Thursday, January 29, 2015

Blackout - When the lights go out.

 I find it interesting when two books have the same or similar title. This new one is by Madeleine Henry and should not be confused with Connie Willis's story.


Available everywhere!
I do not like books with stories that don't end within the book. I want each and every book to have a story arc complete with introduction, crises, climax, and conclusion. Not that everything in the book must be solved within that book.  A trilogy or series does not lend itself to answering all questions to all things. I do enjoy trilogies or even series. I loved The Lord of the Rings, for instance, but I don't like books that simply cut the story off. Connie Willis, an author I love and respect, did this with one of her recent book duos, Blackout and All Clear.  I was so angry I almost threw the book across the room. This is something many writers do nowadays but it feels like a cheat, a way to sell one story twice or more. The Hungry Games is a good example of how stories can be a trilogy but still have a story arc for each book. Another example are most TV series. There is the background, overall story, but each episode has a story that usually finishes within that episode. Exceptions, of coarse, are Soap Operas and shows meant to be like Soaps. Harry Potter series had a plot, a crisis. a climax, and a conclusion in each of the seven books.