SF Signal: POLL RESULTS: Series Interruptus

POLL RESULTS: Series Interruptus

Here are the results of the latest SF Signal poll.

QUESTION
Have you ever continued reading a sf/f series even after reading a bad installment?

RESULTS
79% (19 votes) - Yes. I hope the author can recreate what I liked so much in the first place.
8% (2 votes) - Nope. One strike is all it takes for me to say "bye-bye".
0% (0 votes) - I never read a bad book in any series.
13% (3 votes) - I never read any sf/f book that was part of a series.

(Total votes: 24)

It comes to me as no surprise that a clear majority of respondents cling to the hope that a series will redeem itself. We're a loyal bunch. I'm sure this makes publishers and authors very happy. 2 folks are way less lenient - one strike and the series is history. I guess that the assumption is that it is all downhill from then on. 3 voters haven't read any sf/f that was part of a series. No small feat, that, considering the unwritten law that seemingly exists which says "thou shalt only create series". I wonder, is that a conscious decision to avoid a series? Few are those who have not read a sequel!

So I'm only of the two that ruled "one strike and you're out" because I don't usually have time to read. When I do read, books fall into two piles: those that I've finished, and those that I didn't. So when a book keeps me from beginning to end, I tend to remember it and looks for more from the same author. When I don't finish a book, it fades to nothing so I don't look for anything from that author again. If I see one from the same author, I would chastise myself, "well, you didn't finish the last one from this author; go finish that one before buying another..." I guess this can be harsh if I happened to pick up one that doesn't agree with me, but c'est la vie!

Posted by Peter on Wednesday December 01, 2004 at 1:26 PM