. . . by length, that is.
Ethan Sholly has done an in-depth listing of popular fantasy and sci-fi series sorted by their total word counts. He’s still updating it (and some of the series aren’t finished), but here’s a picture of the list at the time of writing, so you can see how Alex Verus compares!
Some of these were surprises to me, others weren’t. I don’t think many people will be surprised to see the Wheel of Time or Discworld towards the top, but I was surprised to see just how long the Redwall series was (apparently all those books really add up) and apparently Raymond E. Feist’s Riftwar Cycle kept going for way longer than I ever realised.
On the other hand, it’s also interesting to see many of the most enduring and influential series towards the shorter end of the list. The entire seven-book Chronicles of Narnia is shorter than some Brandon Sanderson novels, while the three-volume Lord of the Rings, which is still regarded as the iconic fantasy doorstopper, is actually relatively short compared to many of the works that have come after it.
It’s odd to look at that list and see just how long the Alex Verus series ended up being. Back when I was starting Fated, I never would have imagined that the whole story would end up taking me ten years and over a million words. I wonder how long my next series will be?
Hi there 🙂
I’m half through the Alex Verus series and just wanted to say I really appreciate how carefully crafted it is.
The Wandering Inn does not surprise me in the slightest.
I love this! Also, CURSES! More series to get into!!! (though I have heard of and/or read 98% of the list)
The one thing I can say is at least you finished Alex Verus before I have died. 🙂 Now, I know that sounds morbid. But I found your series via the recommendation by Jim Butcher. I am in my 60s and it is definitely in the realm of possibility that I will be dead before Jim finishes his primary series.
Part of the reason I bring this up is to remind authors (see GRRM) that readers are mortal as well.