The series below are the ones readers most often cite for depth of setting, from invented languages to centuries of internal history. Counts come from each series entry.
Series in Reading Order
- Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien — 5 books · 1937–1974
Invented languages, calendars and genealogies. - Discworld by Terry Pratchett — 36 books · 1983–2016
Forty-one novels on a flat world carried by four elephants. - Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson — 10 books · 1999–2011
Ten volumes, originally designed as a role-playing campaign. - Wheel Of Time by Robert Jordan — 20 books · 1990–2024
Fourteen volumes built on a repeating cosmological cycle. - Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson — 8 books · 2002–2024
Storm-based ecology and a ten-book plan. - Dune by Frank Herbert — 49 books · 1965–2024
Ecological and religious systems on a desert planet. - Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
An archipelago world with its own language of magic. - Fire and Ice by George R. R. Martin — 9 books · 2009–2024
Continental history and competing dynasties.
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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