I eventually gave up on the series because the Mary Sue-ness increased exponentially.
Wow. I had no idea there even was a level of Mary Sue beyond empathic treecat.
You know, I just... I woke up, and I looked in the mirror, and I thought, hey, what's with all the sin? I need to change. I'm... I'm dirty. I'm, I'm bad with the... sex and the envy and that, that loud music us kids listen to nowadays.
Buffy ,'Lessons'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Jessica - Mar 25, 2006 5:21:19 pm PST #249 of 28061
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?
DXMachina - Mar 25, 2006 5:25:02 pm PST #250 of 28061
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.
Wow. I had no idea there even was a level of Mary Sue beyond empathic treecat.
Well, now Harrington is also empathic via her link with the cat. Also, the cats turned out to be sentient, and they've been teaching them sign language.
Dana - Mar 25, 2006 5:26:39 pm PST #251 of 28061
"I'm useless alone." // "We're all useless alone. It's a good thing you're not alone."
Do the cats have violet eyes, perchance?
Typo Boy - Mar 25, 2006 5:27:18 pm PST #252 of 28061
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
Wow. I had no idea there even was a level of Mary Sue beyond empathic treecat.
Jessica. May I tag?
DavidS - Mar 25, 2006 5:28:52 pm PST #253 of 28061
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Well, now Harrington is also empathic via her link with the cat. Also, the cats turned out to be sentient, and they've been teaching them sign language.
Whoa.
Is it wrong of me to think there's some kind of bizarre Mary Sue feedback loop which afflicts certain sci-fi, fantasy and horror writers?
I'm still trying to puzzle out the whole Circle of Accolytes ghost-writes the later novels dynamic which crops up more than once.
meara - Mar 25, 2006 5:29:58 pm PST #254 of 28061
Oh dear. That sounds a little...frightening.
Y'know, there was a time when I would've LOVED that, i'm sure. What with being a fan of big white telepathic not-horses, and telepathic dragons, and so on and so forth. And yet, somehow, I've gotten to a point where reading an old favorite is one thing, but the reason I've gotten into space operas is that picking up the thousandth book of "Aerdreth was supposed to be a king, but her uncle stole the throne, and only her telepathic companion animal Sthellren and the stable boy Tath can help her find the magic sword that can win the kingdom back" was making me retch...:)
DavidS - Mar 25, 2006 5:31:26 pm PST #255 of 28061
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Btw, did Andre Norton initiate the empathic cat meme with Daybreak 2020 (aka The Beastmaster)?
I know there have been talking animals since forever in human folklore, but as it plays out in the Mary Sue narratives, it seems like that's where I first encountered it. Then The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. (Which I was re-reading a little bit in the last year and held up surprisingly well.)
Jessica - Mar 25, 2006 5:35:01 pm PST #256 of 28061
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?
May I tag?
Feel free!
DXMachina - Mar 25, 2006 5:35:13 pm PST #257 of 28061
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.
Well, they are alien cats, with six limbs. Not just empathic, telepathic, too.
Typo Boy - Mar 25, 2006 5:41:11 pm PST #258 of 28061
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
I was going to say, "Forgotten Beasts of Eld" had was great. If Mary Sueness was going on I failed to notice it.
Also I seem to remember James Schmitz's Telzy series had an intelligent empathic tree cat. When I read it I was too young to be aware of Mary-Sueness, but I never got an impression of excess perfection from Telzy, she was a superwoman, but didn't she have a tendency to get overconfident, and get into trouble for being a smartass? Too long ago but not sure.
As to Mary-Sue feedback phenomen, I do know how it happened in some specific cases. Every writer needs feedback. In some cases, once successful some writers choose to get that feedback only from worshipful adoring fans who think every word is golden and never criticize. That is they make the least discerning of their fanbase their feedback circle. I know for a fact that is part of what happened to L.K.Hamilton and one other writer who I won't name.
As to the second half of your question, I don't know that is why fans end continuing writers series, but that could be part of the explanation. On the other hand, it could also be that a fan becomes a writer, then the position of continuing the series opens, and of course a writer who has been successful on their own, but who loved the series is both most interested, and possibly most qualified.