What is the best Trilogy or Quartet?

[atiguhya padma]

I suppose many would say Lord of the Rings for the trilogy. Personally I really liked the Regeneration Trilogy. Lanark was great too (although it really is a novel in three books). Philip Kerr did the German Requiem trilogy, but I haven't yet read it.

Regarding quartets:

I think maybe the only one I have read is Red Riding Quartet by David Peace. I thought that was really fast-paced, in-your-face kind of literature.

Lawrence Durrell did the Alexandria Quartet which I haven't read yet. Anyone know anything about it? Is The Hitchikers Guide a trilogy, quartet or more? I remember reading the first three books, but can't remember how many it went to.

[Diceman]

Hitchhikers' Guide, obviously. 5 books in that "trilogy".

Also, John Christopher's Tripods trilogy: The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, and The Pool of Fire. These are sci-fi for older kids (I read them in my early teens), but still among the best books I've read.

[subterranean]

Tolkien's Lord of thr Ring

[crisaor]

I'll second LotR too.

[Sindhu]

My choice would be the Narnia books! and Yes, I LOVE harry Potter too!
Btw, Could the Divine comedy be seen as a kind of Trilogy- Inferno, Purgatry, and Paradiso?
And if we are bringing plays into this, Henry IV(part1&2)plusHenry V make a remarkable dramatic triology.

[Cassandra]

I have to say LotR as well, it has been my fav book for years, But I must admit the Guide is about the funniest book(s) I've read and I can't say I don't llove many of the others. Groups of books are generally great, you get to know the people and places so much better.

[Munro]

Heh, the trilogy in five parts.

[Cassandra]

It started out as trilogy. anyway it's brilliant so don't jip. It's supposed to be funny.

[atiguhya padma]

I forgot to mention the New York Trilogy by Paul Auster. Although I would say the first book is by far the best.

[atiguhya padma]

What is the longest serial novel? Henry Williamson had something like 20-odd novels in his series A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight. And Anthony Powell had 12 books in his series A Dance to the Music of Time.

I know this is going slightly off thread, but hey its my thread anyway!:D

[Koa]

*pondering* I don't think I've ever read a trilogy... except maybe the Divine Comedy but then I haven't really read it...certainly not all of it.

[bbq13]

hmm... i haven't read hitchhikers guide... can sm1 tell me wat its about?? it sounds intersting... i jst wna know wat it is b4 i buy d 1st book... my cousin has a collection of all lotr books... i've read dem all...

[Munro]

Originally posted by Cassandra
It started out as trilogy. anyway it's brilliant so don't jip. It's supposed to be funny.

It is funny. Have you heard the BBC Radio series? In a way I much prefer those, cos of all the sound effects and Marvin's voice is just so perfect. As Douglas Adams always joked, the stories were a bit different, and whenever he tried to explain why he just contradicted himself.

[Cassandra]

The Guide is basically about the guy called Ford who ends up stuck on Earth, then as it's demolished he and an earthling mate escape and various humourous adventures follow, you should read it, it is hilarious.

[subterranean]

I wanna add Sartre's Trilogy. They're worth mentioning

[Kiwi Shelf]

I have to go with The Chronicles of Narnia or LOTR

Although, I really like Douglas Adams, I just haven't read the Hitchhiker's series yet. I may have to one of these days.

[Sancho]

"Commedia," Dante.

As with guitars, there's alot of wanna-be's but only one Martin.

Strictly my opinion, of course.

[Cassandra]

Martins are the best.

[Munro]

"Alright . . . how do I pronounce your name again. . .?"

"Martin . . . "

"Right, Martin."

[Cassandra]

Blue jam?

[atiguhya padma]

What about Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials?

[Cassandra]

Terrific! But incredibly sad :( I really wanted Lyra and Will to get to stay together at the end. I love the books but I always seem to end up crying through at least half of the trilogy.

[Sancho]

OK, I may have been a little hasty, not to mention pretentious, in my earlier post. Not having read all of the trilogies, who am I to say?

And while C.F. Martin’s rosewood Dreadnoughts are superb, there are many fine acoustic guitars out there.

Of course where amplification is required the field is wide open. Leo Fender makes a wonderful machine.

“Play it fast and play it hard and pedal - pedal - pedal.”
-- Stevie Ray Vaughan

[bbq13]

hmm... i was just wondering... are there any trillogies for horror novels?? something like stephen king's stuff... just wondering...

[IWilKikU]

King has got his "Dark Tower" series. I havn't read it yet, but I hear that its among his best works. Right now there are 5 books published, the series ends at seven. Other than that King has several settings that he often returns to, and there are often references to other stories that took place in those settings, but all of his other novels stand alone. Except "Black House". Thats a sequal to the Talisman. Than there's Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. I think there are 7 or 8 of them, but I may be mistaken. I wish I could tell you more, but I'm not really into horror. Just King (which I don't really consider 'horror' anyways).

[amuse]

The "Earthsea Trilogy" by Ursula LeGuin is terrific. And along the way it too became a quartet.

[subterranean]

Originally posted by Sancho
..Leo Fender makes a wonderful machine.




Here here... :D

Can stories like Jules Verne's be considered as trilogy too? I'm talking about The Journey to the Center of the Earth, Around the World in 80 days and that Twenty Thousand Leagues Under
the Sea

I mean the theme is simliar I suppose.

[IWilKikU]

I guess you could make that arguement, but you would have to do some pretty heavy argueing. I think a true trilogy needs to carry on the story from book to book. Those three are all different stories.

[verybaddmom]

i cannot neglect to mention the "Outlander" series, by Diana Gabaldon....there are more than three, in fact the series is currently up to number five with the publication of "The Fiery Cross" and i believe there is another book just out with an offshoot story on some of the characters from the original tale, told from a different angle. unfortunately i havent gotten my hands on this one yet.
anyhow, i just felt that this series needed mention.

[Raven]

Lord of the Rings

you're all going to hate me soon, I'm such a Fantasy Freak ;)

[Cassandra]

Originally posted by Raven
Lord of the Rings

you're all going to hate me soon, I'm such a Fantasy Freak ;)

Don't worry me too ;) What else do you like?

[Raven]

I adore both Tamora Pierce and Mercedes Lackey. Pierce tends towards Quartets (although she has just published the first in a duology). Lackey is big with the trilogies, but has a couple of free-standing novels. Both are fantasy, and both feature unappreciated and unknown heroes

[amuse]

I liked Lackey's Firebird.

[Jinny]

The trilogy of Oedipus sparked the study of a lot of psychological debate pertaining to the love of your mother and even your own sanity. It told of the twisted ways that Fate worked and how you can do something you may not want to out of pure ignorance. Poor Oedipus was a man between a rock and a hard place.
Since I am probably the only person on this side of the universe who didn't care for Lord of the Rings,I'd have to say dumb ol' Oedipus is quite a crooked tale.

[simon]

I recently read a little known trilogy that I found filled with magic realism, the first book is called The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts and it is writted by Lois De Bernieres.

[amuse]

wowswers that's quite a title

[Cassandra]

Originally posted by Jinny
The trilogy of Oedipus sparked the study of a lot of psychological debate pertaining to the love of your mother and even your own sanity. It told of the twisted ways that Fate worked and how you can do something you may not want to out of pure ignorance. Poor Oedipus was a man between a rock and a hard place.
Since I am probably the only person on this side of the universe who didn't care for Lord of the Rings,I'd have to say dumb ol' Oedipus is quite a crooked tale.

I love Oedipus, it's one of my fave plays :D

[simon]

How about the Oresteia.

[emily655321]

Forgot all about the ole Oresteia. Read the Agamemnon bit in the 11th grade Greek overview (think it's the second part, right?). I planned to read the others, but we went on to Plato and there was enough to think about there! I should go back to it, I liked it a lot, although Cassandra got a bit whiney. Sophocles is still better, though, it my opinion ("A State of one man is no State at all" --Haemon, 'Antigone').

Oh, and Tolkien kicks both their butts. :p

[IWilKikU]

They're not really even the same genre. How can you compare them?

[emily655321]

You can't, I'm just being silly.

[simon]

Sophocles is a cannon compared to the small ladies pistol of Aeschylus. They aren't even in the same munitions factory.

[EAP]

My favorite triology: the original Foundation books.

I don't really consider Lord of the Rings as a triology since the author didn't intend it that way.


I also like George R R Martin's 'A Song of Fire and Ice Saga' which compromises of three huge books at the moment.

Riftwar Triology is also brilliant.

Kane and Abel, The Prodigal Daughter and Shall we tell the President by Jeffery Archer also form a triology of sorts. Brilliant books.

[George]

The Lord of the Rings.Since this is the only trilogy I've read, I chose it. Though I'd like you guys to recommend me other ones.

[EAP]

Err, George what is your taste in literature? If you looking for general recommendations, then there are a lot scatterred throughout various previous posts in this thread. :)
For starters, I'd recommend the Science fiction classic, Foundation. [The original foundation.]

[IWilKikU]

Speaking of trilogies/series, has anyone read the entirety of Arthur C. Clark's A Space Odyssy series? The movie of 2001: A Space Odyssy (Kubric) is mind blowing. Pretty much everyone here has seen it and talked about it in other threads, but has anyone actually read it?

[EAP]

I have read the book but not watched the movie. :( The book is great! I sadly don't possess the later Odyssey's but I found the whole thing, specially the HAL concept pretty breathtaking.

[crow]

Originally posted by EAP
My favorite triology: the original Foundation books.

I don't really consider Lord of the Rings as a triology since the author didn't intend it that way.


I also like George R R Martin's 'A Song of Fire and Ice Saga' which compromises of three huge books at the moment.

Riftwar Triology is also brilliant.

Kane and Abel, The Prodigal Daughter and Shall we tell the President by Jeffery Archer also form a triology of sorts. Brilliant books.

Loved them all. Started my husband reading with LOTR. Then he made me read The rift War and Martins Fire and Ice. Still waiting for the forth book, apparently it's out in Britian. Not in Aust. yet.:mad:

Other fantasy saga that last's foever is Robert Jordans Wheel of Time. Up to book 10. I found it a non apologetic ripoff of LOTR for inspiration but with a deeper development of the characters in a way that Tolkien did not. With Female leads. Unfortunately his last book I found was a serious let down and I am now reluctant to get the rest until he completes the series.

[IWilKikU]

Thats the same way several other people here feel.

[simon]

I just finished reading the Foundation books and having never been a real science fiction fan, just reading my brother's out of boredom, but I really enjoyed these.

[EAP]

Thats the same way several other people here feel

That's the way 99.9% people feel, and the way everybody should feel, IMO. I loved the first seven books, but after that it grew into such a snailpased unresolvable tangle that it was impossible to continue.

I have always been a huge Tolkien fan [His Middle-earth myths still dwarf most of the fantasy worlds out there] but off late I have been more inclined towards Martin. He just is...exquisite.



Then he made me read The rift War and Martins Fire and Ice. Still waiting for the forth book, apparently it's out in Britian.

Are you sure it's out in Britian? The Amazon release date says August and as of three days ago, there wasn't any notice on his official website?

[UofM-D]

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever
V1. Lord Foul's Bane, V2. The Illearth War, V3. The Power That Preserves by Stephen R. Donaldson is my favorite trilogy.

[JediFonger]

uh.... trilogy means 3 and quartest means 4. some of the titles you guys are mentioning here go beyond that =).

meanwhile Tolkien's lotr is NOT a trilogy. everyone keeps propagating that... though there's no way to stop it now. he wrote it as ONE book and because of the cost & scarcity of paper in th 50s they had to chop it up. in fact it was originally supposed to be published in 6 separate books and that's why you can still read "book 1, book2... book6" through the series. the best way to think of LOTR is ONE book... to rule them all and in the darkness... ok ok ok. if you HAD to think of Tolkien's works as a trilogy then please do this:

1. Silmarillions
2. The Hobbit
3. LOTR

regarding Chronicles of Narnia... that's like 7 books, Jordan's is 7 or 9 or somn like that. either way this concept of teh trilogy+quartet exists mostly in pop culture started by star wars. books don't usually follow that convention. they are typically resolving conflicts+resolution in one book because the book's length and pace allows them to do so. a film or TV medium would require multiple separate works to thoroughly engage and tell a grander bigger story. having said that i've never read any 'trilogy' that i thought were as interesting as Tim Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy. if lucas never makes Episodes 7-9 (and at this point i hope he never does) then Tim Zahn's trilogy (as well as the duology follow-up) would be the cure for any star wars fan's itch.

CS Lewis has a Space trilogy that I've yet to finish (i'm on That Hideous Strength).

[emily655321]

Good point about LOTR.

[Edzabeen]

I haven't read many trilogies but I'd vote for Henry Sienkiewicz and his trilogy about medieval Poland. It consists of three books: "With fire and sword", "The Deluge" and "Pan Michael". Unfortunately I only have had the chance to read the second one but I'm hoping to correct this mistake some day. Also his works "Teutonic knights", "Quo vadis" and "In Desert and Wilderness" more in http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/sienkiew.htm

[crisaor]

meanwhile Tolkien's lotr is NOT a trilogy. everyone keeps propagating that...
:confused:
The "Lord of the Rings" series was in fact published in three books, so it easily fits the description of trilogy.

[Tolkien]wrote it as ONE book and because of the cost & scarcity of paper in th 50s they had to chop it up. in fact it was originally supposed to be published in 6 separate books and that's why you can still read "book 1, book2... book6" through the series. the best way to think of LOTR is ONE book... to rule them all and in the darkness...
That's partially true. Initially, Tolkien wrote only the Hobbit as an amusing story for his kids, in wasn't until some time later that he decided to go on with the story.

ok ok ok. if you HAD to think of Tolkien's works as a trilogy then please do this:
1. Silmarillions
2. The Hobbit
3. LOTR
That's also inaccurate. Tolkien didn't actually wrote (and by that, I mean completing it) the Silmarillion. He had tons of separate notes regarding the creation of the world, the battles, the alliances, and so on. It was his son, Christopher Tolkien, the one who edited all into a single and coherent piece, which turned out to be, IMO, the best book of the series.

[emily655321]

(I know, I'm dictionary-obsessed.)

\Tril"o*gy\, n. [Gr. trilogi`a; pref. tri- (see Tri-) + lo`gos speech, discourse: cf. F. trilogie.] A series of three dramas which, although each of them is in one sense complete, have a close mutual relation, and form one historical and poetical picture. Shakespeare's `` Henry VI.'' is an example.

So, to really be a considered a trilogy, the books should be written as separate stories. For instance, "Oedipus the King," "Oedipus at Colonus," and "Antigone." You don't need to read them all in succession to understand what's going on in each.

LOTR (Lord of the Rings, Two Towers, Return of the King -- not talking about the Hobbit. Forget about the Hobbit), on the other hand, was written as all one story. Originally it was a single manuscript, but the publisher said it was too long, so Tolkien had to chop it up. He split it into six parts, to be published as six books. But the publisher took those and decided to condense them into three, and we have "the trilogy," which isn't actually a trilogy at all. It's the same as if you took Moby Dick and separated the chapters into three groups; it wouldn't suddenly be a trilogy.

[JediFonger]

crisaor,

to add to what em said, in a very technical sense, through evidences in his biography, 'Letters of JRR Tolkien', introductions throughout lotr, 12 volume of history of middle earth, Tolkien started writing 'Middle Earth story' when he was 21. he didn't plan anything. everything that came afterwards just started to fall into his large jigsaw puzzle. JRRT puts it best when he described his own writing process as if the world has already existed and he was merely an historian/acheologist uncovering the entire history of the Middle Earth. what he started then is what we can read in the 12 volumes of history of middle earth, book of lost tales. the quantity of his writings were tremendous, to say the least... yet i do think they weren't very much refined to be read by the public. if you tried reading the 12 volumes it's almost like watching james earl jones reading the phone book... though some of you may perversely enjoy that. my philosophy about them is that they're like 'documentaries' or 'bonus material'. just as when you buy a DVD today and you watched the specials... only the length of the specials supercedes that of the original movie. an example is lotr extended editions. the documentaries are 12 hours long, 4 times longer than th movies themselves. it's the same idea. what does this all have to do with trilogies? well to start with, lotr was written as a sequel to the hobbit... but became something larger. it was never planned to be a 'trilogy'. then when the work was finished it was one long story that Tolkien wanted to publish as ONE book, and by that time he wanted to publish Silmarilions AND lotr simultaneously. Allen&Unwin thought that was insane... so in a business-like-way they split up the books. though Tolkien minded it didn't matter, his work was getting published. he let that slip... until later in his letters and various correspondences he does prefer fans of his work to read lotr as one volume. therefore LOTR technically by business-means it is a trilogy BUT philosophically, with the approval of the author, it is ONE story.

and really would you say one is better than another? i couldn't it is meant to be read as one story and that's how it should be enjoyed. it's like cutting up the mona lisa in 3 parts and saying, well i like the lip better.

[emily655321]

Hear, hear. Ah, pointlessly obsessing over minutia...

[amuse]

aye, aye.

s10cr

[JediFonger]

ah but that's the fun part of being lit discussion online... you can seinfield as much as you want.

[crisaor]

(I know, I'm dictionary-obsessed.)
You're right. You know, dictionaries can really restrict a discussion.

if you tried reading the 12 volumes it's almost like watching james earl jones reading the phone book... though some of you may perversely enjoy that.
That's funny. I can picture him doing that. I wouldn't mind listening, but only if he does the good old helmet's voice.

and really would you say one is better than another? i couldn't it is meant to be read as one story and that's how it should be enjoyed. it's like cutting up the mona lisa in 3 parts and saying, well i like the lip better.
It's not meant to be read as one story. If you read the Silmarillion before, like I did, you would learn several things that spoil the main story later on. The literary style, the character depiction and treatment, the themes, they're all an improvement with regard to the other books, so that's why I think it's better. Besides, your comparison seems out of place to me. And who cares about the Mona Lisa anyways? ;)

[emily655321]

What isn't meant to be read as one story? The Lord of the Rings is, because it is one story. I don't think you'll find many people to debate that. Did you mean Hobbit, LOTR, and the Silmarillion aren't one story? Because you're right, they aren't, but that's not what JF was referring to.

[crisaor]

Emily, I was referring to the Silmarillion, the Hobbit, and LotR.

[JediFonger]

crisaor, as levar burton says in reading rainbow, "don't take my word for it"

here is JRR Tolkien himself in letter#124:

[regarding LOTR-JediFonger] And now I look at it, the magnitude of the disaster is apparent to me. My work has escaped from my control, and I have produced a monster: an immensely long, complex, rather bitter, and terrifying romance, quite unfit for children (if fit for anybody); and it is not really a sequel to The Hobbit, but to The Silmarillion.

...

Worse still: I feel that it is tied to the Silmarillion.

...

Ridiculous and tiresome as you may think me, I want to publish them both- The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings-in conjunction or in connexion. 'I want to'-it would be wise to, say, a millions words, of matter set out in extenso that Anglo-Saxons (or the English-speaking public) can only endure in moderation, is not very likely to see the light, even if paper were available at will.

[end exerpt-JediFonger]

it is only too sad that he did not live to see Silmarillion published.

[amuse]

ah, but perhaps he read it later.

[JediFonger]

amuse, who read it later? about what?

[amuse]

i just believe in many bodies for our one life (i.e. reincarnation). that's all.

[crisaor]

Man, I wish I could do that kind of "disaster".

[Taliesin]

The famous "Earthsea" four-books trilogy. Or does it now have six parts? I am not very sure....

[EAP]

Earthsea now has Five parts with The Other Wind being published compartively recently.

[Rebecca East]

Paul Scott's Raj Quartet begins with "The Jewel of the Crown". He describes the conflicts in India during their struggle for independence, from the point of view of characters who differ in age, gender, ethnic background, and social class. I found it somewhat slow going in places; but his ability to capture different perspectives was remarkable, and a reminder that the same events can be experienced and understood quite differently.

I'm a fan of Diana Gabaldon;s Outlander series (mentioned earlier) as well; I loved her feisty heroine (but her occasional descriptions of torture were too graphic for my taste).

[Sitaram]

In high school, I read and loved Lawrence Durrell's "Alexandrian Quartet: Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive and Clea" That was 40 years ago. In the mid 1990s I found a copy of Balthazar and re-read it. The setting of the novels is Alexandria, Egypt, in the 1920's I believe. There is a lot of steamy sex throughout the books, which I enjoyed as a teenaged boy. The novels describe life in a Muslim country. This was my first exposure of any sort to Islam. In one scene, some Egyptian businessmen hire a blind Muzzine to recite portions of the Qu'ran. It said the men wept from the beauty. I ran out and bought a copy of "The Meaning of the Glorious Koran" translated by Muhammed Marmaduke Pickthall. I spent my summer before leave for freshman year in college, reading that translation of the Koran cover to cover. I forced myself to do it, as an exercise. I found it rather repetitive and boring.

Oh, the other thing I got out of reading Durrell was that he often mentioned the poetry of Constantine Kavafy, and called him "the old poet of the city." I bought a paperback selection of the poems of Kavafy, translated from Greek.

I want to share with you my favorite poem of Cavafy:

http://www.geocities.com/billiedee2000/anth-cavafy.html


The City

You said, "I will go to another land, I will go to another sea.
Another city will be found, a better one than this.
Every effort of mine is a condemnation of fate;
and my heart is -- like a corpse -- buried.
How long will my mind remain in this wasteland.
Wherever I turn my eyes, wherever I may look
I see black ruins of my life here,
where I spent so many years destroying and wasting."

You will find no new lands, you will find no other seas.
The city will follow you. You will roam the same
streets. And you will age in the same neighborhoods;
and you will grow gray in these same houses.
Always you will arrive in this city. Do not hope for any other --
There is no ship for you, there is no road.
As you have destroyed your life here
in this little corner, you have ruinded it in the entire world.


-- before 1911, transl. Rae Dalven

[Taliesin]

We also remember Dan Simmons's "Hyperion" quartet. Excellent work by our humble opinion. has anyone else read it?
Reading "Hyperion" at the moment, more precisely "The water of Lethe is bitter" (was it named so?)

It's just so damn sad. :(

[Surfer]

Sleepwalkers Trilogy by Hermann Broch.

Personally, I feel The Anarchist is the best of the three, but not by much.


The best quartet is Shostakovich's 15th.

[shortysweetp]

does jean auel's Earth's Children count? I can not remember how many books are in it? i really enjoyed lotr and the hobbit but I haven't read the other one. i've been meaning to get it and the hobbit since i have lotr. Stephen King's Dark Towers but it contain's more than 3 or 4 books.

[Stanislaw]

1. Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, a trilogy in four parts by Douglas Adams
2. The cosmic trilogy by C.S. Lewis
3. Starwars Trilogy (duhh)
4. The terminator trilogy (well thats stretching it)

[amuse]

there are at least 5 books in the Auel's series...sorry. :( but :) she does do book signings when her stuff comes out.

[shortysweetp]

thanx i couldnt remember. its been 4-5 years since i read them

[Tabac]

Thomas Tryon had a stab at acting in Hollywood, made some decent B movies and starred in The Cardinal in the 60's. He later tried his hand at writing, and he wrote some very good stories. The Other , about twins, one evil, one good, was made into a successful movie. One of my favorites of his was Lady .

He wrote a trilogy called Crowned Heads about life in Hollywood. One of the stories, "Fedora", was made into a movie starring William Holden.

[kateyes]

I love Sharon Kay Penman trilogy of thirteenth century England and Wales. I had never read historical fiction before these and I fell head over heals in love with these books. Here be Dragons (the first in the trilogy) is my absolute favorite, Falls the Shadow is very good too. I don't remember falling in love with the 3rd in the series, The Reckoning.

The first two, I give as gifts to people that I know will appreciate the characters, and who will understand how a person can "fall in love" with characters in a book. :nod:

Just as a side note, I've read all of her others,and they are not as good.

[Zooey]

C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength), which I haven't read in years, but am planning to undertake again shortly.

Also Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quartet consisting of A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet and Many Waters.

[Bongitybongbong]

There's a fairly good series called Pendragon.

[arrytus]

I

Lawrence Durrell did the Alexandria Quartet which I haven't read yet. Anyone know anything about it?

The first book to the Alexandria Quartet, Justine, is one of my top 5 favorite novels. the other 3 books aren't nearly as good- in fact I would say each one is a little worse than its predecessor, but they still are enjoyable reads. the number of characters and philosophic insights, the description of Egypt is all beautifully done. just read Justine even if you only read it.

another good trilogy is Sartre's roads to freedom. it's not fantastic however.

Greatest connected works are Balzac's Divine Comedy- which really is never a sequel but only has recurring characters [it's like 90 novels, and I've only read about a dozen of them so I can't say for certain, lol] and Proust's ISOLT

I seem to recall reading a trilogy by Kurt Vonnegut as well when I was 19. about Mr. Rosewater? can't really recall i've not read him since.

[arrytus]

Forgot all about the ole Oresteia.


Loved this. There' a reason he's the father of the cothurn. The quote Pathei Mathos is one of my fave.

In fact this reminds me that Homer's Iliad and Odyssey originally had a third part which is now lost. I don't know off the top of my head what it's called

[arrytus]

Sophocles is a cannon compared to the small ladies pistol of Aeschylus. They aren't even in the same munitions factory.

Oh Reginald...IDISAGREE! [*vroom*]

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzOBlPKZjxE]

[weltanschauung]

the illuminatus! trilogy - robert anton wilson

and foucault's history of sexuality is a pretty good trilogy too, if i may add

[Mr.lucifer]

Hello there, necromancer.

[arrytus]

I totally just remembered one which is supposed to be amazing:

Thomas Mann's Joseph Quartet

[JBI]

What is the longest serial novel? Henry Williamson had something like 20-odd novels in his series A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight. And Anthony Powell had 12 books in his series A Dance to the Music of Time.

I know this is going slightly off thread, but hey its my thread anyway!:D

The fantasy author Piers Anthony has a series that I think is pushing 40novels or something, all of which are bad :p.


edit: just realized this thread is 6 years old :p