When does more become too much?

 

I have recently been delving deeper and deeper into the Horror/Post-Apocalyptic genre and I have realized that there are more ‘series’ than there are ‘trilogies’ in that neck of the woods. As mention in some of my previous blogs, I have thoroughly enjoyed some of the books I have found and they have left me wanting more. But my question now is when does more become too much?

One book in particular that I have ready seems to have a series of eight books and counting, dealing with the same characters and the many trials and tribulations they face in the now derelict world that they inhabit. Now, I know that when the whole world has gone to shit, there are lots of things that can be explored while trying to build some semblance of a working polite society. However how many of you would read through all eight books? I have yet to come across a trilogy in this genre although I am not saying that they do not exist, merely that they are less common and I haven’t found them yet.

By stretching your story over eight different books, are you in danger of watering down the characters and the world they inhabit or is there simply not enough pages in one book to accomplish everything that needs to be addressed? I, myself, can see my current novel rolling into two novels but I can’t imagine being able to write eight books on the subject without rehashing old ground. Maybe that is a downfall in my writing skills or maybe that is what is warranted for the current idea.

I would love to hear your take on the matter as maybe I am still too new to this to be able to make an informed opinion. The ‘Harry Potter’ series by J.K Rowling ran into seven books and no one even bat an eye, in fact, each and every one was met with a desperate sense of wanting before it had even hit the shelves. Being a Harry Potter fan myself (who isn’t?!), it never occurred to me that having seven books in a series was way too much. I bought and read everyone one, and they are still part of my ‘Library’ collection to this day. Does it depend on the individual stories themselves and the sophisticated way in which the author approaches them, that determines if they are suitable to be made into a series and not a trilogy? I can only imagine the depth of planning that is involved in splitting story lines over ‘x’ amount of books. The attention to detail alone must be so minute, so as not to trip oneself up on something that may have been written in book one and brought back up in book six.

Sometimes I find myself wanting more, and sometimes that want is satisfied. Maybe as I progress as an author and a writer, my prose will elevate to a place where people are still desperately in love with my work and characters in book seven as they were with the great J.K Rowling.