Edward Books In Order
Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.Publication Order of Edward Books
600 Hours of Edward | (2009) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Edward Adrift | (2013) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Edward Unspooled | (2016) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The name ‘Edward’ refers to a series of novels written by Craig Lancaster. Edward is also the name of the series’ protagonist.
+The Story
The Edward series has been praised as one of the most profound collections of novels on the market. The books provide an insightful glimpse into the mind of the mentally challenged. Craig Lancaster forces his readers to scrutinize their lives and to learn to prioritize the important things.
The novels tell the exploits of one Edward Stanton. When he is first introduced to readers, Edward Stanton is thirty-nine-years old. He has Aspergers’ syndrome so his life isn’t exactly ordinary.
Edward lives by a very specific time table. He wakes up at the same time every day. He reads his Newspapers at the same point of the day, not to mention pursuing his job and watching his favorite television show.
Edward’s life is perfectly partitioned, down to the last minute of each day. And Edward likes it that way. Because of his ailment, Edward doesn’t like change. He never strays from his comfort which is why he still lives in the same Montana town in which he grew up.
Edward has no friends of note. He has no interest in gossip or small talk. His life revolves around particular goals and purposes and objectives and anything that forces him to deviate from that line is anathema.
Despite his rigorous attempts to keep things in a state of absolute order, Edward Stanton’s life is essentially shattered when he meets Donna and Kyle. The mother and son move in next door and all but make it impossible for him to keep his schedule.
It isn’t long before Edward is forced to confront the fact that life is all about change and even his rigorous attempts at maintaining the sameness of his existence can do little to prevent the evolution and transformation that permeates the world.
What starts as a nightmare for Edward becomes an opportunity to experience joy like he has never felt. The Edward series charts Edward Stanton’s journey from that point onward. The books show how he learns to interact with his friendly neighbors.
The books follow him as he embraces changes to his schedule and learns to live a life filled with minute elements of unpredictability. And after a while, Edward realizes that there is no going back to the way things were.
The Edward series doesn’t exactly put the protagonist at a crossroads where he must choose to remain static in life or move forward. Rather, Craig Lancaster introduces changes to Edward Stanton’s life at such a slow and steady pace that he doesn’t immediately realize the transformations taking place.
And by the time he sees the truth, there’s no going back.
Craig Lancaster’s novels are profound pieces of literature. They tell the story of a mentally challenged man from his point of view. The Edward series takes readers into the protagonist’s brain.
They show readers the thought processes that a man with Aspergers’ must contend with and the manner in which such a condition impacts a human life. Craig endeavors to show that mental ailments like Aspergers’ are no obstacle to a full life.
Even though he struggles to find his footing, once Edward decides to finally embrace the real world, he finds that he has the capacity to actually have real relationships with people. Edward is the sort of protagonist one cannot help but root for.
Despite being so close to his forties, there is a sweetness to the character that makes you want to embrace and protect him. Edward departs his comfort zone with so much innocence that one cannot help but feel anxiety for the hurts and harms you know he will encounter in a world that isn’t always kind.
+The Author
Craig Lancaster is an American writer born in 1970. Best known for his Edward series, Craig has also garnered a reputation for his collections of short stories. The author has also produced articles for newspapers and magazines.
A native of Lakewood in Washington, Craig’s adoptive parents, a Wyoming couple, divorced when he was still a child. His mother’s marriage to another man saw Craig move to Fort Worth in Texas.
Craig cites his step-father as the real reason he got into writing. The man was a sportswriter for a newspaper. Not only was he proud when Craig manifested an interest in writing, he encouraged the habit.
Craig loves writing stories set in Montana.
+600 Hours of Edward
Edward Stanton isn’t like most people. Edward has Asperger’s Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The mental ailments have driven Edward to pursue a life of isolation. At thirty-nine-years of age, Edward lives by a very strict schedule. He never deviates from his time table, which regulates when he wakes up, when he reads his newspaper and when he watches his favorite show.
Edward has a therapist whose sessions have helped him forge a more organized life, but he still isn’t comfortable embracing the world.
Edward’s life changes when he gets new neighbors. The mother and son are pretty friendly and it isn’t long before they unravel Edward’s entire timetable.
This book charts Edward’s life over a period of 25 days during which he lets his neighbors into his life, explores his relationship with his parents and begins to appreciate the joys and hurts that come with true friendships.
+Edward Adrift
At forty-two years of age, Edward Stanton has experienced serious upheaval. In a single year, Edward lost his job, his therapist and his best friends who saw fit to move away. As a victim of Asperger’s Syndrom, that sort of disruption wreaks havoc on Edward.
Things start looking up—though he doesn’t immediately realize it—when Donna reaches out to him, lamenting about her son Kyle who has fallen into some trouble. Edward makes the difficult decision to actually leave his comfort zone in Montana to go to Boise so as to give Donna some much-needed help.
Edward is shocked to find that Kyle isn’t the sweet boy he used to know but, rather, a sullen teen. Edward decides to bring Kyle along on a trip to a small Colorado town he once visited with his father. Along the way, the pair helps one another grow.
Book Series In Order » Characters »