In Death’ series and subscribed to her newsletter. In the latest, her publicist notes,

When we were at The Greenbrier last summer, Bonded in Death -- In death #60 -- was only months from release. Nora sat down with me to film answers to many questions about the In Death series. (I’ll be honest here and say that I kind of demanded that she do this.) My questions were all over the place: from how Eve Dallas showed up in her head to how Nora would like off-planet travel. She was kind enough to give me over an hour to run through my three pages of questions.

The result is a video series we call In Death In Depth. We just released the 7th episode and I plan on at least 10 more in the series.

You can watch to the episodes here: https://jdrobb.com/in-depth/

Wow, I didn't know she did this.

I'll have to check it out soon, a bit late this evening to do it.

Love it!!

I listened/watched those available today and they’re awesome. Short, but informative and so interesting hearing her tell you herself. Number 8 to be posted either this or next Friday 😁

Just watched them. So, so glad she didn't stop at the trilogy.

Same 😊

Head's up for those, like me, still reading through ID for the first time: Episode 10 has a bit of a spoiler in the opening question, but it's teensy in the overall scheme of things.

🤣 Robb quote, "... This is why I write the books and the readers do not ..."

I stopped reading In Death at 6 for years and then one of my groups started a series read. I had mix bag of ratings up to then but the last I read #6 was really great though the one before it I had given a 2. I had left on a high note and thought that I would return someday so when they got to 7, I read along, gave that a 4 so really good but then I didn't read again until 11 was being read so I played catch up then I more or less read 1 per month... OK, sometimes I read 2 or 3 and then waited. We caught up year before last. Now we read twice a year on release. I absolutely love the characters today. I'm doing a reread and most of the books that I was critical of then, I'm usually not as critical on reread as I just like time with my characters.

Think, a 60 book series once a month read takes 5 years. Ours took about 4 1/2 years and we did have people that lasted through, more or less, with falling behind and catching up and getting ahead.

Wow. Nice to have a group to read through it, too and to find you enjoy it when initially weren't sure is fun, too.

I've been making really good progress due to bingo. I'm on #14 now. Hopefully I won't stop, but I'm not sure if I'll continue my back-to-back (or close to) read through without the BSB push. Guess we'll see :)

After the 8th book I didn't have to be pushed to it, just had to be in the mood. Still is like that on reread. I usually go to it when I'm in a slump or just in the mood for the characters. I'll usually read 2 or 3 in a row. My reread seems to be taking as long as my original. :-)

Other than some of the series re-reads we host here, I don’t typically do a lot of re-reading. I would imagine that eventually I’d enjoy re-reading this series once I’ve gotten far from the beginning.

Whenever I get in a funk or just really pulled back to a world, I reread, sometimes it is only 15% of my reading for the year and once it was over 40%! Usually it hovers in the low 20s range.

Nice :)

Steph wrote: "...
🤣 Robb quote, "... This is why I write the books and the readers do not ..." ."

That was good.

I'm in a reread of Murderbot... again... it is the Apple TV show that pushed me back to read it, again.

What do you think of the Murderbot TV show? I have mixed feelings. The episodes are far too short, imo. I’ll be interested to see how they portray ART. I think Skarsgard is doing a good job though.

I liked the first In Death, but didn’t love it. I didn’t see what the big deal was about. I actually found Eve annoying. By the end of the second book, I was done. Ridiculous fan for life. I preorder them all, read them as soon as they come out, and I’ve done rereads of the entire series at least 3 times, maybe 5? Yes, all of them.

We’ll be waiting for Murderbot to end before starting it.

It took me a couple of books to get into In Death as well. Eve is definitely an acquired taste. But once I got several books in I became attached to the characters. They and their lives are more interesting to me, in most cases, than the actually cases they’re working.

Steph wrote: "Eve is definitely an acquired taste. But once I got several books in I became attached to the characters. They and their lives are more interesting to me, in most cases, than the actually cases they’re working...."

Yep, I agree. The characters are what suck you in.

Slooch! *giggles*

Love all of the secondary characters so much!

I actually miss them, as it seems to have gotten so big that you don’t get to see most of them in the most recent books.

Just finished #17 and loved it 😊

I’m keeping up with Robb’s lil video clips and enjoying them. Some spoilery bits in later recordings, but they’re so small and things you’d imagine happening down to the road so they haven’t been bad. The last one is Friday, I think.

I listened to episode #15 today. I think it’s the final one for now. I really enjoyed them. Wish they’d have been longer. Snickered each time she stressed she writes the books, not the readers. I can’t imagine how much reader feedback she receives on a series that’s be going for so long.

Amy wrote: "What do you think of the Murderbot TV show? I have mixed feelings. The episodes are far too short, imo. I’ll be interested to see how they portray ART. I think Skarsgard is doing a good job though...."

I've liked it so far. They are definitely doing it differently but I think it has to be done like that. I completely agree with the too short episodes, they are what, 23 minutes? I guess they are making it 30 minutes with commercial for later but really? 23 minutes? So you really do have to save them up. The one before last ended on a horrid cliffhanger, this last one (last week) it was a good stopping point. If you put those two together, it would have been a nice full episode of 46-7 minutes with no cliffhanger.

Sorry 🤪 I was talking about the In Death In Depth interview vids done by JD Robb.

I still haven’t started Murderbot, but plan to as soon as the series finale has aired 😊 shame they’re so short.

I was responding to Amy above she ask about the Murderbot length.

I think it a very good idea to start it after it is finished for the season.

I've really liked the In Depth interviews with Nora. She does signing pretty regularly at the bookshop across the street from their Boonsboro Inn. I read the first in that series and a few of her other works as Nora but really started loving the Eve Dallas series, writing under the Pen name J.D. Robb, after the 5th and read all of them. I now am in a reread and it is quite fun as I forget all the banter and such.

These videos are a nice find. Fun to get her inside view. They are definitely her character even though some of her readers would like to make them theirs. I'm sure they will or may have already, with fan fiction as much as she would rather not. :-)

@Steph Have you read though the series or are you doing a reread? In the group read I did (monthly and took years) there were a few that were rereading. I couldn't understand that at first as seemed like a series I would never reread. I now have reread the first 3 twice. :-P

Oops 🤪

I’m reading thru them for the first time. I’m on bk#18. Got thru a lot of them during the latest round of BSB 😁

I'm probably on 25? in my reread.

I just finished all the episodes to 15 of these "In Death, In Depth" interesting perspective. There are questions that I have thought of but they covered most of the points that I would have thought about and some I wouldn't have thought to ask but were really interesting.

I'm guessing 15 is the end? I think I would be an Armadillo too, LOL.

I'm sure I'll eventually do a re-read, but first I gotta catch up to current.

I think it was the end, but maybe more down the road? 😆

Thanks for posting the In Depth link. Something I didn’t know I needed. Nice surprise.

I was a little late to the In Death series so a few years ago I think I binged over 40 books in a year. Think that’s actually how I discovered Libby, because the series was addictive but the spend was crazy expensive.

😊 you’re welcome. It was a fun listen.

I finally gave in and have been binging the series since our last bingo round. I’m reading #21 now. Whenever I feel closer to the current book, that ‘current book’ changes 😆 not that I’m complaining. As everyone who pushed me kept saying, I’m fully hooked and invested in Eve & Roark & their expanding chosen family.

Yay!!!!!!

😏😁

Funny she addressed the candy bandit and her spin on that. 😂🤣

I still cannot believe the amount of books she writes each year. I read most of them, but the In Death ones are must reads. If something ever happens to her I’ll be crushed.

🤣

I've only read 1 of her books under Nora Roberts (Hidden Nature) and I didn't like it nearly as much as Robb/In Death books 🤔

Shhhhhhhh, don't ya dare even think it! 🤐

I also much prefer her In Death books, I've read maybe half a dozen or so of her own name books.

And Don't Even Think It let alone write that. The Universe can read.

She crosses a lot of genres in her Nora Roberts books. Lots of trilogies, contemporary romance, historical romance, and some PNR series. Some of the trilogies I liked are:
Chronicles of the One, post-apocalyptic trilogy, first book Year One.
The Lost Bride trilogy, haunted mansion, first book is Inheritance.
Historical romance series about the MacGregor brothers
A few stand-alones I liked… The Witness, Identity, The Obsession (father was a serial killer), Northern Lights (Alaska), Legacy.

Sorry, on my phone and cannot create book links.

I've read The Guardian's Trilogy, first book & 5 stars and have several more of hers I haven't read yet.

Steph wrote: "🤣

I've only read 1 of her books under Nora Roberts (Hidden Nature) and I didn't like it nearly as much as Robb/In Death books 🤔

Shhhhhhhh, don't ya dare even think it! 🤐"

I've read a handful, thought it might be the contemporary romance element thing. Mostly they are OK to good but nothing special I don't push to read them. I'm determined to read her Boonsboro trilogy because I went and stayed at her bed & breakfast in Boonsboro, it is wonderful but very expensive and not close to much but battlefields and horse back riding. I read the first book and it was pretty good but again, not great. Had a ghost element and a good MC but is a CR mostly. I haven't yet gone back to it.

Looking at my list of Roberts books, says I read 3 but there have been more over the years before GR. I read at least one located on the Chesapeake Bay. I know I read Remember When, but I probably just marked Big Jack as that was the Eve Dallas part. I liked those a lot.

Yep, I like Robb quite a bit more than Roberts. Still I'll try some more if they sound interesting.

Thanks for those suggestions, y’all. I might try another Roberts book, but I’ll stick with Robb’s for the time being.

For the Nora Roberts' books, I read them from the library, certainly wouldn't buy them.

Whereas, I buy the In Death books, either 2nd hand, or lately I've been buying the kindles, when they're on special :D

I’ve been borrowing all, for now. But, I’d love it if I found a full stash secondhand to grab up. 😊