To answer questions about
The Guide,
please sign up.
Diane
Yes, you may want to read The River first.
I highly recommend all of his books. The Artist is great. I really liked Celine as well.
I highly recommend all of his books. The Artist is great. I really liked Celine as well.
Lauren
I read The Guide having no idea that it was a follow-up to another book. I'd say that it was fine and I wasn't confused while reading it. The Guide did a good job introducing the reader to Jack. I guess the only thing is that he keeps referring to the past where someone died and I did wonder if I missed the explanation of what happened. I'm guessing that's what happens in The River. But it wasn't so important to the storyline that I couldn't enjoy this book.
Lisa
I would say no. After reading the answers to this question I decided to read The River first. The writing was nice, but ultimately I wasn't a big fan of it. I liked this one much better and it covered the gist of everything that happened in The River. If anything, if gives you a clearer picture of who Jack is, but that's really it. Skip The River and read this one.
Will
I highly recommend doing so, if anything because The River is my favorite of Peter Heller's books and The Guide contains major spoilers for some of the characters that carry over from The River.
Kasa Cotugno
The River is a wonderful book and should be read first. It's helpful since The Guide contains spoilers.
Julia
You don't have to, but I'd recommend it because the first book will give you a lot of context and background story about Jack. Plus if you want to read The River, The Guide will spoil quite a few things for you.
Louis
I don't think so. It doesn't indicate that it's a sequel.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more