Can you put an entire story in one book? Would Harry Potter have been better if it was just one very large (and very heavy) book?
Doubtful, is my answer. I don't believe that the content of other books in a series can be summed up in one book. And yes, I suppose the writers can sometimes do it just so they can expand the series and make more money. But it's their living, this is how they support themselves and if you really don't like it then don't buy the other books. I mean, every book is -on its own- a story, with a climax, a beginning and an end. Then together the trilogy makes up one large book; a larger story with many stories in between.
In the first book of a trilogy you are introduced to the characters, their lifestyles, family, friends and the beginnings of their defining traits. Towards the end of the first book you start to see the growth of the character, their bravery and their ideals tested in a conflict. By the second book you're hooked, wanting to see more of the characters, how they react in conflicted situations and the climax of the trilogy, or the beginnings of it. The very last book picks up where the second one left off, usually in a giant war. This is generally the part where the character becomes very dark; they need to make hard decisions and those repercussions could cause even more turmoil. However by the end, our hero is usually a lot more mature, self-aware and understands the hardships; usually there is a death of a beloved character that resonates within the audience's being. By the end, everything is better-not the same as before- but the conflicts are resolved and the characters can move on.
However all this is just based on my previous experience in reading trilogies and does not pertain to all of them. Anything that deviates from this formula is definitely worth a read.
I blame my English Lit. teacher for this post. She started with her insistence that stories can be told in one book and I just had to prove her wrong. It's in my nature I guess.
Anyways, hey class, don't let my rant scare you too much.
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2 comments:
I read this book (you may know of it) called Hearts in Atlantis. It was 5 novellas in one book. All were different stories, but were all connected in the first novella. An interesting read, I enjoyed it very much. Great quotes and retelling of the vietnam war. You should pick it up, I think that you would like it because it also has a 'fantasy' element in it.
Cool, I'll definitely check that out. I think I have heard of it before.
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