A Bluestocking Knits

Booking Through Thursday wants to know what we think about multi-volume novels — "I’m thinking here of any story that is split into more than one volume, stories such as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Rowling’s Harry Potter volumes, Eddings’ Belgariad, to name just a few. Christie’s Hercule Poirot stories do not count, nor do Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, as the reader can consume them in any order."

1. Do you enjoy reading multi-volume stories? I’ve read a number of these series, sagas some of them, including all that BTT mentions above.  I’m not sure that Harry Potter belongs in this category, as each book is fairly self-contained — perhaps that series can be regarded as a crossover.  The same goes for Diana Gabaldon’s "Outlander" series, and Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin novels.  It’s certainly easier to follow what’s going on if you’ve read the earlier books, but it isn’t completely necessary, as I think it is with Tolkien, Jordan, et al.
2. Do you prefer the shorter stories that are done in two or three volumes, or do you willingly go for longer tales? It certainly does depend on the author and story — I got bored with Stephen R. Donaldson’s "Thomas Covenant" series pretty early on, and stopped reading Robert Jordan’s "Wheel of Time" series around book 8 or 9, from sheer exhaustion, I suspect.  I enjoyed most of the Eddings books, although I think he’s been losing steam lately.  I really enjoyed Robin Hobb’s "Liveship" trilogy, although I’ve not read any other of her books.  And I’ve just found out that the long-awaited fourth installment of George R.R. Martin’s "Song of Ice and Fire" is finally out, but it’s been so long since book 3 (five years!) that I might just wait until the series is complete, then reread from the beginning….
3. What do you like/dislike about these long tales?  It seems that the time and emotional/intellectual investment required creates a kind of bond with a series, like with a personal relationship, although on a different scale, of course.  You feel let down by a series that disappoints, but rewarded by one that involves you deeply.  It can be hard to let go of characters that you’ve come to love, when the series ends.