# Top 5 Book series of all time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 9, 2018, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713 "2018-10-09T17:51:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/21 "2018-10-10T19:59:55Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > 1. The Book of Lists by David Wallechinsky,Irving Wallace and Amy Wallace. (Though they maybe outdated at this point.) I’d also recommend _Significa_, if you can find a copy (I see used copies on Amazon). It’s another work by the Wallaces but they do longer pieces in this one rather than lists. > [@dorvann](#): > > 1. 1001 Before You Die series. (it starts 1001 Movies You Must See Before Die and goes on from there.) If you like movies, I recommend Danny Peary’s Cult Movies series. He did three volumes (_Cult Movies_, _Cult Movies 2_, and _Cult Movies 3_). He also did three other books on movies, _Alternate Oscars_, _Cult Movie Stars_, and _Guide for the Film Fanatic_. And then he inexplicably stopped - he hasn’t written a book about movies since 1991 and he now writes books about baseball. So his books on movies are a little dated because they don’t include any movie made in the last quarter century. But they’re still interesting on the movies they do cover. > [@dorvann](#): > > 4.Time Life’s Mysteries of the Unknown series My favorite Time Life series is [Time Frame](https://www.thriftbooks.com/series/timeframe/50061/). It’s a general history of the world with each book covering a hundred year period. ---
**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 10, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/22 "2018-10-10T20:03:53Z")
One that hasn’t been mentioned is Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/23 "2018-10-11T00:34:16Z")
1.) the Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas 2.) Repairman Jack – Dr. F. Paul Wilson 3.) the Polseotechnic League/Terran Empire (David Falkayn/Captain Sir Dominc Flandry) – Poul Anderson 4.) Adam Dalgleish – P.D. James 5.) the Deptford Trilogy – Robertson Davies ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/24 "2018-10-11T01:20:38Z")
Aubrey/Maturin Flashman Game of Thrones Chronicles of Amber Middle Earth ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/25 "2018-10-11T02:03:21Z")
> [@Jack\_Burden](#): > > Aubrey/Maturin > Flashman > Game of Thrones > Chronicles of Amber > Middle Earth Four good choices then you ruined it. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/26 "2018-10-11T02:15:46Z")
I guess it’s not really a series like the others listed so far, but because I’m a frustrated, pretentious lit major, I’ll add the Yoknapatawpha novels by Faulkner. Dense, overwritten, and essential. If you read only one, read _The Unvanquished_. And Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct novels, which prove that hardboiled detective fiction can be literary and emotionally satisfying. I don’t know, but I have to assume, that David Simon and George Pelecanos are fans of his. ---
**Author:** ![Sloe\_Moe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sloe\_Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sloe_Moe)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/27 "2018-10-11T06:55:41Z")
The Jack Ryan series doesn’t count? How 'bout the one for Jason Bourne? Or Dirk Pitt? I’m also a big fan of [Whip Holt](https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/wagons-west/). ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/28 "2018-10-11T10:59:34Z")
I strongly recommend the _Quiller_ series (spy adventure) by Adam Hall. (Adam Hall is one of several pen-names used by Elleston Trevor. Other Trevor novels are also good, but the _Quiller_ series is special. Several Trevor novels were made into movies. Searching just now it appears there’s a whole season of Quiller TV episodes I was unaware of!) > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Interesting that I’ve never heard of any of these (series or author) except vaguely recognize the name “Jack Reacher.” Interesting that my reaction to OP was _exactly_ the same as yours! 🙂 I’ve heard of very few of the other nominations as well. Exceptions include: > [@DrDeth](#): > > Hornblower- CS Forester. I read the Hornblower series when I was in about 7th grade. Loved it. Recently I watched the 8-episode TV series and loved it also. > [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The Karla trilogy - John Le Carre Read it quite long ago, but have forgotten. The 6-episode TV _Smiley’s People_ with Sir Alec Guinness is _wonderful_ (and freely available on YouTube) — I envy anyone about to watch it for the first time. ( I didn’t like _Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy_, also with Guinness, nearly as much.) > [@dorvann](#): > > Frankly I think L. Frank Baum’s OZ books are more entertaining to read than anything C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, or J.K. Rowling wrote. I read almost all the OZ books in 2nd grade! Decades ago, hearing my nephew was a Harry Potter fan, I bought him the _Wizard of Oz_. I don’t think he even opened it. :o ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/29 "2018-10-11T12:17:14Z")
Oh, can I add Stephen King’s **Dark Tower** saga? And how could I forget **Game of Thrones**?? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/30 "2018-10-11T12:32:55Z")
Dortmunder - Donald Westlake Keller - Lawrence Block Rebus - Ian Rankin Bosch - Michael Connelly Harry Hole - Jo Nesbo Honorable Mention: Prey novels - John Sandford The Dark Tower - Stephen King ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/31 "2018-10-11T12:46:28Z")
Some of my favorites: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R.R. Martin The Change Series - S.M. Stirling The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series - Douglas Adams Land of Oz works - L. Frank Baum Ringworld Series - Larry Niven ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/32 "2018-10-11T13:02:37Z")
Nero Wolfe Yellowthread Street Modesty Blaise Aloysius Pendergast Tarzan ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/33 "2018-10-11T13:16:13Z")
Discworld - Terry Pratchett Gregor Demarkian - Jane Haddam Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkein Known Space - Larry Niven Ballad Series - Sharyn McCrumb not in any particular order ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/34 "2018-10-11T13:20:00Z")
Two SF series that may not be all-timers, but for their length (both in calendar time and the number of books published) and general popularity should be recognized: Honor Harrington (Honorverse) by David Weber (and others) Ring of Fire (1632) by Eric Flint (and many others) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/35 "2018-10-11T19:30:13Z")
The Sten series - Chris Bunch & Alan Cole The Destroyer series - Richard Sapir & Warren Murphy (originally) ---
**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 11, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/36 "2018-10-11T19:40:30Z")
**Alan Quatermain** , H. Ryder Haggard **Tarzan** , Edgar Rice Burroughs **The Oz Books** , L. Frank Baum **Sherlock Holmes** , Arthur Conan Doyle **Longmire** , Craig Johnson: if you’ve watched the series, you really need to read the books, which are far superior. Longmire is just one of a whole slew of more modern series that are excellent, like the Harry Bosch series (Michael Connelly), David Robicheaux (James Lee Burke), Joe Pickett (C.J. Box), and others. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/37 "2018-10-11T19:41:26Z")
The Napoleon Bonaparte books by Arthur Upfield top my list. If you, like me, love crime fiction because nothing else can implant such a deep and lasting sense of place and time, then you will love these. Travis McGee Spenser There are so many others, Dave Robicheaux, although my tolerance can ebb and flow for the boneheaded way he talks to people, Elvis Cole, Lew Archer, Lucas Davenport, Virgil Flowers, Harry Bosch, the list goes on, but those top three? I can reread them over and over. And I have. I am out of practice with fantasy and SF, but Gibson’s Sprawl trilogy comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/38 "2018-10-11T19:45:54Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Well dang, here I am making a list…I’m going to save my last spot in case I think of any others later! [Hap & Leonard](http://hapandleonard.net/)!!! :smack: Y’all can all rest easy now. The Hap & Leonard books are by Joe R. Lansdale. They’re about two good friends who are makin’ their way, the only way they know how. That’s just a little bit more than the law’ll allow. Or am I thinking of something else? Well, anyway, it’s these two guys who go around trying to make the world a better place by doling out well-deserved ass kickings. Admittedly, after reading a few of these I feel like I’m reading the same book over and over again, but I don’t complain about eating the same piece of chocolate cake over and over again, and so it is with these. ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/39 "2018-10-11T19:52:19Z")
Three not mentioned: Lonesome Dove series. Pillars of the Earth series. Berrybender Chronicles. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713/40 "2018-10-11T22:00:57Z")
Three good ones that haven’t been mentioned: The James Bond novels - Ian Fleming. Grittier and more intense than the films Dune and its sequels - Frank Herbert A sprawling blend of sci-fi, politics, ecology and mysticism The Foundation series - Isaac Asimov The fall of the Roman empire, reimagined on a galactic scale [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-book-series-of-all-time/822713.md?page=3)