I think sequels are the make-it-or-break-it books, actually. As in, if an author writes a decent book with a cliffhanger, or the first of a planned series, there's an automatic tendency in the reader to hold off on finalizing an opinion until reading the second book - because the story isn't finished yet, and that's a constant niggling factor.
And therefore the success of the second book becomes so much more important. The first book had to intrigue the reader to the point that they pick up book 2; the second has to justify all that waiting. I think that's the crux of the matter - there's that element of "don't make me wait for so long and then waste my time".
Then again, if the sequel is good, there's probably more of an extreme positive reaction to it - from relief that it was worth the wait, in addition to the literary merit.
Ultimately, no one reads in a vacuum. I like ACoK a lot more than most books published last year. But to me it will never quite fit in with the series because it doesn't fit my perception of what her story is about. And so the merit pales a bit as a result.
On part II: YES. I have some Thoughts about that being true in real life as well, but I still want to think about that.
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I think sequels are the make-it-or-break-it books, actually. As in, if an author writes a decent book with a cliffhanger, or the first of a planned series, there's an automatic tendency in the reader to hold off on finalizing an opinion until reading the second book - because the story isn't finished yet, and that's a constant niggling factor.
And therefore the success of the second book becomes so much more important. The first book had to intrigue the reader to the point that they pick up book 2; the second has to justify all that waiting. I think that's the crux of the matter - there's that element of "don't make me wait for so long and then waste my time".
Then again, if the sequel is good, there's probably more of an extreme positive reaction to it - from relief that it was worth the wait, in addition to the literary merit.
Ultimately, no one reads in a vacuum. I like ACoK a lot more than most books published last year. But to me it will never quite fit in with the series because it doesn't fit my perception of what her story is about. And so the merit pales a bit as a result.
On part II: YES. I have some Thoughts about that being true in real life as well, but I still want to think about that.