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Series I Won’t Be Continuing

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Last week I posted my top ten series to continue reading in 2016. This week I thought I’d do the opposite and discuss series that I’ve given up on, or definitely don’t plan on giving any more chances.

Grave Sight Grave Secret

I’ve read books two and three of the Harper Connolly series by Charlaine Harris, but not book one or book four (yeah, weird order, just the ones I happened to own). After the rather… almost incestuous events of book three, I have no interest in continuing this series, thank you very much.

The 100 The 100

The television series of The 100 by Kass Morgan was great, although it took me two attempts to get into it. I am more than happy to continue with that, and am looking forward to the next season. The books however? Nah. This is a case of the adaptation being VERY different from the book – not so unusual – but also the adaptation being a much better version. Not something that seems to happen very often. The book felt lifeless compared to the show.

Evil Star Night Rise Necropolis

I bought the first three books of The Power of Five (also called The Gatekeepers) by Anthony Horowitz from a charity shop for 50p each, as it was a series I’d always wanted to read. However, I think I got to this one far too late. If I’d read it in my teens, maybe I would have enjoyed it a lot more. As it is, it doesn’t work for me, and I’ll be taking those books back to the charity shop…

Those Below

I was so sad that The Empty Throne series by Daniel Polansky just did not work for me. I saw it before release, admired the cover, and then was sent a copy by Hodder. Unfortunately it was just lacking something to make it really work for me. But just look at the cover of the second book – so gorgeous!

Shadow's Edge Beyond the Shadows

The first book of the Night Angel series by Brent Weeks was a Fantasy Book of the Month for my Goodreads book group, and I’m normally pretty happy with what we choose. I even already had this one on my shelf. Unfortunately, it was not at all what I’d expected. It felt so flat, boring and disappointing. Maybe some of Brent Weeks’ other work is for me, but not this series.

Captive Queen

All I want to say here is that the first book of The Blackcoat Rebellion series by Aimee Carter was hands down the worst book I read in 2015. I think that pretty much sums it up.

18812716 Catacomb

I was hoping that the Asylum series by Madeleine Roux would be a Miss Peregrine style story infused with creepy photos. It turned out to be an absolutely rubbish story with the worst characters, and photos that served no real purpose.

Untamed Hunted Tempted

The very thought of the House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast makes me shudder. I read the first three books a couple of years ago, as my sister owned them and I was home from university for Christmas, reading everything I could in the meanwhile. They’re the sort of books that are so bad you kind of want to keep reading, like when you drive past an accident and don’t want to look but human nature makes you. Absolute trainwrecks.

Earth Star Earth Flight

This makes me a little sad, because I really wanted to love the Earth Girl series by Janet Edwards. I met Janet at Bristolcon and she was lovely, she even took part in the first Sci-Fi Month – but I cannot stand Jarra, the main character of this series. I wanted to bitch slap her so hard.

Day Shift Night Shift

Sorry Charlaine Harris. Midnight, Texas is your second series on here. I love you for writing the Sookie Stackhouse novels, but I don’t seem to have much luck with the rest of your work. The first book was just so… uneventful, I have no interest in reading any further.

Are there any series you’ve given up on? Have you read any of these series, and if so what did you think?

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Past Features

Turning Off The TV #17: Supernatural

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Welcome to my regular Thursday feature, Turning off the TV! In this feature I recommend books similar to TV shows or films you may have enjoyed, both series and specific episodes.

The TV series this week is: Supernatural.

Supernatural

Two brothers follow their father’s footsteps as “hunters” fighting evil supernatural beings of many kinds including monsters, demons, and gods that roam the earth.

This is the fourth of this feature covering Supernatural, as I hope to be looking at this series in more detail. So many creatures and urban legends are featured that it opens up a choice of so many more books!

Enjoyed ‘Bloodlust’ (Season Two, Episode Three)?

Vampire Hunter D Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton Let The Right One In

‘Bloodlust’ is one of the episodes featuring the vampire hunter named Gordon, so here I’ve picked out a couple of books featuring vampire hunters and their prey. Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi and Yoshitaka Amano is a well-known manga, and later anime series, in which humankind are recovering from control by vampires known as the Nobility. Every village and town wants a Hunter to protect them from these bloodthirsty creatures. Although I’ve not read any of the Anita Blake novels, Guilty Pleasures is the start of a very popular series by Laurell K. Hamilton. Like Gordon, Anita is a vampire hunter – but in this case, vampires are mostly protected by law. I’ve also included Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist because despite not featuring vampire hunters, it’s very strong as far as vampire novels go. It’s so very gory and graphic that it made me feel physically sick in certain parts. If you like your stories gory, then look no further…

Enjoyed ‘Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things’ (Season Two, Episode Four)?

Fever by Wayne Simmons World War Z by Max Brooks Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

This episode featured a young girl resurrected as a zombie by her best friend, who was in love with her. Fever by Wayne Simmons is very much a traditional zombie novel, with plenty of guts, gore and foolish characters that you just KNOW are going to become zombie dinner! I won a copy from Goodreads a few years ago. World War Z by Max Brooks was recently adapted into a film starring Brad Pitt (and Peter Capaldi as a W.H.O Doctor!!). Unlike Fever, this focuses more on the human reaction and sheer terror than the actual people getting their faces eaten… so if you want something a bit less squirm-inducing, this may be the better choice! Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion may be even better for the squeamish: it’s a rom-zom novel! It follows a young man, known only as ‘R’, who falls in love with a human girl. This one was also been recently adapted into a film, featuring Nicolas Hoult.

Enjoyed ‘Crossroad Blues’ (Season Two, Episode Eight)?

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

This episode plays on the urban legend of people selling their souls to the devil at a crossroads for eternal youth, beauty, talent or other things. The hellhounds then come to take their souls. What I loved about this episode is that it was named after, and also featured, the song ‘Crossroad Blues’ by Robert Johnson – a gorgeous piece of old blues. Supposedly Johnson sold his soul to the devil for his talent, which allowed him to create the familiar blues sound we know today! Perhaps the most well-known of the Sherlock Holmes books, The Hound Of The Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle is the story of a giant ghostly hound, supposedly haunting the Baskerville family for generations. When the case is brought to Sherlock he originally dismisses it as nonsense, but perhaps there is something behind it… Hellhounds also make an appearance in Raven’s Gate by Anthony Horowitz, and are described as having rotten flesh. And finally, hellhounds appear as a form of Shadowspawn in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. Their saliva is poisonous, and much like the hellhounds in Supernatural, once they’ve set their sights on prey they do not give up until they’ve caught it.

Are you a fan of Supernatural? Do you have any recommendations to add? Are there any TV shows or films you’d like to see in this feature?