Ever read an incredible first book in a series only to be even MORE blown away by the second or subsequent books? Whether that first book really was incredible, or just good enough to pique your interest in the rest of the series, what we really want to hear about are the outstanding follow-ups, the ones that took the series to the next level.
We always kickstart these polls with a few of our own favorites, but we're more interested in yours, so if you don't see your top picks here, add them! You can do that either in the poll below or in our Facebook group. Nominate and vote for as many as you'd like this round; we'll pin you down to one selection next week.
What Sci-Fi Sequels Were Better Than the First Book?
The White Dragon (Dragonriders of Pern #3) by Anne McCaffery*16%, 86 votes
86 votes16%
86 votes - 16% of all votes
Foundation's Edge*11%, 58 votes
58 votes11%
58 votes - 11% of all votes
Ringworld Engineers by Larry Niven*9%, 51 vote
51 vote9%
51 vote - 9% of all votes
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card*8%, 43 votes
43 votes8%
43 votes - 8% of all votes
Uncompromising Honor (Honor Harrington Book 14) by David Weber*7%, 40 votes
40 votes7%
40 votes - 7% of all votes
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert*5%, 29 votes
29 votes5%
29 votes - 5% of all votes
Hell Divers VI: Allegiance (Hell Divers Book 6) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith 4%, 24 votes
24 votes4%
24 votes - 4% of all votes
After Wirlds Collide*4%, 23 votes
23 votes4%
23 votes - 4% of all votes
CyberWar (WW C Book 3) by Matthew Mather 4%, 20 votes
20 votes4%
20 votes - 4% of all votes
The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien*3%, 17 votes
17 votes3%
17 votes - 3% of all votes
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice*3%, 17 votes
17 votes3%
17 votes - 3% of all votes
Rogue Protocol (Murderbot Diaries Book 3) by Martha Wells 3%, 16 votes
16 votes3%
16 votes - 3% of all votes
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card*3%, 16 votes
16 votes3%
16 votes - 3% of all votes
Layers of Force (Star Kingdom Book 8) by Lindsay Buroker 3%, 14 votes
14 votes3%
14 votes - 3% of all votes
Fall of Hyperion*2%, 10 votes
10 votes2%
10 votes - 2% of all votes
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis*2%, 10 votes
10 votes2%
10 votes - 2% of all votes
The Honor of the Queen ( Honor Harrington Book 2) by David Weber*2%, 9 votes
9 votes2%
9 votes - 2% of all votes
Vertigo by GS Jennsen*1%, 8 votes
8 votes1%
8 votes - 1% of all votes
The Gap into vision (Forbidden Knowledge) by Stephen Donaldson*1%, 7 votes
7 votes1%
7 votes - 1% of all votes
Beowulf’s Children Book 2 by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes*1%, 7 votes
7 votes1%
7 votes - 1% of all votes
For Honor we Stand (The man of war series) by H. Paul Honsinger*1%, 6 votes
6 votes1%
6 votes - 1% of all votes
Second Stage Lensman (Lensman Book 5) by E. E. "Doc" Smith*1%, 6 votes
6 votes1%
6 votes - 1% of all votes
The Dark Forest (The Three-Body Problem Book 2) by Cixin Liu 1%, 6 votes
6 votes1%
6 votes - 1% of all votes
First Colony – Nemesis by ken lozito*1%, 5 votes
5 votes1%
5 votes - 1% of all votes
Player of Games by Iain Banks*1%, 4 votes
4 votes1%
4 votes - 1% of all votes
The Year of the Flood (MaddAddam Book 2) by Margaret Atwood 0%, 2 votes
2 votes
2 votes - 0% of all votes
Shadows Linger by Glen Cook*0%, 2 votes
2 votes
2 votes - 0% of all votes
A Path in the Darkness*0%, 1 vote
1 vote
1 vote - 0% of all votes
Gone by Michael Grant*0%, 1 vote
1 vote
1 vote - 0% of all votes
Total Votes: 538
Voters: 315
March 2, 2021
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https://discoverscifi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/What-sci-fi-sequel-was-better-than-the-original_.png6801200Discover Sci-Fihttps://discoverscifi.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/discover-scifi.pngDiscover Sci-Fi2021-03-04 08:10:522021-03-04 08:10:56What Sci-Fi Sequel Was Better Than the First Book?
2replies
Gary says:
There is no doubt in my mind that the best sequel is The Vampire Lestat. It’s the best book in the entire series.
Well, that was at least marginally interesting. Going through my collection and lists, the only two candidates I found were “Speaker for the Dead” (already listed; I know it’s a minority opinion, but not an unreasonable one) and James Morrow’s “Blameless in Abaddon,” which is even better than the first book in his godhead trilogy, “Towing Jehovah.” Not sure you can really count the Fall of Hyperion as a “sequel,” as it’s more of a two-part book. Ditto for the Two Towers.
Other than that, I only found long series (The Expanse and The Laundry Files) where in each case the second book was better than the first.
I see someone *thought* he’d be amusing by nominating “Dune Messiah,” but failed abjectly.
There is no doubt in my mind that the best sequel is The Vampire Lestat. It’s the best book in the entire series.
Well, that was at least marginally interesting. Going through my collection and lists, the only two candidates I found were “Speaker for the Dead” (already listed; I know it’s a minority opinion, but not an unreasonable one) and James Morrow’s “Blameless in Abaddon,” which is even better than the first book in his godhead trilogy, “Towing Jehovah.” Not sure you can really count the Fall of Hyperion as a “sequel,” as it’s more of a two-part book. Ditto for the Two Towers.
Other than that, I only found long series (The Expanse and The Laundry Files) where in each case the second book was better than the first.
I see someone *thought* he’d be amusing by nominating “Dune Messiah,” but failed abjectly.