Did anyone else get seriously involved with a book series??

[justaprogressive]

Me:

John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee...21 books


Edgar Rice Burroughs The Martian Series (John Carter) 11 books!


E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensmen Series 7 books!


how about you?

[SheltieLover]

1. Way too many to name

I read 2-3 funny cozy mysteries per day. Nothing graphic & no thrillers.

I find fiction much less strange than what passes for truth these days.

Enjoy!

[lastlib]

2. Ursula K. LeGuin, Earthsea series....

Arthur C. Clarke, Rama series.
Isaac Asimov, Foundation/Empire series.

[cbabe]

4. Earth sea trilogy is seriously good. Also Orson Scott Card/alternate American history Alvin maker series

[LogDog75]

38. I, too, read those books

Regarding the Rama novels. I was deployed to Zagreb, Croatia in 1995 and I took the Rama novels, which I had read before, with me. One of the guys in our unit had read them and we discussed them. We heard there was a book store that sold English books and we were told approximately where it was. When we found it the name of the store was Rama.

As for the Foundation/Empire novels, I read an interview of Asimov who said you need to also read the Robot, Galactic, and the Robot Detective series before reading the Foundation series. I, fortunately, have those books.

[cbabe]

3. James Lee Burke, Dick Francis, Louise Penny,

Tony Hillerman, Nevada Barr, William Kent Krueger, Robert Crais, John Sandford, Dana Stabenow, Thomas Perry, Lee Child … and John D Macdonald …

For starters. Read on!

[in2herbs]

5. Harry Potter nt

[Srkdqltr]

6. Loved Travis McGee. Ive read many series. Too many to list.

Latest is Jodi Taylor's St. Mary's series. She has several series going, most are good.
I liked Dana Stabanaw's Kate Sugak series

[Aristus]

7. Colleen Mccullough's Masters Of Rome series.

Serious historical fiction. Exhaustively researched, densely detailed, riveting.

The First Man In Rome
The Grass Crown
Fortune’s Favorites
Caesar’s Women
Caesar
The October Horse
Antony And Cleopatra

[perfessor]

8. Thank you all for the recommendations.

[Coldwater]

9. Yes, I've read every Dune Book

From the original 1965 Classic Dune by author Frank Herbert to the Present day set of books written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson.

https://parade.com/.image/w_750,q_auto:good,c_limit/MjA5ODkwMzc3NzU3MzY5ODA5/Dune%2520Main%2520Series.jpg?arena_f_auto

[Americanme]

10. In high school I read the Dune books and The Sunset Warrior trilogy.

When my kids read the Harry Potter books, I read them too. And, not series, but I buy anything written by Jimmy Buffett and Willie Nelson.

[sinkingfeeling]

11. Yes, Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series. Think there's 20 of them.

[Lars39]

46. I'm rereading that right now!

With occasional sips of the congenial beverage.

[MIButterfly]

12. Sue Grafton's alphabet series.

Sadly, she passed away after Y.

I also like Michael Connelly's Bosch series and Haller series and Harlan Coben's Mickey Bolitar series.

Edited to add: Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware series.

[malthaussen]

14. I liked those too, but at one novel per year...

... Kinsey, who was born 5/5/55, should have been 62 years old in 2017. I lost track of the series around "M," though, so not sure how Sue Grafton handled this. Kinsey should have been over 40 already by "M" but clearly wasn't.

-- Mal

[MIButterfly]

15. It's been a while, but I think her novels were all set in the 80s

and Kinsey Milhone never aged. I think she was always in her 30s or thereabouts.

[da svenster]

20. my mom loved this series...

she asked for the latest for many a christmas present.

[MIButterfly]

23. Sue Grafton came to the metro Detroit area on a book tour

for "O is for Outlaw." I still have that book, along with other author-signed books, in my secretary desk.

[malthaussen]

13. Depends on what you mean by "involved" and what you mean by "series."

Let's look at Travis McGee. 21 books, as you say, all of which I've read multiple times and several of which I love. But is it really a "series," or just a barely-connected sequence of mostly-unrelated incidents? I tried to compile a timeline for Travis's career and ended up with the sad conclusion that there is virtually no real connection among the books. The exception being the last, written when he was checking out and he wanted to tie up the series for his fans (laudable decision by a dying man), and ended up a very touching last episode.

One of the problem long-running series have, especially mystery/thriller ones, is that they are written over a space of decades, and therefore the character who was young and capable in the first books should be an old, tottering incompetent by the time the last book is written. How old was Travis when he met Lois? How old when Jean shows up? John did occasionally reference these problems -- Travis makes occasional noises about "Birthdays with a Zero" and slowing down/needed more time to recover from adventures, but there's no way he ages 20 years between the first book and the last. Other authors have adopted different devices; one I know sets every book according to a strict timeline, which means books written in 2020 are set in 1990, making them a very odd sort of historical fiction.

That said, to address your question:

In addition to Travis McGee, I've become "involved" with so many series that they'd be impossible to list. Favorites include:

Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser. Historical comedy with footnotes. Fraser was the most popular author in Britain for awhile before Terry Pratchett overtook him.
Discworld series by that selfsame Terry Pratchett. Not really a connected "series" at all, but several sequences involving particular casts of characters who all exist in a (very) loose timeframe on the Discworld.
Black Company series by Glen Cook. The long story of a company of quasi-mediaeval/fantasy mercenaries who start out in the service of the bad guys, and go downhill from there. Revolutionary for the genre for many reasons. Mr Cook is considered the father of the gritty, realistic sort of fantasy that GRR Martin has made bank on.
Dread Empire series by ditto. This is fantasy on a higher plane than the Black Company, at the level of the clash of empires rather than the day-to-day struggles of a group of grunts trying to stay alive. Unlike, say, the Silmarillion, though, it does have viewpoints from the individual level which drive the narrative, so it is not a "fantasy history" like that book.
Garrett, P.I. series by ditto. And now for something completely different: a genre-blending series that combines a fantasy setting with a noir P.I. protagonist. A tribute to John D. MacDonald in that all the books have titles with metals in them: eg, Sweet Silver Blues, Cold Copper Tears. Also intended to be humorous, if the combination of elves and Sam Spade didn't make that obvious.
The Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny. In two five-book arcs, a fantasy series that also adopts a kind of gritty, noir approach, and also has echoes of John D. MacDonald (whom Roger directly references in one book). Another parallel with MacDonald is that Roger wrote the last volume of the series literally on his deathbed, in an attempt to tie up all the loose ends for his fans. In justice, he fails and it is unsatisfactory, but as he was busy dying at the time, one can hardly hold it against him.
The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Space-opera sci-fi with a unique protagonist. Bujold won the Hugo four times for novels in the series, and I personally believe it was only four times because the Hugo committee didn't want to break Robert Heinlein's record. Lots of comic elements in the series, and my favorite novel of the whole 17 or so is A Civil Campaign which is outright subtitled "A comedy of manners."
The Baroque Cycle + Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson. Not strictly a series, a long trilogy with a fourth volume that is closely related to the trilogy. Stephenson combines history, philosophy, fantasy, and information science in a strange brew which is definitely not everybody's cup of tea, but since I am on a first-name basis with many of the historical characters he references (Leibniz, Newton, Hooke, eg), I love it to pieces.

There are many more examples that could be cited, but this post is already threatening to become longer than the subject matter, so I'll stop here.

-- Mal

[da svenster]

16. discworld (sir terry pratchett)

saw you had him listed in here so i'm kinda seconding it. i've re-read the entire series (up to raising steam which i just couldn't finish).

i do consider the discworld books a series in the traditional sense, in the same way i consider david brin's uplift books to be a series even though the central characters and locations change a lot over the course (it's also "only" 6 books in length so it isn't anywhere near the collections listed here).

[malthaussen]

22. Couple of problems with that, though...

... in particular, Equal Rites, which kind of stands out as a sore thumb in the Discworld mythos.

-- Mal

[da svenster]

32. the first few books are not great

i consider mort to be his first "good" book - one that felt like what was to become sir terry. i mean, it's ok, and gets a callback in i shall wear midnight but the earlier books are kind of a collection of jokes strung together.

sourcery is also kinda weak for me but after that, the series takes off. and with

[da svenster]

17. alan dean foster's flinx and pip series

... last i checked it was around 15 books long. started back in the early 70s although i'm not sure bloodhype was ever meant to be the beginning of anything. i think the first book in that series i read was a paperback of orphan star

[da svenster]

18. musn't forget charlie stross' "laundry files"

if you're not familiar, think 007 meets lovecraft (with a dash of dilbert before scott adams went off the deep end)

currently around 13ish books long

[da svenster]

19. "shorter" series

david brin's uplift series - 6 books

dan wells' john wayne cleaver (i'm not a serial killer) books - 6 books

jk rowling's harry potter - 7 books. still enjoyed them in spite of the author (kinda like the buffy movie and TV series, problematic creator, amazing creation)

laurell k hamilton's anita blake - this has got to be close to 30 books but i stopped reading them around 10 books ago.

[Vinca]

21. I am nearing the final book of Louise Penny's Gamache/Three Pines series. It's the best series I've ever read.

I might start reading it all over again immediately. The characters are amazing and I want to live in Three Pines.

[rockyland]

24. Patrick O'Brian

so much more than Master and Commander terrific books

[debm55]

25. thank you justaprogressive. Yes, Outlander. I have read all 8 books in the series and I am waiting for the last book to

come out. I have also streamed the series on Netflix.

[Lars39]

26. The Brother Cadfael series.

I bought them all for my kindle. The paper books has the tiniest font. Digital allowed me to actually read them without a magnifying glass.

[surfered]

27. Lord of the Rings

[buzzycrumbhunger]

28. I read constantly...

… and because I’m poor, I tend to lean toward freebie book lists. I’ll read Tolkien endlessly but will also do mysteries, sci-fi, even silly romance crap (prefer historical but will stoop to anything from modern crap to ridiculous alien hookups). Have stumbled into lots of surprisingly good stuff but off the top of my head, one of my faves is a series (or all of them) by Wendy Vella. Her Sinclair and Raven series (two odd families bound together by extrasensory abilities—in Regency-era England) is fun, often hysterical, and always fascinating. Sometimes, I have to just go with whatever’s free but there are quite a few authors that really make my day.

Biggest disappointment: Game of Thrones. Gods, that drug out so horribly that I couldn’t even care enough to finish the series. So much repetition and dragging out the story… Even worse than the way Robert Jordan floundered around with Wheel of Time—which was only salvaged because he died and Brandon Sanderson had to finish the last two books--which was soooo good, I’m also a Brandon Sanderson fan forevermore. Add any and all Sanderson series to my all-time faves—from Mistborn to even his YA books.

[patphil]

29. Several.

I read the complete "The Lensman" series.
Also, about the first 6 books of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time". I could see it wasn't getting anywhere, and dropped it.
I also read "The Lord of the Rings" books, including the first book of "The Silmarillion". The Silmarillion series was totally unnecessary.
I also read Roger Zelazney's "Nine Princes in Amber"; at least the first several books. As usual it became a lifelong read, so I dropped that.
Frank Herbert's Dune series also slogged on and on, so I dropped that after "God Emperor of Dune".
As you can see I like Science Fiction but, I've always wanted to know that there was a beginning, middle, and end of a series before I committed my time to reading an open ended time suck.
I should also add the Harry Potter series which I read to completion, and saw all of the movies.

[justaprogressive]

42. Try Spider Robinson's

Callahan series...outstanding never drags on!

The name ‘Callahan’ refers to a series of novels written by Spider Robinson which follow the exploits of the employees and guests of Callahan’s place, an eccentric tavern that offers sanctuary to the weary.

+The Story
The Callahan series is a collection of books each of which is also a collection of stories, essays, and speeches. People who are unsure as to whether or not the Callahan series is their cup of tea are often encouraged to read Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon, the first novel in the series which paints a vivid picture of what the rest of the novels in the series have to offer.

Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon introduces readers to Callahan’s Place, the primary setting of every story within the Callahan universe. Callahan’s place is a fictional bar owned by Mike Callahan.

But Callahan’s Place is so much more than just another drinking well. For one thing, the bar is only accessible to people who need it. And it does not discriminate. That means any random stranger walking down some random street in some random town could just as easily stumble into Callahan’s place if they are so heavy-laden with despair that they need a place to lay their head.

Read the first one "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon" to see if the series floats your boat!

[cbabe]

30. Robert B. Parker Spenser series and Michael Connelly Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer (this a fun post. Thanks.)

[ms liberty]

31. Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody series, also the Vicky Bliss and the Jackie Kirby mysteries

David Eddings, The Belgariad and The Mallorean
Raymond Feist, Magician series
Anne McCaffrey, Pern

[Dear_Prudence]

53. Amelia Peabody

Series is wonderful. Some adventures are based on Howard Carter's experiences and some on the book A Thousand Miles Up the Nile, 1877, by Amelia B Edwards (an interesting read). But, of course, the source materials don't include our beloved Amelia. I also listened to the series after reading it, but I did not care for the haughty tone of Amelia in the audio.

[MuseRider]

56. Your choice of the 3 bottom books

got me through some awful times then I read all again during happier times. My best friend and I used to trade off and then talk together about them and it was so fun.

We promised each other that if one died before the other and we could get there that we would be buried with Pern. I folded it in her hands. I think after the years I am ready to buy another copy and read it again.
Love your choices, such good and fun books those are.

[unweird]

33. Guilty Pleasures Indeed

I started with the James Patterson series on Alex Cross. I’ve read 29 of 31 novels in the series so far. Then last year I read the 66 Stone Barrington novels by Stuart Woods. I’m currently reading Patterson’s “Women’s Murder Club” series. They conveniently include a numeric in the titles to aid in consecutive consumption.
1st to Die
2nd Chance
3rd Degree
4th of July
The 5th Horseman
The 6th Target
7th Heaven
The 8th Confession
The 9th Judgment
10th Anniversary
11th Hour
12th of Never
Unlucky 13
14th Deadly Sin
15th Affair
16th Seduction
17th Suspect
18th Abduction
19th Christmas
20th Victim
21st Birthday
22 Seconds
23rd Midnight
The 24th Hour
25 Alive

[Unwind Your Mind]

37. I love Stone Barrington!

I think I’ve read everything Stuart Woods ever wrote

I read the women’s murder club up to a point, about 15 I think

I’m reading more lately because real world is so hideous

Currently on book 21 of J.A. Jance’s J.P. Beaumont series

Thanks everyone for all the good recommendations in this thread

[LogDog75]

39. The Women's Murder Club is great

I look forward to each new book in the series when it comes out.

[Easterncedar]

34. Dorothy Dunnett

Historical fiction: Game of Kings/Lymond Chronicles and House of Niccolo. Both very dense and full of detail - picaresque, swashbuckling, great way to inhabit history, beautiful scenery, tragic battles, witty dialogue and twisty plots.

Also her John Johnson mystery adventure series, lots of fun, wonderful "modern" locations, sailing, spies, international intrigue and the very best chase sequences.

[highplainsdem]

57. Loved the Lymond Chronicles.

[Easterncedar]

59. Waving!

Nice to know there’s another fan.

[Solly Mack]

35. I've been in a lifelong love affair with the Dune books and the Hobbit/LOR/Silmarillion.

[Bayard]

36. Depends on what you consider a series

There are some authors that get a whole bookshelf to themselves--Stephen King, Dean Koontz, John Sandford, David Baldacci, James Patterson, Tony Hillerman, Preston & Child. Actually, Stephen gets 2 shelves in my library.

As far as a series, I would consider the Agent Pendergast books of Preston & Child. I have almost all of those. I think I have all of the Leaphorn and Jim Chee books of Tony Hillerman.

I usually go through a couple books a week, just reading in the evening. I like hardbacks that I can actually hold in my hands.

[LogDog75]

40. The Agent Pendergast series got into a little too much fantasy

His ward, Constance Greene, is over 100 years old but remains a young woman. Kinda of ruins the story line for me.

I do like the character police Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta.

[LogDog75]

41. A couple of series

The Lucas Davenport novels by John Sandford.
Lucas Davenport is the Assistant Chief of Police in Minneapolis. While in college, he was into board games and developed his own games. While a beat cop, he designed and sold a video police training program making him wealthy. He started his own video game business and sold it for $40 million. He remained a cop and takes on the most difficult cases in the city.

The Kendra Michaels series by Iris Johansen. Kendra was born blind and when she was a teenager her mother, a professor at UC Dan Diego, was able to get Kendra into a stem cell test program, in England, which gave her her vision. Kendra's new vision led her to a hedonistic lifestyle but after a couple of years she obtained a degree in psychology. What sets her apart is Kendra sees things others miss and as a result the police asks her to help them with their cases. During an investigation, she meets an FBI agent and slowly they fall in love. This is a crime mystery series and Kendra's abilities makes for humorous and insightful observations.

[cbabe]

43. One more that broke into my dreams:

The Ozark Trilogy/Suzette Haden Elgin

Humans on another planet attacked by alien intelligence. Flying mules, grannies, and hexes.

Side note: Elgin is a linguistic. Wrote seminal books: The gentle art of verbal self defense. One of my top five.

[OldBaldy1701E]

44. Oh yes.

The Barsoom series being one of my favorites.

There were also:

'The Incarnations of Immortality' series (Piers Anthony)

'The 'Shannara' series (Terry Brooks)

'The Adventures of Tom Swift'-both series (various authors)

'The Great Brain' series - J.D. Fitzgerald

'Star Trek-The Original Series' books (James Blish)

Of course, the majority of comic books are series as well, and there would be far too many to mention. I will recommend two of them if anyone is interested.

Electra: Assassin (Story by Frank Miller!, art by Bill Sienkiewicz!)

The New Mutants: Legion storyline- (story by Chris Claremont, art by Bill Sienkiewicz!)

(Sorry for the !, but Sienkiewicz is probably my favorite living artist.)

See why?

[mnhtnbb]

45. Yes.

In the last few years I've read the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, as well as the Lord John books and the collection of stories in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall. I read the books (and I've reread all of them, too) after discovering the TV series several years ago.

When Hillary Clinton co-wrote a book with Louise Penny, I then went on to read all of Louise Penny's books about her character, Inspector Gamache. Finished the most recent one, The Black Wolf, not long ago. It's eerily prescient about the US government wanting to take over Canada to access their natural resources.

I've also read everything Jonathan Kellerman has ever written, not just the series devoted to his character Alex Delaware. Kellerman worked at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in the 1980's when I also worked there. I didn't know him personally, but I did know him to say 'hi' to in the elevator.

I've read all of John Grisham's mysteries.

There are other writers that haven't written a series, per se, but I've read everything they've written. I'll find a new author, read one or two books, and like the work so much I then methodically work through everything written by the person.

Thank goodness for public libraries!

[Tree Lady]

47. Lots of series but my favorite is Stephen White's

Series of a psychologist who solves murders in Boulder, CO. The way he describes the characters and the town made it so real.

Many years later my daughter moved to CO and we visited Boulder and the streets and restaurants were just like he said.

[Ilsa]

48. Deborah Harkness: A Discovery of Witches

1. A Discovery of Witches,
2. Shadow of Night, and
3. The Book of Life
aka The All Souls Trilogy.
Then she published Time's Convert, a prequel and sequel. After that came the sequel The Blackbird Oracle which also gives extensive backstory. Her next novel in the series, The Falcon and the Rose, will be published at a date not yet determined.

The author is an historian. The novels are about history and paranormal people and things. Age-old prejudices and fears, power-seeking ambition, etc drive even supernatural creatures. She writes beautifully. The AMC TV series on novels 1-3 was fantastic.

[Marthe48]

49. My teens

I liked The Hardy Boys, loved Rick Brant Science Adventure stories.

Sherlock Holmes.

Leonidas Witherall, vintage mysteries set in New England
Recent fixations:
E.C.R. Lorac Inspector McDonald

Rhys Dylan Inspector Warlow

[Emile]

50. Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/43040-stephanie-plum

[Moostache]

51. Marcel Proust - la recherche du temps perdu

(In Search of Lost Time) - 7 volumes, approximately 4,300 pages (Modern Library printing)

(Malazan Book of the Fallen) - Steven Erikson - 10 volumes, approximately 10,000 pages (or up to 16,000 pages)

[cachukis]

52. Arundel, Kenneth Roberts. He wrote 3 or 4 of characters

from Maine.
Arundel is an historical novel of Arnold leading an enterprise up the Kennebec to Quebec.

[Dear_Prudence]

54. Bad series

I used to read the Lillian Jackson Braun's The Cat Who series. Cozy mysteries. I would get the new hardback for my birthday. But then the author started killing off beloved characters that had been featured in multiple books. This would be like killing off nephew Brady and the Sheriff on the show "Murder She Wrote" or Della Street on "Perry Mason". So the author, or whoever was churning out the series, broke a cardinal rule of the cozy mystery genre. I dropped the series. I guess I am still a little bitter. But you all know how we can get wrapped up in our series!

[Talitha]

55. 'Earth's Children' series by Jean Auel

I read the first four quite a while ago:
The Clan of the Cave Bear (1980)
The Valley of Horses (1982)
The Mammoth Hunters (1985)
The Plains of Passage (1990)

And just now discovered there are two more... yippeeee!
The Shelters of Stone (2002)
The Land of Painted Caves (2011)

[highplainsdem]

58. Jim Butcher's Dresden Files:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dresden_Files

[BlueSpot]

60. Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series

I've read many series, and many that I thoroughly enjoyed but this is my absolute favorite.

Nautical, historical. Probably based on real-life Thomas Lord Cochrane. A ship's captain from England (and an intelligence officer and naturalist who works as the ship's surgeon) during the Napoleonic period. Wooden ships and Iron Men as it were. Full of humor, intrigue and history. 21 books in all, IIRC.

If you saw the movie "Master and Commander, the Far side of the World" with Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany (2003), know that it was based on two of the novels in the series. If you haven't seen it, you probably should. While cramming two books into one movie means they leave stuff out, it is a decent example of what you will find in the series.