This week’s topic: We’ve talked about series that went downhill, and series that are worth it, but which series were best in the middle?
This one was a little hard for me because if the first book didn’t do it for me I wasn’t likely to move onto the next one. But I did manage to find some that I thought would fit the criteria. Remember to check out the Goodreads group here to see the other topics for the month and to check out other people’s lists. I know I am looking forward to seeing what other series people have come up with.
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer. I ended up loving this entire series, but I remember after reading the first book that I didn’t like Artemis very much. He just wasn’t a very nice person. But I loved many of the other characters in the book and I found the story interesting enough that I decided to give the second book a chance. I ended up loving the second book and the whole series in the end.
Alight by Scott Sigler. Now I did love the first book in this series, Alive, so I had no trouble picking up the next book in the series and I loved it too. So how did this one make the list? Well the plot of this one was just more interesting and faster paced than the first one. The alien race they encounter is this book was very unusual and unique which just pushed this one over the edge of being a better story.
Half Wild by Sally Green. I loved the first book in this series, but spent most of it feeling so sorry for Nathan and hating the witches for their treatment of him that I almost didn’t want to pick up the second book. But I did and it is even darker than the first book and more horrible things happen to Nathan, but there were some bright spots too. I also came to appreciate the witches, both black and white, a little more and understanding their culture became clearer. This book’s plot was more complex than the first which made it a more interesting read.
Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray. Again I really liked the first book but the dream walking aspect of this book made it that much more interesting. Also the new characters of Henry and Ling made the cast more diverse than the first book.
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan. I never could quite pin down why I didn’t like the first book in this series, was it the story or was it the audio narration. I just felt that some of Rick’s usual magic just wasn’t working for me in the first book. I was a little dubious about picking up the second book but I was so glad that I did. It was just so much better than the first. It might have been the narration again, different guy doing it, or it just might be that I was more familiar with the Norse myth this one was based on so felt more comfortable with it. I don’t know, but I really liked this one better than the first. I’m hoping the next one will continue the trend.
Confessions of a Serial Reader 