Investigated – Sequel / Companion Series

Posted October 6, 2014 by Emily in Investigated / 5 Comments

investigated

Tomorrow marks the end of the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan, and along with it, the adventures of Percy Jackson. Now, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, ended a few years ago, but Riordan continued to write more adventures that involved Percy, for which I am really grateful for. That being said, sequel series (which is basically what Heroes is, a series that is the sequel to the original Percy Jackson series) haven’t always been as… positive as Heroes…

The Good

One great thing about sequel series is that more often than not, they start a new adventure of a character or world from the previous series. They offer a break from the original and also have the ability to invite new readers. The fact that most of the times, sequel series can stand on their own (with some prior knowledge). Sequel series aren’t just the same old series dragged out. They usually deal with a different scenario, a different problem, a different adventure. Sequel series lets you to keep hanging out with the characters (or world) you loved without ruining the previous series by dragging out. One of the most heartbreaking aspects of the end of a series is the idea that a character you grew to love will no longer have any new adventures to share with you. Sequel series kind of serve as a remedy to this problem. You usually get to see your old favorite characters in a new situation.

Okay, and no matter how much I love the old characters, it’s always nice to meet fresh meat, er, I mean faces. You know, to spice things up. It’s always interesting to see the same world experienced from another person’s point of view. Someone with a new story, a new personality can really work wonders on keeping things fresh. That being said, I still would appreciate the fact that at least some characters from the previous books make their return…

The Bad

Sometimes sequel series seem like a repeat of their predecessor. Sometimes it seems like parallel things happen with only a few differences like the main character or the time period. In Series A, Kid X went around the world solving crimes and falling in love. In Series B, the sequel series, guess what will happen? Kid Y will travel around the world to help people solve, wait for it… crimes! Gasp! I always say when series and books get predictable, it’s a sign that you should stop reading them. Sometimes sequel series mean a new beginning with fresh content. But sometimes, they are full of repeated events (sort of) that make the whole entire series seem some what predictable.

Also, sometimes sequel series are supposed to be sequel series, but end up more like a really long dragged out continuation of the previous series. Another thing that sometimes bothers me about sequel series is that sometimes they switch characters. They introduce new main characters and only briefly mentioned the old and cherished characters once and in while. Honestly, when I read sequel series, it’s usually because I cannot let the characters go. I don’t really care for new ones if the old ones aren’t directly involved and take an active (cough, important) role in the series. Sure, I might miss some aspects of the world and the concepts, but it is the characters that I miss the most when a series ends.

What do you think?
Love them? Hate them?
How do you feel about sequel series?

Emily

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5 responses to “Investigated – Sequel / Companion Series

  1. I don’t think I’ve read any sequel/spin off series yet, though I have some on my tbr. Bloodlines is an example. I hear it is an excellent spin-off from the Vampire Academy series, but I do wonder if some of the issues the characters face would be the same, since the big bad is the same and some characters are from the first series. I think the idea of this kind of series is to have new characters, not continue the story with the characters of the original series.

    • Hmm, interesting. I always enjoy it when new characters are introduced, but also love the old characters. And sometimes mentions are just not enough for me. As for the same villain… you’re right, it does sound like the characters will end up having the same problems.

      Thanks for stopping by Julie! 🙂