Ellis often re-uses
characters and
settings across novels:
- Less Than Zero: Camden, the college most of The Rules of Attraction takes place in, is referred to several times, with both Clay and Daniel attending it.
- The Rules of Attraction: Clay, the main character and narrator of Less Than Zero, is a minor character here and narrates one chapter, which begins with a Zero in-joke. He is mentioned a few times as "The Guy from L.A." before being properly introduced. Main character Sean Bateman is brother of American Psycho's Patrick Bateman. Patrick himself appears briefly and also narrates one chapter.
- American Psycho: Sean Bateman appears briefly. Camden is referred to as both Sean's college and the college a character named Vanden is going to. Vanden was referred to (but never appeared in) Less Than Zero.
- Glamorama: Main characters Victor Ward and Lauren Hynde were first introduced in The Rules of Attraction, Lauren being a major character and Victor a minor but significant one. Patrick Bateman appears briefly. Bertrand, Sean and Mitchell, all from The Rules of Attraction, appear in a Camden flashback and many other Rules characters are referred to. Alison Poole was a minor character in American Psycho and in fact first appeared as the main character in Jay McInerney's 1989 novel Story of My Life.
Haven't read The Informers and Glamorama yet, so the info (or lack thereof) regarding those two is secondhand. Please /msg me if you have anything to add.