# series order relevance determination?



## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

I know about the fantasticfiction website that tells the order of an author's work but it doesn't tell if a series needs to be read in order or not, at least in any way I can determine. Is there a resource that tells if a series has to be read in order to make sense? I've got a couple of Brad Thor pb's that are his 3rd and 5th books. I don't want to start one if his stuff needs to be read sequentially. W.E.B.Griffin is one that comes to mind that does rely more on prior work for full understanding of what's going on and Vince Flynn as one that pulls minimally from prior work. I'd like to be able to tell that about any auther prior to purchasing anything as well as when evaluating stuff on my shelves for 'suspects'. Thanks for any input on this.


----------



## ScottBooks (Oct 28, 2008)

Stop, You're Killing Me! is a resource for lovers of mystery, crime, thriller, spy, and suspense books. We list over 2,600 authors, with chronological lists of their books (over 30,000 titles), both series (3,000+) and non-series. Use the alphabetical author and character links above Top or the special indexes in the left column. And it's perfectly fine with us if you print our pages for your private use, especially for a trip to your local library or bookstore.

http://stopyourekillingme.com/

There's a lot more info about each book here than on ff. It could help you in many cases.


----------



## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

Thanks for the link. If it's on there I don't find what I'm looking for. What I want to know is if I need to read a particular author in chronological order. For instance, Sue Grafton's series is easily put in order, being alphabetical, but it pulls minimal amounts from prior work so if someone happened on D or K or Q in a garage sale it wouldn't spoil anything nor would it leave them confused if they read it prior to reading the letters leading up to it. W.E.B.Griffin on the other hand does interconnect more so it would be better, although certainly not mandatory, to read his in order. I want to look up authors I'm not familiar with and learn if/how important it is to stay chronological.


----------



## Guest (Jan 8, 2009)

Ummm... why would you choose NOT to read them in order?


----------



## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Bacardi Jim said:


> Ummm... why would you choose NOT to read them in order?


Maybe if the books are not all available on the Kindle...start with only the Kindle books, for example? Or like LDB said, if you pick up a few books at a yard sale.

LDB...based on the series I have read: you can read Nancy Drews in any order you like. You should read Harry Potter in the order they were written.

L


----------



## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

I guess I always assume a series should be read in order...otherwise, why bother having a series, if it doesn't build on prior books? There are probably exceptions, but I'd bet those are rare. Even if the references are subtle or not a main part of the story, character-building or "in-jokes" always add to the experience, IMO.


----------



## LDB (Oct 28, 2008)

Well, a specific example for clarification. Recently the library had their annual book sale. PB's were 50 cents each. I picked up a couple dozen including

 

which are the third and fifth books respectively according to fantastic fiction. I don't want to buy more at full price without knowing if I might like them unless they really need to be read in order to avoid major losses in continuity. That's the reason for my question.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Steph H said:


> I guess I always assume a series should be read in order...otherwise, why bother having a series, if it doesn't build on prior books? There are probably exceptions, but I'd bet those are rare. Even if the references are subtle or not a main part of the story, character-building or "in-jokes" always add to the experience, IMO.


Even Grafton should be read in order, although some people might not care so much about the details of her personal life. Those details don't have much to do with the mystery itself.


Spoiler



What happened to Dietz, why did Henry rebuild her apartment, why did she change offices, what happened to Cheney, how did Rosie and William get together, etc.


 I didn't read them in order, and even for someone like me who insists on reading in order, it wasn't so bad. I eventually read all but two before giving up on "T."


----------



## Linda Cannon-Mott (Oct 28, 2008)

ScottBooks said:


> Stop, You're Killing Me! is a resource for lovers of mystery, crime, thriller, spy, and suspense books. We list over 2,600 authors, with chronological lists of their books (over 30,000 titles), both series (3,000+) and non-series. Use the alphabetical author and character links above Top or the special indexes in the left column. And it's perfectly fine with us if you print our pages for your private use, especially for a trip to your local library or bookstore.
> 
> http://stopyourekillingme.com/
> 
> There's a lot more info about each book here than on ff. It could help you in many cases.


Thanks Scott, this will definitely help for my favorite genre!

Linda


----------



## wavsite (Nov 12, 2008)

Steph H said:


> I guess I always assume a series should be read in order...otherwise, why bother having a series, if it doesn't build on prior books?


I agree, Steph, that's why I tend to prefer series over stand-alone novels anyway - I get to spend more time in that "world" and with those characters. So I end up reading a lot of sci-fi, fantasy, and urban fantasy that way.

I guess I can understand getting a few out-of-order books at a book sale or something, but that usually puts me off buying them at all. If I can't find Book #1, I tend to save my money, maybe make a note of the series to find it later.

The only exceptions I've found tend to be in the mystery genre - I can read any of the Jonathan Kellerman novels, or Sue Grafton, in any order at any time. Yeah, some story elements carry over, but those books tend to be more focused on the current plot/murder than any over-reaching arc.

_...John Sandford, Kathy Reichs, Tess Gerritsen, Iris Johansen, James Patterson, Tami Hoag, ... yeah, lots of examples in "mystery"._


----------



## Avalon3 (Dec 3, 2008)

ScottBooks said:


> Stop, You're Killing Me! is a resource for lovers of mystery, crime, thriller, spy, and suspense books. We list over 2,600 authors, with chronological lists of their books (over 30,000 titles), both series (3,000+) and non-series. Use the alphabetical author and character links above Top or the special indexes in the left column. And it's perfectly fine with us if you print our pages for your private use, especially for a trip to your local library or bookstore.
> 
> http://stopyourekillingme.com/
> 
> There's a lot more info about each book here than on ff. It could help you in many cases.


I just added the link to my Kindle folder. Thanks for posting it.


----------



## David Tolley (Dec 18, 2008)

Scott, thanks for posting the link to "sykm". Ihave been trying to find a way to make sure we read series in order fora while. Again, thanks.


----------



## ScottBooks (Oct 28, 2008)

You're welcome everybody.  I just suggested that because I think SYKM has more in depth synopsis's of books than FF does and it might help determine if a certain book had to be read before or after another one. IE: "Angry PI Testosterone Laden is out for Revenge after losing J K Rowling's Kindle to his new arch enemy, Convoluted Plot Twist!"

Betsy has a stickied thread in books that has great links in it. It's called something like "Book Lover's Links"


----------

