David Brin. It wasn’t a specific series but his novels in general. He released Kiln People in 2002. He then took a ten year break before releasing Existence. And he hasn’t released another novel in the five years since.
In the first nineteen years of his career (1980-1999) he released twelve novels. In the second eighteen years of his career (2000-2017) he released two novels. As far as I know, he’s never given a reason why he decided to cut back so severely.
Martin has admitting he abandons series. He says he gets bored. He wrote that he’ll think of an idea for a series and it will inspire him. So he’ll start writing with great enthusiasm. But that initial wave of enthusiasm soon burns out and he has nothing left but the hard work of grinding out the series one book or one story after another. Meanwhile, he’ll come up with a new idea for a different series. And he’ll compare the enthusiasm he feels for the new series with the apathy he now feels for the existing series - and then he’ll start working on the new series and effectively abandon the old one. He justifies this by saying he produces better work when he’s enthused by a project than when he’s forcing himself to write.
He’s also my nominee for abandoning the Empire of Man series. He writes the outlines, and John Ringo takes it from there. I love that series, but Weber won’t write any more outlines. (I’m sure Ringo could handle the entire load but contracts.)
In this time period Jim Butcher also got divorced, finished his second book series, found a new love, and got engaged, and started a third series. Prior to now he has been very consistent. I’m going to chalk it up to burn out with a heavy dose of real life getting in the middle. (The proposal is adorable.)
James Ellroys American Underworld series. American Tabloid 10/10. First half of The Cold Sox Thousand 10/10…then the second half of that book and Bloods a Rover plotzed. Its also a problem with using historical people in your fiction: You lose freedom to change a characters course.
What series did he finish? I generally enjoy his writing and the only finished series I knew of the the Codex and he wrapped that up in 2009. I had no idea on the personal life stuff but that certainly seems like things that could distract you from your day job especially when you don’t really need the money. Hopefully, you’re right that it is an aberration.
I don’t blame Butcher for abandoning Dresden. It has been floundering, and trying to top the previous book every time gets really old after what - 15 of them?
That’s what happens when there’s one storyline and one main character in the series. Compare/contrast with Iain M. Banks or Peter F. Hamilton where they didn’t have to wrack their brains about how to do something even more exciting in their next book.
I wish he’d just write the finale and be done with it already. A good series is like a good sitcom - it can end in good time or jump the shark.
He finished the Safehold series, but judging by the last book he lost interest in it as well.
Crap - you’re right about Alera. I guess I just remember it fondly. Time flies. :smack:
OK - He had Skin Game (Dresden) and Aeronaut’s Windlass (Cinder Spires) in 2015. Nothing in 2016. Nothing 2017.
Personal stuff as above. I think he’s just been taking some me time. He’s starting to pop up more on twitter, he’s started working on the next book. Promising signs.
Yeah, even the last few “new” books in the series have been mostly a retelling of the same events from a slightly different POV. Sad!
That’s only fair, since I got bored with it three books ago.
He’s got some short works coming out this summer, along with involvement in card games and an RPG. See here. Dresden Files, Cinder Spires, and an anthology are in the works but dates to be determined.
Patrick O’Brien went guns a blazing for 20 Aubrey/Maturain novels then quit abruptly with an outline of the 21st.
Some people would say dying is a good excuse. Not me dammit.
No, no. Gerrold swore that if Obama was elected for a second term, the next Cthorr book would be out before he left office. So, golly–it has to have come out before Jan 20, 2017. :rolleyes:
Some poster who was with Tor books (? I think) used to post here and he was pretty optimistic that the next Cthorr book was just about at the final about-to-be-turned-in stage, so Gerrold was apparently lying to Tor too.
Same with Avram Davidson’s Peregrine sequence. Twenty five years after reading Peregrine Primus, I discovered that there was a Peregrine Secondus. Only after reading that did I discover that there was supposed to be a third which was never written 
Ed McBain always said the last volume in his 87th Precinct Mysteries would be EXIT.
He died without writing it. DAMN.
If we’re counting wandering off mentally, the poster child for that is Dave Sim and Cerebus. Started off light, got serious, then went very, very wrong.
Well, poop. I was hoping for the other two SoG books too. I’d rather have them than yet other Thursday Next one, to be honest; I think there’s a shark circling very near the ramp there.
I had to check Wikipedia to see if Orson Scott Card ever finished his “Alvin Maker” series. Apparently he still plans to, but it’s been 14 years and counting since the last book was published.
I agree.
Meh, he killed off some good characters, and ran out of the Napoleonic Wars.
Edwin Thomas did three very good books of a Nautical Flashman, tricked and coerced into working for the Post Office (the intelligence agency of the British during the Napoleonic Wars) and coming out a very unhappy hero. He achieved his ambition, commanding a prison hulk where he could keep his girlfriend in his cabin. Thomas’ editors quit accepting them. He writes in another genre now.
If it ends up going the way his more recent books on “Ender’s Universe” have gone, it’d be better if he didn’t.