Avid readers adore trilogies. That annoying ‘wanting more’ feeling at the conclusion of a book is delayed for a long time when you have three to read. Narratives and themes are enduring. Heroes and heroines are tested again and again. Fascinating new characters keep cropping up. Trilogies are the sign of a serious reader- people with true commitment to an author’s cause.
But the actual definition of what makes a trilogy can be blurred. Mervyn Peake's marvelous Gormenghast books only became a trilogy because the author died before he could publish more. Douglas Adams insisted, jokingly, on calling his Hitchhiker books a trilogy as he published parts four and five. Some argue the most famous trilogy of them all – The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien, which features The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King – isn’t a true trilogy at all because the author originally intended them to be published in a single volume with The Silmarillion to follow. Either way, we’re excluding The Lord of the Rings from our list of recommended trilogies because it’s such a well-worn path (Tolkien fans can send their complaints to media@abebooks.com).
We’re also going to spare you the Sleeping Beautytrilogy of erotic novels by A. N. Roquelaure (that’s actually Anne Rice) – even though you’d be shocked at how many copies are sold by AbeBooks. Initially, we put William S Burroughs’ Nova trilogy (The Soft Machine, Nova Express and The Ticket That Exploded) on the list but then removed it– do people really want to tackle his ‘Cut-up and fold-in’ technique for three books? It was fine in the 1960s but not in 2009.
Perhaps the king of trilogies is Canadian author Robertson Davies, who produced three of them – the Salterton Trilogy, the Deptford Trilogy, and the Cornish Trilogy. The Deptford Trilogy begins with a fatefully thrown snowball and follows its consequences through numerous themes. Davies’ writing is very elegant, and a pleasure to read. Philip Pullman’s clever His Dark Materials fantasy books have probably been the most adored trilogy of the past 15 years – loved by adults and children.
Nick Bantock’s Griffin and Sabine is our top-rated trilogy and it’s not just because he lives on a small island about 20 miles from our HQ on Vancouver Island in Canada. They are no ordinary read, these books are a hands-on artistic experience and a mysterious love story told through the lovers’ correspondence. The pages are colourful and beautifully illustrated, with many featuring envelopes containing letters and postcards that can pulled out and read. A real treasure. Give them to someone you love.
Other contenders that could have made the list, but did not, include Cormac McCarthy’s Border trilogy, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy, William Faulkner’s Snopes trilogy and Evelyn Waugh’s Sword of Honour trilogy.