15 Lengthy Fantasy Book Series & Sagas That Are Totally Worth Committing To

Summary

• The best long fantasy book series may have planned or open-ended narratives.
• The Shadowhunters Chronicles
  and
  A Song of Ice and Fire
  are equally thrilling but distinguish how different stories evolve.
• Some fantasy series are not yet complete, like
  From Blood and Ash
  and
  The Bone Season
  , making now the perfect time to start reading.

Most lengthy fantasy book series are a significant commitment if one plans to read it all the way through, but many are completely worth the investment. Several highly anticipated fantasy book series coming out in 2024 demonstrate that the taste for epic sci-fi and fantasy sagas has endured. Very few series will reach the level of success of the biggest fantasy franchises that defined the genre. However, the slim odds of massive success have not stopped talented writers from creating riveting new worlds in which to tell extensive stories.

The best long-running fantasy novel series convey a sense that the author had a plan for the full story from the beginning. This results in a satisfying and organic narrative that never feels like it is being drawn out past its expiration date. However, some other book series, such as the Riordanverse and the Shadowhunters universe, are well set up to produce endless new tales that will doubtlessly draw in fans committed to reading them all.

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15 The Chronicles Of The Unhewn Throne

By Brian Stavely

The Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne is the first trilogy in the wider fantasy novel series by author Brian Stavely, and will be sure to especially satisfy any fans of the A Song of Fire and Ice novels. Filled with intrigue, betrayal, and danger, The Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne focuses on three characters who are all the children of the assassinated emperor. The fantasy novel series is, predominantly, a war story, with plenty of political intrigue and epic battle sequences, which means it has a lot in common with the likes of Game of Thrones.

Stavely has continued to expand on the world of the initial trilogy with a standalone novel and sequel trilogy, with both projects still ongoing. The first standalone novel in the Chronicles universe, Skullsworn, arrived in 2017 and functions as a prequel to The Emperor’s Blades. The second trilogy began with 2021’s The Empire’s Ruin, and is the first novel in what will be referred to as the Ashes of the Unhewn Throne series.

Book	Release Year
The Emperor’s Blades	2014
The Providence of Fire	2015
The Last Mortal Bond	2016
The Empire’s Ruin	2021
Skullsworn	2017

14 The Kingkiller Chronicle

By Patrick Rothfuss

Custom Image by Sam MacLennan

Patrick Rothfuss’s The Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy is still ongoing, with the third novel, The Doors of Stone, still in the progress of being written. However, the author has already released several tie-in novellas and stories that make the world of the trilogy’s main character, Kvothe, feel much more fleshed out. What makes the central novels of the Kingkiller trilogy so intriguing is the format, as they’re written as a transcription of Kvothe’s oral autobigraphy.

The passages about the character’s mysterious past are peppered with interludes concerning his present, wherein he’s working as an innkeeper, and this storytelling style has been the source of much praise for Rothfuss as a writer. The tie-in books like, novella The Slow Regard of Silent Things, focus on secondary characters within the world of Temerant. Fans of fantasy novels that have a specific focus on magic will find Rothfuss’s novels especially pleasing, since a great deal of worldbuilding has gone into its many unique styles of sorcery.

Book	Release Year
The Name of the Wind	2007
The Wise Man’s Fear	2011
The Doors of Stone	TBA
The Lightning Tree	2014
The Slow Regard of Silent Things	2014
The Narrow Road Between Desires	2023

13 The Dark Tower

By Stephen King

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Stephen King may be regarded as a master of horror, but he’s also behind one of the best modern fantasy book series — The Dark Tower. While King’s proficiency as an author of course means that the quality of prose is consitently excellent through The Dark Tower books, that’s not the chief reason they’re so beloved and more than worth reading. Stephen King’s fantasy series is truly unique, mixing many common tropes of the genre with that of Western and cowboy stories.

The novels focus on Roland of Deschain, a gunslinger. In Roland’s world, Gunslingers are an almost-Arthurian order of cowboy-like warriors, living by a code and wielding their pistols with the reverence and skills usually seen in the swordsmen of high-fantasy settings (for example, Roland is able to hypnotize the weak-willed by twirling bullets between his fingers). What’s more, the Dark Tower series also links into many of King’s other books, fleshing out the author’s extensive bibliography into a fully-fledged multiverse.

Book	Release Year
The Gunslinger	1982
The Drawing of the Three	1987
The Waste Lands	1991
Wizard and Glass	1997
The Wind Through the Keyhole	2012
Wolves of the Calla	2003
Song of Susannah	2004
The Dark Tower	2004

12 His Dark Materials

By Philip Pullman

The His Dark Materials trilogy has been adapted to screens twice, in the celebrated TV series of the same name, and the maligned 2007 movie The Golden Compass. There’s a reason studios have always been keen to turn the novels into a successful franchise too, as they’re both unique and incredibly engaging. The core trilogy focuses on Lyra Silvertongue, a young girl who exists in a world where every human being is linked to a spirit-animal known as a Daemon.

As the books progress, Lyra travels to many other worlds (including the version of Earth inhabited by readers). She finds herself unraveling a conspiracy that leads to her taking on God himself. While this plot thread created a lot of controversy, it also served to make His Dark Materials incredibly engaging, as the scope of the novels expands to a story that’s truly epic in scale. What’s more, Pullman then expanded on many of the most popular story elements and characters in novellas like Once Upon a Time in the North, meaning there’s no shortage of material for readers to sink their teeth into.

Book	Release Year
The Golden Compass	1995
The Subtle Knife	1997
The Amber Spyglass	2000
Lyra’s Oxford	2003
Once Upon a Time in the North	2008
The Collectors	2014
La Belle Sauvage	2017
The Secret Commonwealth	2019
Serpentine	2020
The Imagination Chamber	2022

11 The Horus Heresy

By Various

Few fantasy series can claim to be set tens of thousands of years into the future while still feeling more like fantasy than science-fiction, but the Horus Heresy novels pull off this blending of genres perfectly. While there are plenty of examples of advanced technology, these always take a back-seat to the sorcercy, demons, and sword-wielding warriors that each of the books focus on.

Based on the popular tabletop game Warhammer 40,000, the Horus Heresy books are set 10,000 years before the “present day” of the setting. With 64 books in the series by a variety of authors, reading the story in its entirety is no small task, but it is incredibly rewarding. The fantasy aspects are so entrenched in the setting that, for example, science has become a religion, with starships maintained by an order of Tech Priests who know how to appease the “Machine Spirits” that keep the (by the 31st millennium) ancient machines running.

The story itself is an epic tale of betrayal and a galaxy-wide civil war thousands of years in the making. Those loyal to the God-Emperor of Mankind must protect Holy Terra (formerly known as Earth) from the superhuman warlord Horus. To make matters even more dire, Horus himself has fallen sway to the malevolent Chaos Gods. All in all, there are few series that will appeal quite as well for readers wanting a truly epic story to dig into.

Book	Author	Release Year
Horus Rising	Dan Abnett	2006
False Gods	Graham McNeil	2006
Galaxy In Flames	Ben Counter	2006
The Flight of the Eisenstein	James Swallow	2007
Fulgrim	Graham McNeil	2007
Descent of Angels	Mitchel Scanlon	2007
Legion	Dan Abnett	2008
Battle for the Abyss	Ben Counter	2008
Mechanicum	Graham McNeill	2008
Tales of Heresy	Various (Short Story Collection)	2009
Fallen Angels	Mike Lee	2009
A Thousand Sons	Graham McNeill	2010
Nemesis	James Swallow	2010
The First Heretic	Aaron Dembski-Bowden	2010
Prospero Burns	Dan Abnett	2010
Age Of Darkness	Various (Short Story Collection)	2011
The Outcast Dead	Graham McNeill	2011
Deliverance Lost	Gav Thorpe	2012
Know No Fear	Dan Abnett	2012
The Primarchs	Various (Short Story Collection)	2012
Fear To Tread	James Swallow	2012
Shadows Of Treachery	Various (Short Story Collection)	2012
Angel Exterminatus	Graham McNeill	2012
Betrayer	Aaron Dembski-Bowden	2012
Mark Of Calth	Various (Short Story Collection)	2013
Vulkan Lives	Nick Kyme	2013
The Unremembered Empire	Dan Abnett	2013
Scars	Chris Wraight	2014
Vengeful Spirit	Graham McNeill	2014
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Legacies Of Betrayal	Various (Short Story Collection)	2014
Deathfire	Nick Kyme	2015
War Without End	Various (Short Story Collection)	2016
Pharos	Guy Haley	2016
Eye of Terra	Various (Short Story Collection)	2016
The Path of Heaven	Chris Wraight	2016
The Silent War	Various (Short Story Collection)	2016
Angels of Caliban	Gav Thorpe	2016
Praetorian of Dorn	John French	2016
Corax	Gav Thorpe	2016
The Master Of Mankind	Aaron Dembski-Bowden	2016
Garro	James Swallow	2017
Shattered Legions	Various (Short Story Collection)	2017
The Crimson King	Graham McNeill	2017
Tallarn	John French	2017
Ruinstorm	David Annandale	2017
Old Earth	Nick Kyme	2017
The Burden of Loyalty	Various (Short Story Collection)	2018
Wolfsbane	Guy Haley	2018
Born of Flame	Various (Short Story Collection)	2018
Slaves to Darkness	John French	2018
Heralds of the Siege	Various (Short Story Collection)	2018
Titandeath	Guy Haley	2018
The Buried Dagger	James Swallow	2019
The Solar War	John French	2019
The Lost and the Damned	Guy Haley	2019
The First Wall	Gav Thorpe	2019
Saturnine	Dan Abnett	2020
Mortis	John French	2021
Warhawk	Chris Wraight	2021
Echoes of Eternity	Aaron Dembski-Bowden	2022
The End and the Death Vol. I	Dan Abnett	2023
The End and the Death Vol. 2	Dan Abnett	2023
The End and the Death Vol. 3	Dan Abnett	2024

10 The Wheel Of Time

By Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson

Before it was adapted into a hit Amazon Prime TV show, The Wheel of Time was (and still is) regarded as a classic series, falling between the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter eras in the evolution of fantasy literature. Originally planned to be a series of six novels, The Wheel of Time eventually expanded to include 15 novels. While original author Robert Jordan passed away while working on the 12th book, he left his notes for the rest of the series to Brandon Sanderson, who completed the subsequent three novels.

The Wheel of Time’s extensive world-building rivals Tolkien’s creation — Jordan’s dedication to detail is a burden at times. There are many, many characters whose different perspectives eventually branch out to cover several storylines in one ongoing saga. The Wheel of Time show makes some good and bad changes from the books regarding how developed the characters are, but it is up to readers to decide which one they personally prefer.

Book	Release date
The Eye of the World	1990
The Great Hunt	1990
The Dragon Reborn	1991
The Shadow Rising	1992
The Fires of Heaven	1993
Lord of Chaos	1994
A Crown of Swords	1996
The Path of Daggers	1998
Winter’s Heart	2000
Crossroads of Twilight	2003
New Spring (prequel)	2004
Knife of Dreams	2005
The Gathering Storm	2009
Towers of Midnight	2010
A Memory of Light	2013

9 The Shadowhunters Chronicles

By Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters Chronicles started with a single series, then expanded to include a prequel trilogy, then a sequel, a spinoff, and so on. Every story focusing on a new generation of Shadowhunters is equally enthralling. Such a long-running franchise of interconnected series gives readers the chance to see the characters grow over many years, exploring different times and scenarios within this hidden magical world. Readers can pick out which historical aesthetic they prefer, with the Victorian, Edwardian, and modern eras all featured.

Almost every individual series — The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, The Dark Artifices, The Last Hours, etc. — can be read on its own. However, missing out on any of them is risking learning something new about the world. Each series introduces more instantly likable characters, but few are as iconic as the warlock Magnus Bane. Clare must know that Magnus is her best character, as he makes an appearance in most of the books in the series due to his immortality.

Series	Books included	Release dates
The Mortal Instruments	City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Heavenly Fire, City of Lost Souls	2007-2014
The Infernal Devices	Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess	2010-2013
The Bane Chronicles	One book of 11 short stories	2014
The Dark Artifices	Lady Midnight, Lord of Shadows, Queen of Air and Darkness	2016-2018
The Eldest Curses	The Red Scrolls of Magic, The Lost Book of the White, The Black Volume of the Dead	2019-TBC
The Last Hours	Chain of Gold, Chain of Iron, Chain of Thorns	2020-2023
The Wicked Powers	The Last King of Faerie, The Last Prince of Hell, The Last Shadowhunter	2026-TBC

8 From Blood And Ash

By Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Blood and Ash series will comprise seven books in the main narrative — six of which will be released as of 2024 — as well as a prequel/spinoff series of four additional books. Beginning with From Blood and Ash, seasoned fantasy writer Jennifer L. Armentrout won over the fanbases of Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass and Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone. It is unsurprising that From Blood and Ash would be liked by fans of these previous series when it also focuses on a strong female lead, a sexy forbidden romance, and a revolution against a corrupted government.

As the series continues, the lore only gets deeper while Poppy and Hawke’s romance gets more complicated. The only caveat is that readers will be forced to wait for the seventh book once they have finished the currently published ones. However, that is still 10 books, which will keep even the most dedicated readers busy for a while.

Book	Release date
From Blood and Ash	2020
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire	2020
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A Shadow in the Ember (prequel book #1)	2021
The War of Two Queens	2022
A Light in the Flame (prequel book #2)	2022
A Soul of Ash and Blood	2023
A Fire in the Flesh (prequel book #3)	2023
The Primal of Blood and Bone	2024
Born of Blood and Ash (prequel book #4)	2024
Blood and Ash book #7	TBC

7 A Song Of Ice And Fire

By George R. R. Martin

Game of Thrones
makes some of the characters more conventionally heroic, but those who are inclined to an even darker story can find it in the books.

For all of Game of Thrones’ compelling storylines and world-building, some things from George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series didn’t make it into the show. These books are incredibly dense and take years to write, yielding stunning results in a rich medievalist world. Game of Thrones makes some of the characters more conventionally heroic, but those who are inclined to an even darker story can find it in the books.

Additionally, characters such as the Martell family are far more developed; only readers know them as they were intended to be. At the time of writing, Martin still faces pressure to complete the series, especially in the wake of Game of Thrones’ controversial finale. However, even if the final books are never published, the A Song of Ice and Fire books may offer fans some closure. Perhaps they can come to their own conclusion about how things would have ended with additional information about all the characters.

Book	Release date
A Game of Thrones	1996
A Clash of Kings	1998
A Storm of Swords	2000
A Feast for Crows	2005
A Dance with Dragons	2011
The Winds of Winter	TBC
A Dream of Spring	TBC

6 The Grishaverse

By Leigh Bardugo

Those who are still upset about the Shadow and Bone storylines that will never be resolved due to the show’s cancellation can turn to the source material for answers. The original Shadow and Bone trilogy is a bestselling series that introduces the fantastical world of Ravka and the countries surrounding it, with fan-favorite characters including Alina, Nikolai, and Zoya. However, these first three books pale in comparison to Bardugo’s first spinoff in the Grishaverse.

Six of Crows is doubtlessly one of the best fantasy duologies to read, with a plot conceptualized as a fantasy Ocean’s Eleven and a crew of underdog criminals ready to make everyone who underestimated them dreadfully sorry. Kaz and his Crows are at the center of the story, with some appearances by characters from the Shadow and Bone books. Bardugo then leads into the King of Scars duology — the books that finally give Zoya’s character her due — with the possibility of more adventures to come.

Book	Release date
Shadow and Bone	2012
Siege and Storm	2013
Ruin and Rising	2014
Six of Crows	2015
Crooked Kingdom	2016
King of Scars	2019
Rule of Wolves	2021

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5 Discworld

By Terry Pratchett

Fantasy legend Terry Pratchett demonstrates his razor-sharp sense of humor and incomparable knowledge of his favored genre in the Discworld novels. The fact that the Discworld is a flat planet balanced on the backs of four giant elephants who stand on the back of a gargantuan turtle gives readers some indication of what they are in for. The Discworld series comprises 41 books published over more than 30 years; however, starting with the first book published is not necessary.

There are multiple starting points and several storylines focusing on specific characters to follow. The books focusing on Pratchett’s amicable personification of death and his family feature intriguing musings on humanity and mortality. Guards! Guards! and the other novels focusing on the City Watch’s reformation offer some fantastically parodical moments regarding the long-lost heir trope. Pratchett’s ability to take apart the tropes and rebuild them makes the Discworld novels a vital contribution to the fantasy genre.

Subseries	Books included	Release dates
Rincewind	The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Sourcery, Eric, Interesting Times, The Last Continent, The Last Hero	1983-2001
Witches	Equal Rites, Wyrd Systers, Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, Maskerade, Carpe Jugulum	1987-1998
Death	Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Music, Hogfather, Thief of Time	1987-2001
City Watch	Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant, Night Watch, Thud!, Snuff	1989-2011
Industrial Revolution	Moving Pictures, The Truth, Monstrous Regiment, Unseen Academicals	1990-2009
Tiffany Aching	The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, I Shall Wear Midnight, The Shepherd’s Crown	2003-2015
Moist von Lipwig	Going Postal, Making Money, Raising Steam	2004-2013
Standalones	Pyramids, Small Gods, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents	1989, 1992, 2010

4 The Earthsea Cycle

By Ursula K. Le Guin

The genre-defining fantasy author Ursula K. Le Guin wrote several standalone sci-fi novels within her Hainish universe, while The Earthsea Cycle is her primary contribution to the fantasy genre and her only major novel series, in the traditional sense of the descriptor. Consisting of six books, The Earthsea Cycle does not follow the typical linear book-to-book narrative readers have come to expect with today’s many fantasy series that are heavily derivative of each other. Rather, the series jumps between characters’ perspectives at different times in their lives.

Earthsea introduced a magic system focusing on a true language that was later adapted by Christopher Paolini in The Inheritance Cycle, with subplots exploring improper uses of magic. Earthsea also represents a major jump forward in the inclusion of people of color in fantasy literature, while later books also constitute impactful stories about gender power politics as they relate to gendered interpretations of magic in Le Guin’s world. Earthsea is one of the most complex fantasy series of the past century, with its publication stretching over 30 years.

Book	Release date
A Wizard of Earthsea	1968
The Tombs of Atuan	1971
The Farthest Shore	1972
Tehanu	1990
Tales from Earthsea	2001
The Other Wind	2001

3 The Riordanverse

By Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan’s expansive literary universe is characterized by sarcastic humor and clever takes on mythological figures. The modernized versions of characters from various mythologies are hilarious, encompassing everything from the Sphinx hosting a game show to Hades complaining about paying his employees overtime. Over the years, Riordan gradually expanded the world from his initial premise of modern Greek gods to include their Roman iterations, as well as the Egyptian and Norse pantheons. It started with the smallest hints that they were all happening in the same setting, before showing direct interactions between the characters of different series.

The sheer number of books with different series of books focusing on different characters allows Riordan to fully develop everyone. At this point, Percy’s story is no more complete than Nico di Angelo’s or Magnus Chase’s (a character named after Cassandra Clare’s Magnus, as noted in Sword of Summer’s dedication). There is a myriad of individual storylines to get invested in, new facets of different mythologies to learn about, and endless hysterical jokes in the Riordanverse, for readers of all ages.

Series	Books included	Release dates
Percy Jackson & the Olympians	The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian, The Chalice of the Gods, Wrath of the Triple Goddess	2005-2024
The Heroes of Olympus	The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, The House of Hades, The Blood of Olympus	2010-2014
The Kane Chronicles	The Red Pyramid, The Throne of Fire, The Serpent’s Shadow	2010-2012
Demigods and Magicians	Three short stories, published individually first	2013-2015
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard	The Sword of Summer, The Hammer of Thor, The Ship of the Dead	2015-2017
The Trials of Apollo	The Hidden Oracle, The Dark Prophecy, The Burning Maze, The Tyrant’s Tomb, The Tower of Nero	2016-2020
The Sun and the Star	Standalone novel	2023

2 Mistborn

By Brandon Sanderson

Custom image by Yeider Chacon

Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn movie has been stuck in development hell for years, to the endless frustration of readers who know it to be one of the best fantasy novel series out there. The first three books published form a trilogy while the latter four are another series set in the same world centuries later. The Wheel of Time co-writer kicked things off in The Final Empire with a fugitive protagonist planning to destroy his world’s corrupt empire, coming across another young criminal who has the same supernatural gifts as him.

The “Mistborn” have some supernatural powers, but the magic system expands in unexpected ways, especially in the later books. However, in general, people who love outlaw protagonists and fantasy revolutions will enjoy the Mistborn series. Readers will also experience two different aesthetics, with the first trilogy resembling a classic medievalist fantasy, while the latter four books take place in a setting closer to the 20th century, with magic mixed in.

Book	Release date
The Final Empire	2006
The Well of Ascension	2007
The Hero of Ages	2008
The Alloy of Law	2011
Shadows of Self	2015
The Bands of Mourning	2016
The Lost Metal	2022

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1 The Bone Season

By Samantha Shannon

With the recent release of revised editions, now is the perfect time to start
The Bone Season
before the next three books are released.

At the time of writing, Samantha Shannon’s The Bone Season series includes four books in the main timeline, an in-between novella, a prequel book, and a companion piece that is supposed to be a pamphlet that exists within the series’ setting. It has taken Shannon 10 years to write and publish these books, with three more planned installments in the series. With the recent release of revised editions, now is the perfect time to start The Bone Season before the next three books are released.

Another must-read for fans of criminal escapades, The Bone Season follows the life and times of Paige Mahoney, a fugitive dreamwalker and clairvoyant trying to survive in dystopian London. This is before she is kidnapped and brought to the enigmatic city of Oxford, where new dangers await. The amount of time it has taken to write this series is illustrative of how it is not just long but dense, making it an arduous read — yet like its contemporary series, it is undoubtedly worth readers’ time.

Book	Release date
The Bone Season	2013
The Mime Order	2015
The Pale Dreamer (prequel)	2016
The Song Rising	2017
The Dawn Chorus (novella)	2020
The Mask Falling	2021
The Dark Mirror	2025
The Bone Season book #6	TBC
The Bone Season book #7	TBC

Source: https://dinhtienhoang.edu.vn
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