One of my quirkier traits as a reader is a complete willingness to read a series out of order. Obviously, it’s not ideal to start a trilogy with the second volume, but if that’s the only book I’ve got, I’m not going to forego the entire series simply due to poor availability. This is especially true when it comes to older series. I tend to buy most of my books second hand, and try to avoid buying individual books online, which means I’m not in full control of what books I come across. Put simply, I see a book that interests me, and I read it.

Of course, encountering books without their intended context makes for difficult review-writing. It’s not really fair to criticise a book if I’m not properly equipped to make sense of it. Alternatively, it’s hard to recommend a book if, for all I know, you have to slog through a terrible first instalment to make full sense of the series.

It’s a conundrum I’ve been battling for as long as I’ve been talking about books, which is a worryingly long time. Today marks another attempt to handle the puzzle. I’ve gathered together a couple of series where I’ve started in the middle, and I’m going to do a quick review of my starting point.

Wizard, by John Varley (Book Two of the Gaean Trilogy (1981))

Despite being nominated for a Hugo Award, I found this book to be absolutely forgettable. It’s definitely not a series you can jump into the middle of, and is stuffed with ideas ranging from centaurs, mad gods, and space stations filled with lesbian witches. Frankly, there’s just too much going on, and none of it was very interesting.

Cobra Strike, by Timothy Zahn (Book Two of the Cobra Trilogy (1986))

I know Zahn primarily as a Star Wars author, but this earlier series is an equally fun action-oriented space opera. It doesn’t do anything particularly innovative, but Zahn knows how to tell an exciting story, and his skills are apparent even at this early stage in his career. The story does stand alone, and the whole Cobra trilogy is available through the Venture SF range, which was its UK debut, so I’m sure to be continuing this series at some point.

Prisoner of Conscience, by Susan R. Matthews (Book Two of the Under Jurisdiction series (1998))

On an objective level, I think this is the best of the three novels I’m talking about here. It’s a dark and harrowing look at the role of prisons, torture, and wartime penal colonies. As such, it is unrelentingly bleak. I don’t personally enjoy dystopias, but I would not be averse to exploring more of Matthews’ work in future. the one part that will stick in my mind the longest, however, is some truly bizarre writing choices. Sex scenes are an art all of their own, and for some inexplicable reason, Matthews fills hers with fish-based euphemism. I can only hope I never read the word ‘minnow’ used in such an odd context again. And as symbols of masculine sexuality go, surely there is something better than a fish.

If you’ve had a less out-of-sequence encounter with any of these series, I would love to hear from you. Who knows, maybe some day I’ll return to these series. I might even start at the beginning next time.