Only in the last 2 years have I begun my journey on reading as a hobby and pastime. I focused on sci-fi and fantasy picking series of books like The Witcher, The Wool series and The Expanse.
As I get to the last page of these books and browse the other books by the author they often have standalone novels set in the same universe.
The same thought crosses my mind that these books are probably not as good as the series of books and are more world building or cashing in on the success of the others.
What single novels or miniseries have you read that stood out as more interesting to you than the series an author is famous for?
The closest I’ve got is Neal Stephenson, specifically his System of the World trilogy vs the standalone Cryptonomicon, both set in the same larger context, and even with a character that shows up in both.
I loved the standalone, but I’ve tried and failed multiple times to even make it through the first of the trilogy.