LIFESTYLE
Not every sequel lives up to the expectations set by its predecessor. Here are a few that have remained practically unheard of
Most popular books have sequels due to popular demand by readers. But a lot of those books fail to make a mark among the same audience. We take a look at some of these sequels, which didn’t become as big hits as their predecessors, and try to understand why.
Agood stand-alone book can be a joyous experience. Although you may have read a fair number of books that may have felt like a complete story, some of them, managed to sneak in a sequel. There are a lot of reasons why an author may go back and write a sequel to a story that seemed done and dusted. Whether it’s to capitalise on the success of a movie adaptation, to revisit old ideas or just because they missed writing about those characters. Although in some cases the writer had always intended to write a second book, it is just unfortunate that some of them went unheard of. In this list, we’re going to cover a few sequels that you would have missed.
CLOSING TIME BY JOSEPH HELLER
Catch-22 is probably one of the most widely recognised novels of all time. Rather ironically, it’s sequel, Closing Time hardly got any attention. The story retains a majority of the same themes, while tying up the arcs of several of the original’s characters. The book again goes over the themes of war and death, fleshing them out in 1990s New York City. One point in the novel that may be a bit jarring is that the main character has only aged twenty years between 1944 and 1990. Joseph Heller has officially stated that he is well aware of this inconsistency but has decided to ignore it for the benefit of the story. On the face of it that’s a good decision as Closing Time is an excellent follow up to Catch-22.
PSYCHO 2 BY ROBERT BLOCH
Psycho is considered a pioneer of horror cinema in Hollywood. The success of the movie led to increased recognition for the novel, originally released in 1959. Now you may be familiar with the movie Psycho 2 but that bore absolutely no relation to the sequel of the novel. The film series would go on to spawn a third and fourth part as well while the novels would come to rest after just two instalments.
nues the tale of Norman Bates it features a few twists along the way. The novel is every bit as good as the first though a rift between Robert and Universal Studios meant that the author would have no further involvement with the movie series based on his own work.
DOCTOR SLEEP BY STEPHEN KING
fiction at an almost inhuman rate. Though he has written a lot of interconnected novels and short stories he doesn’t have too many direct sequels to his works. This makes more sense when you consider that in a way every Stephen King book is meant to tie in with the Dark Tower as a sort of shared universe. First published in 2013 Doctor Sleep is a follow up to one of Stephen King’s best works, The Shining. The book follows Danny Torrance as an adult. He’s trying to cope with his alcoholism while slowly rediscovering his powers that had been lying dormant. Though the book isn’t as ‘scary’ as the first part, it makes for an intriguing tale and wraps up Danny Torrance’s story, giving him as close to a happy ending as possible.
THE STARLIGHT BARKING B BY DODIE SMITH
The Starlight Barking is the follow p novel to Dodie’s highly acclaimed and uccessful 101 dalmatians. Though e Disney adaptation n anned a several sequels and even a TV ow, the book had no such su expanse, spawn in one solitary sequel. The sequel, while a good book, goes on a very different tangent from what you’d expect from the story, especially if you’re more familiar with the Disney versions. Starlight Barking follows an almost post-apocalyptic e where it’s up to ggs to e the day. The book makes a good read.
FIGHTI CLUB 2 BY CHUCK PALAHNIUK
It took nearly two decades for Chuck to publish a follow up to his novel Fight Club. The speculation throughout the years was that if there ever were to be a Fight Club sequel it would’ve been in the form of a movie. Almost as surprising as the twist to the end of this story, Chuck Palahniuk released Fight Club 2 as a series of graphic novels. The crux of the story still follows Sebastian, Tyler and Marla and has more than a few similarities to its predecessor. The series lacks the charm of the original with many elements of the story being predictable. Though if you haven’t been able to get your fill of Fight Club, you may just want to go out and get your hands on this collection.