Fantasy runs in longer series than any other commercial genre, and most of the landmarks below span at least a trilogy. Each entry lists how many books the series holds and the years it was published.
Series in Reading Order
- Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien — 5 books · 1937–1974
The three-volume core of Tolkien's legendarium, published 1954-1955. - Discworld by Terry Pratchett — 36 books · 1983–2016
Forty-one novels built on several linked sub-series. - Wheel Of Time by Robert Jordan — 20 books · 1990–2024
Completed by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan's death in 2007. - Fire and Ice by George R. R. Martin — 9 books · 2009–2024
Five published volumes so far, begun 1996. - Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson — 8 books · 2006–2022
Era-based series inside the wider Cosmere. - Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson — 8 books · 2002–2024
Planned at ten volumes; part of the Cosmere. - Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Six books, 1968-2001, beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea. - Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis — 21 books · 1950–1999
Seven books, 1950-1956. - Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb — 19 books · 1995–2017
Opens the Realm of the Elderlings sequence. - Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson — 10 books · 1999–2011
Ten volumes, 1999-2011. - First Law by Joe Abercrombie — 10 books · 2006–2016
Trilogy plus three standalone novels and a second trilogy. - The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss
Two published novels so far, begun 2007.
How to read these series
Numbered entries follow the order the books were published, which is the order the story was written and the safest order for a first read. Where a series has side novels or novellas, reading them in publication order avoids spoilers from later books.
Where the numbers come from
Book counts and publication years on this page are taken from the series entries in the GoBookSeries index. Each title links to the full book list for that series.
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