10 epic sci-fi/fantasy book series to binge

9. Shannara

When it comes to ultra-long, epic fantasy series, Shannara might just take the crown for the largest one of all. The first book, The Sword of Shannara, came out all the way back in 1977, when it became the first trade paperback fiction title to ever hit #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. Since then, author Terry Brooks has written sequels and prequels, book after book after book. Nowadays, there are a staggering 39 books connected to the Shannara universe, with the final novel of the series, The Last Druid, scheduled to release on June 4, 2020.

The Sword of Shannara is about as close to The Lord of the Rings as you can get while still being a separate book, and that should give a pretty good indication of the sorts of things you’ll find in this series: elves and dwarves and trolls, valiant human kingdoms and demonic creatures of darkness. The first book is actually so close to Tolkien’s epic that it can be a little distracting, if I’m being totally honest.

But the good news is that with every subsequent novel, Shannara carved out more of an identity for itself. Often, the books skip ahead to future generations, introducing new casts of characters who are a joy to travel alongside. I’ve heard it said that if Tolkien is the grandfather of modern fantasy, Terry Brooks is its kookie uncle, and that certainly rings true for the tone and style of these books.

One of the more unique things about Shannara, however, is that it’s not set in some fantastical world. It’s set in our world, in the future. Using nuclear war and the subsequent fallout as a backdrop, Brooks imagines a fantasy world rising from the ashes of our own, populating it with elves and other races. Occasionally the characters stumble across ruins — metal towers, and technology left behind from our time. These glimpses into a the apocalyptic past are immediate attention grabbers, and really help Shannara stand out from the crowd.

But at their core, these books are as fantasy as it gets. And while they’re light-hearted yarns, they often have deep depths, exploring topics like adventure and love and sacrifice that make them still resonate with readers today, 43 years after the series first began.