Books of short stories where all the stories feature the same character
October 31, 2024 4:16 PM Subscribe
Any recommendations for books of short stories where all of the stories feature the same protagonist (and/or group of recurring characters)? I love fantasy and science fiction, and am open to non-sf/f fiction recs, but don't really like mysteries unless they have a supernatural element.
I want to read more short stories — to learn about the short story form — but I find myself just turning to novels instead because I find it psychologically tiring to "get to know" new characters every 6,000 words. However! I've read a couple books of short stories where all the stories had the same protagonist, with the same handful of secondary characters dropping in and out all the time, and that was just perfect. I enjoy seeing characters' relationships develop over time, and, in general, just hanging out with characters I like.
I know the most obvious example is Sherlock Holmes, but as said above, I don't enjoy mysteries unless they have a sf/fantasy element, or unless the mystery is really, really not the main point, and just exists as window dressing for something else (like a romance). I'm terrible at keeping all little details and plot points straight.
Bonus points for gentleness and humour but open to anything (except straight mystery).
Examples of books I've loved that fit my criteria:
- Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
- The Bone Key, Sarah Monette
- Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz, Garth Nix
- The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by K.J. Charles (technically mystery, but fantasy and romance elements predominate)
I'd also appreciate recs for short stories featuring the same protagonist published across different literary magazines (as-of-yet-uncollected in a single volume). Rebecca Fraimow's Yudah Cohen stories come to mind (1 2 3). In the same vein, Jonathan L. Howard's character Johannes Cabal — he has his own five-volume series now, which is one of my favourites, but I think he started off in various short stories. Would love recs to these loose "story series" as well.
I want to read more short stories — to learn about the short story form — but I find myself just turning to novels instead because I find it psychologically tiring to "get to know" new characters every 6,000 words. However! I've read a couple books of short stories where all the stories had the same protagonist, with the same handful of secondary characters dropping in and out all the time, and that was just perfect. I enjoy seeing characters' relationships develop over time, and, in general, just hanging out with characters I like.
I know the most obvious example is Sherlock Holmes, but as said above, I don't enjoy mysteries unless they have a sf/fantasy element, or unless the mystery is really, really not the main point, and just exists as window dressing for something else (like a romance). I'm terrible at keeping all little details and plot points straight.
Bonus points for gentleness and humour but open to anything (except straight mystery).
Examples of books I've loved that fit my criteria:
- Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
- The Bone Key, Sarah Monette
- Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz, Garth Nix
- The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by K.J. Charles (technically mystery, but fantasy and romance elements predominate)
I'd also appreciate recs for short stories featuring the same protagonist published across different literary magazines (as-of-yet-uncollected in a single volume). Rebecca Fraimow's Yudah Cohen stories come to mind (1 2 3). In the same vein, Jonathan L. Howard's character Johannes Cabal — he has his own five-volume series now, which is one of my favourites, but I think he started off in various short stories. Would love recs to these loose "story series" as well.
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. The title character is complex and not always likeable, YMMV.
posted by lizard music at 4:28 PM on October 31 [1 favorite]
posted by lizard music at 4:28 PM on October 31 [1 favorite]
Manly Wade Wellman's John the Balladeer (Appalachian fantasy).
posted by praemunire at 4:36 PM on October 31 [2 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 4:36 PM on October 31 [2 favorites]
Aren't Salinger's Franny and Zooey stories like this? The internet tells me that this collection is one short story and one novella, but the Glass family is in other things.
posted by AbelMelveny at 5:09 PM on October 31
posted by AbelMelveny at 5:09 PM on October 31
Zenna Henderson's The People stories. They were published in various sci-fi magazines and collections over the years, but can all be found together in the one volume compilation Ingathering. Aliens come to Earth and mostly want to be left alone with their amazing powers in the US west.
posted by hydropsyche at 5:35 PM on October 31 [2 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 5:35 PM on October 31 [2 favorites]
You mentioned that you don't really like mysteries unless they have a supernatural element. Have you read any of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series? Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire working as a private investigator in Chicago. Two of the books, "Brief Cases" and "Side Jobs" are short story collections featuring many of the same characters as the main novel series.
I will say up front that the way Butcher writes women in the first couple books is... not super great? But it does get better.
posted by xedrik at 5:40 PM on October 31
I will say up front that the way Butcher writes women in the first couple books is... not super great? But it does get better.
posted by xedrik at 5:40 PM on October 31
The first two Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski are exactly that. Last Wish and Sword of Destiny.
Also the original Robert E. Howard Conan stories remain immensely readable. Ranging from short story to novella in length.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 5:42 PM on October 31
Also the original Robert E. Howard Conan stories remain immensely readable. Ranging from short story to novella in length.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 5:42 PM on October 31
Oh, you want The Cyberiad! Lem's Ijon Tichy stories would also work but Cyberiad is my favorite. Other contenders: Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino, and if you're open to graphic novels, any Love and Rockets collection (I favor the Palomar stories and particularly Heartbreak Soup).
posted by babelfish at 5:44 PM on October 31 [2 favorites]
posted by babelfish at 5:44 PM on October 31 [2 favorites]
I have two old school recommendations for you.
Cyrion by Tanith Lee.
Dilvish, the Damned by Roger Zelazny. That's a wikipedia link because I don't know who's currently publishing those books. There's a second book about Dilvish but it's a novel.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 5:58 PM on October 31
Cyrion by Tanith Lee.
Dilvish, the Damned by Roger Zelazny. That's a wikipedia link because I don't know who's currently publishing those books. There's a second book about Dilvish but it's a novel.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 5:58 PM on October 31
Matthew Hughes!
He has a bunch of collections for his various characters, such as Raffalon, Cascor and Baldemar.
posted by fiercekitten at 6:03 PM on October 31
He has a bunch of collections for his various characters, such as Raffalon, Cascor and Baldemar.
posted by fiercekitten at 6:03 PM on October 31
It's older but Dreams Underfoot: A Newford Collection by Charles de Lint ticks your boxes. It's set in the same city with character that are related and sometimes show up in other stories. It also has a supernatural vibe.
posted by stray thoughts at 6:15 PM on October 31 [1 favorite]
posted by stray thoughts at 6:15 PM on October 31 [1 favorite]
Berlin Stories and Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood. They are set in Berlin between World War I and World War II, and follow the narrator and his friends, among them Sally Bowles. The stories formed the basis for the Broadway show I Am a Camera, which then led to the Broadway musical Cabaret, which in turn led to the movie Cabaret.
They are great stories, set in cosmopolitan Berlin at the end of the Jazz age as the Nazis are coming to power.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:40 PM on October 31 [1 favorite]
They are great stories, set in cosmopolitan Berlin at the end of the Jazz age as the Nazis are coming to power.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:40 PM on October 31 [1 favorite]
I love this kind of thing so thank you for asking! The Bone Key is one of my favorites too.
Here's a link to the John the Balladeer stories recommended above by praemunire.
These suggestions are not whodunnit mysteries but they are crime focused:
An Elderly Lady series by Helene Tursten
Defender of the Innocent by Lawrence Block
Mysterious Mr. Quin by Agatha Christie
posted by entropyiswinning at 8:10 PM on October 31
Here's a link to the John the Balladeer stories recommended above by praemunire.
These suggestions are not whodunnit mysteries but they are crime focused:
An Elderly Lady series by Helene Tursten
Defender of the Innocent by Lawrence Block
Mysterious Mr. Quin by Agatha Christie
posted by entropyiswinning at 8:10 PM on October 31
Ghostwritten by David Mitchell might fit the bill in an interesting way. Mitchell's books are generally interconnected, mostly through characters. That's the only book of short stories in particular that I've read from him.
posted by Molasses808 at 9:26 PM on October 31
posted by Molasses808 at 9:26 PM on October 31
I've read 3/4 of your exemplars (Gaskell, Monette, and Nix), and I'd suggest ...
Seanan McGuire, Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots (superheroes--read these in the "VS. The Online Fiction" order and poke around for the book or two of sequels published on LiveJournal)
qntm, There is No Antimemetics Division (SF/Horror/Weird Fiction; the book is composed of the stories "SCP-055" through "Champions of Nothing," free online at the link; posted on MeFi here; update here)
Daniel Polansky, A City Dreaming (urban fantasy, sort of)
Hiroshi Yamamoto, MM9 (kaiju stories, linked by the organization working to handle them)
posted by Wobbuffet at 9:57 PM on October 31
Seanan McGuire, Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots (superheroes--read these in the "VS. The Online Fiction" order and poke around for the book or two of sequels published on LiveJournal)
qntm, There is No Antimemetics Division (SF/Horror/Weird Fiction; the book is composed of the stories "SCP-055" through "Champions of Nothing," free online at the link; posted on MeFi here; update here)
Daniel Polansky, A City Dreaming (urban fantasy, sort of)
Hiroshi Yamamoto, MM9 (kaiju stories, linked by the organization working to handle them)
posted by Wobbuffet at 9:57 PM on October 31
nthing John the Balladeer. I came to suggest it but someone was here first
posted by TimHare at 10:11 PM on October 31
posted by TimHare at 10:11 PM on October 31
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posted by robcorr at 4:28 PM on October 31 [1 favorite]