# Name your favorite book series you've read based on a single character **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 13, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764 "2015-08-13T19:40:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Toy\_varen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Toy\_varen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toy_varen)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/81 "2015-08-18T09:26:46Z")
Mule4Life ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/82 "2015-08-18T13:15:40Z")
Oh, I totally forgot, I can’t live without the Foreigner books by CJ Cherryh which follow Bren Cameron, Space Diplomat. God, they’re good, but these days they’re whole books that cover, like, two days of dense alien politics. I can’t imagine not ever reading the next one though, and these days she puts one out a year. NOT a series you can just pick up anywhere. Although I have noticed that the aliens are getting considerably less alien as time goes on, which I suspect is an artifact of the author spending so much time with them. One thing I really liked about them originally is that in the first books they were pretty human in appearance but definitely not human in culture or mind, which turned pretty nasty for the early human settlers - there’s a lot about assumptions in the series. I’m sure the claim would be that Bren has just gone more native, but these days the atevi are more like your really tall cousin from another town where they don’t have a Waffle House. It’s okay. I can’t stop now. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/83 "2015-08-18T13:41:53Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Does it matter which character is recurring? I recommend O’Brian’s Maturin and Aubrey series. As I was reading through the thread, I kept trying to decide whether to chime in with O’Brien’s Maturin/Aubrey series. It seems to not perfectly fit what the OP was looking for, in that there are two main characters, but I could argue that, after a book or two you kind of start seeing them as two sides of one character. Aubrey is the hard charging action before thinking side, and Maturin, while not opposed to action, takes a cold thoughtful approach. How much do I love this series? I’ve reread the entire 21 book series 5 times, and O’Brien is NOT a quick read. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/84 "2015-08-18T16:13:41Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > If you’ve read the Robert Jordan and John Maddox Roberts books about Conan, and didn’t like them, then de gustibus. If you haven’t read them, seriously, give them a try. IMO they are both at least as good as Howard. It’s notable that both have since done very well with characters of their own creation. > > I agree that the L.Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter stories that were included in the old paperbacks did not deserve to be in the same books as the Howard stories. And some of the other authors of Conan paperbacks, whose names I have mercifully forgotten, were execrable. Thank you. I will check out the Jordan and Roberts “Conan”. I was SO turned off by the L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter (and one other, whose name I can’t recall), I pretty much gave up on all “post-Howard” Conan. And this was many years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/85 "2015-08-19T11:27:10Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > Bujold does write novels in other settings than that where Miles, Ivan, and the rest strut their stuff: but I personally have tried a couple in one of such (the “Chalion” universe), and found them not awful, but not really my cup of tea. Giving them another go might, in time, be in order – in the absence of endless Vorkosigan material on which to mainline. > [@TonySinclair](#): > > That’s the way I felt about her “Sharing Knife” books, to the point where I stopped reading them in the middle of the second one. But I think _The Curse of Chalion_ might be my favorite fiction book of all time. I read it about once a year, and enjoy it every time, while I can’t think of any other book I’ve read more than a couple or three times. The second Chalion book was IMO good but not great, and I didn’t care for the third one at all. Go figure. > > I also like _The Spirit Ring_, which AFAIK is the only book set in its universe. “Different strokes” – for me,_The Curse of Chalion_ was a good read, but I didn’t find its milieu as fascinatingly addictive as I do the Nexus. Chalion novel #2 was for my taste, rather cloying. Haven’t tried the “Sharing Knife” ones – from what heard about them, felt it likely that I’d find them dreary. Thanks for _Spirit Ring_ recommendation: way to go, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/86 "2015-08-19T14:29:33Z")
I liked the Travis McGee books of John D. MacDonald. Despite the intermittent presence of Meyer they’re essentially single-character stories. ---
**Author:** ![tbook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@tbook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tbook)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/87 "2015-08-19T15:07:54Z")
Tony Hillerman : Joe Leaphorn, Navajo Tribal Policeman. > **[Tony Hillerman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hillerman#Leaphorn_and_Chee_books)** > > Anthony Grove Hillerman (May 27, 1925 – October 26, 2008) was an American author of detective novels and nonfiction works, best known for his mystery novels featuring Navajo Nation Police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Several of his works have been adapted as theatrical and television movies. > Tony Hillerman was born in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma, to August Alfred Hillerman, a farmer and shopkeeper, and his wife, Lucy Grove. He was the youngest of their three children, and the second son. His... ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/88 "2015-08-19T15:22:38Z")
How could I forget - the Hap and Leonard novels of Joe Lansdale? They are making a TV series based on these characters … > **[Hap and Leonard (TV Series 2016–2018) - News - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3729898/news/?ref_=tt_nwr_sm)** > > Hap and Leonard (TV Series 2016–2018) - Movies, TV, Celebs, and more... ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/89 "2015-08-19T15:38:54Z")
Oh good one! I did not know about the TV series, hope it’s good. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/90 "2015-08-19T21:23:42Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I just LOVE Ed McBains books, and there are dozens of them. I can’t help but think of NYPD Blue, which has to have been inspired by the 87th Precinct stories. The Deaf Man, their running super-smart nemesis, always making saps out of the cops! And I always picture Steve Carella being played by Steve Landesberg (from Barney Miller). And the Deaf Man HAS to be played by Leonardo DiCaprio. I emailed this idea to McBain, and he agreed it was a good choice. > [@pseudograph](#): > > [The Burke series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burke_(series)) by Andrew Vachss. If you like your series from the criminal point of view and are okay with sometimes disturbing subject matter, these are worth a read. I absolutely love everything about Vachss. He is one of the most interesting people on the planet. And Burke HAS to be played by Bruce Willis. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/91 "2015-08-19T21:34:27Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Oh good one! I did not know about the TV series, hope it’s good. Heh, me too. 🙂 I’ll be pissed off no end if it sucks. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/92 "2015-08-20T05:31:17Z")
> [@tbook](#): > > Tony Hillerman : Joe Leaphorn, Navajo Tribal Policeman. > > [Tony Hillerman - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hillerman#Leaphorn_and_Chee_books) I like those also. Good choice. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/93 "2015-08-20T13:55:24Z")
Although I’ve read many of the series listed above, especially the mysteries, I think my favorite series is Cecil S. Forester’s _Horatio Hornblower_ series. And before you say it, no, I don’t like Patrick O’Brian’s novels about Jack Aubrey. I’ve read the first three and seen the movie, but the books don’t pull me in like the Forester books, which I’ve re-read so often I’ve lost count. I’ve read other sea series as well (Alexander Kent’s, C. Northcote Parkinson, and others), but nobody compares to Forester. I also likes Burroughs’ heroes, and Robert E, Howard’s. I even like L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter’s fantasies and, to a lesser extent, their Conan pastiches (although, now that I can compare them to the originals, I can see that their “editing” of Howard did him no favors) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/94 "2015-08-20T13:58:45Z")
Kathy Reichs’s Temperance Brennan hasn’t been mentioned. The early ones are excellent. The later ones became formulistic, particularly after the fame of the Bones TV series. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/95 "2015-08-20T14:36:12Z")
Lance Parkertip, Noted Notary Public was my first exposure to the mystery genre, and still one of my all time favorites. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/96 "2015-08-20T14:38:12Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > Lance Parkertip, Noted Notary Public was my first exposure to the mystery genre, and still one of my all time favorites. Not much a series, though. Captain Klutz got more stories illustrated by old Don. ---
**Author:** ![r\_u\_serious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b5e925/32.png) [@r\_u\_serious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/r_u_serious)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/97 "2015-08-20T21:14:25Z")
Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz Jack reacher - Lee Child Kay Scarpetta - Patricia Cornwell ---
**Author:** ![Iyamity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/96bed5/32.png) [@Iyamity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iyamity)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/98 "2015-08-20T23:18:37Z")
I enjoy most of the series characters that have been mentioned, and I have a few that I have discovered in the past little while. First, for those who enjoy the Longmire mysteries, I suggest the Joe Pickett novels by C J Box, about a Wyoming game warden. Speaking of game wardens, I also like the Anna Pigeon novels by Nevada Barr. For spy stuff, very current, I like the John Wells novels by Alex Berenson, most enjoyable is you read them in order. Also enjoyable, in the right order are the Cork O’Conner mysteries by William Kent Krueger. Saving the best for last, The Billy Boyle mysteries by James R. Benn, set in the European theater of WW2, Billy is a Boston detective attached to General Eisenhower’s staff who fixes problems for the general usually by solving a murder. Again, if you can, read them in order. I should say that I only discovered all of these, and more, by starting to frequent my local library, rather than the emaciated mystery section of the local bookstore. And the books are free! ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/99 "2015-08-21T00:04:20Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Not much a series, though. > > Captain Klutz got more stories illustrated by old Don. Really? I seem to remember that there was a story in each collection. Admittedly, this was my recollection from about 35 years ago, but I seem to remember a bunch of them. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764/100 "2015-08-21T00:30:48Z")
Trixie Belden. More recently, I’ve enjoyed reading Harlan Coben’s books featuring Myron Bolithar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-your-favorite-book-series-youve-read-based-on-a-single-character/727764.md?page=6)