Rolling the dice

So, it’s no secret I’m working on revisions to the second 47 Echo novel. Writing a sequel is tricky business — you want to appeal to the people who liked the last book, but you don’t just want to retread the same ground again. I think we’ve all seen too many movies that were just a reworked version of the first one, and they’re no fun.

However, there is a lot of fun to be had while writing a sequel. You get to revisit characters you (hopefully) like, while introducing some new characters and giving everyone new challenges. I’m lucky — I gave myself a big universe with plenty of room to run, so new challenges aren’t so hard to do in my case.

Still, part of you wants to make the sequel so much better than the original that… well, that it makes the original look somehow inferior. It’s strange wanting to make your past self look like kind of an idiot, but thankfully, I am kind of an idiot, so I’ve left myself a lot of room to run there.

So what’s the best second novel in a series you’ve ever read? And what’s the worst? Did the best outshine the first novel by a mile, or was it just more of the same fun the first one offered?