Top Ten Tuesdays: Books That Need Sequels

Top Ten Tuesdays: Books that need sequels

I’m taking down any veil that exists that presumes I am literary and saying that every good book I read deserves a sequel. Yes, I know sometimes it’s more literary or fitting to leave things ambiguous, but I say no.  Just tell me what happened with Scarlett and Rhett. Tell me how Hazel exists without her one great love.  Just tell me and make it good. And I mean good. No selling out for a few more bucks (ahem Patterson). Here’s a list of the top books that deserve sequels. And maybe a few that shouldn’t have had them. In no particular order:

1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. So maybe this one doesn’t have to be an exact sequel, but Cline did a darn fine job of writing an adventure/mystery novel that kept me hooked more than most books I can think of. His futuristic world was fleshed out, and I wouldn’t mind visiting it again. 

2. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.  This sequel would have to be written by Mitchell herself.  With such a classic on our hands (and various quasi-sequels out there written by someone else), I would love to see where Scarlett and Rhett are in the future, even if it isn’t with each other. 

3. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.  Television series aside, I would like to read about this fantastical world a little more.

4. Dear John Green, I love you and you need to continue writing. If you get stuck with ideas, maybe write a sequel to any one of your fabulous books. Thanks for your time. Love, Amanda 

5. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I get that Claire and Henry’s story might have ended tragically beautiful and there is no need to go that route, but I believe they had a daughter, and since I’m the biggest fan ever of time travel, I say,  why not Audrey, why not? 

6. The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. All dystopian fiction starts in a place of tragedy, and it’s up to the author to create hope within this hopeless world. Heller did a wonderful job of showing the highs and lows of survival, and of course, as is the literary way, ended without so much as an epilogue. So for all dystopians that end in hope, I say—sequel please? 

7. Watchmen by Alan Moore. Despite my earlier, more naïve claims that this book isn’t worth the read, I’ve since realized it’s one of those books that has stuck with me, and even has me longing for a sequel.  

These don’t quite fall in line with sequels, but I’m adding them anyway. Behold, I bring you an adaptation of sorts, and two books that should not have had sequels:

8. "Chance" by Connie Willis. The. Best. Short. Story. Ever. But I can’t get anyone to read it because it’s a short story. Sigh. So please Ms. Willis, turn this great American sci-fi wonder into a novel so I can introduce it to everyone.   

9. Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin.  Sequel that should not have been: Son of Rosemary. *Spoiler Alert* Really? It was all a dream? So the devil doesn’t exist and isn’t impregnating innocent young women with his spawn? I mean, fiction is fiction, and it shouldn’t have to be dreamt away to be good. I’m just saying. 

10. Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Sequels that should not have been: Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. What a wonderful idea to jump into the world of an already established classic and flesh it out. Except his idea to focus on Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, falls short when she dies in the first book. After that we slog through sequel after sequel, wishing we had the spice and intrigue that Elphaba created, but having to deal with realistic, and in the end boring, characters instead. Where sequels can often provide that much needed closure for the reader, Maguire’s series falls short. Maybe he should have just kept us longing for a sequel.  

A sequel to my post:

This was actually a hard list to come up with, mostly because writers do realize they have a good thing going and continue to write about the worlds they have created.  So thank you to all of the authors that realize we love when you continue your story.  

~Amanda D. 

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