Cycle-Saga-Series What is the difference?

[Jaycinth]

I've been trying to figure how to ask this question for weeks.
I've read:
"XYX's cycle of stories is wonderful."
and another person will write:
"XYX's Saga is a good read."
and yet another reviewer will :
"The latest in XYX's series is a good read."

See why I'm confused. I thought there were common literary conventions that differentiated between the terms.

And, does it really matter?

[engmajor2005]

A cycle I think would be a series of disconnected stories that occur in the same fictional universe, where any volume can be read idependently even if it the titles have overlapping characters or storylines. (Most fictional authors actually, but Stephen King is a good example. Classical folks will point you to William Faulkner.)

A saga would be connected stories that take place at various points along the same storyline within the same fictional universe, where events in one novel impact events in another novel. Reading each book allows for the best understanding, but is not necessary. (The Chronicles of Narnia and Neil Gaiman's Sandman most notably.)

A series is a set of books that take place in the same fictional universe, have overlapping characters, and follows one long story from one book to the other, making reading every book necessary (Harry Potter of course.)

These are the ways I best understand the distinctions, but I don't know if there are any hard and fast rules. Also, keep in mind that given those definitions, a cycle can be made up of several sagas, and a saga can be made up of several series'.