5 Book Series I Abandoned…and Why

1 – Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

I didn’t even make it through the first book, The Lightning Thief.

Rick Riordan’s prose is nothing special, nor is it horrible, and his somewhat imaginative modernizations of classic episodes from Greek mythology are mildly amusing. His hero, Percy—short for Perseus (nice!)—was able to generate some sympathy with me as a reader, and his stand-ins for Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were pretty good. The twists at the end were not exactly jaw-dropping, but serviceable.

Not a glowing endorsement, I know, but I was willing to go along, since overall it seemed to be a wholesome addition to the “eleven-year-old youngster discovers he has superpowers and must now save the world” genre. I gave it a try because I found it on a list of “Fantasy Series with Good, Satisfying Endings.”

However, Riordan lost me, right at the end, when Percy delivered a Medusa’s head to his mother so that she could use it to disappear her husband, Percy’s stepfather.

And she did. The resulting life-size concrete sculpture was praised by critics as “a huge step forward in super-ugly neorealism” and netted so much money she was able pay for a new apartment and pay for her own long-delayed university education.

Sorry, but I’m not going to invest further in a book or a series in which the pre-teen hero is an accessory to murder.

2 – A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

The Prologue of A Game of Thrones (1996) is one of the best things I’ve ever read. A sword fight with a zombie in a northern wasteland of snow, alpine scree and skeletal pine trees? Sign me up. The rest of the book is amazing, too. Martin is a great writer. His world-building is deep, detailed, rich, and immersive. His ability to write from every character’s point-of-view is legendary. I don’t know how he does it—every character has his or her own distinct voice, and he enables the reader to see and understand the inner life of even the most wicked and reprehensible characters.

Yet, I only made it through the first two and a half books. Why did I stop reading? And why did I watch not one episode of the HBO series? Simply this: I got to the point where I just couldn’t deal with the explicit descriptions of the characters’ sexual encounters. My personal opinion is that pornography is unseemly, uncultured, unnecessary, artless, damaging to those who read or view it, and immoral. So, I put the books down and moved on.

When I saw that HBO began producing the TV series, in 2011, I knew I would steer clear of it. HBO is known for pushing the boundaries of taste and propriety—and in this regard it did not disappoint viewers who enjoy graphic sex and gruesome violence.

It really is a shame that Martin was not able to complete the book series before being overtaken by the TV series. Apparently, this served only to unmask the creative weaknesses of the TV writers, who went on to deliver a disappointing ending to the show’s millions of devoted fans. I admit to experiencing a certain amount of schadenfreude about that…

The soundtrack is great, though. It’s lovely background music.

3—The Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth

This series is fine, I guess, a good addition to the many young adult dystopian fiction series launched with Among the Hidden, The City of Ember and The Hunger Games. But why? Why not just read The Hunger Games again?

4—The Pendragon Cycle by Stephen R. Lawhead

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Taliesin. The narration alternates between scenes in Celtic Great Britain during the waning decades of the Roman Empire’s occupation (said to be the origin of the Arthurian legends) and the mythic, doomed continent of Atlantis. Pretty cool!

The Atlantean culture envisioned by Lawhead is appealing and interesting, and I liked his main character, Charis, daughter of one of the many kings of the region. Her story takes us from her childhood, to her rebellious adolescence and coming-of-age, to her remarkable ability to shepherd a remnant of her people to safety as Atlantis is hurled into the sea by a natural geological disaster of literally world-ending proportions.

Meanwhile, in Great Britain, an unlikely chief arises to take the helm of a plucky village warband. His foundling son, Taliesin, demonstrates that he has the natural talent to be a seer and a bard.

Charis leads her band of Atlantean refugees to the shores of Great Britain, where they begin a new life. Her path converges with Taliesin, and the two fall in love and marry. They have a son—Merlin.

But the ending…I couldn’t believe it. Taliesin is killed in a really lame way—shot by the arrow of a random bandit while traveling. I was so demoralized by this ending that I haven’t picked up the next book.

5 – A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

I don’t know why I stopped reading this series, because I really enjoyed it. Some of the scenes and characters are so funny that I actually woke up my children one night while reading Book 3, The Wide Window. I made a point to collect all 13 volumes in hardcover and they are displayed prominently on the bookcase in my living room. I have no excuse.

So…actually: I’m going to finish this series. And I recommend you do, too—you and your children!

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featured image by Kimberly Farmer via Unsplash. @kimberlyfarmer