Composite novel definition: A composite novel (short story cycle or novel-in-stories) is a novel composed of separate, self-contained short stories that are linked together to create a larger, cohesive narrative. Each short story can stand alone (has its won beginning, middle, and end) but the stories interact with each other through shared characters, settings, themes, or plot lines to form a unified, novel-like experience.
I am a writer intrigued with this form and looking to study it more. I am particularly interested in genre (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romance, thriller, mystery) specific composite novels.
Some non-genre examples i have been recommended:
- The Beggar Maid by Alice Munro
- Go Down Moses by Faulkner
- We the Animals by Justin Torres
by alixkast
5 Comments
Check out *The Martian Chronicles* by Ray Bradbury – classic sci-fi composite novel that follows the colonization of Mars through interconnected stories. For horror, *Books of Blood* by Clive Barker works really well, though it’s more loosely connected than some others
*World War Z* is another solid pick if you want to see how the form can work for zombie horror/thriller. Each “interview” stands alone but builds this massive narrative about the outbreak
For fantasy, *The Tombs of Atuan* series by Ursula K. Le Guin has some composite elements, though you might want something more explicitly structured that way
Master of the Game by Sidney Sheldon
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu doss this ‘a prescient work of literary science fiction that follows a cast of intricately linked characters over hundreds of years as humanity struggles to rebuild itself in the aftermath of a climate plague’
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
Before the coffee gets cold