25 Best Book Series of All Time

A great book series allows you to know the characters on a much deeper level, as you follow their development and growth over the years. It also spares you, the reader, the trouble of deciding what book to read next.

You might think of starting a series as committing to a new relationship, but a closer metaphor may be that starting a series is like exploring a new relationship, never knowing if it will work out.

But if it does work out, you end up feeling like you have friends that you know inside and out, and whose decisions you can follow all the way through the last book.

Best Book Series You Should Not Miss

So without further ado, in no particular order, here’s our list of the best book series of all time!

(Note: If a complete set is not available on Kindle, we link to the first book in the series.)

**1. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis**

The series opens with four siblings who find their way through a magical wardrobe into the kingdom of Narnia, where they come face-to-face with the White Witch. Narnia is ruled by a lion named Aslan, and the children experience different adventures through all the books in the series.

**2. The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander**

The series opens with Taran being an ordinary Assistant Pig Keeper who needs to find the runaway oracular pig, but throughout the series, he grows up into his destiny. Lloyd Alexander is an expert at creating memorable characters, such as the furry creature Gurgi, the cranky dwarf Doli, and the innocent bard Fflewddur Fflam. The last book in the series, The High King, won the Newbery Award, and the second book, The Black Cauldron, is a Newbery Honor book.

**3. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien**

Journey to Middle Earth in this epic series, with hobbits, dwarves, elves, and orcs crossing your path! Master storyteller J.R.R. Tolkien creates a whole fantasy world in this trilogy, complete with its own language, and a prologue book entitled The Hobbit, which lays the foundation for many of the things that occur in the trilogy.

4. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

In 1945 Scotland, British nurse Claire is reunited for a second honeymoon with her husband she walks through a standing stone and is suddenly transported to 1743, where she is an “outlander” in a war-torn Scotland. To survive, she turns to a young Scots warrior, and soon finds herself torn between two very different men in two very different lives.

**5. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery**

Former orphan girl Anne Shirley is one of the most memorable characters in literature. The series starts with her getting adopted, by mistake, by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, and follows all her scrapes as she tries to fit in. The next books follow her progress in school and in her teaching career, and goes all the way to when she has kids of her own. The last book in the series follows Rilla, Anne’s youngest daughter, set against the tumultuous backdrop of World War I.

**6. The Borrowers by Mary Norton**

This fantasy series follows a family of little people known as the “borrowers,” because they “borrow” everything from the humans that live in the same house as they. Homily, Pod, and Arrietty are the only family of Borrowers left in their house, and the series follows their moves between many different homes.

**7. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott**

This classic story of the four March sisters endears the hearts of many generations, but not many people have read the next books: Good Wives, which appeared as part of the original book, Little Men, which follows Jo’s children, and Jo’s Boys, all with the same charming appeal as the first book.

**8. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling**

Enter the magical world of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Harry and his friends learn more than just witchcraft and instead discover all about friendship, courage, and loyalty as they stand up to the evil Lord Voldemort.

**9. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han**

This teen romance series starts off with teenager Lara Jean having her secret love letters mailed to all the boys she had a crush on, resulting in a chaotic love life she grapples desperately to handle.

**10. Discworld by Terry Pratchett**

What if the world was actually flat—and rested on the backs of four elephants? And what if those elephants were standing on the back of a giant turtle? This is Discworld, the memorable fantasy world built over 40 books in the series.

**11. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins**

This New York Times bestselling series takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where children join the yearly televised competition called the “Hunger Games,” which is, unfortunately, actually a fight… to the death.

12. The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons

Follow sisters Tatiana and Dasha through love and war during the Nazi invasion of Leningrad. Family secrets and dramatic tales of love and heroism set the tone of this epic 3-part saga.

**13. The Zion Covenant by Bodie and Brock Thoene**

If you want a firsthand look at the lives impacted by Hitler and World War II, this historical fiction series is a great choice. You will meet memorable characters like violinist Elisa Linder, a Jew who goes by a German name in Vienna, and walk through the heart-wrenching experiences and impossibly difficult decisions they have to make during one of the most tumultuous periods in history.

**14. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin**

Follow the young mage Ged, also known as Sparrowhawk, as he accidentally casts a spell that unleashes a shadow creature, which attacks him. Throughout the fantasy archipelago of Earthsea, Ged battles dragons and juggles words of power in an attempt to restore balance in his life.

**15. The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin**

This series is set on a planet with a lone supercontinent called the Stillness, where the inhabitants come to expect a “fifth season” of tragic climate change every few centuries. The first book in the series is The Fifth Season, which won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2016.

**16. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman**

The series opens with the book The Golden Compass (or Northern Lights in the UK), following the coming-of-age of Will Parry and Lyra Belacqua. They travel through several parallel universes, encountering witches, armored polar bears, and other fantastical elements.

**17. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin**

The first book in this series, A Game of Thrones, inspired the hit TV series. The fictional continents Essos and Westeros are the setting for the dynastic war that defines the stories, beginning with the power struggle that arises after the death of King Robert. It is said that the author drew his inspiration from history’s War of the Roses and French historical novels.

**18. Mark of the Lion by Francine Rivers**

Journey back in time to the first century in Rome, and experience the clash of early Christianity against the world powers of the day. Hadassah is a Jewish girl holding fast to her faith in God even after being sold into slavery, shining as a light in the depravity and darkness all around her.

19. The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald

See how Tom easily swindles everyone in his family and his neighborhood from the perspective of his younger brother, JD. Follow his development—and eventual downfall—throughout this series, and watch how JD himself grows in the process!

20. The Tripods by John Christopher

What happens when three-legged monstrous robots rule the earth, and someone ventures to go against them? This is exactly what Will Parker found himself doing, though clearly the last thing he ever imagined, as he journeys to the mountains where word has it that people live free from the control of these beasts.

21. The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Did you know that the story you’ve probably loved as a kid actually comes in more than ten books? Journey all over the land of Oz, and get to know the characters you’ve loved so much—and many others—with this classic series.

22. Logans by Mildred Taylor

Read and experience the struggles of the black community, especially during the time of Cassie Logan’s life, whose story is told in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, the most well-known book in this series. Also watch Cassie and her family as they grow through this tumultuous time.

23. Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry

This dystopian series opens with Newbery Award winner The Giver, following the coming-of-age of Jonas in a world where there is no color or disparity, everything is uniform, and… where all memories are turned over to the Receiver—the very position selected for Jonas.

24. Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

Journey with characters in mythology through this exciting series starring Percy Jackson, a seemingly ordinary schoolboy with anger issues—and whose math teacher suddenly transforms into a monster that tries to kill him!

25. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Follow the adventures of the Baudelaire siblings, three orphans who have very few positive events happening in their lives: after their parents’ death, they go to live with a murderous relative who wants to steal their inheritance, and they continue to uncover mystery after mystery surrounding their family.

Reading a Book Series

Reading a book series is a great way to explore a new genre, because it gives you ample time to get to know characters, settings, and even follow character arcs over a longer time period.

Try out some of the series in this list and recommend them to your friends, too!

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

The post 25 Best Book Series of All Time appeared first on TCK Publishing.

Search This Blog

TCK Publishing Videos