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If you’re anything like me, you finish your summer reading list by mid-July. To help curb your end-of-summer reading blues, here are some of the longest-running series of novels in the most popular genres. If you’re so inclined, these will keep you busy until next summer.
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Discworld – 62 books (37 novels and 25 companion books)
This groundbreaking series takes place in a fictional disc-shaped land populated by wizards, elves, and even a walking suitcase. The stories borrow from standard fantasy tropes, but uses them in a humorous, often satirical way. And if 37 novels isn’t enough, there are also 25 supplemental books on topics ranging from short stories to maps, and even educational books that use the series to help explain real scientific concepts.
Deathlands -135 books and counting (including a spin-off series)
If elves, wizards, and barbarians aren’t your thing, how about nuclear bombs, machine guns, and teleportation devices? Created by Jack Adrien and James Axler, the series takes place in a world devastated by nukes, making food, supplies, and civilized people a rarity. Ryan Cawdor and his band of post-apocalyptic warriors use top secret teleportation machines to explore and fight their way across the vast wasteland that was once America. A sequel series, Outlander, continues the story one hundred years later as society begins to recover, though it still has a long way to go before it’s civilized.
Malaf Al Mostakbal (The Future Files) – 158 books
In this series by Egyptian author Nabil Farouk, a team of scientists are brought together as the Egyptian Scientific Intelligence Agency (ESIA) to deal with madmen using technology to commit crimes. Their leader, Nour, is an all-around genius, and the rest of the team includes specialists like a communications guru, an engineer, and even a computer tech who is artificially aged so she can join the ESIA. In later books, after aliens invade Earth, the series goes off in some wild directions including time travel, outer space adventures, and into other dimensions of reality.
Romance
Montana Mavericks – 63 (including spin-offs)
The citizens of Whitehorn, Montana, include a woman who takes in a fugitive and ends up falling in love (Outlaw Lovers), a respected woman judge who marries a mysterious stranger tied up in a custody battle for his infant child (The Law is No Lady), and a widow who must repay her husband’s debt to a ruggedly handsome cowboy by whatever means necessary (The Widow and the Rodeo Man). Not exactly Norman Rockwell material. The original 12 books were followed by nine spin-off series, whose stories ranged from historical romance to Christmastime flings.
Fortune’s Children – 69 books (including spin-offs)
The Fortune Family – rich, powerful, and good-looking – is a dynasty of American business. The series and its six spin-offs have been running since 1996 and feature a seemingly never ending supply of Fortune heirs. Many of the stories handle romance like a business deal, entered into only to save the family business or protect the family name. Of course the characters end up finding true love in the end, but the pretenses for these relationships must require a lot of couples’ counseling.
Action/Adventure
The Destroyer – 149 books
Remo Williams is part of an elite squad of covert government operatives called CURE. He is trained by Chiun, a Master of Sinanju, a fabled form of martial arts that gives its disciples super-human powers like the ability to dodge bullets. The original series, created by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, started in 1971 and ran until 2006, followed by a short-lived series, The New Destroyer. The books were adapted into a movie, 1985’s Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, starring Fred Ward, but it was not well-received by the books’ fans nor the authors, who integrated jabs at the film into later novels.
Nick Carter: Killmaster – 260 books
First printed in 1964, the series was a knock-off James Bond with fewer gadgets. But what Killmaster lacked in exploding pens, it made up for in all-out action and gratuitous sex (seems like a fair trade-off). Nick Carter of AXE, a super-secret espionage organization, is a master spy thanks to his cunning, good looks, and his favorite weapons – a German Luger named Wilhelmenia, a stiletto knife named Hugo, and a gas bomb named Pierre. Cheesy but popular, the series was a mainstay on the paperback racks until the 1990s. While the sheer number of novels is impressive, perhaps more so is the fact that there is no official author of any of the books – all the writers used the same pen name: Nick Carter.
The Executioner – 709 books (including spin-offs)
Mack Bolan was a skilled sniper, registering 97 confirmed kills in the Vietnam War. But when virtually his entire family was murdered, Bolan came home to seek revenge on those responsible: the Frenchi crime family. Created in 1969 by Don Pendleton, the main series – currently on book #369 – has spawned four long-running spin-offs: Able Team (53 books), Phoenix Force (58 books), the Stony Man series (#102 is due in August 2009), and Super Bolan (#127 is due in July 2009). If The A-Team was your favorite show, or The Punisher is your favorite comic book, these books ought to be right up your alley.
Kids/Young Adult
The Baby-sitters Club – 207 books
During the series run from 1986 until 2000, it seemed like every 10-year old girl was reading The Baby-sitters Club books. Following the adventures of Kristy Thomas and her gang of middle-school babysitter friends, the series was a cultural phenomenon, branching into a TV series and a feature-length film. In the final book, the frozen-in-time heroines finally graduate the 8th grade and move on to high school, signifying the end of the “BSC,” as well as the end of an era for many young readers who, two decades later, still hold fond memories of the series.
Inspector Jamshed – over 400 books
While Harry Potter might seem daunting to some kids, seven books is nothing compared to this vast library of spy/detective novels – some as long as 2000 pages – by Pakistani author Ishtiaq Ahmad. Popular from the 1970s through the 1990s, the series followed the adventures of Inspector Jamshed (sometimes spelled “Jamshaid”) and his three children, Memood, Farooq, and Farzana. Most stories had a Muslim moral message, so they had parental approval even if some kids were only reading for the adventure aspect. The books are pretty hard to find in America, making them collectors’ items for Pakistani adults looking to recapture their youth.
Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys – 616 books combined
When it comes to kid lit, very few beat the one-two punch of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. The adolescent Sherlocks have been a publishing powerhouse since the Boys debuted in 1927, followed by Nancy in 1930. With numerous spin-offs (nine each for Nancy and the Boys, and even three separate series of cross-over adventures), the total number reaches a staggering 616 books. That’ll keep even the most voracious young reader occupied until school starts up again.
Mystery
Perry Mason – 87 books
Mason got his start in 1933 with the first of many novels by writer Erle Stanley Gardner, a self-taught lawyer who passed the California state bar exam in 1911. The books usually featured Mason and his crew of investigators digging up evidence to prove their client’s innocence, as well as finding the real guilty party. Over the years, the Mason novels have been adapted to TV (Raymond Burr’s 1957 – 1966 series is the quintessential portrayal), radio, comic books, and 30 TV movies. And through all that, he never lost a case. What are the odds?
Nero Wolfe – 97 books (including novellas and companion books)
Nero Wolfe, the rotund, beer-drinking recluse, who spent much of his time – and completed almost all of his crime-solving – inside his New York City brownstone, debuted in 1934. Over the years, author Rex Stout wrote 87 novels and novellas, as well as three companion books, including a cookbook of the foody detective’s favorite dishes. After Stout’s death, the series continued for seven more books by Robert Goldsborough, writing with the Stout estate’s approval. Like Perry Mason, books were just the beginning for Wolfe, who branched into radio, a popular TV series on A&E, and even shows on Italian, Russian, and German television.
Did we miss your favorite book series? Or do you have some suggestions for great summer reading? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Woohoo! I love the Baby-Sitters Club! I was obsessed!
posted by Roxie on 7-7-2009 at 11:42 am
You forgot the Stephanie Plum series from Janet Evanovich. I know there is only about 15 books in the series, but Janet Evanovich has written many more novels that that and could get anyone hooked on them.
posted by Colene on 7-7-2009 at 11:55 am
Goosebumps was another large group of childrens books as well.
posted by Brian on 7-7-2009 at 12:18 pm
The Sweet Valley Series! I always pretended I was Elizabeth (same name, both blonds who loved to read)I started on Sweet Valley Kids in the second grade and kept graduating to each new series. I think ultimately they had Kids (the twins at 7), Twins (middle school), High (take a guess), University (again, you should figure this out) and a few “Sagas” where they go back in time to several of the characters ancestors. My grandmother used to get these second hand in bulk for me and I think I had well over 100 at my peak. I think they stopped printing them in the late 90’s and included a television series as well.
posted by Hastings on 7-7-2009 at 12:21 pm
The Goosebumps series was fantastic! I did own many of The Baby-Sitters Club too. I used to own all of my mothers Nancy Drew books, but sadly, they got destroyed in a basement flood.
posted by Christina on 7-7-2009 at 12:39 pm
Gosh I remember the BSC. I would still read the series too until the end, but I am preoccupied this summer with reading The Lord of the Rings, all three including the Silmarillion. I will admit that I have never read the trilogy. But I have read the Hobbit. Oh and ha ha at my recaptcha: discerned yeti
posted by Reddkatz on 7-7-2009 at 12:43 pm
Sometimes hard to find but the Casca books by Barry Sadler (yes of ballad of the Green Berets fame) are great popcorn reading. Short, violent and often with more then a bit of sex they were written by a man working as a mercenary even as he wrote stories about Casca, the roman soldier who speared Jesus on the cross, and is cursed to live until his return.
Of course this gives great opportunity for Casca to fight in every major war from Rome to Vietnam and in between.
posted by Merinda on 7-7-2009 at 12:44 pm
The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey. Her son Todd is now writing Pern novels as well.
posted by Leslie on 7-7-2009 at 12:47 pm
I loved the Inspector Jamshed series!! Thanks so much for including it!
I also loved the babysitters club and nancy drew. One of the series that the American audience probably doesn’t know about are the Enid Blyton Mallory Tower novels. Anybody out there know what I’m talking about? I used to wish I had a school like that, I loved those books!
posted by Pink Coat on 7-7-2009 at 12:57 pm
I spent quite a lot of time reading reom the “Remo:The Destroyer” series. Chiun was one of the greatest characters in 20th century literature. I remember him talking about how much he hated bigotry and then adding that it was so common in the “inferior white and black races”. Another gem was when Remo took him to a baseball game and tried to explain it to him. He wondered why at the end of the inning, a team voluntarily put down their bats when they could so easily be used to pound the other other team into submission in order to more easily score runs.
posted by harold on 7-7-2009 at 1:06 pm
400 books? Some as long as 2000 pages? And I thought the ‘Wheel of Time’ series seemed endless…. ;)
posted by TXCherokee on 7-7-2009 at 1:08 pm
goosebumps was the rad-est! It actually was a spin off of the fear street series which was totally better, and creepier. —Not that there are nearly as many books in the series (but it did take him like 20 years to finish), but i highly recommend the Dark Tower series by Stephen King.
posted by Dayna on 7-7-2009 at 1:14 pm
Loved the Diskworld books, and have recently gotten hooked on The Dresden Files books.
Jim Butcher has eleven books in the series, kind of like Harry Potter meets the Rockford Files. Awesome light summer reading.
posted by Richard on 7-7-2009 at 1:19 pm
With everyone talking about R.L. Stine (Goosebumps/Fear Street) I’d like to mention that he did write one adult novel. It’s called Superstition and it is pretty good, feels sorta like a grown up Fear Street. When I was a kid he was working on a series spin-off that I think was maybe named Fear Street Sagas or something like that and it was the history of the street through different time periods. I was one addicted kid!
BTW, I expected the Wheel of Time on here as well, but was very pleased to see Perry Mason on here.
posted by Amauriel on 7-7-2009 at 1:29 pm
I’ve read a smattering of Discworld books. Mort and Moving Pictures are two of my favorites. In fact I was just watching Hogfather again last night on Hallmark
John Sandford’s Prey novels are pretty good too. I’d categorize them as crime fiction. What I like about them is that not only are the stories well plotted etc., but they all follow the lives of the main characters as they progress through life. Without looking it up, the latest Wicked Prey has to be in the high teens.
posted by crocostimpy on 7-7-2009 at 1:47 pm
Wheel of Time fans:
It was on the list for sure, but with only 14 books (including those not published yet), it just couldn’t match Discworld.
So consider this a special runner-up mention based on sheer volume of pages (estimated at nearly 9700) and an astonishing 3,430,682 words!
posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 7-7-2009 at 1:50 pm
Hastings:
Sweet Valley almost made the list at 152 books. But in the interest of brevity, I had to trim things down some.
posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 7-7-2009 at 1:51 pm
Great list, but I was a little dissapointed not to see R.A. Salvatore on the Fantasy list. His Forgotten Realms books, while small in number (I believe around 15-20), are fantastic reads.
posted by Huevo Romero on 7-7-2009 at 2:47 pm
Came here to say much the same thing concerning R.A. Salvatore and his Drizzt books. I’ll agree, the series is fantastic. They read like one long story broken into 19 book-long chapters.
posted by Fred on 7-7-2009 at 3:47 pm
The Dragonlance Saga. There are 15+ core novels plus over 100 supplementary novels, stories and other books by a variety of authors. They are still being written — new ones come out every year.
posted by Matt A on 7-7-2009 at 3:49 pm
There’s got to be *hundreds* of Doctor Who books. I think there’s three different series of those.
And then there’s the Lord Peter Wimsey series from Dorothy Sayers.
And you can’t talk fun book series without mentioning PG Wodehouse’s various works, such as Jeeves and Wooster, Psmith and the Blandings series, among others.
posted by Brooklynperson on 7-7-2009 at 4:23 pm
Brooklynperson:
Oh, man – I can’t believe I missed the Doctor Who series! (My wife is gonna kill me.) That’s a good one for sure. Maybe I’ll remember it for the spin-off article…
posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 7-7-2009 at 4:32 pm
Was totally surprised to not see Lillian Jackson Brauns Cat Who books on here. I used to mow through those when I was in middle school (although they are made for an adult audience). A quick look at wikipedia suggests that there are around 30 of them, and as far as I know she’s still going.
posted by Anna on 7-7-2009 at 4:36 pm
Discworld! Discworld! Woo-hoo!!
And I know there aren’t as many books as in some other series, but the Amelia Peabody books by Elizabeth Peters are officially up to 18 books, plus a ‘world of’ book, and now her Vicky Bliss series has been tied into the Peabody series.
posted by dirt.digger on 7-7-2009 at 5:07 pm
Ghostbumps is one that popped in my head.
Also Boxcar children. There’s over a hundred books in the series.
Though they totally went in a different direction after the first book.
posted by Ellie on 7-7-2009 at 5:47 pm
I totally loved the Mallory Towers(Enid Blyton) series!Wish I went to a school like that…Oh well!
posted by ice on 7-7-2009 at 6:15 pm
Right on, Hastings… I read all of the SVH books, from Kids through University through the Sagas. (I think I even went to school with a Lila Fowler character.) Same with BSC, Nancy Drew, Fear Street, Christopher Pike; I was a pretty voracious reader as a kid, and I loved the continuation aspect of most of the books.
Great post, Rob!
posted by Megan on 7-7-2009 at 6:29 pm
What about Doc Savage and his adventures!
posted by Sabrina on 7-7-2009 at 6:38 pm
I absolutely loved the Babysitter Club books growing up and also read the spinoff series Babysitter’s Little Sister. I’d forgotten about the Sweet Valley books, but enjoyed those too. My absolute favorite books as a little kid though were The Boxcar Children series (currently 140 books or so). As I got a little older, my favorites were the Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Boroughs. Okay, I’ll admit, if I saw any of those series lying around today, I’d probably still read it and enjoy it!
posted by Moth on 7-7-2009 at 7:17 pm
I have to mention John Mortimer’s Rumpole of the Bailey books…there’s 18 or 19 and they’re great! They’re a rare thing: a t.v. series, turned into a book series instead of vice versa. If anyone is looking for an lifelong barrister who enjoys an occasional small cigar and bottle of port, Horace Rumpole is your man.
posted by Chris on 7-7-2009 at 10:18 pm
As long as we’re mentioning series with only 20 or so books, I’ve got to bring up Nora Roberts’ In Death series, written under the pen name J. D. Robb. Set in the 2050s, they have crime and violence, romance and sex, and characters that grow and develop with each book.
The main characters are a tomboy homicide detective and an ex-criminal gone straight who now owns half the known universe (ok, only a third). She frequently walks the line between legal and illegal, especially when it means the difference between real-world justice and legal system justice. He was already mostly legitimate when he found himself in love with a cop, but finds his illicit experience invaluable in helping her close cases. They are surrounded by a supporting cast of friends and acquaintances, each of whom has become a fully developed character in their own right.
Reading each novel is like visiting with old friends (who live much more interesting lives than you do, thank goodness). Fair warning, these are the type of books that keep you up long past your bedtime!
Recaptcha: precipitation wanted
posted by Ailsa on 7-8-2009 at 10:02 am
Ya missed Perry Rhodan’s 2450 installments and 137 books.
posted by David on 7-8-2009 at 12:58 pm
@Pink Coat I so remember the Mallory Towers series!
posted by septerr on 7-8-2009 at 6:19 pm
How about the Xanth series by Piers Anthony? Pun-infested fantasy with 34 titles so far, and more on the way.
posted by Will Stuivenga on 7-8-2009 at 8:24 pm
Aw! I loved the Baby-Sitter’s Club books. I had the original series, the mystery series, the little sister’s series and even the dolls!
@Will, I LOVE the Xanth series. Last I checked, some of them were out of print now, though. Sad.
What about the Redwall series? Brian Jacques has written tons of those!
posted by Kieran on 7-9-2009 at 12:16 am
What about Agatha Christie? I’ve all the ones I could find at used book sellers and thrift stores. They are somewhat formulaic at times, but who cares. Most books are formula. My sister and I love them. It was our grown-up Nancy Drew!
posted by Rebecca on 7-9-2009 at 11:19 am
Oh, the Discworld series! I’m reading that series currently. It is beyond amazing.
posted by Heather on 7-9-2009 at 3:43 pm
For all you Destroyer fans out there (*cricket, cricket*), Hollywood is working on a new version of Remo Williams:
http://www.riskybusinessblog.com/2009/07/remo-williams-remake.html
Maybe this one will meet the expectations of the series’ fans.
posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 7-9-2009 at 5:03 pm
This series may not be long-running (only 40 years), but what about the “Star Trek” series of books? That is definitely into the hundreds, with dozens and dozens of spin-offs.
posted by Mike Knowles on 7-11-2009 at 12:32 am
What, no Perry Rhodan? Have they got to sequel #3000 yet?
posted by firstofnormalin on 7-11-2009 at 7:28 pm
According to Wikipedia several Western fiction series are published monthly, such as The Trailsman, Slocum, and Longarm. There are over 300 books in each series.
posted by Matt on 7-11-2009 at 11:47 pm
Ha! This list brought back some memories. I was addicted to the babysitter’s club back in the mid 90’s. Also couldn’t get enough Boxcar Children. I had a boxset of the first 19 books and I read them all to tatters. Good memories :)
posted by Lisa on 7-13-2009 at 1:28 am
I know someone mentioned it but the Sweet Valley Twins / Sweet Valley High series had one or two more spinoffs.
posted by Jeimy on 7-13-2009 at 10:55 am
My favorite were the Bobbsey Twins (from the author of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys). I still remember them looking for the red garnet and the picture it created in my mind.
posted by Christa on 7-13-2009 at 3:36 pm
As of this writing, there are 27 books of the Gor series, dating back to 1967 to 2008. I remember going through the first 7 or 8 books until I decided I was reading the same book over and over.
posted by Spocker on 7-14-2009 at 1:53 pm
Maybe I should’ve read the Nancy Drew stuff too coz the Hardy Boys only kept me busy for a month…Nah I don’t like her.
posted by Rose on 8-14-2009 at 11:45 pm