13 of the Best Book Series Ever (Some You've Heard Of, Some You May Not Have)
Whether you like fantasy, space, or real-life stories, there's something here for everyone.
I think some of the first books I ever read as a child were part of a series, and there really is nothing more exciting than finishing a good book and knowing there is another book to follow in the series. Writers who can create a world full of characters that we want to spend additional books with are unique, and some of my favorite books of all time exist within the context of larger book series.
I looked back through all the books I’ve ever read and chose 13 of the best book series ever, in my opinion. Even as I worked on this list, I realized there were so many others I could have added to this list: Game of Thrones, How to Train Your Dragon, Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and more. Maybe one day I’ll do a part two, but for now, here are 13 series I’ve loved. I’m including links to the first book, details about the series, my favorite books in many of the series, and other related books or series if you’ve already read some of these. For some of the series, I’ll also include relevant trigger warnings.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Books in series: 3
Still publishing: NO
First book in the series: The Fellowship of the Ring
Other related books or series: The Hobbit, The Silmarillion
Chelsey’s favorite: The Return of the King
This is my favorite book series of all time, and if you have never read these three books, I suggest you skip the rest of this post and go ahead and get started. I reread The Lord of the Rings last year and was reminded afresh of how much I love these books, these characters, this world. Good and evil are at odds, and evil sometimes seems to prevail, but in the end, all things are made right. Even if you’re not someone who generally enjoys the fantasy genre (which includes me), you should read these books.
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Books in series: 7
First book in the series: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe1
Still publishing: NO
Chelsey’s favorite: The Silver Chair
If hobbits and orcs are not your thing, here is a slightly less intense fantasy series. I also reread this series last year, and I appreciated them more as an adult than I did as a child. Lewis has a way of saying true and important things without hitting you over the head with them, and like Tolkien, he weaves an epic battle of good and evil throughout the books.
The Dark Tower by Stephen King
Books in series: 7
First book in the series: The Gunslinger
Still publishing: NO
Other related books or series: The Wind Through the Keyhole, The Eyes of the Dragon2
Chelsey’s favorite: Wizard and Glass
Trigger warnings: some sexual content, a lot of death, supernatural elements
I have read this series at least three times. The first book is the worst of all of them, and I think a lot of people get stuck there and give up. Keep going. Once the Gunslinger meets Eddie and Susannah and the trio (ka-tet) begin their adventure to save the entire world from the Crimson King, you will want to go with them. A few years ago Christian and I were working through a book of questions and one was, if you could meet any book character in real life, who would it be? I chose Roland Deschain, the tragic hero of these books.
The Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan
Books in series: 12
First book in the series: The Ruins of Gorlan
Still publishing: NO3
Other related books or series: The Royal Ranger series, The Brotherband Chronicles series, The Early Years series
My older boys actually read this series first, during the beginning of the pandemic when we first moved to Georgia. They then proceeded to read and re-read it again and again. Finally I decided I should see what all the fuss was about. I was delighted to find that this was a family-friendly, exhilarating series of books that I found just as exciting as my boys did. Best of all, the characters are continuing to go on adventures! The original series is complete, but the author has gone on to write several spin-off series (that I have not read, but my boys have enjoyed). The main character, Will, is the kind of teenage boy I think most moms would love for their sons to emulate.
Red Rising Saga by Pierce Brown
Books in series: 6
First book in the series: Red Rising
Still publishing: YES (the 7th and final book, Red God, is expected to release later this year)
Triggering warnings: In addition to lots of people getting killed, the books get more intense and “adult” as they go on. I’d let my teenagers read the first three but would probably stop them there.
Whenever I hear that a guy is wanting to get into reading or back into reading, this is my first recommendation. I also very much enjoyed it as a girl, but the propulsive yet intricate plot and extensive world-building make it a great way to dive into fiction. On a surface level this series is similar to Hunger Games: people are divided into class-based factions, and the higher factions abuse and enslave the lower factions. One young man ascends the class system and becomes a competitor in an event where teenagers from different planets compete against each other.
Wayward Pines by Blake Crouch
Books in series: 3
First book in the series: Pines
Still publishing: NO
Trigger warnings: death
I ran across this series accidentally during the early days of the pandemic when I had a newborn and the library was closed. I was able to get these on my Kindle and read through all three over just a few days. It’s a series that starts with a group of people who seem like they live in a pretty ordinary place where strange things sometimes happen. Before the first book ends, the veil has been lifted and you realize what’s actually going on.
The Passage by Justin Cronin
Books in series: 3
First book in the series: The Passage
Still publishing: NO
Trigger warnings: death, supernatural elements
This might be my favorite contemporary series of all time. I mentioned The Passage in my post about 25 very long books and that’s because this is such an interesting post apocalyptic premise. Justin Cronin’s writing has a lot of similarities with Stephen King and the expansive world he builds in this series continues to surprise you as you read. I have a particular love of zombie books and the premise of a group of people holing up and defending themselves against a massive horde of human-consuming monsters, and this series delivers on that.
The First Formic War by Orson Scott Card
Books in series: 3
First book in the series: Earth Unaware
Still publishing: NO
Other related books or series: The Ender Quintet series4, The Shadow Saga series, The Second Formic War series
Trigger warnings: death
I read Ender’s Game and the two books following it first, and then I found out the author had written other series set in the same world. The First Formic War explains how the “aliens” from Ender’s Game end up as enemies of the human race. You don’t have to have read Ender’s Game to enjoy this series; it stands alone just fine. If you like smart science fiction, try this series.
The Bill Hodges Trilogy by Stephen King
Books in series: 3
First book in the series: Mr. Mercedes
Still publishing: NO
Other related books or series: The Outsider, If It Bleeds (novella), Holly, Never Flinch5
Trigger warnings: mass casualty event, murder, death, supernatural elements, gun violence
This series is what I consider a gateway drug into Stephen King. I know many people think of The Shining and think all of his books are spooky and supernatural. I recommend this series to King n00bs because it is mostly a straightforward detective series. Things eventually do get a little spooky, but it’s mostly just ordinary good guys against a very extraordinary bad guy. Fun fact: King never intended Holly, who ends up working with Bill Hodges in the first book, to become a main character. But her character development in this series led him to continue writing books about her.
Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelita by Tony Hillerman and Anne Hillerman
Books in series: 28
First book in the series: The Blessing Way
Still publishing: YES (Anne Hillerman’s 11th book, Bloodline, is set to release in April 2027)
Full disclosure: I have only read 3 of the 28 books in this series, but everything I’ve seen says that the series only continues to get better. I plan to eventually work my way through all of them. The setting of these is in the western United States on a Navajo reservation. The books are full of information about Navajo culture without appropriating it, and at their heart they are smart whodunnit books with a captivating main character, Joe Leaphorn (in later books, other detectives show up).
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache by Louise Penny
Books in series: 20
First book in the series: Still Life
Still publishing: YES (book #21, Miss Wolcott’s Ghost, comes out in October 2026)
Chelsey’s favorites: The Brutal Telling and How the Light Gets In
Trigger warnings: death/murder, many other crimes
I discovered this series in 2019 and within a year had read the first 15 books. At book 16, I was reading the books as she released them, and she usually releases a new one each year. Lesser writers would likely produce subpar work if they had to publish a novel each year, but Ms. Penny continues to write deeply compassionate and intense books about one of my favorite book characters, Chief Inspector Gamache. These are not thrillers and they are not cozy mysteries, but something in between. People die and there are very intense scenes, but there is nothing sexual or graphically violent. What I love most about this series is how much you come to know and love the central characters, many of whom live in the little Canadian town of Three Pines. As the series progresses, the story moves outside of Three Pines (only so many people can get murdered in a small town) and onto national and global stages.
The first book is nothing to write home about, but you have to start somewhere. I think things really start picking up around book 5, The Brutal Telling.
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Books in series: 5
First book in the series: The Penderwicks
Still publishing: NO
The discovery of this series was one of the most delightful seasons of my reading life. I wish these had been around when I was younger, but the first book was published in 2005, during a time when I wasn’t really reading for pleasure. Although they are written more for the middle-grade fiction crowd, I enjoyed them just fine as an adult. The relationships between the sisters and their single father and the other characters who come up throughout the series are some of the most realistic and beautiful relationship dynamics I’ve ever seen presented in fiction. I’m hoping to read these with my daughter soon.
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Books in series: 3
First book in the series: Beartown
Still publishing: NO
Trigger warnings: death, sexual assault, bullying
I’ve come to realize that this series is extremely polarizing. Some people hate it. I think the issue is probably more Backman’s writing style and less the content of the books. That said, it is an intense series: It opens with a teenage girl being sexually assaulted and the rest of the series is basically the fallout of that in the midst of a small town that is obsessed with hockey. An important thing to say is that you don’t have to know anything about hockey or want to know anything about hockey to enjoy this series.
There you have it: 13 of my favorite book series. I’d love to know if you’ve read any of these; if any of these look worth reading to you; if you are offended that I left your favorite series off my list.
Some people say The Magician’s Nephew should be read first, but I disagree. I think the big reveal at the end of TMN doesn’t hit as hard if you haven’t already read TLTWATW.
I could list many more of King’s books here, because almost all of the books within the Stephen King universe have Dark Tower Easter eggs. For example, the bad guy in The Stand, Randall Flagg, also exists as a bad guy in The Dark Tower series. Stephen King has listed all the user-submitted connections on his website.
John Flanagan is, however, continuing to publish books in some of the spin-off series.
The Ender Quintet has six books in it. Can’t explain it.
Some consider all four of these books as part of the same series, because they reference events from the Bill Hodges trilogy and include some of the same characters. If you like this trilogy, then you will love these other books. Of all of them, Holly is my favorite.