13 Fantasy Book Series That Make Me Drool

The Bartimaeus Trilogy, by Jonathan Stroud

Set in an alternate England, the Bartimaeus Trilogy follows the aspiring magician Nathaniel as he summons the help of the snarky and narcissistic demon, Bartimaeus, in order to stop impeding political threats to the capitol.

Worthwhile Notes:
Follows the characters in third person, save Bartimaeus, who leaves first person side notes and sarcastic comments directed, specifically, toward the reader. Also, it ended up getting a prequel book that takes place hundreds of years before.

Codex Alera, by Jim Butcher

Tavi, a young man, lives in the Roman-esque world of Alera, where everyone commands spirits known as furies...except for Tavi, that is. As the First Lord tries to push away an impeding civil war, Tavi must use his smarts to save Alera.

Worthwhile Notes:
Jim Butcher, author of those famous Dresden Files books, was issued a challenge while working on the Del Rey Online Writer's Workshop. The challenger bet that Butcher could not write a book with a lame idea. Butcher countered that he could do it with two. The two given? "The Lost Roman Legion", and "Pokémon".

The Cosmere Collective, by Brandon Sanderson

Currently consisting of eight different series, and counting, the Cosmere Collective is series of books that connect together on a universal level. Currently, Sanderson's series include 'The Stormlight Archive', the 'Mistborn Dual Trilogies', the 'Elantris' series, 'Warbreaker', the upcoming 'Dragonsteel' book, and the 'White Sand' graphic novel.

Worthwhile Notes:
All of Sanderson's series can easily stand on their own. Each of the Cosmere books has a structured, unique, and detailed magic system, and boasts diverse and well-rounded characters. Every book is complex and worth the read. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled. Oh, yeah. And also that Sanderson Avalanche at the end of each one.

The Enduring Flame Trilogy, by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

A sequel series to the Obsidian Trilogy, the Enduring Flame Trilogy follows Harrier and Tiercel as the struggle with Tiercel becoming the first High Mage in over a thousand years. That, and dragons. So many dragons.

Worthwhile Notes:
The amount of dragons is fantastic and, as such, the action scenes are frequent and well thought out. Very much your stereotypical fantasy world with a big twist.

Howl's Castle Series, by Diana Wynne Jones

Set in a magical world that is as varied as the number of times Brandon Sanderson makes one of his characters raise an eyebrow, the Howl Series is perfect in every way. It follows the mighty Howl and his beloved Sophie as they constantly ward off the dangerous magics of their world. Also, don't worry, no fat Ghibli witches.

Worthwhile Notes:
You remember how good the Howl's Moving Castle movie was? Remember how, even though it was amazing, the plot made absolutely no sense? Don't worry. None of that here. The plot is perfect, and far more structured than its movie, and gives us more insight into Howl's origins. Also, MAN can Diana Wynne Jones write about nothing more than a hat shop and make you want to be there.

The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb

Following FitzChivalry Farseer (woof, what a name), a trained assassin, in the kingdom called The Six Duchies, the Farseer Trilogy is riddled with politics, kings, death, and zombification. Fitz must do his best to train as an assassin, protect the throne, and stop the uprising of his ambitious uncle, Regal, even if it costs him his life.

Worthwhile Notes:
The characters in the Farseer Trilogy are universaly praised as complex and deep, and the trilogy does a fantastic job of keeping itself contained, while leaving room open for further installments (The Tawny Man Trilogy).

The Iron Druid Chronicles, by Kevin Hearne

Set in modern day Tempe, Arizona, the Iron Druid Chronicles follows the sarcastic, ancient, and talented Atticus O'Sullivan as he does his best to keep away from, literally, every pantheon in existence. All the while making sure his semi-sentient Irish Wolfhound, Oberon, gets his sausages.

Worthwhile Notes:
Extremely fast-paced, and overflowing with character development and voice, Hearne does a great job of making every god in every pantheon feel real, and fleshed out. His attention to detail for real world locations is definitely a joy if you live in Arizona, like myself.

The Kingkiller Chronicle, by Patrick Rothfuss

Split between the present and the past, the Kingkiller Chronicle follows Kvothe as he recounts the many stories of his fabled life. Calling lightning, killing angels, taking lashings without bleeding, saving kings, making griwn men cry with his music, and actually freaking speaking with Felurian. He did it all. You may have heard of him.

Worthwhile Notes:
The prose. Oh my gosh, the prose. Perfection. The world-building, and attention to detail is like nothing else before it. The meta-fictional stories-within-stories and seamless plot building is simply divine. Wait all you want for the new GoT. This is the wait that has me screaming more than anything else.

Malazan Book of the Fallen, by Steven Erikson

The ten volume book series that only took twelve years to be finished. This one is particularly hard to describe. Most of the stories are self-contained, but it largely follows the magics, and complex problems that disturb the Malazan Empire.

Worthwhile Notes:
The world, and book series, is massive. It follows a gigantic cast of main characters over multiple continents and spanning thousands of years. In the end, each of the stories' plots are inter-woven and connected for a satisfying resolution.

The Redwall Series, by Brian Jacques

A fantasy world set in the anthropomorphic animal kingdom, the Redwall Series contains twenty-one books filled with the same sort of war, politics, and character work that any other fantasy world has. Just, with animals.

Worthwhile Notes:
While it doesn't follow one particular time frame, the series has a rich history that it adheres to, and that the characters respect. Fun, and full of an amazing cast, it's definitely worth the read.

The Sword of Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks

Elves, dwarves, humans, gnomes, demons? Check. Post apocalyptic future set in the real world? Honestly, this series is great. Brooks was heavily influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien and created a vast and detailed world that follows an array of characters battling a great evil that threatens to wipe life from existence.

Worthwhile Notes:
When I said that Brooks took influence from Tolkien, I wasn't kidding. The series is still great, but it should be noted that plots and themes are very similar to LOTR. However, Brooks tends to focus on mundane heroism and sets him self apart, as a result.

The Temeraire Series, by Naomi Novik

What if Napoleon had possessed an air force? What if that air force had consisted of dragons? The Temeraire Series is, quite literally, built on this premise. It follows dragon Temeraire and human Captain William Laurence as they battle the political force of Napoleon's rule.

Worthwhile Notes:
Spans the entire globe and varies in its species of dragon. The series has a great political structure set up and the power struggles are a nice treat. Also, again, dragons. Lots and lots of dragons.

The Wheel of Time Series, by Robert Jordan and completed by Brandon Sanderson

Where. To. Even. Start. Fifteen fulls books that spanned over twenty-two years, the Wheel of Time Series is. You know what? This one is so full of detailed nuances that I'm just going to pull a quote from the Wikipedia Page. Sorry.
"In the series' mythology, a deity known as the Creator made the universe and the Wheel of Time, which governs all of existence. The Wheel has seven spokes, each representing an 'age' or phase of history, and rotates under the influence of the One Power, which flows from the True Source composed of male and female halves (saidin and saidar). Humans who can use this power are called 'channelers'; the principal organization thereof in the books are the Aes Sedai or 'Servants of All'."
There.

This series. It's like a special curse meant just for you, that you'd never wish upon someone else. But, BOY, is it worth it. The elegant magic development, the beautifully artisaned characters, the cultures! Everything is so unique, so developed, it's no wonder Jordan never got to seeing the fulfillment of his world. It was too big for one man. Luckily Brandon Sanderson was able to finish his last book...ahem...three books for him and put all of Jordan's long time fans to rest.

Honorable Mentions:
The Demon Cycle, by Peter V. Brett
Orcs, by Stan Nicholls
The Dragonlance Chronicles, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
The Inkheart Trilogy, by Cornelia Funke
The Heir Chronicles, by Cinda Williams Chima
The Night Angel Trilogy, by Brent Weeks
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, by Julie Andrews (Yes, that Julie Andrews)

EDIT:
I don't know what happened. Apparently it's too late. I messed up when I decided not to post the Dragonlance Chronicles and kept its full art picture instead of replacing it with The Sword of Shannara's full art picture. Whoops. Sorry!