Favourite book series

I love getting into a good book series so I thought I’d make a list of my favourites.

Two things about this list:

1. I adore some duologies (and I’ll list a few at the end) but a trilogy is the minimum requirement for being considered a proper series.

2. My list is quite long, so I’ve split some of the sections into ‘favourite’ and ‘very favourite’ series.

Here’s my list, grouped by genre and sorted alphabetically by series name.

Speculative fiction

Very favourite

1. Broken Earth series by NK Jemison – three novels; 2015–2017

2. Checquy Files series by Daniel O'Malley – four novels so far; 2012–2025

3. Expanse series by James SA Corey – nine novels and nine short stories; 2011–2021

4. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams and later by Eoin Cofler – six novels; 1979–1992 original five, 2009 follow-up

5. Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins – five novels so far; 2008–2010 original trilogy, 2020–2025 further novels

6. Ghost Roads series by Seanan McGuire – three novels; 2018–2021

7. Grishaverse series and universe by Leigh Bardugo – seven novels and multiple companion works (short stories, graphic novels, collections); 2012–2014 Shadow and Bone trilogy, 2015–2016 Six of Crows duology, 2019–2021 King of Scars duology, 2012–2017 other works

8. Hench series by Natalie Zina Walschots – two novels so far, with a third novel planned; 2020–2026

9. Imperial Radch series and universe by Ann Leckie – six novels and two short stories so far; 2013–2015 original trilogy, 2012–2026 other works

10. InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire – fifteen novels and over fifty short stories so far; 2012–2026

11. Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews – nineteen novels, two short stories, and one short story collection; 2007–2018 original ten-book series, 2015–2023 other works

12. Left-Handed Booksellers of London series by Garth Nix – two novels so far, with a third on its way; 2020–2023, third novel scheduled November 2027

13. Legends & Lattes series by Travis Baldree – three novels so far; 2022–2025

14. Monk & Robot series by Becky Chambers – two novels so far, open for third novel; 2021–2022

15. Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells – five novellas and two novels so far; 2007–2023

16. Newsflesh series by Seanan McGuire writing as Mira Grant – three novels, one novella, and one short story; 2010–2016

17. October Daye series by Seanan McGuire – twenty novels and over forty short stories so far; 2009–2026

18. Old Kingdom Chronicles series by Garth Nix – six novels, one novella, and five short stories so far; 1995–2005

19. Old Man's War series by John Scalzi – seven novels and four short stories so far; 2005–2025

20. Percy Jackson & The Olympians series and universe by Rick Riordan – sixteen novels and multiple other works (other series, short stories, colouring books, etc); 2005–2024 seven original novels of the Olympians series, 2009–2025 other works

21. Rama series by Arthur C Clarke and Gentry Lee – four novels, with the last three written with Gentry Lee; 1976–1993

22. Rivers of London series and universe by Ben Aaronovitch – ten novels, five novellas, one short story collection, and twelve graphic novels so far; 2011–2025

23. Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik – three novels; 2020–2022

24. Bone Street Rumba series by Daniel José Older – three novels; 2015–2017

25. Song of the Lioness series and Tortall universe by Tamora Pierce – four novels in this series and five other series; 1983–1988

26. Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire – eleven novellas so far; 2016–2026

27. Zones of Thought series by Vernor Vinge – four novels; 1983–1988

Favourite

1. Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi duology by Shannon Chakraborty – duology so far; may continue to series

2. Artemis Fowl series and universe by Eoin Cofler

3. Binty trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor

4. Brain & Brawn Ship series by Anne McCaffrey

5. Captive's War series by James SA Corey – duology so far; will continue to series

6. Circle of Magic series and Circle universe (two other series) by Tamora Pierce

7. Craft Sequence series by Max Gladstone

8. Crucible trilogy by Abigail Owen – duology so far; will continue to trilogy

9. Dead & Breakfast Mystery series by Rosiee Thor and Kat Hillis – duology so far; will continue to series

10. Delta-v trilogy by Daniel Suarez – duology so far; will continue to trilogy

11. Dispatcher series by John Scalzi

12. Dune Chronicles series and universe by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J Anserson

13. Foundation series by Isaac Asimov

14. Harry Potter series by JK Rowling – yes, I know: ‘It’s not too late to walk away from Harry Potter’ and ‘There is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter series’

15. His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman

16. Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal

17. Laundry Files by Charles Stross

18. Lord of the Rings trilogy and universe by JRR Tolkien

19. Narnia series by CS Lewis

20. Ninth House trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

21. Nothing is Promised series by Susan Kaye Quinn

22. Parasitology series by Seanan McGuire writing as Mira Grant

23. Parasol Protectorate series and universe (two other series) by Gail Carriger

24. Rising World series by Martha Wells – duology so far; will continue to trilogy

25. Robot series and universe (37 short stories) by Isaac Asimov

26. Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre

27. Spellshop series by Sarah Beth Durst

28. Tomes & Tea by Rebecca Thorne

29. Weary Dragon Inn series by S Usher Evans

Crime & Mystery

Very favourite

1. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series by Holly Jackson – three novels and one novella; 2019–2021

2. Charlie Fox series by Zoë Sharp – thirteen novels and one novella; 2001–2021

3. Jack Reacher series by Lee Child and Andrew Child – thirty one novels (last six with Andrew Child) and fourteen short stories so far; 1997–2026

Favourite

1. Detective Jude Fontaine Mysteries series by Ann Frasier

2. Elise Sandburg Mysteries series by Ann Frasier

3. Ellie Foreman series by Libby Fischer Hellmann

4. Georgia Davis series by Libby Fischer Hellmann

5. Hercule Poirot series by Agatha Christie

6. Martin Hench series by Cory Doctorow

7. Millennium series by Stieg Larsson, then by David Lagercrantz, and now by Karin Margareta

Adventure

1. Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton

2. Five Find-Outers series by Enid Blyton

Coming-of-age

1. Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery

2. Little House on the Prairie series and universe by Laura Ingalls Wilder

3. Little Women series by Louisa May Alcott

4. Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton

Series I haven't finished yet

1. Dark is Rising Sequence series by Susan Cooper

2. Ender’s Game series by Orson Scott Card

3. Honorverse by David Weber

4. Little Brother series by Cory Doctorow

5. Locked Tomb trilogy by Tamsyn Muir

6. Sprawl series and universe (three short stories) by William Gibson

7. Steerswoman series by Rosemary Kirstein – currently four of a planned seven books have been released

Incomplete series

Sadly, the publisher hasn’t commissioned Seanan McGuire to write the third book in both of these series. Both series are still worth reading though.

1. Indexing series by Seanan McGuire writing as Mira Grant

2. Into the Drowning Deep series by Seanan McGuire writing as Mira Grant

Favourite duologies

Very favourite

1. Cerulean Chronicles duology by TJ Klune – two novels; 2020–2024

2. Manifold Worlds duology by Foz Meadows – two novels; 2022–2025

Favourite

1. Blake & Byron Thrillers duology by Zoë Sharp

2. Daemon duology by Daniel Suarez

3. Dark Lord Davi duology by Django Wexler

4. Eschaton duology by Charles Stross

5. Eve Rossi duology by Stefanie Pintoff

6. Inland Empire Mysteries duology by Ann Frasier

7. Iron Widow duology by Xiran Jay Zhao

Some stats

Since I’m a fan of statistics, I ran the numbers: 62% of my favourite series were written by women or non-binary folks while 38% were written by men.

Though if you count by unique author instead (ie the four Seanan McGuire series and four Mira Grant series all count as a single author) then 57% of my favourite-series authors are women or non-binary while 43% are men.

Over to you…

So those were my favourite book series. I’m now dying to know: what are yours?

I already have a few excellent series on my to-read list – like Earthsea, Discworld, Dragonriders of Pern, Lilith’s Brood, and Wayfarers – but I’m always happy to add more :)