SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion

Ah, Anthologies ... Some people love them, some people hate them.


I kinda fall in the middle. I enjoy a good short story that gives me more insight into a character's story. Those feel like a back stage pass where you get to finally find out things like: How your favorite couple met or What happened before your favorite character(s) became a sup.

Most definitely though, there are certain authors who write interesting short stories, that actually DO add to the overall series and others who ... really should stay away from SS altogether. (I'm not gonna name names, but you know who I'm talkin' about, I bet.)

What are you thoughts on anthologies? Do you have a favorite/must-read for people who love the over all series?

I have a really hard time getting into anthologies. I did love the short story that started the Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs. I think that the story was originally published in On the Prowl. It was the story that first introduced me to Patricia Briggs. :)

I have a huge issue with anthologies, especially when there are shorts from series I am not reading yet or have not gotten that far in the series yet, it just really bothers me and I pretty much as a rule refuse to buy or read them....

I hate them. Some authors reveal details you need to know in order to understand their next book - that almost blackmails you into buying them. Others write stories that have very little substance and are a waste of paper. And like Susan has said. if they're of a series you haven't read, it's difficult to understand who the characters are and why their actions are significant.

However, I do like Kelley Armstrong's idea of putting them all in one book. I much prefer this than having to buy and read a multiple-author book just for their one story. I think Kelley does it best, she gives substance but you don't have to have read the shorts to understand any of the novels but they add a lot of history and back story which I love. Plus she usually gives a lot of them away for free to start with.

BTW, I loved the Alpha & Omega story! I love this series more than Mercy.

Yep totally agree with you Ames, I think they should put the shorts that go along with a series into it's own book like Kelly and Charlaine did! I'd be way more apt to buy something like that!!!

I definitely agree. It sucks when I have been reading a series for a while only to learn, "oh, didn't cha know ... there's a short in XYZ anthology that tells ya why/who/how/where, it's a must-read". Well, crap! I'm also a big "read the one I want and forget the others" kinda girl. Even though, I'm sure the others might be good and/or entice me to read another author's stories. Which is probably the reason they mash them like that, put a big name author on the cover, draw their fans and hope the others can snag a few. Well, PPpppttthhhh! :P on that! Don't like it!

I have tried to, every so often, run a search on GR for a favorite series name so I can, hopefully, snag links to other books/anthologies that have stories that fit within the series. Then it's just a matter of making myself break down and buy them for one, maybe two (if I'm lucky) stories I actually want to read.

Oh and I don't typically like Charlaine Harris' anthologies. They just don't seem to offer the same "fill me in" power that Kelley Armstrong's do. Mostly they just seem like mini "one day this/that happened" kinda stuff, not really adding to the overall series.

I just counted and I have 23 different anthologies on my bookshelf, so I'm obviously not against them, but I don't think I've ever read one from cover to cover. For favorite authors, I'll pick up anything they write, so I have no problem buying anthologies just to read one story by them.

I share the frustration of key story elements being revealed in anthology stories though, especially for authors I wouldn't necessarily run out and buy. I'm okay for series related stories to be in anthologies, but key element revealing/must read ones are just wrong.

I like how Kelley Armstrong does her anthologies. Her Men of the Otherworld book gives you the whole back story of her werewolf world. It answered a lot of questions about Clay. All of these stories were available on her website for a while as well.

Other anthologies by other authors were hit and miss for me. I did not like the Charlaine Harris anthology because the stories felt like outtakes rather than back story.

I also read the Prom Nights from Hell and Love is Hell. One I liked, and one was a meh. What it did do was introduce me to authors that I had not read.

So I don't buy anthologies, I borrow from library.

Yeah, DH, I have a lot too. I don't wanna count them, that'd just depress me. I do need to scour them for ongoing series related shorts though. Just to make sure I haven't missed out on anything important to one of mine.

AH, I've been trying to read all the stories in each anthology. When I do, they sometimes get me interested in a new author. But, so far though none have actually gotten me to start one of their series.

I also like anthologies like Kelley Armstrong's where it's filling in gaps in the usual series. But most just frustrate as they are too short and you can't get to know the characters very well.

One that recently annoyed me was Bitten By Cupid. I love Lynsay Sands Argeneau series and had been really looking forward to Tiny's story. However, it was in this anthology and was really rushed and I was really disappointed.

Going threw all the post here, I'm just reading with a big grin on my face! I so agree with you guys+. Anthologies are a fustration I could do without.

Ditto with the hassel to try and find them, good authors being paired with weak ones that you never get time to read. It has even brought me to the point where I wanted to read an anthologies to a series I was reading, the book cost $25 CAD, and all I wanted to read was one little story out of 4. I bought the book, read the anthology I wanted ...all night, no sleep and return the book the next morning. Done!! Awful I know, but I wanted to know what happen but I didn't want the burden and expense of the other read.

There are some anthologies that are so out dated ( like the Dragonswan stuff in the DH series, at least its hard to find in Canada) and I have just about given up on it. It's not in my library or the book store.

But if some authors are bundling their anthologies, why can't others?

Welcome, Cher!

I feel ya. I lived in Australia for a while and their book prices were (from the sound of it) same as in Canada. So, I don't know that I feel too bad for the store where you do your read & return. Might wanna mix it up though so the tellers don't catch on ... LOL!

Seriously though, I'm all for library-ing my anthology need if at all possible. Only 1-2 so far that I've been happy I spent $ on to read.

Also agree that more authors should do anthology books, but only if they expand the story for the readers (like Kelley Armstrong's do, not like others with just outtakes like AH & I mentioned above).

Ugh! I think I'm going to have to break down and read a few of these bloody things! Been seeing more and more that have stories about series I love and/or want to try out.

Here's the first batch I'm *considering* diving into (still might only read the bits I want and skip the rest, at least for now):



And ...



Cuz I really wanna bite of that *uh-hum* candy cane! LMAO! >;)

Just got and therefore haven't read yet



cause I always read Christine Warren, light & snappy; usually read Marjorie M. Liu, not sure why; and I'm collecting Lora Leigh's Breeds.

One I got a few months ago and I wasn't happy with



would just prefer they not waste my time and money putting out crap disguised as new short stories!

I liked "Must Love Hellhounds" stories by Ilona Andrews and Nalini Singh, the others were eh.

Nalini's story was the only reason the book didn't hit the wall. Can't remember IA's story now, and can't be bothered to find the book to have a look.

Still I distinctly remember being unimpressed overall.
To each their own *grins*

I read "Strange Brew" because I was interested in Patricia Brigg's short story. "Seeing Eye" was very nice, but much too short (even for a short story). I also got interested in Jane Yellowrock books by Faith Hunter, but I quit in the middle of "Blood Cross".
To summarize this I have to say I keep buying anthologies but usually it's one or two stories of my favourite authors that I read and for the rest I keep wondering - what are the stories about?

Yeah, that's my problem, Karin. If/when I buy/borrow an anthology for a specific author and do attempt to read the stories by other authors I'm always kinda lost b/c they relate to a series I'm not reading. Sometimes they get me interested enough to check out another series, but so far it's been mainly just adding them to my "maybe in the future" list and moving on.