Mule4Life
Oh, I totally forgot, I can’t live without the Foreigner books by CJ Cherryh which follow Bren Cameron, Space Diplomat. God, they’re good, but these days they’re whole books that cover, like, two days of dense alien politics. I can’t imagine not ever reading the next one though, and these days she puts one out a year. NOT a series you can just pick up anywhere.
Although I have noticed that the aliens are getting considerably less alien as time goes on, which I suspect is an artifact of the author spending so much time with them. One thing I really liked about them originally is that in the first books they were pretty human in appearance but definitely not human in culture or mind, which turned pretty nasty for the early human settlers - there’s a lot about assumptions in the series. I’m sure the claim would be that Bren has just gone more native, but these days the atevi are more like your really tall cousin from another town where they don’t have a Waffle House. It’s okay. I can’t stop now.
As I was reading through the thread, I kept trying to decide whether to chime in with O’Brien’s Maturin/Aubrey series. It seems to not perfectly fit what the OP was looking for, in that there are two main characters, but I could argue that, after a book or two you kind of start seeing them as two sides of one character. Aubrey is the hard charging action before thinking side, and Maturin, while not opposed to action, takes a cold thoughtful approach.
How much do I love this series? I’ve reread the entire 21 book series 5 times, and O’Brien is NOT a quick read.
Thank you. I will check out the Jordan and Roberts “Conan”.
I was SO turned off by the L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter (and one other, whose name I can’t recall), I pretty much gave up on all “post-Howard” Conan. And this was many years ago.
“Different strokes” – for me,The Curse of Chalion was a good read, but I didn’t find its milieu as fascinatingly addictive as I do the Nexus. Chalion novel #2 was for my taste, rather cloying. Haven’t tried the “Sharing Knife” ones – from what heard about them, felt it likely that I’d find them dreary. Thanks for Spirit Ring recommendation: way to go, maybe.
I liked the Travis McGee books of John D. MacDonald. Despite the intermittent presence of Meyer they’re essentially single-character stories.
Tony Hillerman : Joe Leaphorn, Navajo Tribal Policeman.
How could I forget - the Hap and Leonard novels of Joe Lansdale?
They are making a TV series based on these characters …
Oh good one! I did not know about the TV series, hope it’s good.
And the Deaf Man HAS to be played by Leonardo DiCaprio. I emailed this idea to McBain, and he agreed it was a good choice.
I absolutely love everything about Vachss. He is one of the most interesting people on the planet.
And Burke HAS to be played by Bruce Willis.
Heh, me too. 
I’ll be pissed off no end if it sucks.
I like those also. Good choice.
Although I’ve read many of the series listed above, especially the mysteries, I think my favorite series is Cecil S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower series.
And before you say it, no, I don’t like Patrick O’Brian’s novels about Jack Aubrey. I’ve read the first three and seen the movie, but the books don’t pull me in like the Forester books, which I’ve re-read so often I’ve lost count. I’ve read other sea series as well (Alexander Kent’s, C. Northcote Parkinson, and others), but nobody compares to Forester.
I also likes Burroughs’ heroes, and Robert E, Howard’s. I even like L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter’s fantasies and, to a lesser extent, their Conan pastiches (although, now that I can compare them to the originals, I can see that their “editing” of Howard did him no favors)
Kathy Reichs’s Temperance Brennan hasn’t been mentioned. The early ones are excellent. The later ones became formulistic, particularly after the fame of the Bones TV series.
Lance Parkertip, Noted Notary Public was my first exposure to the mystery genre, and still one of my all time favorites.
Not much a series, though.
Captain Klutz got more stories illustrated by old Don.
Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz
Jack reacher - Lee Child
Kay Scarpetta - Patricia Cornwell
I enjoy most of the series characters that have been mentioned, and I have a few that I have discovered in the past little while.
First, for those who enjoy the Longmire mysteries, I suggest the Joe Pickett novels by C J Box, about a Wyoming game warden. Speaking of game wardens, I also like the Anna Pigeon novels by Nevada Barr.
For spy stuff, very current, I like the John Wells novels by Alex Berenson, most enjoyable is you read them in order.
Also enjoyable, in the right order are the Cork O’Conner mysteries by William Kent Krueger.
Saving the best for last, The Billy Boyle mysteries by James R. Benn, set in the European theater of WW2, Billy is a Boston detective attached to General Eisenhower’s staff who fixes problems for the general usually by solving a murder. Again, if you can, read them in order.
I should say that I only discovered all of these, and more, by starting to frequent my local library, rather than the emaciated mystery section of the local bookstore. And the books are free!
Really? I seem to remember that there was a story in each collection. Admittedly, this was my recollection from about 35 years ago, but I seem to remember a bunch of them.
Trixie Belden.
More recently, I’ve enjoyed reading Harlan Coben’s books featuring Myron Bolithar.