Orphaned Series/Literature

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Examples of Orphaned Series in Literature include:

  • Older Than Print: At the beginning of The Canterbury Tales, the characters are all heading to Canterbury for various reasons, and it's stated that each one will (for a story contest) tell two stories on the way there, and two on the way back. However, it breaks off before they make it to Canterbury or even have one character tell more than one story (in some cases, such as "The Cook's Tale", the story is incomplete). Whether or not Geoffrey Chaucer simply abandoned it or meant to finish it but died first is unknown. (An alternative explanation is that the work was completed, but no complete version of the manuscript has been retained or recorded.)
  • Some scholars consider The Tale of Genji an example. It cuts off abruptly with the potential for plenty more story.
  • Puffin has apparently announced that the Hagwood Triology, about a shapeshifting, hobbit-like race, has been abandoned by Robin Jarvis. Same fate for Intrigues of the Reflected Realm series?
  • Quest Of The Gypsy by Ron Goulart was supposed to be 6 books long, but stopped after the second book in 1977.
  • Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy was planned to be a decalogy, but was cut short by his sudden death.
  • Kim Newman writing as Jack Yeovil's Demon Download series for Games Workshop's Dark Future universe has been awaiting the fourth and final installment since 1991. Despite GW republishing the earlier works, there's no sign of the final volume ever appearing in print.
  • Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, which he spent twenty-plus laborious years making until he abruptly died in the middle of writing the twelfth and final book. (Subverted in that he left behind enough notes that another author could, and did, finish it for him.)
  • Tales of the Nine Charms by Erica Farber and J.R. Sansevere had two books published in 2000 and 2001 respectively and claims to be a trilogy. As of 2012, the third book has yet to materialize.[please verify]

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