Hi all,
I've been struggling to describe what I'm looking for, so this title is probably absolutely awful. For that, forgive me. An explanation is probably easier.
Recently I've been working my way through some of David Mitchell's books, starting with Cloud Atlas, then Slade House, and now The Bone Clocks. While I was part way through Slade House, it occurred to me that what I loved so much about it is the way it tells an overarching story through multiple perspectives over time, a story across ages rather than a singular narrative epic about a cast of characters in the same time frame.
Like Isaac Asimov's Foundation (at least the initial collection of short stories) which shows us a sci-fi reimagining of the fall of the Roman Empire through the lens of different protagonists at different points in time. Sure, we may see Salvor Hardin as a young man in one story then an old man in another, but the story continues after him since it's really the story of The Foundation itself, until it isn't. In the same way, Slade House is a different story every 9 years ranging from the 1970s to the 2010s, giving us an overarching narrative that is built through the individual stories of each of the characters, culminating in the finale.
I don't know how else to describe this, but I really love this kind of thing, where there's an overarching story above any individual character's experience. Anyone have any recommendations for similar? Horror, fantasy, sci-fi, whatever.
by SurrealSage
11 Comments
The Hundred Year House by Rebecca Makkai might fit the bill. Really loved this one.
Dragon’s Egg by Robert L. Forward
Appleseed by Matt Bell
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
Accelerando by Charles Stross
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Three Body Problem – Dark Forest – Death’s End (Cixin Liu)
You might enjoy The Passage by Justin Cronin.
Core narrative happens in a relatively constrained time frame but through the series you see a long way outside that as well.
Barkskins by Annie Proulx.
KALPA IMPERIAL by Angelica Gorodischer
*The Years of Rice and Salt* by Kim Stanley Robinson is a good one!
Follows characters throughout an alternate history where the bubonic plague killed 99% of Europe instead of 30-50%.
Really fascinating!
My first thought already suggested was – A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
City – Clifford Simak – intelligent dogs thousands of years in the future tell legends about mankind and their cities – several connected stories
The Sea of Tranquility – Emily St John Mandel – jumps both in time and timelines. Beautiful book. To really appreciate it read Station Eleven then The Glass Hotel first. They form a very loose trilogy with some recurring characters and places.
Seveneves – Neal Stephenson – if you’ve read it you’ll know what I’m talking about – otherwise too much of a spoiler
First law series
Majipoor, Silverberg, several books
Semiosis series