# Abandoned book series



## Steve W. (Feb 23, 2011)

Hi guys, 

One of the things I love most about books, over TV shows, is that TV shows are constantly getting cancelled and watchers are left hanging wondering what happened to the characters they'd invested in. I mentioned this to someone and they said that the same thing happens in books too. I haven't ever read a series of books that ended unresolved, but I am very curious about it. 

Have any of you read any, or heard of any such books? I assume the publishers pulled the pugs. If you do, please tell me. I'd love to look into this a bit further.

Cheers,


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## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

Isaac Asimov's son tried to continue the Foundation series after Isaac died, but...


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## Jnassise (Mar 22, 2010)

There are too many to count...the two that drive me nuts the most are Charles Grant Black Oak series and David Gerrold's Chtorr series.


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## valeriec80 (Feb 24, 2011)

Diana Peterfreund's Killer Unicorn series comes to mind.

I got into it back when I was reading a lot of YA. It was simply awesome. I assumed it would be a trilogy, but it's just two books, and the second one is all ragged-endy with lots of things left untied. I guess the publisher dropped the series or something? But she's still publishing other stuff, so I don't know. Maybe she got sick of writing them?


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Shanna Swendson's _Enchanted Inc._ series, a fun mix of chick-lit and fantasy, is the first one that comes to mind. The series was projected to be five books long, but the publisher dropped the ball. First, they marketed and branded the books as chick lit rather than fantasy, even though chick lit was declared "dead" shortly after the first book came out and urban fantasy was hugely popular. Then one of the big chain bookstores didn't order one of the latter books and then the imprint that published the book tried to rebrand themselves as "serious" and wanted to get rid of all the fluff. Finally, the publisher pulled the plug after book 4, only one book from the projected end, leaving the central couple with a happy-for-now ending, but many mysteries and the identity of the villains unresolved.

However, the story has a happy ending, because eventually Shanna Swendson indie published book 5 as well as 6 and 7.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch has several examples of series cancelled and abandoned by publishers as well, including her Smokey Dalton crime series written as Kris Nelscott.


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## lynnfromthesouth (Jun 21, 2012)

CoraBuhlert said:


> However, the story has a happy ending, because eventually Shanna Swendson indie published book 5 as well as 6 and 7.


I was so happy to see her continue the series. It's so much fun!


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

LynnBlackmar said:


> I was so happy to see her continue the series. It's so much fun!


Yeah, me too. I was a big fan of the first four books and was so happy to read the rest.


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## redacted (Dec 16, 2013)

Does George R.R. Martin's Ice and Fire series count? I feel like ol GRRM has all but abandoned that sucker.


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## A Tiger (Aug 29, 2013)

jackcrows said:


> Does George R.R. Martin's Ice and Fire series count? I feel like ol GRRM has all but abandoned that sucker.


Unfortunately, I agree with you. I get the vibe he got tired of it and now he's just dragging it. Which is a pity, because despite the wordy stuff, way too many pov's and overall being too lengthy (to my taste), I was quite enjoying it. I wonder how he'll manage to keep writing the HBO series when they finally catch up with the books.


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## CEMartin2 (May 26, 2012)

The two that bothered me the most were:

NYPD 2025, a swell future-cop series I picked up in the 80s at the book store. #1 in a new series! the cover proclaimed. I kept going back to the bookstore, but #2 never came out. Grrrr

Stargate had an AMAZING series of novels based on the movie. Far better than the  SG-1 series (which I also enjoyed). I think there were 5 in total. I really, really liked them and would love to know how that storyline would have turned out, as we learned more and more  about Ra and his peeps. Alas, the TV series  killed that and went in a different direction. That wasn't as good  as the books.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

jackcrows said:


> Does George R.R. Martin's Ice and Fire series count? I feel like ol GRRM has all but abandoned that sucker.


One the one hand, I hope not for his fans. On the other, I hope so for me because the sooner it fades away, the sooner maybe more writers will put out fantasy I want to read instead of aping ASoIaF.


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## Thisiswhywecan&#039;thavenicethings (May 3, 2013)

> Charles Grant Black Oak series


This ^


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Perhaps not unresolved, but certainly with a lot of loose ends dangling (such as, if memory serves, who was trying to kill the protagonist throughout the first three books):



A fourth book in the series was advertised on the closing page of the third volume (published in 1969), but never was written.  

Also, the third book in the Jake Sands detective series was written... But according to comments I've seen, is was so large that the publisher wanted to publish it as two volumes. The author Ron Ely (yes, _that_ Ron Ely) was so incensed that he withdrew it from publishing and he stopped writing. IIRC, the last volume published left some things unresolved.

And there's the previously mentioned case of David Gerrold's _Chtorr_ series. Only four of the projected seven volumes were ever published, the last one in 1994 or so. I'll admit that I found the series so padded that even if the series were to be resumed, my interest has dropped to less than zero.

And the one that really hits my hot-button is Dean Koontz's _Moonlight Bay_ series. The first two volumes published in 1998 and 1999, the third book which resolves the story line seems to be continually promised for "soon" over the last fifteen years, while he has continued to crank out other work not nearly as interesting to me.

Mike


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Orson Scott Card has done this multiple times. With his _Tales of Alvin Maker_, he put out three books, waited 6 years for another, then 5 more years and now it's been a decade for what should be the final book in the series to be published .... I've given up on a second book in what was billed as _The Mayflower Trilogy_ with Kathryn Kidd in '94 but is now a single book that builds up to what could be an interesting story .... the same is true of more books in _Pastwatch_ or _The Women of Genesis_.

Over the past decade, he seems to have concentrated on book after book in the Ender series - all of which are the telling of the same story from different perspectives - and making a kazillion dollars doing it.


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## stevene9 (Nov 9, 2008)

David Weber and Linda Evans - The New Multiverse series


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

Cherise Kelley said:


> Isaac Asimov's son tried to continue the Foundation series after Isaac died, but...


Greg Benford, Greg Bear, and David Brin wrote a good continuation of the Foundation story in a trilogy of books - known as the Second Foundation trilogy.


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## lmroth12 (Nov 15, 2012)

CoraBuhlert said:


> Shanna Swendson's _Enchanted Inc._ series, a fun mix of chick-lit and fantasy, is the first one that comes to mind. The series was projected to be five books long, but the publisher dropped the ball. First, they marketed and branded the books as chick lit rather than fantasy, even though chick lit was declared "dead" shortly after the first book came out and urban fantasy was hugely popular. Then one of the big chain bookstores didn't order one of the latter books and then the imprint that published the book tried to rebrand themselves as "serious" and wanted to get rid of all the fluff. Finally, the publisher pulled the plug after book 4, only one book from the projected end, leaving the central couple with a happy-for-now ending, but many mysteries and the identity of the villains unresolved.
> 
> However, the story has a happy ending, because eventually Shanna Swendson indie published book 5 as well as 6 and 7.
> 
> Kristine Kathryn Rusch has several examples of series cancelled and abandoned by publishers as well, including her Smokey Dalton crime series written as Kris Nelscott.


I had never heard of this series, not really being into chick-lit, but your description made me want to check it out, which I did. It looks like a great read!


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## sarahdalton (Mar 15, 2011)

Did Amanda Hocking ever finish her My Blood Approves series? I think she had one book left and sort of lost interest in it. Shame really, because I enjoyed that series.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

I'm really sad that Ann (AC) Crispin's Exiles of Boq'urain series got derailed after the first book came out and then she passed away. I doubt we'll ever see the remaining books. I think she finished most of the second (at least she did a reading from it). Really great start to a series.


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

Tell me about TV shows getting axed -- I'm just renting the discs for one called _Unforgettable_, a very watchable cop show with good intelligent storylines, and I'm furious there's only ever going to be one season.

As for books, though ... hate you break this to you, Steve, but publishers cut series all the time whether the story is resolved or not. The good news these days -- naturally -- is that the author can continue here on Kindle.


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## redacted (Dec 16, 2013)

Tony Richards said:


> Tell me about TV shows getting axed -- I'm just renting the discs for one called _Unforgettable_, a very watchable cop show with good intelligent storylines, and I'm furious there's only ever going to be one season.


Another TV show that I really love that got the ax after one season is "New Amsterdam." I don't think anyone even remembers it, and it was only a few years ago. It starred Jamie Lannister from Game of Thrones. God, I loved that show. I could totally picture it as a series of novels.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

jackcrows said:


> Another TV show that I really love that got the ax after one season is "New Amsterdam." I don't think anyone even remembers it, and it was only a few years ago. It starred Jamie Lannister from Game of Thrones. God, I loved that show. I could totally picture it as a series of novels.


Was that the one about the guy who'd lived in Manhattan for like 200 years because he saved a native woman who then gave him the gift of immortality . . . . I think it was based on a book -- at least I did read a book with that premise. It was a single stand alone novel . . . . basically used the conceit to provide an overview of NYC history while this guy looked for the love of his life. . . .


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## redacted (Dec 16, 2013)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Was that the one about the guy who'd lived in Manhattan for like 200 years because he saved a native woman who then gave him the gift of immortality . . . . I think it was based on a book -- at least I did read a book with that premise. It was a single stand alone novel . . . . basically used the conceit to provide an overview of NYC history while this guy looked for the love of his life. . . .


That's it! I could totally see it as a series of adventure novels. Now I'm gonna go have to hunt it down and read the book!


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Heh...when I saw the thread title, my thought was it would be about series that we readers had given up on -- series that the authors _should_ have abandoned but didn't (and I can think of more than a few that I've abandoned).


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

Tony Richards said:


> Tell me about TV shows getting axed -- I'm just renting the discs for one called _Unforgettable_, a very watchable cop show with good intelligent storylines, and I'm furious there's only ever going to be one season.


There was definitely a second season - this past summer. And CBS this past September renewed the series for a third season.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

jackcrows said:


> That's it! I could totally see it as a series of adventure novels. Now I'm gonna go have to hunt it down and read the book!


I wish I could remember more about the book . . . but I must not have bought it from Amazon because I can't even find it in my orders. And I gave the copy I had to my brother. I don't think it was called "New Amsterdam" -- almost sure it was not -- but can't remember at all what it was called. Would have been new at least 10 years ago -- I'm thinking I actually got it out of a 'remainders' bin at B&N or Borders.

eta: found it! Forever: A Novel


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

jackcrows said:


> Another TV show that I really love that got the ax after one season is "New Amsterdam." I don't think anyone even remembers it, and it was only a few years ago. It starred Jamie Lannister from Game of Thrones. God, I loved that show. I could totally picture it as a series of novels.


And then there was _The 4400_. Remember that one?


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## redacted (Dec 16, 2013)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I wish I could remember more about the book . . . but I must not have bought it from Amazon because I can't even find it in my orders. And I gave the copy I had to my brother. I don't think it was called "New Amsterdam" -- almost sure it was not -- but can't remember at all what it was called. Would have been new at least 10 years ago -- I'm thinking I actually got it out of a 'remainders' bin at B&N or Borders.
> 
> eta: found it! Forever: A Novel


That's awesome, thanks! For a while, I thought it was this one, because of the title, and the premise sounded similar, and I just thought the TV show had taken the basic premise and ran with it: http://www.amazon.com/New-Amsterdam-Elizabeth-Bear-ebook/dp/B003YDXM1O


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## redacted (Dec 16, 2013)

Tony Richards said:


> And then there was _The 4400_. Remember that one?


I never took a chance on the 4400. I think back then I was overdosing on supernatural/superhero shows and I never found room for it. My DVR was stuffed with an obscene amount of genre shows already. That, and the USA Network wasn't something I regularly trolled.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

jackcrows said:


> That's awesome, thanks! For a while, I thought it was this one, because of the title, and the premise sounded similar, and I just thought the TV show had taken the basic premise and ran with it: http://www.amazon.com/New-Amsterdam-Elizabeth-Bear-ebook/dp/B003YDXM1O


It's possible the show was kind of a combination of the two . . . . . I remember when I'd first seen the promos for the TV show, I'd only recently finished _Forever_ and so it stuck in my mind more than it might otherwise have done.


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I wish I could remember more about the book . . . but I must not have bought it from Amazon because I can't even find it in my orders. And I gave the copy I had to my brother. I don't think it was called "New Amsterdam" -- almost sure it was not -- but can't remember at all what it was called. Would have been new at least 10 years ago -- I'm thinking I actually got it out of a 'remainders' bin at B&N or Borders.
> 
> eta: found it! Forever: A Novel


New Amsterdam indeed has the same set-up as Hamill's novel (Forever). According to reports in the press, he considered suing. but let it slide when the series was cancelled after eight episodes. Meanwhile, the creator of New Amsterdam said he had no knowledge of Hamill's novel until after the series had finished production.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

PaulLev said:


> New Amsterdam indeed has the same set-up as Hamill's novel (Forever). According to reports in the press, he considered suing. but let it slide when the series was cancelled after eight episodes. Meanwhile, the creator of New Amsterdam said he had no knowledge of Hamill's novel until after the series had finished production.


Yeah . . . . I think if the series had been a hit, Hamill would have totally had grounds. The set up is virtually identical -- guy saved the life of a medicine woman who cursed him with/gave him the gift of immortality and he would become mortal when he found true love. The only difference, as I recall, is that Hamill used the set up to then write a sort of 'History of NYC' novel -- a la Michener and Rutherford, just following one _guy_ through the centuries rather than several families. As I recall, the TV show was set 'now' and used flashbacks -- wasn't the guy a cop?


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## redacted (Dec 16, 2013)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Yeah . . . . I think if the series had been a hit, Hamill would have totally had grounds. The set up is virtually identical -- guy saved the life of a medicine woman who cursed him with/gave him the gift of immortality and he would become mortal when he found true love. The only difference, as I recall, is that Hamill used the set up to then write a sort of 'History of NYC' novel -- a la Michener and Rutherford, just following one _guy_ through the centuries rather than several families. As I recall, the TV show was set 'now' and used flashbacks -- wasn't the guy a cop?


Yup, he was a cop, and his big super detective skill was that he's been alive for so long he just knows a lot of stuff.  There were some really good relationship stuff in the show.


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

lmroth12 said:


> I had never heard of this series, not really being into chick-lit, but your description made me want to check it out, which I did. It looks like a great read!


Hope you enjoy them!


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Tony Richards said:


> Tell me about TV shows getting axed -- I'm just renting the discs for one called _Unforgettable_, a very watchable cop show with good intelligent storylines, and I'm furious there's only ever going to be one season.


_Unforgettable_ has been cancelled? A pity, because it was an interesting show. Plus, this way we'll never find out who did kill her sister.

I actually do remember _New Amsterdam_. As far as I recall, it was a casualty of the writer's strike plus a bit too early to catch the paranormal boom. Still, a pity because it was a good series. Ditto for _Moonlight_, a vampire PI series starring the lead from the new _Hawaii Five-O_ that came out the same year and only lasted half a season as well.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

CoraBuhlert said:


> _Unforgettable_ has been cancelled? A pity, because it was an interesting show. Plus, this way we'll never find out who did kill her sister.


There were a couple of seasons -- you do find out what happened to her sister. I actually think it's still on but is on an odd cycle. . . .so it mostly runs in the summer.


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## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

CoraBuhlert said:


> _Unforgettable_ has been cancelled? A pity, because it was an interesting show. Plus, this way we'll never find out who did kill her sister.
> 
> I actually do remember _New Amsterdam_. As far as I recall, it was a casualty of the writer's strike plus a bit too early to catch the paranormal boom. Still, a pity because it was a good series. Ditto for _Moonlight_, a vampire PI series starring the lead from the new _Hawaii Five-O_ that came out the same year and only lasted half a season as well.


It has not been cancelled. A third season is due to be broadcast this summer. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/27/unforgettable-renewed-season-3-cbs_n_4006417.html


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## LiterallyJen (Jan 22, 2014)

Ugh, yes.

A fantasy series written by Deborah Chester. I reached out to her via e-mail several years ago asking when the next book was to be published, and she informed me that the publisher had canceled the series on her. I had hopes that she would self-publish, but so far she has not.

A second series that comes to mind is Stephen Woodworth's *Through Violet Eyes*. I've still only read the first book of this because I found out the series had been left hanging. I loved the book, though, and have since bought a kindle copy and have recommended it to several people. Maybe one day he will continue the series by self-publishing.


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## JamesHutchings (Feb 27, 2011)

I'd imagine that almost every writer wants their book to be successful enough that they can do a sequel or spin-off.

So if a book doesn't have a sequel or spin-off, it's probably a cancelled series.


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