# Book series that you haven't given up on/ made it to the end. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2017, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355 "2017-10-20T07:27:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/1 "2017-10-20T07:27:56Z")
Inspired by [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=839153) thread. The problem with that thread is I’m not as likely to start a series when other people are saying it starts to suck before the end. I’d much more like to hear about book series’ that stayed good, or are still in progress and are still good. For this thread I’d like to say that the series must be at least a trilogy. I’ll start with one from the other thread that some have given up on, and some haven’t. The Dresden Files. It got a little dark/gloomy in Ghost Story, but after that it picked up again. I will be buying the next book as soon as it comes out. Another that’s still on going is the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. Can’t wait for the next in the series. Finally both the Mercy Thompson and the Alpha and Omega books by Patricia Briggs. They’re 2 separate series’ but set in the same universe and with some cross over of characters between them. I will buy the next book in either series the day it comes out. Yeah, I really like urban fantasy whether it’s wizards, werewolves, vampires, fairies… I don’t care. This thread is for any genre though, so what do ya got? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/2 "2017-10-20T12:05:54Z")
Let’s see: C.S. Forester’s _Horatio Hornblower_ series Robert Hans van Gulik’s _Judge Dee_ mysteries Arthur Conan Doyle’s _Sherlock Holmes_ Rex Stout’s _Nero Wolfe_ series, and even the Robert Goldsborough continuations All of Robert E, Howard’s story series (Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane, Francis X. Gordon), and even most of their continuations by others (although I stopped reading the Robert Jordan _Conan_ stories) J.R.R. Tolkien’s _Lord of the Rings_ (although I stopped reading Tolkien’s Middle-Earth output after _Book of Unfinished Tales_) Robert Heinlein’s _Future History_ series Cordwainer Smith’s _Instrumentality/Rediscovery of Man_ series E.E. Smith’s _Lensman_ series ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/3 "2017-10-20T12:46:09Z")
I always think this sort of thread is more interesting if folks give commentary: laundry lists are not as interesting IMO. So: **Temeraire** , by Naomi Novik, holds pretty solid until the end. There’s a clear villain–Napoleon–and by the end, he gets his. It’s not surprising, but it’s pretty satisfying. **Ancillary Justice** and its sequels. The story arc isn’t 100% clear at the beginning, but by the end the main character, and the society she lives in, have undergone a clear change. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Terrific](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tom_terrific/32/342_2.png) [@Tom\_Terrific](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Terrific)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/4 "2017-10-20T12:46:45Z")
If you like the Briggs/Mercy Thompson series you will most likely like the Faith Hunter/Jane Yellowrock series. There is the Hallows series by Kim Harrison and the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. IMHO all these series flow well from one book to another and are pretty consistent with the storyline. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/5 "2017-10-20T13:07:02Z")
There are quite a few, but one that I finished relatively recently: Stephen King’s Dark Tower series (at least the original seven books). Unlike some readers, I hated the first book, thought the second was okay, and really liked the later books. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/6 "2017-10-20T13:11:53Z")
The longest series I’ve read to the end has to be Terry Pratchett’s Discworld at 43 books. Others of note that enjoyed include Dan Simmons’s [Hyperion Cantos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_Cantos) (4 novels) Tim Pratt’s [Marla Mason](http://marlamason.net/) (9 novels, several connected short works) Iain Bank’s [Culture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Banks#The_Culture_novels) (9 novels) Peter F. Hamilton’s [Commonwealth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_F._Hamilton_bibliography#Commonwealth_universe_.282002.E2.80.93present.29) (7 novels) The five [Ringworld prequel novels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleet_of_Worlds) (better IMHO than the original series) Neal Asher’s [Polity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Asher#Polity_universe) (15 novels) Liz Williams’s [Detective Inspector Chen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Williams#Detective_Inspector_Chen) (6 novels) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Terrific](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tom_terrific/32/342_2.png) [@Tom\_Terrific](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Terrific)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/7 "2017-10-20T13:13:34Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I always think this sort of thread is more interesting if folks give commentary: laundry lists are not as interesting IMO. > > So: > **Temeraire** , by Naomi Novik, holds pretty solid until the end. There’s a clear villain–Napoleon–and by the end, he gets his. It’s not surprising, but it’s pretty satisfying. > **Ancillary Justice** and its sequels. The story arc isn’t 100% clear at the beginning, but by the end the main character, and the society she lives in, have undergone a clear change. Okay, with a little more feeling. The Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Daniels feels like it could have easily been written by Ms Briggs. Instead of a coyote in with a pack of wolves there is a Native American shapeshifter with a seethe of vampires. Problems are guaranteed. The Hallows Series by Kim Harrison has all the horror actors; werewolves, witches, vampires, fairys, elves, and pixies, along with normal people. They are trying to keep society going after almost wiping out the normal humans. Our girl is a witch. Ilona Andrews has the Kate Daniels series. Kate is a magic using badass that gets hooked up with shapeshifters after the world is almost destroyed by magic. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/8 "2017-10-20T14:30:49Z")
I read “Dark Tower” all the way through. Ditto F. Paul Wilson’s “Repairman Jack” series. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/9 "2017-10-20T14:41:57Z")
The **Longmire** series by Craig Johnson. It’s still going, the latest novel being #13, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/10 "2017-10-20T15:00:13Z")
All of Harry Potter, of course, although I liked _Order of the Phoenix_ least of the series. Too much whining by Harry. All the Belgariad by Eddings. At least the five originals - they were loaned to me by a co-worker. They are an easy read, so it was not that much of a commitment. All, or almost all, of the _Left Behind_ series (God help me). I haven’t done the prequels, or the YA novels, so maybe that doesn’t count. But there are limits to my patience with milking a series a million words after its “Best Used By” date. All the Ian Fleming James Bond novels, even _The Spy Who Loved Me_. Some of the non-Fleming ones too, but those definitely don’t count. All of the Tarzan novels by Burroughs, except I think there was a juvenile one that I have never seen. All the Pellucidar ones too. Although it probably doesn’t matter - after the first few in both series, they are all much of a muchness. I believe that I have read every Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple that Agatha Christie ever wrote. All the Lensman books, all the Skylark books - I would almost say “of course”. Same for Sherlock Holmes. I have also read the primary novels in Allen Drury’s _Advise and Consent_ series, including the two alternate ending novels. None of them IMO rose to the level of the first - Drury got more than a little heavy-handed in his characterizations. I prefer my villains a little less cartoony. I have read everything I could find for the Continental Op, by Dashiell Hammett. Mostly short stories (and collections) but there are two novels (_The Dain Curse_ and _Red Harvest_). _Red Harvest_ is the better of the novels - AFAICT the short stories are pretty uniformly good. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/11 "2017-10-20T15:09:44Z")
I stuck with the Wheel of Time and was glad for it. Robert Jordan’s last book was good and Brandon Sanderson did a masterful job of finishing the series. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/12 "2017-10-20T15:26:41Z")
Since the OP lists a generous three books as a minimum, something else just reminded me of the very recently completed [Divine Cities trilogy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Divine_Cities), which is some real good stuff. > [@Shodan](#): > > All of Harry Potter, of course, although I liked _Order of the Phoenix_ least of the series. Too much whining by Harry. To be fair, in the original UK editions, he [whinges](https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2007/03/on-whinge-and-whine.html) instead. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/13 "2017-10-20T15:44:52Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > All of Harry Potter, of course, although I liked _Order of the Phoenix_ least of the series. Too much whining by Harry. > All the Ian Fleming James Bond novels, even _The Spy Who Loved Me_. Some of the non-Fleming ones too, but those definitely don’t count. > > All of the Tarzan novels by Burroughs, except I think there was a juvenile one that I have never seen. All the Pellucidar ones too. Although it probably doesn’t matter - after the first few in both series, they are all much of a muchness. I forgot to mention these. (I’ve also read _all_ the non-Fleming Bond books – except the “Young James Bond” ones (You have to draw the line somewhere) – including the Christopher Wood movie novelizations, which are arguably better than the movies. ) ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/14 "2017-10-20T18:48:29Z")
Barry Hughart **Bridge of Birds** trilogy. A chinese myth fantasy mixed with gumshoe detective tropes, loved every page. Frank Herbert’s **Dune**. I don’t count his son’s follow-on crap though. Frank’s 6 books are superb and I’ve read the whole series through many times. Harrison’s **Stainless Steel Rat** books. Guilty pleasure pulp space opera that I gobble down like candy. China Mieville’s **Bas-lag** books. Not really a series so much as books in the same dystopia world, but loved every one. John Varley **Titan** trilogy. More guilty pleasure space opera wackiness that was insanely fun to read. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/15 "2017-10-21T14:32:22Z")
Lemony Snickett’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. The entire series was absolutely wonderful! I get every new cozy mystery from Joanne Fluke and Leslie Meier from the library and enjoy them. ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/16 "2017-10-21T14:42:33Z")
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. Even though the quality dropped considerably over the last 5-10 books, I felt obliged to keep reading them. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/17 "2017-10-21T15:43:31Z")
Arthur Ransome’s **Swallows and Amazons** series - 12 books. One of the only series I’ve ever read where the books keep getting better as the series goes on. Also, each book is has its own unique quality or ‘feel’. The characters (children) grow and change realistically over the four years of real time covered by the series. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/18 "2017-10-21T15:49:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Art Rock** : > > Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. Even though the quality dropped considerably over the last 5-10 books, I felt obliged to keep reading them. Although the average quality dropped in the later ones, and the worst of the series are clustered near the end, there were still some gems even in the later ones. _Going Postal_, _Making Money_, and _I Shall Wear Midnight_ were up there with the best of them, and _The Shepherd’s Crown_ (the last one of all) was at least decent. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/19 "2017-10-21T20:14:27Z")
James Alan Gardner’s Festina Ramos series, in his _League of Peoples_ universe. Interesting similarly advanced aliens plus inscrutable more highly advanced aliens. Julian May’s _Saga of Pleistocene Exile_ and _Galactic Milieu_ series (set in same universe, sort of one series.) Detailed psionic systems, one-wayish 6 million years back time travel gate. Douglas Adams’ _Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ inaccurately named ‘Trilogy’ (quality does drop some, but started very high and the fourth and fifth books are still worth reading) Guy Gavriel Kay’s _The Fionavar Tapestry_ - his first published written work (not counting helping edit the _Silmarillion_), but the rest of his works aren’t in series. Epic fantasy with people transported from modern (1980s) earth, not the first but early in that genre. Robin Hobb’s five _Elderlings_ trilogies. Well, technically four trilogies and a tetralogy. Dark fantasy, interesting magic systems, dragons. I haven’t quite given up on Steven Brust’s _Jhereg_ series, but it’s had some clunkers in the second half. He has a style of wordplay is odious to some, though I mostly like it. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355/20 "2017-10-21T20:18:49Z")
I read Anthony Trollope’s six “Barsetshire” novels and his six “Palliser” novels. By the time I got to the last one (The Duke’s Children), they were giving diminishing returns, however. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-you-havent-given-up-on-made-it-to-the-end/799355.md?page=2)