The above linked article talks about fantasy series that are worth starting. I have several of the books in many of these series. Some are on my TBR list, some have been started. One of these days I’ll get to them.
ACACIA BY DAVID ANTHONY DURHAM
Where to Start? Acacia: The War with the Mein
Finished? Yes
AEGIS OF THE GODS BY TERRY C. SIMPSON
Where to Start? Etchings of Power
Finished? Yes
ARTHURIAN SAGA BY MARY STEWART
Where to Start? The Crystal Cave
Finished? Yes
AVALON BY MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY
Where to Start? Mists of Avalon
Finished? Yes
THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN BY GENE WOLFE
Where to Start? The Shadow of the Torturer
Finished? Yes
THE BROKEN EARTH TRILOGY BY N.K. JEMISIN
Where to Start? The Fifth Season
Finished? Yes
THE BROKEN EMPIRE BY MARK LAWRENCE
Where to Start? Prince of Thorns
Finished? Yes
THE CASTES AND THE OUTCASTES BY DAVIS ASHURA
Where to Start? A Warrior’s Path
Finished? Yes
CHRONICLES OF ELANTRA BY MICHELLE SAGARA
Where to Start? Cast in Shadow (there are several prequels, but this is book 1)
Finished? No, but 12 are published, so plenty to read!
CROWN OF STARS BY KATE ELLIOTT
Where to Start? King’s Dragon
Finished? Yes.
THE DANDELION DYNASTY BY KEN LIU
Where to Start? The Grace of Kings
Finished? No. First 2 published.
THE DARK TOWER BY STEPHEN KING
Where to Start? The Gunslinger
Finished? Yes
DEVERRY BY KATHARINE KERR
Where to Start? Daggerspell
Finished? Yes
DISCWORLD BY TERRY PRATCHETT
Where to Start? Chronological: The Color of Magic. My pick? Either Guards! Guards! or Equal Rites. But this series has so many starting points; you really can’t go wrong.
Finished? Yes
DRAGONLANCE BY MARGARET WEIS AND TRACY HICKMAN
Where to Start? Lots of places to begin. I started with Dragons of Autumn Twilight, which is also the first the pair wrote.
Finished? Yes and no. Weis and Hickman still publish books in this universe, but there are PLENTY of completed trilogies within the universe.
EARTHSEA CYCLE BY URSULA K. LE GUIN
Where to Start? A Wizard of Earthsea
Finished? Yes
EARTHSINGER CHRONICLES BY L. PENELOPE
Where to start? Song of Blood & Stone
Finished? No. First 2 complete.
ELRIC BY MICHAEL MOORCOCK
Where to Start? Elric of Melnibone
Finished? Yes
ETERNAL SKY BY ELIZABETH BEAR
Where to Start? Range of Ghosts
Finished? Yes
FARSEER TRILOGY BY ROBIN HOBB
Where to Start? Assassin’s Apprentice
Finished? Yes
THE FIRST LAW BY JOE ABERCROMBIE
Where to Start? The Blade Itself
Finished? Yes
GENTLEMAN BASTARDS BY SCOTT LYNCH
Where to Start? The Lies of Locke Lamora
Finished? No. First 3 published.
GORMENGHAST BY MERVYN PEAKE
Where to Start? Titus Groan, or The Gormenghast Novels, the complete trilogy
Finished? Yes
HERALDS OF VALDEMAR BY MERCEDES LACKEY
Where to Start? Lots of entry points. Chronological: Arrows of the Queen. My favorite trilogy in this universe begins with Magic’s Pawn. If you want a stand-alone in this series to see if you want to continue, read By the Sword.
Finished? Yes.
KINGDOMS OF THORN AND BONE BY GREG KEYES
Where to Start? The Briar King
Finished? Yes
THE KINGKILLER CHRONICLE BY PATRICK ROTHFUSS
Where to Start? The Name of the Wind
Finished? No. First 2 published.
KUSHIEL’S LEGACY BY JACQUELINE CAREY
Where to Start? Kushiel’s Dart
Finished? Yes
LONG PRICE QUARTET BY DANIEL ABRAHAM
Where to Start? A Shadow in Summer
Finished? Yes
THE LORD OF THE RINGS BY J.R.R. TOLKIEN
Where to Start? I say The Hobbit, but you can start with The Fellowship of the Ring.
Finished? Yes
LYONESSE BY JACK VANCE
Where to Start? Suldrun’s Garden
Finished? Yes
MILLENNIUM’S RULE BY TRUDI CANAVAN
Where to Start? Thief’s Magic
Finished? No. First 3 complete.
NEW CROBUZON BY CHINA MIÉVILLE
Where to Start? Perdido Street Station (though I actually read these completely out of order the first time and had no problem).
Finished? Yes
OBSIDIAN AND BLOOD BY ALIETTE DE BODARD
Where to start? Servant of the Underworld (there are several prequels, but this is book 1)
Finished? Yes
OLONDRIA BY SOFIA SAMATAR
Where to Start? A Stranger in Olondria
Finished? Probably (only 2 books in the series, and both are stand-alone)
PAKSENARRION BY ELIZABETH MOON
Where to Start? Sheepfarmer’s Daughter
Finished? Yes, though she continues to write in this world on a regular basis.
RETURN TO NEVÈRŸON BY SAMUEL R. DELANY
Where to Start? Tales of Nevèrÿon
Finished? Yes
RIDDLE-MASTER BY PATRICIA MCKILLIP
Where to Start? The Riddle-Master of Hed
Finished? Yes
SEVENWATERS BY JULIET MARILLIER
Where to Start? Daughter of the Forest
Finished? Yes
A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE BY GEORGE R.R. MARTIN
Where to Start? A Game of Thrones
Finished? Notoriously no, but the first 5 are completed.
THE SORCERER OF WILDEEPS BY KAI ASHANTE WILSON
Where to Start? The Sorcerer of Wildeeps
Finished? Maybe. Two so far, both stand-alone novellas in the same universe. Will there be more? We can only hope.
THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE BY BRANDON SANDERSON
Where to Start? The Way of Kings
Finished? No. First 2 published, 3rd coming in November (it’s currently listed as a 10 book series on Goodreads).
THE SUNBOLT CHRONICLES BY INTISAR KHANANI
Where to Start? Sunbolt
Finished? No. 2 published so far.
SWORD OF TRUTH BY TERRY GOODKIND
Where to Start? Wizard’s First Rule
Finished? I think he plans to continuously add books to this series forever. For. Ever.
TAMÍR TRIAD BY LYNN FLEWELLING
Where to Start? The Bone Doll’s Twin
Finished? Yes
TENSORATE BY J.Y. YANG
Where to Start? With either The Black Tides of Heaven or The Red Threads of Fortune, though Tides is listed as Book 1.
Finished? No. First 2 novellas published.
TEMERAIRE BY NAOMI NOVIK
Where to Start? His Majesty’s Dragon
Finished? Yes
THE WHEEL OF TIME BY ROBERT JORDAN AND BRANDON SANDERSON
Where to Start? The Eye of the World
Finished? Yes. Finished posthumously by Brandon Sanderson
WORLDBREAKER SAGA BY KAMERON HURLEY
Where to Start? The Mirror Empire
Finished? No. Final book in the trilogy comes out next year.
THE WORLD OF RIVERSIDE/TREMONTAINE BY ELLEN KUSHNER AND MANY OTHER AUTHORS
Where to Start? Swordspoint or Tremontaine (Tremontaine is being co-written by multiple authors as a serial prequel. Can be read first, or you can start with Book 1, Swordspoint)
Finished? Kind of. The original The World of Riverside series is complete, but Tremontaine is still going!
WORLD OF THE FIVE GODS BY LOIS MCMASTER BUJOLD
Where to Start? The Curse of Chalion
Finished? Kind of. The first 3 can work together as a trilogy, and are completed. She’s been adding novellas to the series with Penric’s story.
