Personally, I think this is rather selfish. While I may like the idea of Garrett and Billy pursuing their relationship, the mere thought that DK killed off the wives so these two could have one greatly...upsets me. To kill off both Masako and Imaline to further a plot line of Garrett and Billy getting together will undoubtedly turn me off from the story. (Although I doubt even that would prevent me from reading the sequel. I just need to know what happens! )
Okay. First reactions?
I had refrained from reading Dreams of Humanity because, like others, I wanted to be able to read the entire way through without having to wait for chapters. When I read DK's post saying that Chapter 40 would be the last of DoH, I decided it was time to read it. I enjoyed every single word I read, and went through a roller coaster of emotions.
However, when I read the last couple paragraphs, I couldn't help but feel dismay. My first thought was "What the hell?!?!" (Accomanied by a rather loud gasp) Next thought was, "This is another Dawn of Tears!" (I was very disappointed with the abrupt ending). I quickly dismissed that idea though. My faith in DK as an author quickly silenced that irrational thought.
But, nevertheless, I was still dismayed by the ending and quickly logged on to GA to find other people's opinions. I wanted to see what other people thought about the rather abrupt and disappointing ending to one of the best stories I have ever read. My dismay ended rather quickly when I realized that this really wasn't the end (I'm still a bit disappointed that I have to wait though )
I'm gonna have to agree a little bit with Graeme here. The ending of DoH really wasn't an ending at all. Granted, there are many novels and movies out there that end with a cliffhanger of sorts. For example, take a look at the recent X-men movie. At the end, we see that Magneto gains his powers back. A big shock for many people, myself included. This leaves room for another sequel, which I'm sure the ending of DoH was meant to do. However, there is one MAJOR difference between the two.
The story of Garrett, Billy, Masako, Imaline, and countless others, by the end of DoH, has not finished. By the end of the third X-men movie, all the conflicts had been resolved (Well, most of them anyway). But, nevertheless, the main conflict had been resolved. However, this is not the case with DoH. The main conflict has not been resolved.
Sequels are meant to continue existing stories. Finished stories. Stories that had already resolved a large part of its conflicts. Sequels are merely a continuation, meant to add new spice to an old story or present it at a completely different angle (As I myself am not an author, I would like to know what other authors think about this) Take for example DomLuka's 'The Log Way' and 'In the Fish Bowl." TLW's story had finished. ITFB added spice to an old story, shook it up, and presented it in a different way. Another example would be DK's 'Do Over' and its sequels. By the last paragraph of DO, the story had finished. DOR continued DO, and like ITFB to TLW, it added spice to an old story, shook it up, and presented it in a different way.
I hope people are getting what I'm saying here. DoH has not been finished; thus, I can't see the second installment as a sequel. Like Graeme, I'll see it as Chapter 41 of DoH.
With that said...When's the next chapter coming out?