This is in no way binding, but what BIG SERIES would people want us to tackle on @rangedtouch.bsky.social's SHELVED BY GENRE? Trying to think about calendars over the next year.
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I made a bluesky account JUST to say how much I've enjoyed Shelved by Genre, and how many times I've said to friends that it would be incredible to hear y'all talk about Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings series (or part of it, since it's massive)
Foreigner by CJ Cherryh does a remarkable job of making an alien society feel real and lived in during a post 100ish years after human explorers made first contact story all told from a diplomat's perspective.
It's a slow burn and not for everyone, but I adore it.
A long shot, but the Warhammer Fantasy tie-in series Gotrek & Felix is my vote. 15 core books, first 7 by series creator William King, 5 by Nathan Long, and the final 2 by David Guymer. A pulpy, picaresque dark fantasy series about a doomed Dwarf Trollslayer (Gotrek) & his Human rememberer (Felix)
In completely new directions: José Saramago, Louise Erdrich (Medicine Love or Birchbark House), Octavia Butler (Earthseed and Xeogenesis)
Historical Romance: Beverly Jenkins (Le Veq Family) or Lisa Kleypas (Wallflowers)
Contemporary Romance:
Nora Roberts (Chesapeake Bay Saga) or Jennifer Crusie
Also, seconding the already mentioned Brian Jacques (Redwall) and Tamora Pierce (Circle of Magic), and add Diana Wynne Jones (The Dalemark Quartet or Chronicles of Crestomanci)
And since someone mentioned Richard Stark’s Parker books: the Darwyn Cooke comics adaptations
For the "let's do a silly one" category I think it'd be funny as hell if you did Homeland, Exile, and Sojourn by R.A. Salvatore, but my real answer is Gibson's Sprawl trilogy.
Couple of really obvious choices that are maybe too big: Discworld or Vorkosigan Saga
Slightly out there but maybe not big enough: The Queen's Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Haven't read them but might be fun: Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett
Other thoughts:
Area X by Jeff VanderMeer
The Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Cromwell trilogy by Hilary Mantel
When he's finished it, the Dark Star trilogy by Marlon James
robin hobb's realm of the elderlings series! as much or as little as you felt like doing. long low-fantasy story but very neatly divided into cycles and the books are extremely readable.
many have said this but a mystery or crime unit would be really fun! my personal bias is for something like dorothy l. sayers... complete swerve if you consider going back to manga you should do fruits basket
The Luna Trilogy by Ian Mcdonald would be great for it! It has a good mix of hard/soft scifi element, it veers away from just being USA in space and it's extremely Austin Walker-Core
Wheel of Time is certainly a big series, even if it gets really lost in the sauce between books 5 and 11 lol
Maybe Raymond E Feist's Riftwar saga, or just the two Magician books. Been forever since I reread them but they're old favs
Brandon Sanderson is one I'd love to see you tackle in the long run
Tad William’s Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is only three books but the last one alone is longer than the entire Last Herald Trilogy. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin could be another manga to cover. Or Hellboy for American comics.
There's no way you could do the entire series, but a subsection of Malazan Book of the Fallen certainly has Big Ideas for days that you guys could really dig into. Even just a unit on the first two or three books would be incredible.
Michael Moorcock's Cornelius Quartet (c/w maybe too much 60's racism?), any of Jeff Vandermeer's series (Ambergris/Southern Reach/Bourne), and, as a complete outlier, Q Hayashida's Dorohedoro.
I absolutely ADORED the series on Book of the New Sun, and would love to hear something on the First Law books, although they may be too straight ahead to be interesting in this space
The Richard Stark/Donald Westlake Parker series totally rule, and you have like 40 years of books to choose from, plus you can read each book faster than the median ranged touch episode length
Chronicles of Amber/Zelazny, Gormenghast, some kind of noir detective fiction unit, broken earth, hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy, southern reach or one of his other things, illumanitus trilogy … or something steampunk
could be weird to do an unfinished series, but i think rosemary kirstein's Steerswoman books would have be an interesting parallel to BoTNS in terms of science fantasy from a completely different angle
M. John Harrison's Viriconium and Light/Kefahuchi Tract trilogy would be really interesting, Crowley's Ægypt trilogy, Leckie's ancillary books, maybe a series by Tanith Lee or Octavia Butler, not a series but a selection of books by Russ, Disch, Pollack like with your Junji Ito episodes?
Was real fun in BotNS seeing where so many things I enjoy got their inspiration. Would be nice to see more of the same, maybe look at things in AD&D's appendix N? Lots of people asking for Elric, but also Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser could be cool
I really think you guys would find a lot of meat in Iain Banks's Culture books, especially the later ones (post Player of Games). Between the conceptual maximalism he goes for and the ambivalence towards his own utopia that starts emerging more, the discussions would be fascinating
Wheel of time ! Content for days there! Nah but it is an interesting series in that it was clearly written as a trilogy but then blew past that and taken up by a second author after Jordan died. Not read it in years though so might not be as cool as I remembered it as a teen.
The Witcher series could be a lot of fun. Alternatively just reading the two short story collections that kick off the novels would work for a shorter unit.
If you want something that you all might be more critical of maybe Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy?
I wish the gideon the ninth series was finished because that would be my suggestion. Other than that an oomf wants anne rice. Havent even read her but i trust oomf.
Though slightly more seriously, having picked up that massive hellboy comics bundle that was up recently I'd enjoy an excuse to properly get in there. Enjoyed getting into Ito along with you lot and would be excited to that again with something else, whatever you pick!
It might have too much overlap with already covered work, but you know, I will throw my hat into the ring for Patricia McKillip's The Riddle Master's Game. A series that deserves more eyes and critical thought
I know that Brandon Sanderson is in all likelihood not on the docket for SbG, but in the same way that Stephen King is interesting partly because he so clearly resonates with late-20th-c. U.S. culture, Sanderson's popularity makes me interested in what the hell is going on with those books
A funny bit would be to spend the next year doing The Dark Tower.
For a real answer I would say Gibson's Sprawl Trilogy+Burning Chrome for something "BIG" in the sense of culturally impactful, or LeCarré's Smiley books if you want something longer.
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It's a slow burn and not for everyone, but I adore it.
Maybe a selection of novels charting his evolution as he went on.
The Library of America box set of his stuff would be great for it!
(Maybe just the first trilogy)
Historical Romance: Beverly Jenkins (Le Veq Family) or Lisa Kleypas (Wallflowers)
Contemporary Romance:
Nora Roberts (Chesapeake Bay Saga) or Jennifer Crusie
And since someone mentioned Richard Stark’s Parker books: the Darwyn Cooke comics adaptations
In a similar vein would be Malazan Book of the Fallen, but I wouldn't wish such a large burden on you all. 😆
Slightly out there but maybe not big enough: The Queen's Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Haven't read them but might be fun: Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett
Area X by Jeff VanderMeer
The Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Cromwell trilogy by Hilary Mantel
When he's finished it, the Dark Star trilogy by Marlon James
-Dune
-Nausicäa
Or Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons
Maybe Raymond E Feist's Riftwar saga, or just the two Magician books. Been forever since I reread them but they're old favs
Brandon Sanderson is one I'd love to see you tackle in the long run
For a real BIG series, Redwall would be interesting. I read a ton of those books as a kid, but I remember very little about the plot of any of them.
Probably just the first 5, which is The Corwin Cycle. Books 6-10 is just too many books for a SbG unit.
And, as terrible as it is, I think you all would have a lot to say about Dan Simmons's Hyperion Cantos
If you want something that you all might be more critical of maybe Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy?
Also take a look at Robin Hobb!
Though slightly more seriously, having picked up that massive hellboy comics bundle that was up recently I'd enjoy an excuse to properly get in there. Enjoyed getting into Ito along with you lot and would be excited to that again with something else, whatever you pick!
also Elfquest, but I digress
Also would be interested in Southern Reach or the Children of Time series (two series I’ve not read but hear good things about.
Or what about Octavia Butler?
For a real answer I would say Gibson's Sprawl Trilogy+Burning Chrome for something "BIG" in the sense of culturally impactful, or LeCarré's Smiley books if you want something longer.