4 Series That Are Worth The (Maddening) Wait Between Books
We get it: you don’t want to start reading another series. You can’t stand the exquisite torture of waiting for the next installment, the unrelieved agony of the closing the cover on the final book, the mad frustration of an inexpertly done film adaptation.
And yet: you’ve sworn off series before, only to be pulled back in by an enticing cover, jacket copy you can’t refuse, or the wild-eyed recommendation of a friend (or book blog). If you’re ready to love again (and be driven crazy with anticipation again), take a chance and jump into one of these series, which either debuted recently or have just added another scintillating installment. We think you’ll find they’re worth it:
Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer
The opening installment of VanderMeer’s hotly anticipated Southern Reach trilogy introduces Area X, an untouched section of land breached only by expeditions of intrepid explorers, most of whom end up dying in mysterious and/or frightening ways. Annihilation finds the twelfth expedition trying their luck, four brilliant women whose secrets run as deep as those of the uncharted Southern Reach.
Red Rising, by Pierce Brown
Attention, fans of Hugh Howey’s Wool, we may have found your next read. Darrow is a downtrodden member of a mining caste living below the surface of a colonized Mars, who has lost both his father and his wife to the oppressive government that keeps him in miserable conditions underground. But his losses make him a person of interest for rebel group Son of Ares, which recruits him for training at their brutal institute. Surviving rebel school proves nearly as dangerous as political subordination.
Illusion (Chronicles of Nick), by Sherilynn Kenyon
Teenaged Nick is a street-smart kid who knows the French Quarter like the back of his hand. He’s also an ally and errand boy for the legion of undead and other creatures populating the streets of New Orleans (not to mention, he’s half-demon himself). Come for the supernatural hijinks, stay for the narrative voice, a perfect blend of BS and brains. In Illusion, fifth in the series, Nick finds himself trapped in an unmagical alternate reality, where he learns that being normal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Raising Steam, by Terry Pratchett
This one’s either a harder or an easier sell, depending how you look at it. While Pratchett’s Discworld output is daunting (this is #40!), it will also never let you down…at least not for the next hundreds of hours’ worth of down time it’ll take you to tackle the massive steampunk world. First introduced in 1983, it’s peopled by such colorful characters as the craven wizard Rincewind and Death, who needs no introduction.
What’s a series worth jumping into?