Book Series in Order

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Books in Order: How to read Douglas Adams’s classic Sci-Fi series?

Fabien
February 27, 2017January 6, 2023

If you like Douglas Adams, go check out the holistic detective Dirk Gently.

What is The Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy about?

Originally created by English author and screenwriter Douglas Adams as a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, The Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy–or H2G2 for short–was also adapted into stage shows, comic books, a TV series (in 1981), a computer game (in 1984) and finally in a feature film (in 2005). But we are here to talk about the novels.

The story revolves around Arthur Dent, the last surviving man following the demolition of the planet Earth by a Vogon constructor fleet to make way for a hyperspace bypass.

Rescued by his friend Ford Prefect, a human-like alien writer for the travel guide The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Dent explores the galaxy with Ford and encounters Trillian, another human formerly known as Tricia McMillan, the two-headed Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford’s eccentric semi-cousin and the Galactic President, and the depressed robot Marvin the Paranoid Android.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy developed into a “trilogy” of five books that sold more than 15 million copies. Every year since 2001, on 25 May, Towel Day is celebrated as a tribute to Douglas Adams.

Dune Books in Order: How to read Frank Herbert Sci-Fi classic?

Fabien
February 21, 2017January 29, 2023
28 Comments

Like a lot of people, I read Dune and I thought it was awesome. Then, I didn’t want it to stop, so I keep on reading. Two books later, it was not as good as it was at the beginning, so I took a break.

After a long while, I thought I might pick up where I left off, thinking it would be easy. Wrong, things get more complicated the further you go in the series. So, I tried to compile what I found and this is the result.

What is the Dune series about?

Well, it’s a classic and a franchise. Written by Frank Herbert and published in 1965, Dune is a science-fiction epic set in a distant future where the one who controls the “spice” controls the universe — it’s the over-simplistic way to introduce the story.

Dune takes us to a feudal interstellar society in which noble houses controlling individual planets had pledged allegiance to the Padishah Emperor. The story began with young Paul Atreides whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis where you can find the only source of the “spice” melange. Politics, religion, ecology, and technology collide when forces of the empire plot against each other in order to seize control of Arrakis.

Dune was adapted as a movie in 1984 by David Lynch, and in 2021 by Denis Villeneuve. It was also adapted as a TV miniseries (two in facts) by the American Sci-Fi Channel in 2000.

The Chronicles of Narnia Reading Order

Fabien
February 13, 2017May 25, 2023
2 Comments

Long before the Harry Potter series became the books children read, there was The Chronicles of Narnia. You know, the one with the magic world that inspired Fillory in Lev Grossman’s The Magicians (no reading order needed for this one!). Seriously, these stories are still really influential and there were not even published in chronological order. If fact, finding an order that pleases everybody is near impossible. That said, let’s try at least two propositions:

What is the Chronicles of Narnia series about?

British classic of children’s literature, The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven high fantasy novels written by C.S. Lewis.

Set in the fictional realm of Narnia, the series narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of that world full of magic, mythical beasts, and talking animals.

The series begins with the introduction of four siblings: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. During World War II, they are sent to live with a professor in the countryside. While playing hide-and-seek in the house, Lucy stumbles upon a wardrobe that leads her to the magical land of Narnia. They soon discover that Narnia is in the grip of an evil witch, who has plunged the land into an eternal winter. With the help of the great lion Aslan, the children embark on a quest to overthrow the witch and save Narnia.

Throughout the series, the children return to Narnia on various adventures, each time facing new challenges and encountering different creatures. Along the way, they learn about courage, loyalty, and sacrifice, and discover the true nature of Aslan, who is a powerful symbol of good and justice.

Various books from The Chronicles of Narnia have been adapted for television over the years (in 1967, 1976, between 1988 and 1990), but also for radio, on stage, and as movies (in 2005, 2008, and 2010).

Hap and Leonard Books in Order: How to read Joe R. Lansdale’s series?

Fabien
January 31, 2017March 20, 2023
7 Comments

Like with Quarry, I recently discovered Hap and Leonard via the television series. I watched it because I really like the work of Jim Mickle and Nick Damici, the two men behind the TV show. In fact, their last movie – Cold in July – was also the adaptation of a Joe R. Lansdale book. There’s a season 2 of the show this year, but before that, there still are the books.

What is the Hap and Leonard series about?

So, it’s a creation of Lansdale filled with fun, violence, great dialogues, and characters. The story takes place in the ’80s, in the fictional town of LaBorde, East Texas.

We follow Hap Collins, a white working-class laborer who spent time in federal prison for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War, and his best friend, Leonard Pine, a gay, black Vietnam vet with anger issues.

They are as different as they are friends. The two of them regularly end up in a lot of trouble doing some amateur investigating in order to solve various crimes.

The first book was published in 1990 and the series is still alive and kicking after all these years. We can find Hap and Leonard in novels, novellas, collections of short stories, and soon in comic books.

Quarry Books in Order: How to Read Max Allan Collins’s series?

Fabien
January 22, 2017July 7, 2022
6 Comments

I discovered Quarry quite recently with the Cinemax series. I like the style of the show and the characters, but they were not developed in a satisfactory way, in my opinion. Mainly, we just learn to understand Quarry, from where he was coming to where he is going, but it’s not the same with the other important figures in his life. I suppose that the idea is to keep some stuff for the second season. That said, I’m pretty sure the show will never cover all of the books, mainly because I’m not even sure there will be more episodes. So, the best way to explore the world of Quarry is to jump right into Max Allan Collins’ books.

What is Quarry about?

Quarry is a pulp fiction about a US Marine sniper returning from the Vietnam War. He finds his wife in bed with another man and, after dropping a car on her lover, he finds himself unemployable. His proficiency at killing interests a middleman known as the Broker, who runs a murder-for-hire operation. After an assignment, Quarry gets back to the place he was using as a lookout where he found out his partner is dead – and the money they were paid was also stolen. Quarry got himself a new mission, he must learn who hired him and makes him pay.

That’s only the beginning of the first book. Maybe it’s a spoiler, but Quarry survives and lives on to kill more people. Quarry uses the Broker’s list of targets to reimagine the business: Quarry will alert the intended victims of their situation and offer to guard them.

Dirk Gently books in Order: How to read Douglas Adams’s series?

Fabien
December 2, 2016March 13, 2023

By the author of The Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy.

What is the Dirk Gently series about?

Douglas Adams was not the most skilled writer of his generation, by far. Nevertheless, his talent was to build incredible and highly entertaining stories that were smart, really funny, and imaginative.

The way he structured his stories was brilliant, in particular with the Dirk Gently series. Not as popular as The Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy, the adventures of this insufferable holistic detective are just a delight for those who love a bit of absurdity with a spark of intelligence.

So, this is the story of Svlad Cjelli also known as Dirk Gently, a detective, a holistic detective to be accurate. He uses the fundamental interconnectedness of all things to solve mysteries. Even if he doesn’t want to believe in such things, Gently is a psychic.

The adventures of Dirk Gently inspired two TV shows: the simply titled Dirk Gently in 2010-2012 on the BBC, and the 2016-2017 American Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency on BBC America.

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