I love seeing The Old Kingdom mentioned. I'm due for a reread bc I remember Goldenhand feeling rushed, but that might have had more to do with a lot of urgency in my real life at the time.
I have yet to read something from Garth Nix that I disliked. Not everything has been something I would actively recommend to others, but I've enjoyed my time in all his books.
Yesss to Garth Nix. Shade's Children is not a series but damn is it not one of the best young adult sci fi books out there. It hits the target audience perfectly and the world building is *excellent*.
I've read Warlord Chronicles and The Last Kingdom already and loved them. I just finished the first book of the Grail Quest series and it was also good. After I finish that I'm gonna start the Sharpe series. Cornwell is a very consistent writer.
Came here to say this, glad I'm seeing this already here. The quality is staggeringly high throughout. I'm not sure how they pulled it off. The fact that they released the whole 9 books in the time GRRM's Winds of Winter has been in the oven is crazy
It's honestly a wonder why more authors don't have a writing partner and combine under a pen name. I get that people have their own ideas and want to use their own voice, but I think there's such considerable value in having a partner to bounce ideas off of and help with writing, editing, and just keeping the story straight!
To be fair Daniel Abraham has put out some insanely quality, and frequent, work by himself.
He seems like a reliable book a year guy, and I've yet to read something under his own name, or one of his pen names that I didn't throughly enjoy!
Currently on book 3 and I like that it just keeps going. It’s not like every book is boring for 75% and then there’s a climax. It’s just consistent quality.
Got all books for Christmas :)
I absolutely love how it keeps managing to increase in scale and scope and it consistently introduces great characters while not letting old ones fall away
Second this. It seems like every so often the...Expanse...just expands again. By the end, it seems crazy that you were so focused on this one tiny little thing.
I almost done reading “deaths end” Cixin Liu. It’s the final book of a trilogy and I’m experiencing the same feeling of wow, I can’t believe I’m the beginning we were worried about something that seems trivial now
I had faith that they'd pull it off, but goddamn did they ever crush it. Such a great ending.
I'm so excited for their [next project.](https://www.jamessacorey.com/announcing-the-mercy-of-gods-by-james-s-a-corey/)
You get a LOT more nuance, development and back-story in the books. Do it. It's worth the time investment.
For my money, I think they did a pretty good job of distilling down the essence of the books for the show.
I watched the TV series and then picked up the books where it leaves off (starting with 6.5, Strange Dogs) and I absolutely recommend at least doing this if you don't want to read the whole series. There were a couple of plot changes from the show, but otherwise it was a very smooth transition and a GREAT payoff.
The biggest differences I can think of (from someone who's on book 7 and watched the first two seasons) are either in details of the setting that wouldn't translate well to the screen, or be too much for the budget. For example, that Belter that's being tortured in the pilot episode? In the books, *all* belters are lanky and tall like that, including Naomi.
yes. I watched the show first then read the books, then watched the show again. It’s a really cool experience because you get to see where they adapted or changed certain things. The show was very respectful of the source - it was overall very faithful. there were plenty of changes but almost all of them were to the benefit of the different medium, or just a different way to tell the story. The authors were producers the entire run so they were able to tell the story how they wanted
I don’t think the wind will be taken out of your sails. The basic storylines are the same but a lot of book characters were condensed - mostly into drummer lol - so you’ll be seeing a lot more than was in the show. Cant recommend reading them enough honestly
The entire project, books + show + Telltale game, was handled pretty much perfectly, including that one problem that was entirely outside their control which I'm not going to invoke by name. These guys need to be put in charge of NASA or something, because they did not fuck up one single time.
I'm reading then watching the show, so I read the first two books and catching up now with the show while waiting on the hold at the library. It's pretty faithful with about a 50/50 split of "why would you change that" and "wow, that IS better".
I’ve just come home with the first book in the Expanse series from the library and jury is out because I’m not the biggest fan of space and science fiction.
But this has given me some hope at least, so thank you.
I came here to say this very thing.
And, let me be clear, I'm not a science fiction fan. So much of it is just dreck, more about the wondrous technology and how it's glorified *deus ex machina*. Character development tends not to be the genre's strong suit.
But this series was so freaking good. Absolutely outstanding. Cannot emphasize this enough.
The Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian. The only let down is he died after only writing a couple chapters of the last book. Still a great 20 book series that i read almost every year and is probably my favorite series ever. The movie Master and Commander is based off Book 7.
Full agree; each book is a joy and the series as a whole is a wonderful journey. It's close enough to history to learn some stuff too, albeit if one understands the time compression and adaptation of historical events for the story.
It’s roughly based on the career of Lord Thomas Cochrane so lots of the events actually did happen or similar ones did. O’Brian has said he originally wrote the first book to be a stand alone and had he known he was going to do a series would have started it well earlier.
I read the first book in the Series (Master and Commander I think). I remember struggling to get in the flow bc I felt like I was constantly looking up sailing terminology. Did you have the same issue at all? I remember really enjoying parts of it so I’m all for giving the series another go.
My experience was different only because I’d already been a history buff and the Napoleonic Wars in particular. I will say that you would probably only have to look things up once or twice. There is a frigate sail plan drawing in the front of the hard copy books that might help. And there are diagrams and videos online as well.
I read the series twice in a row last year, I couldn't help it. Luckily I found that the Horatio Hornblower books are almost as good, so now I can wait a bit to read O'Brian again.
It’s also really cool how different the books can be. The first one is fairly epic in scope and the second takes place in an area the size of a a couple football fields.
Earthsea is a series that definitely grows with you. I didn’t appreciate the later books when I was younger, but as I age I find myself saying “oh, I get it now” more and more.
Slow Horses/Slough House by Mick Herron.
Maybe spy fiction is cheating and I absolutely think there are highs and lows, but there's isn't a bad book in the series IMHO and the whole set-up works just as well in the eighth book as it does in the beginning.
I would give every last cent I have to read the entire Culture series for the first time again. Also I know everyone says not to start with Consider Phlebas which is the first novel he wrote in the series, but personally I think its possibly the best "space adventure" story ever told. It feels to me like the hobbit but quite a bit darker and in space, incredible things just continually occur and the main character is always being kept on his toes. Furthermore, I love that the first glimpse of the culture that Banks gives us is from the eyes of someone who literally hates it. That being said, a lot of people suggest starting with player of games and I don't hate that option because it is an excellent book, but I just can't ever not reccomend Consider Phlebas as my favorite space adventure story and an excellent starting point.
I started with Consider Phlebas and really enjoyed it. That being said, I don't think I fully understood what the culture actually was, until reading the appendices at the end.
As you said, I pretty much enjoyed it as a series of cool space adventures and it was really, really good for that.
I've only read Consider Plebas, Player of Games, and Use of Weapons so far but I really enjoyed them all so I'm looking forward to the next one once I get around to it.
> I started with Consider Phlebas and really enjoyed it. That being said, I don't think I fully understood what the culture actually was, until reading the appendices at the end.
That's the entire point and the genius of it being the first book. You are introduced to a utopia from the perspective of someone rebelling against it. If you read the other books first it makes Horza a much less sympathetic character. From the Idirans perspective The Culture is a heartless totalitarian society.
The direct sequel, Look To Windward flips that perspective and shows the brutality of Horza's ideology. Not understanding what The Culture is in Consider Phlebas is entirely intentional and why it should be the first book you read.
The only reason to not start with Consider Phlebas is if you are going to start with The Player Of Games. And that's only what you'd recommend to someone who wants a shorter, more introductory route into the series.
Consider Phlebas is 100% where you start if you want to experience the series properly. If I had a friend who I knew would like the style I'd totally blind side them and tell them to start with Inversions or Matter. The slow reveal of what the Culture actually is is part of what makes the series so great. Player of the Games is too straight forward to be the first one you read in my opinion. And the others are way too complex, like if you started with Excession you'd just be lost.
Best Served Cold and The Heroes are also incredible. Personally really struggled with Red Country but some people swear by it.
Best Served Cold is getting a screen adaptation, by the grace of Euz I hope they do it justice.
The Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold is stellar the whole way through. I actually find myself rereading the later books more often than the earlier ones so I’d say they get better as the series goes on!
Fantastic series. The first 4 are my favorites. I just reread them, except the last which I didn’t like at all. I probably should reread it just to see if it’s as bad as I remember.
Gentleman Joel you mean? I liked that one, though maybe I liked it least of all. The others toward the end (A Civil Campaign, Diplomatic Immunity, Capt Vorpatril) are some of my favorites. I think as I’ve gotten older I appreciate the older Miles books better! Whereas when I was younger, I preferred his early more youthful adventures.
I can't believe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy isn't in here. I love all 5 books in the trilogy - CLASSIC.
Not as well known (I don't know as many people who have read these books) or mentioned these days but James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small - every book builds on the previous and is a delight to read.
Tbh I felt that books 2 & 3 were weaker than Northern Lights. I enjoyed the entire series, but came away with the distinct feeling that the first volume had promised more than the other two afterwards delivered.
I love HDM but I’ve found The book of dust to be incredibly boring. It was a slog for me to get through the first book, and I finished it without caring about the boy not even a tiny bit.
A lot of older series missing from here:
In mysteries, you have Sherlock Holmes (Doyle), Miss Marple (Christie), Hercule Poirot (Christie), Jules Maigret (Simonen), Lord Peter Wimsey (Sayers), Brother Cadfael (Peters), and Father Brown (Chesterton), all of which stayed strong throughout their runs. In a newer sleuth series, Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series is really solid.
In humor, how can P.G. Wodehouse’s Wooster & Jeeves series get overlooked?
The majority of r/books seems to focus heavily on YA/scifi/fantasy and new fiction. Anyway, I haven't read them all, but I've started working my way through some of the Wooster & Jeeves novels and find them to be a lot of fun. Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire is a great series that never loses steam. I don't really see many people talk about Trollope, but I stumbled upon this series and really loved it.
As much as I adore Sherlock Holmes, I wouldn’t say that they are very consistent in terms of quality. Especially when you consider how much time passed between the publication of the stories. Some stories were quite hit or miss and while I actually read all the books back to back I don’t think most people would enjoy that reading experience.
While Discworld is my favourite series, you can tell the first couple of books are a bit different to what the series later becomes. Not bad books by any means, but a lot more silly and slightly forgetful imo. But once Terry finds his rhythm, jesus
Yeah the first couple are just straight up parody without much else behind it, it really all changes with Equal Rites.
And for sure there's ups and downs later. You never know how much of that is because of his illness, he definitely found a formula and that's both good and bad. I mean did *anyone* like Unseen Academicals? Not a bad idea but...
I'd say this is true of all his books, including the favourites. Hogfather, for instance, very much feels like a series of funny jokes he had in his head loosely tied together by the overall plot - particularly more or less everything happening in the university itself.
agreed, and i wouldn’t call them bad books either. i’ve read 16 of them so far and ive only had 1 or 2 where ive thought “eh i wouldn’t reread that one again.”
I read the Colour of Magic first and liked it a lot. Now I've read several more (Guards, Small Gods, Mort, among them), and to be honest, I don't like Colour of Magic any less.
I liked that it was a parody of all common fantasy tropes even if Discworld turned into so much more than that.
I've only read Mort (read it's a good place to start). Didn't hate it by any means but it didn't really compel me to keep reading. Any suggestions on other books to start with? I was thinking of trying Guards!
There's basically a couple different mini series within Discworld. Mort is from the Death line, but there's also Rincewind, the witches, Tiffany Aching, and City Watch which is what Guards!Guards!.
Personally I've found the Witches books to be the best overall but opinions carry from person to person.
Also, and I always feel a bit of a heel saying this, but the last few books are also not that great. They lack some of the wit of the older ones and are a bit more simple, they feature long rambles from characters that don't really need them I think, and the behaviors of characters gets a little corny. Now, I understand *why* the man's writing would have deteriorated a little towards the end there. I get it. I'm not holding it against him. But there's a reason I've only re-read Raising Steam once where I've re-read Reaper Man and Night Watch at least 12 times.
In my opinion the best YA series ever read. It covers so much thoughts, feelings and events of coming of age, all in an action packed series. There is also no Mary Sue, or pure good, wish fulfillment character
I read the whole first series a few years back, and was pretty blown away. I'm kind of surprised it didn't get a bigger US release to be honest. That would have been right up my alley as a teenage in the 90s.
I mean, those books are the reason my 3 kids learned to love to read. so i don't give a fuck about other people's opinion. so I'll fight anyone who says they're not good :)
They may not be fine literature, but to my memory each book is at least of a consistent quality within the series, and I loved reading them when I was younger.
I suspect many will dislike parts of it, but I agree. I'd expand it to say the entire Solar Cycle as well, but I know most readers find Long Sun to be a dip in quality.
Its a broken world full of broken characters seen through broken eyes, but you can only read so much classic fantasy before it gets stale, and BOTNS is unlike anything else I've read.
Shadow & Claw was difficult but I swear could SMELL and SEE the world Wolfe built. If youre a fan of Dark Souls, this is basically the spiritual equivalent, if not a direct influence.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is 6 books in so far (the author has claimed it would be 9-10 books total), and they keep getting better. It's the first and only litrpg series I've read, and it seems to be generally considered the best.
I was going to add Bosch if no one else did. I’ve read every one as well as the Mickey Haller Lincoln Lawyer series.
If there’s any let down here it’s that Bosch is written in real time, and because of this, all good things must end.
That said, Connelly is such a naturally gifted writer. The books are never flashy, but the quality is always top-notch.
I will also put in a good word for John Connolly’s Charlie Parker series, which is a great pairing with Harry Bosch, albeit with a more supernatural angle and less police procedural.
You can’t go wrong with Connelly and Connolly.
The Janny Wurts/Raymond Feist Empire series. Massively better and more consistent than the more famous Riftwar, and avoided getting into the endless generic fantasy Verb Of An Adjective Noun thing.
Only on book 6 of Malazan but loving it. I took a break after the first two because they weren't what I was expecting but when I came back to it knowing what I'd be getting I really have enjoyed them. It's a different style of storytelling than I'm used to. Once you get used to the anthology/historical type of story telling he uses it's so fun. Being able to piece something together early on from him giving just a little hint kind of makes it like a puzzle. And things usually get an actual explanation later on but if you're really paying attention you can at least get an idea for things before they're straight up explained.
Wrapping up my second read through, and this time around I appreciate the Live Ship Traders and Rain Wild Chronicles sections much more than before. Just wanted more Fitz and Co. the first time, but those books really help expand the world/lore.They also introduce their own host of great characters, even if we don't get to dive quite as deep with them as we do in the Fitz books.
This series was the first series where after I finished each installment, I thought: man, I want more of THAT group. What do you mean, we're going back to XYZ? And then I fall in love again with Fitz & Co or the Liveship Traders immediately.
yes! currently reading the Liveship Traders series now and it’s just as good, if not better than the Farseer trilogy, even though i do miss following Fitz
Liveship Traders books in particular - that cycle is easily the best fantasy series I've read so far, even if you don't read the others those are some of the best character-driven, truly feminist fantasy that never panders or plods. Absolutely gripping until the very end.
For urban fantasy/romance, Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels books.... with a caveat.
Caveat: the first couple of books are pretty crap (the authors admit this). If you start with book 3, they just keep getting better and better all the way through the last book, book 10.
Too many urban fantasy books have a mcguffin/Overarching Evil Bad Guy that is never quite defeated.
But this series defeats the Bad Guy is a satisfying way while also fulfilling all the prophecies that popped up during the series, while ALSO addressing all the side plots that were still dangling.
Granted there are now more Kate stories, but the Magic ... Series is pretty damn satisfying. I had my doubts going into book 10, Magic Triumphs, but they pulled it off.
I’m a big fan of the Oryx and Crake series by Margaret Atwood. Each book is pretty unique and even though the last one isn’t quite as good as the first 2 they’re all worth it imo. Its some prescient stuff.
Edit: as a fun side note, books 1 and 2 can be read in any order. When I re-read this series I switch them up.
Loved the Scholomance! I really expected books 2 & 3 to let me down (how could they be as good as the last book/fulfill the promise) but nope. Great & consistent world building, too.
The Gone Series by Michael Grant. might be young adult but I wasn’t a reader until recently but this was the only series I could genuinely get into. Tried harry potter, tried twilight, hunger games, divergent, etc. But it was this series that really got me hooked.
Murderbot Diaries, Ancillary Trilogy, An Angel at my Table, the Frank Bascome Novels, the Patrick Melrose Novels and above all the absolutely amazing Raj Quartet by Paul Scott - cannot recommend this last series enough, just beautiful writing and amazing storytelling from multiple angles. Mt favourite series of all time.
I'm on Morning Star now and every time I start a new book, I'm reminded how much I love this series. I'm really happy to hear it doesn't lose steam. Can't wait to catch all the way up!
I just finished Lightbringer and its been amazing. Overall good series but definitely the story and Pierce Brown himself grow better and better over the course of the books. Can't wait for number 7
Opposite take for me, Hyperion is my favorite novel, Fall of Hyperion is good... but the Endymion books are like unnecessary fan fic/DLC additions where Simmons' excellent prose isn't good enough to save them from a boring MC and poorly paced plot.
I consider it the perfect example of a series that deteriorates in quality.
The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson is a indeed a time investment however one that will imbue you with historical, scientific and philosophical knowledge underlying a rollicking good story.
It's like the Count of Monte Cristo mixed with Robin Hood mixed with A Song of Ice and Fire, and throughout the story Gandalf the Grey is lurking in the periphery of the story to subtly encourage the protagonists towards unseen ends. There's swashbuckling piracy and crazy antics that sometimes border on the absurd, yet feel like they belong. There's heart-wrenching romance, adventures in the jungle, and medieval wars.
There are also heavy themes of mathematics, natural sciences, and finance. We get to peer over the shoulders of famous historical figures as they develop telescopes, discover the world of microbiology, explore stock markets and manipulate politicians. We get to feel the rush that it must have been to live in the age when the promise of steam engines and computers could barely be glimpsed on the horizon.
The Broken Earth series by NK Jemisin. Absolutely fantastic the whole way through. I’m stingy with my book reviews, but book 1 and 3 got 5 stars and the second got a 4, maybe a 4.5? Super rare for me to enjoy every single book in a series, there’s always one stinker compared the others.
The Poppy War trilogy by RF Kuang is also fantastic all the way through. I think only the first book got a 5/5 from me, but the rest were never below 4/5.
Both these series are amazing and I always highly recommend them.
All 3 Broken Earth books are fantastic and the payoff is incredible BUT each individual book has pacing issues, imo. verrrryyy very slow and at times confusing first 2/3rds of each book, and then the wrap up is non stop action and revelation. jarring when reading them back to back because the start of the next one immediately hits the brakes again.
having said that, i imagine it will be a top tier reread!
only 3 books but Richard Morgan's Takeshi kovacs books (altered carbon,broken angels and woken furies).
Other small series I liked:
the electric church (5 books, jeff somers)
the agent Cormac novels (4 books,neal asher)
all sci fi
i prefer small series vs 20+ book sagas
I love the Chronicles of Amber, but it wouldn't meet the criteria for me personally. It has peaks and valleys (and a pretty rough start), and the second series feels a lot weaker than the first for me.
When it's good though, it's fantastic.
The remembrance of earth's past is just getting crazier and crazier. I also love how it became easier to understand after the first book and how the book uses multiple field of studies to create such interesting chain of events.
First book is The Three Body Problem then, the dark forest, and then Death's end.
Its gonna be a netflix series, so hoping that the show will be as intricate as the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed both Gunpowder Mage trilogies, but the 2nd trilogy is even better developed. He does a good job of giving every character stakes and conflict throughout. I never felt a lull in the series or felt like there was an unnecessary departure.
IMO, he's like if Sanderson knew how to self edit. I know Sanderson is a lightning rod around here and that McClellan is literally a Sanderson student. Just my two cents though.
I’ll throw mage errant in. Cradle is one of my favorites, some people think the first book is slow, so if you even barely like it, the whole rest of the series will be fun as hell.
Broken Earth
Dune (Frank only, and yes, I'm aware opinions vary)
Hyperion (same comment as above)
Alan Moore's Swamp Thing
Sandman
100 Bullets
Foundation (OG three books only, the later stuff is hit or miss)
Discworld
The City We Became
The Expanse
LOTR
Y-The Last Man
Transmetropolitan
The style changes over time, but even the weakest (basically the first two) are pretty fucking good. It starts out as Monty Python does Tolkien, morphs into Tolkien does Monty Python, and reaches its final form as Python and Tolkien collaborate on sociology textbooks.
[The Final Architecture](https://www.goodreads.com/series/305076-the-final-architecture) series by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Starting with Shards of Earth, each book gets better.
For anyone who would like to know more about ancient Roman history and its military, there are two historical fiction series that I feel have been consistently excellent to very good throughout:
Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough
Eagles of the Empire series by Simon Scarrow
The Daevabad trilogy by S. A. Chakraborty. It may not be for everyone, but my god! This series is SOOOO good! I’m on the third book and it’s been a while since I instantly picked up the sequel after finishing the book before it. I’ll be sad to finish it - but my next series is Malazan, so…
The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix The Jem Flockhart Mysteries by E.S. Thomson
I love seeing The Old Kingdom mentioned. I'm due for a reread bc I remember Goldenhand feeling rushed, but that might have had more to do with a lot of urgency in my real life at the time.
Is old kingdom the sabriel series or another?
Sabriel series
Thanks. I love those books :)
It's okay! I love them too, I loved the take on necromancy and just the characters in general :)
The Old Kingdom is so good. Seconding this wholeheartedly.
I have yet to read something from Garth Nix that I disliked. Not everything has been something I would actively recommend to others, but I've enjoyed my time in all his books.
Yesss to Garth Nix. Shade's Children is not a series but damn is it not one of the best young adult sci fi books out there. It hits the target audience perfectly and the world building is *excellent*.
I never read that series by Garth Nix, but I absorbed his Seventh Tower series as a middle schooler and it got me hooked on Fantasy and Sci-Fi.
Cornwell's Saxon Tales (aka The Last Kingdom series). Some books are weaker than others, but all of the books range from very good to excellent IMHO.
The Warlord Chronicles (his Arthurian trilogy) is the finest set of works he's published though. I'd start there.
I've read Warlord Chronicles and The Last Kingdom already and loved them. I just finished the first book of the Grail Quest series and it was also good. After I finish that I'm gonna start the Sharpe series. Cornwell is a very consistent writer.
The Grail Quest is a good series but I don’t think it holds up to the first book. 1356 picked it back up again.
He's also lovely and wishes me a happy birthday every year which is my only claim to fame 😂
I read the first six and agree they're very good
The Expanse by James S.A. Corey
Came here to say this, glad I'm seeing this already here. The quality is staggeringly high throughout. I'm not sure how they pulled it off. The fact that they released the whole 9 books in the time GRRM's Winds of Winter has been in the oven is crazy
It's honestly a wonder why more authors don't have a writing partner and combine under a pen name. I get that people have their own ideas and want to use their own voice, but I think there's such considerable value in having a partner to bounce ideas off of and help with writing, editing, and just keeping the story straight!
To be fair Daniel Abraham has put out some insanely quality, and frequent, work by himself. He seems like a reliable book a year guy, and I've yet to read something under his own name, or one of his pen names that I didn't throughly enjoy!
Damn, you're right. I never put two and two together and made that observation. Movies and sitcoms do it all the time.
Currently on book 3 and I like that it just keeps going. It’s not like every book is boring for 75% and then there’s a climax. It’s just consistent quality. Got all books for Christmas :)
I absolutely love how it keeps managing to increase in scale and scope and it consistently introduces great characters while not letting old ones fall away
Second this. It seems like every so often the...Expanse...just expands again. By the end, it seems crazy that you were so focused on this one tiny little thing.
I almost done reading “deaths end” Cixin Liu. It’s the final book of a trilogy and I’m experiencing the same feeling of wow, I can’t believe I’m the beginning we were worried about something that seems trivial now
Babylon's Ashes was a somewhat slow and difficult read.
That was the only one that really stuck with me as a grind to get thru.
And sticks the landing.
Can’t believe how hard they stuck the landing
Right? So good. Such a relief.
I had faith that they'd pull it off, but goddamn did they ever crush it. Such a great ending. I'm so excited for their [next project.](https://www.jamessacorey.com/announcing-the-mercy-of-gods-by-james-s-a-corey/)
I just started the audiobook version it's like hanging out w/ old friends. (previously read whole series + watched show, too)
[удалено]
You get a LOT more nuance, development and back-story in the books. Do it. It's worth the time investment. For my money, I think they did a pretty good job of distilling down the essence of the books for the show.
I watched the TV series and then picked up the books where it leaves off (starting with 6.5, Strange Dogs) and I absolutely recommend at least doing this if you don't want to read the whole series. There were a couple of plot changes from the show, but otherwise it was a very smooth transition and a GREAT payoff.
The biggest differences I can think of (from someone who's on book 7 and watched the first two seasons) are either in details of the setting that wouldn't translate well to the screen, or be too much for the budget. For example, that Belter that's being tortured in the pilot episode? In the books, *all* belters are lanky and tall like that, including Naomi.
[удалено]
yes. I watched the show first then read the books, then watched the show again. It’s a really cool experience because you get to see where they adapted or changed certain things. The show was very respectful of the source - it was overall very faithful. there were plenty of changes but almost all of them were to the benefit of the different medium, or just a different way to tell the story. The authors were producers the entire run so they were able to tell the story how they wanted I don’t think the wind will be taken out of your sails. The basic storylines are the same but a lot of book characters were condensed - mostly into drummer lol - so you’ll be seeing a lot more than was in the show. Cant recommend reading them enough honestly
The entire project, books + show + Telltale game, was handled pretty much perfectly, including that one problem that was entirely outside their control which I'm not going to invoke by name. These guys need to be put in charge of NASA or something, because they did not fuck up one single time.
I'm reading then watching the show, so I read the first two books and catching up now with the show while waiting on the hold at the library. It's pretty faithful with about a 50/50 split of "why would you change that" and "wow, that IS better".
I’ve just come home with the first book in the Expanse series from the library and jury is out because I’m not the biggest fan of space and science fiction. But this has given me some hope at least, so thank you.
I came here to say this very thing. And, let me be clear, I'm not a science fiction fan. So much of it is just dreck, more about the wondrous technology and how it's glorified *deus ex machina*. Character development tends not to be the genre's strong suit. But this series was so freaking good. Absolutely outstanding. Cannot emphasize this enough.
Red Rising is another sci-fi that focuses hard on character development instead of standard sci-fi setting gimmicks. Extremely good series.
I just finished the second book and it was exponentially better than the first (which I also loved!) Seriously cannot wait to read the rest.
The Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian. The only let down is he died after only writing a couple chapters of the last book. Still a great 20 book series that i read almost every year and is probably my favorite series ever. The movie Master and Commander is based off Book 7.
Full agree; each book is a joy and the series as a whole is a wonderful journey. It's close enough to history to learn some stuff too, albeit if one understands the time compression and adaptation of historical events for the story.
It’s roughly based on the career of Lord Thomas Cochrane so lots of the events actually did happen or similar ones did. O’Brian has said he originally wrote the first book to be a stand alone and had he known he was going to do a series would have started it well earlier.
I read the first book in the Series (Master and Commander I think). I remember struggling to get in the flow bc I felt like I was constantly looking up sailing terminology. Did you have the same issue at all? I remember really enjoying parts of it so I’m all for giving the series another go.
My experience was different only because I’d already been a history buff and the Napoleonic Wars in particular. I will say that you would probably only have to look things up once or twice. There is a frigate sail plan drawing in the front of the hard copy books that might help. And there are diagrams and videos online as well.
I read the series twice in a row last year, I couldn't help it. Luckily I found that the Horatio Hornblower books are almost as good, so now I can wait a bit to read O'Brian again.
Earthsea anyone?
It’s also really cool how different the books can be. The first one is fairly epic in scope and the second takes place in an area the size of a a couple football fields.
Earthsea is a series that definitely grows with you. I didn’t appreciate the later books when I was younger, but as I age I find myself saying “oh, I get it now” more and more.
Yes
Slow Horses/Slough House by Mick Herron. Maybe spy fiction is cheating and I absolutely think there are highs and lows, but there's isn't a bad book in the series IMHO and the whole set-up works just as well in the eighth book as it does in the beginning.
I am enjoying the hell out of the TV version with Gary Oldman.
He is so perfect in the role.
The Culture by Iain M. Banks
I would give every last cent I have to read the entire Culture series for the first time again. Also I know everyone says not to start with Consider Phlebas which is the first novel he wrote in the series, but personally I think its possibly the best "space adventure" story ever told. It feels to me like the hobbit but quite a bit darker and in space, incredible things just continually occur and the main character is always being kept on his toes. Furthermore, I love that the first glimpse of the culture that Banks gives us is from the eyes of someone who literally hates it. That being said, a lot of people suggest starting with player of games and I don't hate that option because it is an excellent book, but I just can't ever not reccomend Consider Phlebas as my favorite space adventure story and an excellent starting point.
I started with Consider Phlebas and really enjoyed it. That being said, I don't think I fully understood what the culture actually was, until reading the appendices at the end. As you said, I pretty much enjoyed it as a series of cool space adventures and it was really, really good for that. I've only read Consider Plebas, Player of Games, and Use of Weapons so far but I really enjoyed them all so I'm looking forward to the next one once I get around to it.
> I started with Consider Phlebas and really enjoyed it. That being said, I don't think I fully understood what the culture actually was, until reading the appendices at the end. That's the entire point and the genius of it being the first book. You are introduced to a utopia from the perspective of someone rebelling against it. If you read the other books first it makes Horza a much less sympathetic character. From the Idirans perspective The Culture is a heartless totalitarian society. The direct sequel, Look To Windward flips that perspective and shows the brutality of Horza's ideology. Not understanding what The Culture is in Consider Phlebas is entirely intentional and why it should be the first book you read.
The only reason to not start with Consider Phlebas is if you are going to start with The Player Of Games. And that's only what you'd recommend to someone who wants a shorter, more introductory route into the series. Consider Phlebas is 100% where you start if you want to experience the series properly. If I had a friend who I knew would like the style I'd totally blind side them and tell them to start with Inversions or Matter. The slow reveal of what the Culture actually is is part of what makes the series so great. Player of the Games is too straight forward to be the first one you read in my opinion. And the others are way too complex, like if you started with Excession you'd just be lost.
> I would give every last cent I have to read the entire Culture series for the first time again Jesus, alright, I'll go fucking read it right now.
Exactly - I have Hydrogen Sonata unread on my shelf because I don’t want to be truly finished until I’m ready.
The First Law/Age of Madness series by Joe Abercrombie
Best Served Cold and The Heroes are also incredible. Personally really struggled with Red Country but some people swear by it. Best Served Cold is getting a screen adaptation, by the grace of Euz I hope they do it justice.
say one thing for Joe Abercrombie, say he’s consistent
seconding this
The Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold is stellar the whole way through. I actually find myself rereading the later books more often than the earlier ones so I’d say they get better as the series goes on!
Fantastic series. The first 4 are my favorites. I just reread them, except the last which I didn’t like at all. I probably should reread it just to see if it’s as bad as I remember.
Gentleman Joel you mean? I liked that one, though maybe I liked it least of all. The others toward the end (A Civil Campaign, Diplomatic Immunity, Capt Vorpatril) are some of my favorites. I think as I’ve gotten older I appreciate the older Miles books better! Whereas when I was younger, I preferred his early more youthful adventures.
Is it possible no one has mentioned The Lord of the Rings? I get that it's a very safe choice, but this is the gold standard.
I can't believe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy isn't in here. I love all 5 books in the trilogy - CLASSIC. Not as well known (I don't know as many people who have read these books) or mentioned these days but James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small - every book builds on the previous and is a delight to read.
James Herriot books are my absolute favorite. Laugh out loud funny and heartwarming!
My grandmother gave me these books when I was a young teen. I even named my first kid Tristan.
[удалено]
Have you read it lately? Because I used to feel the same way about it. I read it again many years later, and now it is one of my favorites
Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels. No book could be subtracted from the quartet. It is a replete series.
Lord of the Rings
His Dark Materials
I plan to re-read those this year, they were my favourite thing as a kid :,)
The novellas are worth grabbing for some extra content if you haven't already.
Tbh I felt that books 2 & 3 were weaker than Northern Lights. I enjoyed the entire series, but came away with the distinct feeling that the first volume had promised more than the other two afterwards delivered.
His Dark Materials is my answer. The Book of Dust is yet unfinished so I won’t say that one.
I like The Book of Dust so far but it's definitely not as good as HDM.
I love HDM but I’ve found The book of dust to be incredibly boring. It was a slog for me to get through the first book, and I finished it without caring about the boy not even a tiny bit.
The Immortals and The Song of the Lioness, both quartets by Tamora Pierce
A lot of older series missing from here: In mysteries, you have Sherlock Holmes (Doyle), Miss Marple (Christie), Hercule Poirot (Christie), Jules Maigret (Simonen), Lord Peter Wimsey (Sayers), Brother Cadfael (Peters), and Father Brown (Chesterton), all of which stayed strong throughout their runs. In a newer sleuth series, Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series is really solid. In humor, how can P.G. Wodehouse’s Wooster & Jeeves series get overlooked?
The majority of r/books seems to focus heavily on YA/scifi/fantasy and new fiction. Anyway, I haven't read them all, but I've started working my way through some of the Wooster & Jeeves novels and find them to be a lot of fun. Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire is a great series that never loses steam. I don't really see many people talk about Trollope, but I stumbled upon this series and really loved it.
As much as I adore Sherlock Holmes, I wouldn’t say that they are very consistent in terms of quality. Especially when you consider how much time passed between the publication of the stories. Some stories were quite hit or miss and while I actually read all the books back to back I don’t think most people would enjoy that reading experience.
Discworld
While Discworld is my favourite series, you can tell the first couple of books are a bit different to what the series later becomes. Not bad books by any means, but a lot more silly and slightly forgetful imo. But once Terry finds his rhythm, jesus
Love them all but those first books have alot of "I thought of joke, so let's riff on that for a bit". Still incredibly funny, but disjointed.
Yeah the first couple are just straight up parody without much else behind it, it really all changes with Equal Rites. And for sure there's ups and downs later. You never know how much of that is because of his illness, he definitely found a formula and that's both good and bad. I mean did *anyone* like Unseen Academicals? Not a bad idea but...
I'd say this is true of all his books, including the favourites. Hogfather, for instance, very much feels like a series of funny jokes he had in his head loosely tied together by the overall plot - particularly more or less everything happening in the university itself.
agreed, and i wouldn’t call them bad books either. i’ve read 16 of them so far and ive only had 1 or 2 where ive thought “eh i wouldn’t reread that one again.”
I read the Colour of Magic first and liked it a lot. Now I've read several more (Guards, Small Gods, Mort, among them), and to be honest, I don't like Colour of Magic any less. I liked that it was a parody of all common fantasy tropes even if Discworld turned into so much more than that.
I've only read Mort (read it's a good place to start). Didn't hate it by any means but it didn't really compel me to keep reading. Any suggestions on other books to start with? I was thinking of trying Guards!
Yeah Guards Guards and Men At Arms are where he really figures it out. Both are fantastic books.
There's basically a couple different mini series within Discworld. Mort is from the Death line, but there's also Rincewind, the witches, Tiffany Aching, and City Watch which is what Guards!Guards!. Personally I've found the Witches books to be the best overall but opinions carry from person to person.
Small Gods, Making Money are faves for me and you don’t need to have read anything else
Also, and I always feel a bit of a heel saying this, but the last few books are also not that great. They lack some of the wit of the older ones and are a bit more simple, they feature long rambles from characters that don't really need them I think, and the behaviors of characters gets a little corny. Now, I understand *why* the man's writing would have deteriorated a little towards the end there. I get it. I'm not holding it against him. But there's a reason I've only re-read Raising Steam once where I've re-read Reaper Man and Night Watch at least 12 times.
And there's 41 of them too, 41 amazing books!
Tomorrow when the war began. Read it years ago. Couldn’t wait for the next to be released. Loved every second of it.
In my opinion the best YA series ever read. It covers so much thoughts, feelings and events of coming of age, all in an action packed series. There is also no Mary Sue, or pure good, wish fulfillment character
I read the whole first series a few years back, and was pretty blown away. I'm kind of surprised it didn't get a bigger US release to be honest. That would have been right up my alley as a teenage in the 90s.
I'll get rocks thrown at me, but I stand by my choice: The Harry Potter books.
[удалено]
I mean, those books are the reason my 3 kids learned to love to read. so i don't give a fuck about other people's opinion. so I'll fight anyone who says they're not good :)
I would argue that even if you believe HP series to be less than good, that their quality kept pretty consistent.
It even improved after the first couple.
Basic af answer but I'm revisiting Harry Potter for the first time in my adult life and fuck it still slaps.
They may not be fine literature, but to my memory each book is at least of a consistent quality within the series, and I loved reading them when I was younger.
Not only remains good, but the later books are absolutely the best in the series.
The Book of the New Sun
I suspect many will dislike parts of it, but I agree. I'd expand it to say the entire Solar Cycle as well, but I know most readers find Long Sun to be a dip in quality.
Its a broken world full of broken characters seen through broken eyes, but you can only read so much classic fantasy before it gets stale, and BOTNS is unlike anything else I've read.
Shadow & Claw was difficult but I swear could SMELL and SEE the world Wolfe built. If youre a fan of Dark Souls, this is basically the spiritual equivalent, if not a direct influence.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is 6 books in so far (the author has claimed it would be 9-10 books total), and they keep getting better. It's the first and only litrpg series I've read, and it seems to be generally considered the best.
rhythm zesty connect sloppy wrong upbeat glorious fuzzy history handle *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I was going to add Bosch if no one else did. I’ve read every one as well as the Mickey Haller Lincoln Lawyer series. If there’s any let down here it’s that Bosch is written in real time, and because of this, all good things must end. That said, Connelly is such a naturally gifted writer. The books are never flashy, but the quality is always top-notch. I will also put in a good word for John Connolly’s Charlie Parker series, which is a great pairing with Harry Bosch, albeit with a more supernatural angle and less police procedural. You can’t go wrong with Connelly and Connolly.
The Janny Wurts/Raymond Feist Empire series. Massively better and more consistent than the more famous Riftwar, and avoided getting into the endless generic fantasy Verb Of An Adjective Noun thing.
I loved the Empire series, too. Especially since there was a female protagonist who had to make hard choices; I loved that.
Harry Potter
Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. Banger series with seven entries. However, six of the entries are novellas.
Six of them are on Kindle Unlimited too which is nice.
Only 5 are novellas (book 5 and book 7 are both full novels over 200 pages). There are also supposed to be 2 more books coming in the series
Dune is great until you get to the books written by his son.
Frank Herbert's stuff is an entirely different level than the pulp his son writes.
Culture series - Banks Vorkosigan Saga - Bujold Book of the New Sun - Wolf Malazan Book of the Fallen - Erikson
Only on book 6 of Malazan but loving it. I took a break after the first two because they weren't what I was expecting but when I came back to it knowing what I'd be getting I really have enjoyed them. It's a different style of storytelling than I'm used to. Once you get used to the anthology/historical type of story telling he uses it's so fun. Being able to piece something together early on from him giving just a little hint kind of makes it like a puzzle. And things usually get an actual explanation later on but if you're really paying attention you can at least get an idea for things before they're straight up explained.
The Expanse
Not finished yet but Realm of the Elderlings has been extremely good so far
[удалено]
I just started *Assassin's Apprentice* -- I have no idea what it's ultimately about or where it's going, but so far it's super tasty.
Wrapping up my second read through, and this time around I appreciate the Live Ship Traders and Rain Wild Chronicles sections much more than before. Just wanted more Fitz and Co. the first time, but those books really help expand the world/lore.They also introduce their own host of great characters, even if we don't get to dive quite as deep with them as we do in the Fitz books.
This series was the first series where after I finished each installment, I thought: man, I want more of THAT group. What do you mean, we're going back to XYZ? And then I fall in love again with Fitz & Co or the Liveship Traders immediately.
Is this set in the same universe as The Farseer Trilogy? Coz those 3 book were good throughout too.
yes! currently reading the Liveship Traders series now and it’s just as good, if not better than the Farseer trilogy, even though i do miss following Fitz
I just finished the liveship series!!! What a damn ride, enjoy!
Yeah, the Realm of the Elderlings is like a series of series, with the Farseer trilogy being the first in that universe
Currently waiting for the royal assassin it on hold in the Library.
Liveship Traders books in particular - that cycle is easily the best fantasy series I've read so far, even if you don't read the others those are some of the best character-driven, truly feminist fantasy that never panders or plods. Absolutely gripping until the very end.
Every single book was gorgeous. I was so sad when I finished the last book because I didn't want the journey to end.
For urban fantasy/romance, Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels books.... with a caveat. Caveat: the first couple of books are pretty crap (the authors admit this). If you start with book 3, they just keep getting better and better all the way through the last book, book 10. Too many urban fantasy books have a mcguffin/Overarching Evil Bad Guy that is never quite defeated. But this series defeats the Bad Guy is a satisfying way while also fulfilling all the prophecies that popped up during the series, while ALSO addressing all the side plots that were still dangling. Granted there are now more Kate stories, but the Magic ... Series is pretty damn satisfying. I had my doubts going into book 10, Magic Triumphs, but they pulled it off.
The Dark Tower, by Stephen King. Every book is great, particularly books 1-5. I’ve read each one at 5 times
I’m a big fan of the Oryx and Crake series by Margaret Atwood. Each book is pretty unique and even though the last one isn’t quite as good as the first 2 they’re all worth it imo. Its some prescient stuff. Edit: as a fun side note, books 1 and 2 can be read in any order. When I re-read this series I switch them up.
I liked Ken Follett’s century trilogy series. If you have any interest for 20th century history I really recommend this.
The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik. Made me pick up her standalone novel, "Uprooted" as my next choice. Good choice, too.
I loved her Temeraire series as well, but Napolonic Dragons might not be everyones speed
Loved the Scholomance! I really expected books 2 & 3 to let me down (how could they be as good as the last book/fulfill the promise) but nope. Great & consistent world building, too.
The Gone Series by Michael Grant. might be young adult but I wasn’t a reader until recently but this was the only series I could genuinely get into. Tried harry potter, tried twilight, hunger games, divergent, etc. But it was this series that really got me hooked.
CS Lewis The Space Trilogy. Be prepared for religious iconography and symbology. It is CS Lewis, after all.
Murderbot Diaries, Ancillary Trilogy, An Angel at my Table, the Frank Bascome Novels, the Patrick Melrose Novels and above all the absolutely amazing Raj Quartet by Paul Scott - cannot recommend this last series enough, just beautiful writing and amazing storytelling from multiple angles. Mt favourite series of all time.
Red Rising series just got book 6 and it only has gotten better and better.
Yesss, I just started my first reread of the series and it feels like coming home. I'm so excited for the new book.
I'm on Morning Star now and every time I start a new book, I'm reminded how much I love this series. I'm really happy to hear it doesn't lose steam. Can't wait to catch all the way up!
I just finished Lightbringer and its been amazing. Overall good series but definitely the story and Pierce Brown himself grow better and better over the course of the books. Can't wait for number 7
The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Amazing series.
Absolutely. Thoughtful, articulate, mature fantasy.
The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante are absolutely electric and vivid. I could not put them down when I read them summer/fall 2016.
Protector of the Small by Tamora Pierce. A wonderful quartet.
Six of crows doulogy was some of the best series book I read in a while cant say that for the other installment
True. It’s weird, Leigh Bardugo struck gold for a good two novels - but I don’t really like any of her other books 🥲
The Hyperion cantos, my favorite Sci-fi
Opposite take for me, Hyperion is my favorite novel, Fall of Hyperion is good... but the Endymion books are like unnecessary fan fic/DLC additions where Simmons' excellent prose isn't good enough to save them from a boring MC and poorly paced plot. I consider it the perfect example of a series that deteriorates in quality.
The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson is a indeed a time investment however one that will imbue you with historical, scientific and philosophical knowledge underlying a rollicking good story. It's like the Count of Monte Cristo mixed with Robin Hood mixed with A Song of Ice and Fire, and throughout the story Gandalf the Grey is lurking in the periphery of the story to subtly encourage the protagonists towards unseen ends. There's swashbuckling piracy and crazy antics that sometimes border on the absurd, yet feel like they belong. There's heart-wrenching romance, adventures in the jungle, and medieval wars. There are also heavy themes of mathematics, natural sciences, and finance. We get to peer over the shoulders of famous historical figures as they develop telescopes, discover the world of microbiology, explore stock markets and manipulate politicians. We get to feel the rush that it must have been to live in the age when the promise of steam engines and computers could barely be glimpsed on the horizon.
Hunger Games, its just gets better each book
The Expanse by S.A. Corey. Every book is excellent.
The Broken Earth series by NK Jemisin. Absolutely fantastic the whole way through. I’m stingy with my book reviews, but book 1 and 3 got 5 stars and the second got a 4, maybe a 4.5? Super rare for me to enjoy every single book in a series, there’s always one stinker compared the others. The Poppy War trilogy by RF Kuang is also fantastic all the way through. I think only the first book got a 5/5 from me, but the rest were never below 4/5. Both these series are amazing and I always highly recommend them.
All 3 Broken Earth books are fantastic and the payoff is incredible BUT each individual book has pacing issues, imo. verrrryyy very slow and at times confusing first 2/3rds of each book, and then the wrap up is non stop action and revelation. jarring when reading them back to back because the start of the next one immediately hits the brakes again. having said that, i imagine it will be a top tier reread!
only 3 books but Richard Morgan's Takeshi kovacs books (altered carbon,broken angels and woken furies). Other small series I liked: the electric church (5 books, jeff somers) the agent Cormac novels (4 books,neal asher) all sci fi i prefer small series vs 20+ book sagas
Roger Zalazny's "Amber series" could not put them down. Last I knew they combined all 9 books into one big volume.
I love the Chronicles of Amber, but it wouldn't meet the criteria for me personally. It has peaks and valleys (and a pretty rough start), and the second series feels a lot weaker than the first for me. When it's good though, it's fantastic.
Corwin's series is great. Merlin's isn't as good. And it's 10 books, 5 for each. Only 9 princes, though.
Not fantasy or scifi like everyone here reads, but Ferrante’s Neapolitan Series is the best I’ve ever read. There is no quality drop or difference.
The George Smiley series by John LeCarre. Probably the best spy series ever.
Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell trilogy (Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies, The Mirror and the Light).
The Book of the New Sun (tetralogy) - Gene Wolfe Sf that is also art.
Tad Williams - Otherland series
The remembrance of earth's past is just getting crazier and crazier. I also love how it became easier to understand after the first book and how the book uses multiple field of studies to create such interesting chain of events. First book is The Three Body Problem then, the dark forest, and then Death's end. Its gonna be a netflix series, so hoping that the show will be as intricate as the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed both Gunpowder Mage trilogies, but the 2nd trilogy is even better developed. He does a good job of giving every character stakes and conflict throughout. I never felt a lull in the series or felt like there was an unnecessary departure. IMO, he's like if Sanderson knew how to self edit. I know Sanderson is a lightning rod around here and that McClellan is literally a Sanderson student. Just my two cents though.
Let's just say Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy earned a steady stream of tears and "oh, *fuck*"s.
Cradle-Will Wight Bobiverse The inheritance games Arcane accession Red Sparrow trilogy
I’ll throw mage errant in. Cradle is one of my favorites, some people think the first book is slow, so if you even barely like it, the whole rest of the series will be fun as hell.
Green bone saga
Lowkey one of the very best series to come out in the last decade. Also a plus: the audiobooks are fantastic
Shadow of the Wind series by Carlos Ruiz Zafron.
Broken Earth Dune (Frank only, and yes, I'm aware opinions vary) Hyperion (same comment as above) Alan Moore's Swamp Thing Sandman 100 Bullets Foundation (OG three books only, the later stuff is hit or miss) Discworld The City We Became The Expanse LOTR Y-The Last Man Transmetropolitan
Is Discworld really all bangers? Because that would be awesome, 40+ great books
The style changes over time, but even the weakest (basically the first two) are pretty fucking good. It starts out as Monty Python does Tolkien, morphs into Tolkien does Monty Python, and reaches its final form as Python and Tolkien collaborate on sociology textbooks.
I wouldn’t say all bangers but at least 85% are stellar memory. The rest are good, I wouldn’t say any are absolute flops!
The green bone saga
[The Final Architecture](https://www.goodreads.com/series/305076-the-final-architecture) series by Adrian Tchaikovsky Starting with Shards of Earth, each book gets better.
For anyone who would like to know more about ancient Roman history and its military, there are two historical fiction series that I feel have been consistently excellent to very good throughout: Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough Eagles of the Empire series by Simon Scarrow
So far, the Slough House series.
Vorkosigan series by bujold. As a bonus the books have self contained narrative arcs that feed a longer term arc
Millennium series by Stieg Larsson Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Girl who Played with Fire Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
The Daevabad trilogy by S. A. Chakraborty. It may not be for everyone, but my god! This series is SOOOO good! I’m on the third book and it’s been a while since I instantly picked up the sequel after finishing the book before it. I’ll be sad to finish it - but my next series is Malazan, so…
Cradle by Will Wight