I am looking for a book series that upon completion will leave a feeling of emptiness, as if I’m saying goodbye to a good old friend, when you realize the good old days were left behind. It’s a shitty feeling that only comes after something great, something that left a mark on you.
Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey & Maturin series is the first that comes to mind for this feeling.
Oh absolutely second this
Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll look it up.
Cemetery of Forgotten Books by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
The Shadow of the Wind (2001)
The Angel’s Game (2008)
The Prisoner of Heaven (2011)
The Labyrinth of the Spirits (2016)
The City of Mist (2021)There could have been more but the author died in 2020. 😔
Thank you for the recommendations, I’ll look them up.
Shadow of the Wind is particularly excellent!
The author being a Latin author is quite attractive for me. I think this series will be my next read.
One again, thanks for the recommendation
They were all originally published in Spanish as well.
La sombra del viento, 2001
El juego del ángel, 2008
El prisionero del cielo, 2011
El laberinto de los espíritus, 2016
La ciudad de vapor, 2021
Cairo trilogy by Mahfouz
The locked tomb series
Project hell mary
Compound fractured
Thank you for the recommendations! I just read Project Hail Mary, and it fucked me up 😅. I’ll look the other recommendations up.
Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Only has 5 books, but they’re chonky and book 5 is the end of arc 1. Peak epic fantasy, with an even larger epic happening in the background if you choose to look behind the curtain.
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
Starts as “haha funny man in boxers rescues his cat”, ends with “this is a truly important critique of late-stage capitalism”. Book 8/9 just released. Wonderful series about the indomitable human spirit and dealing with loss under the veneer of an intergalactic comedy game show.
I have plans to read the whole collection of Cosmere books, but it feels like quite a compromise, I’m looking for something shorter.
Your description of Dungeon Crawler Carl books instigated me though, I’ll look them up. Thanks!
The Cosmere is absolutely a commitment for sure. He does have some other side-content that isn’t in-universe if you want to sample his writing style a bit. He did a short story collection recently called Tailored Realities.
I have a fun link for DCC that my description was kinda based on for some more info. Spoilers clearly marked on other sections of the site:
I’ve been listening to Stormlight Archive and it’s almost 200 hours of audiobook.
Especially if you also read Edgedancer and Dawnshard, books 2.5 and 3.5 respectively.
Absolutely fantastic series, totally invested.
Also can recommend starting with Mistborn, including book 3.5 of that.
Oh, absolutely agree with everything you said. Tbh era 1 of mistborn also fits what op is asking for in the “saying goodbye to a dear friend” feeling.
I’m a big Cosmere nerd, so I’ve been through the whole thing multiple times now.
Love Secret History as well.
Also heh, Invested. Me too, I have been for years.
Can’t wait to see what Apple does with it!
Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series.
Thanks for the recommendation! I’m aware of this series, but I never thought it would be the kind of read to cause the feeling I’m pursuing
That definitely left me with a feeling of emptiness… not so much because I was leaving behind friends, though.
Riyra series by Michael J Sullivan. You can feel free to stop after the original trilogy, but I highly recommend the full set of books in the world.
I also recommend the Iron Druid series by Kevin Hearne. You get really connected to the main characters.
Thank you for the recommendations, I’ll look them up.
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The Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett are humorous, well written and quite engaging Once you have a few under your belt, you get to appreciate the wit, kindness, and empathy of the author. GNU Terry Pratchett.
Ps Start with Going Postal or Small Gods and then do whatever you want from there. Search for Discworld reading order for more info
„Night Train to Lisbon“ by Pascal Mercier.
Thanks for the recommendation
