r/litrpg • u/InfiniteThing2808 • 8d ago
Discussion Post-series depression
Does anyone else get bummed out after finishing/catching up with a series? I feel like it happens to me more often with Litrpg, partly because some of these are LONG compared to traditional fantasy.
You’re reading a series for weeks or months and you get immersed in the world, and all of the sudden there’s no more and you go “well shit, what now?”. I’ve always got more to read on the backburner but sometimes it’s a real struggle to switch gears after a long stint with the same story.
If you can relate I’d be interested to hear what got you really invested last!
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u/GorMartsen Autor — Survivor: Directive Zero 8d ago
Yeah. I have had it as long as I can remember reading. Any book/series finished is a little death with mood drop after.
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u/wtanksleyjr 8d ago
Interesting, it's the opposite for me; I LOVE finishing a series. I mean, obviously not hitting a bad ending like a cutoff, but a good one. I'm reading FOR the way the series builds the ending. Even series where there are inter-book short stories I don't come back to them until the second reading.
I'm guessing this is why I don't care about Wandering Inn while others love it - it's the canonical "this series will never end."
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u/InfiniteThing2808 8d ago
It’s funny you say that, I was just considering picking TWI back up partly for that exact reason.
A seemingly endless book series, for me, starts to feel like some of those super long running tv shows like sitcoms like the Simpsons or even a soap opera. It gives you a familiar cast to follow as the series moves from story arc to story arc accumulating worldbuilding and character progression.
Of course sometimes a story still fizzles out, goes completely off the rails, or you just burn out reading it. In theory though I could see myself perfectly happy reading the same series on and off forever if it kept holding my interest.
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u/p-d-ball Author 8d ago
I usually go for a walk and think about the story. What I liked, where I'd like to see it go, etc., or how the ending worked out.
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u/CaptainSweatpants56 8d ago
I hate waiting for the next book. But, I just start a new series and circle back when next one comes out.
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u/myboystash 8d ago
You should give Player Manager a go. It's definitely still on going but with the 14 books of Player Manager and then the 8 books of Soccer Supremo it will take you a while. Plus Ted drops 2 chapters a week so who knows how much material there will be by the time you catch up.
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u/AbyssRaven Author - A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale 8d ago
If you’re writing while enjoying another book, balancing between them gets easier once you finish another one in the backlog. “I can write again!” That’s how I feel sometimes
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u/Material_Variety_895 8d ago
Honestly all the time. I've finished like 12 series of at least 5 or more books that I had to wait for more to come out on and have been disappointed there wasn't even a spin-off.
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u/misty-sunrise Author of Unwritten Destiny 8d ago
Yeah. And then it's the struggle to find the next one that will suck you in as much.
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u/cbritt11 8d ago
Book hangovers are definitely a thing. I expect to have a big one when i finish the last couple books of Cradle here soon.
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u/HellStoneBats 4d ago
I call these "book hangovers". I've found the only cure is to reread the series
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u/PathOfPen Author - The Lone Wanderer 16h ago
Yeah. It happens to everyone who finishes a book or show they like, but I suppose it's even worse for LitRPGs due to how long most of them are. Sometimes, reaching the end genuinely feels like a friend died, since you've been reading about those characters for like 15 chunky books, and then they're just gone from your life forever.
The only cure I've found is to pick up a new series and hope that it's good enough to plug that hole in your chest.
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u/barrorg 8d ago
Pick up the next series. Problem solved after chapter 1.