From speculative fiction to mysteries to romance, series continue to be in high demand, so the good news is there’s a lot to choose from. Some have had remarkably long runs, too. If you’re looking for something to get truly, wholly lost in, here are a list of the longest book series of all. For the purposes of this list, I focused on length by number of novels. For even more incredibly long books to get you through winter, check out these longest young adult series and these must-read big books!
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Since speculative works are often given more leeway than other novels in their length and fans are known to follow series into a world’s darkest corners, it should be no surprise that this is the genre where it’s easiest to fine long-spanning bodies of works. Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, is another often considered among the longest-running series, with 45 novels. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series is another, with 14 books (including Brandon Sanderson’s contributions following Jordan’s death, as a cowriter on the final three titles). The series features its hero Guin, a warrior with a leopard head who cannot remember his origins, as he battles epic creatures and demons through the lands of the Middle Country. It has been translated into several languages, including English, and sold more than 30 million copies. While this is certainly an impressive tally, this overlooks other series that haven’t gotten the same attention—consider, for example, Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changling Trinity series, which includes 19 novels and nine novellas to date, with the most recent releasing in June 2020.
Mystery & Thriller
But if 152 novels seems like more than you can read over a single season, there’s plenty other mystery and thrillers to choose from. Stuart Wood’s Stone Barrington novels offer 57 titles to delve into, while Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series has 47. Of course, number of novels may not be the only measuring stick worth considering for a series—Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot series offers 33 novels, but also two plays and 50 short stories, not to mention the various film adaptations. Murphy and Sapir co-created the original series, but Sapir left for a period before returning again, during which time Murphy engaged ghostwriters to keep up the pace, and again in the late ’80s. Over the decades, the series has switched publishers multiple times, been adapted into comics and movies, and continued to evolve with the times. As a point of reference, there are a grand total of 14 James Bond novels.
Romance
Other notably long romance series include Bella Andre’s steamy The Sullivans (21 novels), Robyn Carr’s A Virgin River series (21 novels and an adaptation by Netflix), and Brenda Jackson’s Madaris Family series (15 novels). Whether you’re seeking a wild adventure, a sweeping romance, or an entirely different world altogether, here’s wishing you a truly great season of reading hibernation. With these intensely deep-dive series, there’s plenty to distract yourself with.
