Over the past year or so I seem to have seen a lot of people complaining that book 2 of whatever fabulous new fantasy series is a let-down after the glories of book 1. There can be many reasons for this. It could be that book 1 was lovingly crafted over many years whereas 2 and 3 have to be written to publisher deadlines. It could be that SF&F fans read mainly for new ideas, and if book 2 contains no new world building but simply advances the plot then it will fail to satisfy. Or it could be something to do with the nature of celebrity: a new author might get more than 15 minutes of fame, but she can’t hope for more than one book’s worth. Whatever the reason, Alan Campbell’s follow-up to Scar Night seemed to be to be a step forward.
Not that Scar Night was a bad book (see my review), but Iron Angel gave me the impression of someone slowly growing into his craft. Campbell writes like a man who, having seen the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch and found them wanting in both horror and humor, has determined to do better. Sometimes he succeeds. I particularly liked his vision of Hell, with its Soul Middens and Wailing Ships. The book also has an unspoken assumption that, no matter how awful the denizens of the netherworld might be, in terms of pure nastiness they don’t hold a candle to the English upper classes. Gods, after all, are cruel and capricious by nature, but humans are that way by choice.
It could also be that a middle book, almost be definition, has no beginning or ending, and this can be a disappointing structure for any story.
I have to agree though, that one of the hardest adaptations an author has to make is the one from submitting a book only when it is ready, i.e. polished to the nth degree, to submitting one to meet a deadline, and yet not letting the standard slip.
Good point, I’d forgotten that one. Thanks.
Campbell, BTW, has opted to make books 2 and 3 a single story chopped in half, and book 2 ends utterly in media res.