Preferably fantasy or sci-fi, and preferably a finished or guaranteed to finish series (I’m still hurt over ASOIAF, lol). I prefer longer series because I can get so immersed in the world and really grow to love the characters, but I’m open to shorter suggestions as well.
If you’re interested in what I’ve enjoyed reading: Lord of the Rings is my all-time favorite, and I grew up on Harry Potter. As an adult I’ve read a lot of the popular romantasy series (SJM, Fourth Wing, etc.) and more lighthearted sci-fi picks (Murderbot, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, etc.) and enjoyed them all. I think I’m in the mood for something more “traditional”/less “YA” if that makes sense. I haven’t read much in that (arbitrary) category other than LOTR, ASOIAF, and the first Dune book, so no suggestion is too basic!
by BringSundialsBack
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The Expanse – Complete at 9 books, and pretty consistently good
The Mistborn trilogy is a combination of the magical, misused orphan chosen one story with heist gang, so if you like Harry Potter you’ll probably like it, the author Sanderson also has an epic series (Stormlight) but is only half way through that one.
Bobiverse is a series about a 21st century introvert with a monopoly on space travel in the future, it’s got more books coming, but the first trilogy in the series is finished
The Passage trilogy by Justin Cronin. Was an excellent and long listen.
I recommend everything that Lois McMaster Bujold has written. In my opinion pretty much all of her books in all of her series are standalone, so you can stop at any point, and you don’t feel like you need completion.
Her magnum opus is her sci-fi space opera The Vorkosigan Saga, which has about 20? entries. I recommend starting with Shards of Honor, but some people recommend starting with The Warrior’s Apprentice.
I also love her fantasy series, so you could look into those if you like the Vorkosigan series.
I highly recommend the Earthsea series by Ursula Le Guin – the first one’s called A Wizard of Earthsea – although that is YA but to be honest i don’t usually enjoy YA but i loved it.
My partner loved the Demon Cycle by Peter V Brett – the first one’s called the Painted Man – must admit i wasn’t keen on it myself but you can’t fault the worldbuilding and it’s certainly substantial.
Also you don’t mention Terry Pratchett (though perhaps he comes under “etc” lol) but if you’ve not read any of his a good place to start might be The Colour of Magic.
Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey
Uplift
For the ASOIAF and LotR fan, read The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson and its two sequels. Immersive plot and world, complex characters, excellent writing.
*Discworld*, at 41 books, certainly counts as “substantial”. And if you enjoyed *Hitchhiker’s*, you can ignore all the infighting about reading order and simply read in publication order, as the first few books are somewhat similar to *Hitchhiker’s* in tone.
Some publishers list it as two separate series: *Discworld* and *Discworld for Younger Readers*. These publishers are bad and wrong. Read the whole thing, including the YA ones (integrated occasionally throughout, not in a block of their own). Only a few are YA, and the plot lines intersect with others, so you need them. They’re also some of his best and darkest writing.