My Desert Island Book Trilogy Picks

Today I've put together a list of the few books I consider my essentials for living out the rest of my days on an isolated desert island. The twist, though, is that these are trilogies, series of three books. I began this blog post with the intent to simply jot down my fave books, but once written down, I noted that most of my entries were sets of three. So... why not assemble a desert island list of book trilogies? Besides, you sure get more mileage out of sets of books than single novels.

I tried my best to rank these, with my favourite first, but that task proved too hard. These are roughly in order, but not carved in stone. Now... back the island. Please keep the coconut juice, dates and mangoes coming.


My Desert Island Book Trilogy Picks

Lonesome Dove/Streets of Laredo/Dead Man's Walk, by Larry McMurtry (a slight cheat here, since there are actually four books - I dropped the last. But I'd rather have some McMurtry rather than none at all... a magnificent sprawling Old West epic)

The Border Trilogy: All the Pretty Horses/The Crossing/Cities of the Plain, by Cormack McCarthy (three marvelous, totally re-readable modern western classics, conceived by a master of the written word)

Berlin Game/Mexico Set/London Match Trilogy, by Len Deighton (I re-read these every now and then, they are so fun and funny... about a middle-aged and jaded intelligence man with MI6. Two more Bernie Samson trilogies followed, but I'll limit myself here)

The Merlin Trilogy: The Crystal Cave/The Hollow Hills/The Last Enchantment, by Mary Stewart (breathtaking Merlin-King Arthur tale... there's a later, fourth, book, but it's not so closely linked, so I can drop it with a clear conscience)

Remembrance of Earth's Past Trilogy: Three Body Problem/The Dark Forest/Death's End, by Liu Cixin (expertly crafted blend of hard and soft sci-fi, transcending everything I'd ever read before... I highly recommend this to everyone!)

Bas-Lag series: Perdito Street Station/The Scar/Iron Council, by China Mieville (fascinating world of weird fantasy, written with style, merging magic and steam punk technology)

Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business/The Manticore/World of Wonders, by Roberston Davies (enthralling psychological metaphysical Canadian lit - as good as it gets. I first read this in high school and still love the bizarre characters and engaging narrative)

Maddaddam Trilogy: Oryx and Crake/Year of the Flood/Maddaddam, by Margaret Atwood (written by the queen of Canadian speculative fiction, these novels relate a strangely funny and sometimes sad story of a post-apocalyptic world)