I came across this article via StumbleUpon earlier this year, and I thought it would be fun to start working my way through these series, none of which I had read. Here’s the full list…I’m curious what you guys think about any of them, particularly ones I haven’t attacked yet.
1) Mike Carey’s Felix Castor Novels
I did finish these, and I liked them a lot and recommend them. Comparisons to Harry Dresden are inevitable, but because this is a shorter series it feels like it never got a chance to stall out the way Dresden did for me. Of course, it also doesn’t have a battle between zombies and a T Rex, but then, who does besides Dresden?
2) The Miles Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold
I got through four of these, and while I was entertained for a while, even by book four (following Bujold’s recommended order) it started to feel like each book was going to have the same format. I’m not sure I’ll continue them.
3) Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels
I know I can’t be the only person both intrigued and yet intimidated by these books. Its fans rival those of Dr. Who (when they don’t overlap) in their intensity. The series itself seems to have a huge sprawl. I know there are threads here dedicated to answering the question of which book to read first, but picking any book feels a little like sticking your toe into seething, roiling ocean. I should just dive right in, yes?
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4) Sranan McGuire’s October Daye novels**
Other than title, author, and this article’s recommendation, I know nothing about these books.
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5) Iain M. Banks’ Culture novels**
This seems to get discussed on the Dope fairly often. Feels like a fertile place to start the next series, after…
6) …The Watch Series by Sergei Lukyanenko
I just downloaded the first of these.
Followed by four more series about which I know little, other than the fact that I tried to read some Gene Wolfe a long while back, and for some reason it didn’t stick.
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7) The Company books by Kage Baker
Well, the only series I can help you with is Pratchett. There are some dive points that are better than others, but yeah, until the last 6 or 7 books, you can dive in anywhere. Better to pick up a subset with the first book, though, and avoid the first 3 books written until you are used to the Disc. I always suggest Guards! Guards! or Wyrd Sisters as a starting point. Or maybe Mort.
Sure. I started with **Carpe Jugulum **and learned later that this was a bad place to start. It was still good enough. I missed a lot because I didn’t know any back-story, but there was still plenty there to get. (It’s in the Lancre Witches series - as silenus says, that starts with Wyrd Sisters.)
Almost forgot about The Company. I need to figure out where I stopped and get ahold of the next one. Thanks for posting this list.
No mention of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series?
I was reading these as O’Brian was writing them, and when he died, leaving the 21st volume of the series unfinished, I was devastated. What was I going to do without a new book in the series every couple of years?
Reread the series, of course. It holds up well to repeated readings.
Edit – I see that the website that featured this list is a science fiction-oriented site, so never mind.
I’ve read this series so I can offer comments on them.
The books were not written in the same order as the events they depict. Shards of Honor, for example, was both the first book in the main series and Bujold’s first novel. But Barrayar, which followed directly after the events of Shards of Honor, was Bujold’s eighth novel.
In my opinion, you can group Bujold’s work into four broad groups (I bolded the Vorkosigan series):
Her early works - Dreamweaver’s Dilemma, Shards of Honor, Falling Free, Ethan of Athos, The Warrior’s Apprentice, The Spirit Ring - This was when Bujold was starting out. She was a good writer but she was still learning the craft.
Her peak - The Mountains of Mourning, Brothers in Arms, Labyrinth, Borders of Infinity, The Vor Game, Barrayar, Mirror Dance, Cetaganda, Memory, Komarr, A Civil Campaign, The Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls - In my opinion, these are Bujold’s best works. She had perfected her writing skills and established her setting and characters.
The slide - Diplomatic Immunity, Cryoburn, The Hallowed Hunt, The Sharing Knife series - Still worth reading but not, in my opinion, her best work. I began to feel she might be going through the motions.
The return - Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance - Her most recent book. I feel that she bounced back with this one and it’s as good as any of her peak era work.
A very very silly series, in my opinion, and not very well-written. It the Napoleonic Wars with fighting dragons. A big part of my problem was due to me being a biologist, and the author clearly hadn’t spent even a moment considering how the existence of a species of very large, flying, intelligent predator would have changed both evolutionary and human history. If you can choke down the gigantic wad of disbelief, you might be able to enjoy it.
I like them for the bromance between the main dragon and his handler.
Plus, the intelligence of the dragons varies, and their impact varies, depending on where they live. They’re simply weapons in England, but they influence policy in China.
That was my problem with Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel, too. If you’re going to write alternate history, do the work. Figure out the implications. Don’t just take the timeline and add dragons/wizards. That’s just lazy world-building.
I adore the Felix Castor series. I haven’t been able to get into Harry Dresden or Sandman Slim, but Carey’s novels were addictive. I’d be happy to see a sixth, as i09 mentions, but I’m a bit surprised - I felt satisfied with #5 wrapping things up. Maybe I need to re-read the series so I can feel appropriately dissatisfied.
I have tried to get into Discworld, but I don’t really love them. Mort was a lot of fun. The others I found mildly amusing. I apologize for my failure.
FWIW, the only one of these series I’ve started to read is Terry Pratchett. I began with The Color Of Magic and found the text so unreadable, I quit after about five pages.
GRRM definitely qualified, through the third book. He’s completely lost it at this point, and I really don’t care if he ever finishes book 6.
Right now I am reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. The first three were uneven–first was fantastic, though a romance which I hadn’t expected. The second and third tried to carry that feeling, with successively less success. I’d say the third one was the weakest of the series. Since then it has been a wonderful, dreamy romp through the frontier wilderness, and I’m really sorry that I’m nearing the end. Probably my favorite series of books, ever.
Another series I enjoyed immensely were the Henry Chinaski books by Charles Bukowski. Like the Outlander books, it’s more a case of moving from interesting incident to interesting incident with only an incidental story arc. I could read about Henry’s hijinks for thousands of pages, if they existed.
I’m not sure I’d call Bukowski’s Chinaski books a “series.” Chinaski serves the same purpose for Bukowski as Charles Marlow did for Joseph Conrad – a kind of alter-ego.
Marlow is a bit more complex – an omniscient narrator introduces Marlow, who then tells the story (Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness and others). But he’s still Conrad’s literary alter ego, just like Chinaski.
I still wouldn’t call the books a series, though.
That said, Conrad and Bukowski are two of my favorite authors.
This. The only other book I recall not finishing is Gravity’s Rainbow. I’ve seen a lot of praise for the series, but that bit of TCOM makes me go :dubious: when I see it.
Ditto. I see myself checking in on the series way down the line, after it’s done, if I’m bored. I’d much rather Wagner wrap up the Kevin Matchstick Mage series…
