Although the concept of "saga" dates back to the Middle Ages in Iceland, a country that cultivated the art of narrating several stories centered on the same character or setting, the more contemporary concept refers to those sets of books integrated within the same universe. A successful (and profitable) concept exploited by these following best book sagas that have served legions of readers in recent years.
Foundation Series, by Isaac Asimov
In the 40s when science was beginning to take off, Asimov left his particular vision of the technological future through his famous Foundation Series, a compendium of different novels and stories written between 1942 and 1957 in which such a visionary author resorted to the robotic as a great ally of the society of the future and narrative resource of works such as Yo, robot or Las vavedas de acero, considered today as great classics of science fiction literature. The prequel, Prelude to the Foundation, was published in the 80s.
The Chronicles of Narnia, by CS Lewis
In 1950, Lewis surprised the world with one of the first references of contemporary literary sagas. He chose aspects of Greek mythology, Christian themes and fairy tales spinning the plot set in a world of Narnia ruled by talking animals among which we find the lion Aslan, main guide of the four Pevensie brothers who find a magical world by going through a closet. Formed by seven books and adapted to the cinema in 2005, The Chronicles of Narnia is undoubtedly one of the best sagas of books in history.
The Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien
After writing the novel The Hobbit, Tolkien considered writing a sequel that caught him by surprise when the plot lasted three volumes. After the publication of The Fellowship of the Ring In 1954, nothing was ever the same for some readers of Fantastic literature that devoured the adventure of Frodo Baggins through a Middle-earth of hobbits, elves and men carrying the Ring of Power coveted by the Dark Lord Sauron. An icon of the literary sagas, the three installments would be adapted to the cinema in 2001, 2002 and 2003 by the New Zealander Peter Jackson further contributing to the epic revival of the trilogy.
The Dark Tower, by Stephen King
Consisting of eight novels, the saga with which the "King of Terror" immersed himself in an amalgamation of genres that, in the hands of another writer, could have been a disaster became over time one of the most admired works from the author. Counting on inspirations from The Good, the Ugly and the Bad, Tolkien or a work Robert Browning in whose poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" the idea of the work is established, The dark tower It features a gunman named Roland Deschain who sets out across the World in search of a famous tower in which all points of the universe converge. The play featured a less interesting film adaptation starring Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba.
Discworld by Terry Pratchett
A flat world supported by four elephants that in turn rest on the shell of the stellar turtle Great A 'Tuin becomes the scene of a saga of up to 40 volumes that consolidated Pratchett's career after the publication of the first book, The color of magic, in 1983. And it is that the Discworld universe It not only becomes a perfect showcase to peek into in search of satire and irony around political, social events or even works by Shakespeare or Tolkien, but in pure entertainment from the hand of characters as diverse as Death or the sorcerer Rincewind , literary representatives of a reality from which to get away through the pages of this great fantastic work.
A Song of Ice and Fire, by George RRMartin
In 1996, Martin launched Game of Thrones, the first volume of a trilogy that ended up being extended to five volumes published to which should be added two other titles, Winds of winter and Dream of spring, apparently in development. A saga that gained world fame after the premiere of the HBO series Game of Thrones in 2011, which adapts the journey of Daenerys Targaryen Heading to a kingdom of Westeros where he intends to recover the Iron Throne that was stolen from him. Unlike the series, the saga is narrated from the perspective of each character, a most useful resource when trying to enter a world where neither the good guys are so good nor the bad guys so bad.
Harry Potter by JK Rowling
There was a time when JK Rowling was a newly divorced mother who wrote stories on napkins in Edinburgh cafes waiting for a job offer to knock on her door. It was in such a bleak situation that the birth of harry potter and the Philosopher's Stone, first title of a series of books set in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where a young magician apprentice and his friends fell in love with us throughout eight other installments that did nothing but consolidate the potential of the best-selling literary saga in history.
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
In the mid-2000s and fueled by the success of Harry Potter, the youth literature reached its maximum splendor tackling all kinds of stories. However, the dystopian genre would be the most recurrent among adolescents, being the trilogy of The Hunger Games the best example of this fever. Set in a future where the Capitol is a power that dominates the twelve other poor states of Lord, the novel reveals a cruel contest to which different young people appear in order to proclaim themselves the winner by defeating the rest of the opponents. The success after the publication of the works in 2008, 2009 and 2019 was extended by the triumph of the cinematographic saga that launched to stardom to Jennifer Lawrence, actress who played the heroine Katniss Everdeen.
What are the best book sagas you have read?
WITHOUT DOUBT, DUNES DE F HERBERT WAS MISSING !!!!!
Andrzej Sapkowski's Gerald De Rivia Saga was missing !!! 7 volumes that are a luxury for the eye and imagination ... the ending is memorable.
JJ Benítez's Trojan Horse saga was missing!
Missing the Hush hush saga by Becca Fitzpatrick