Any suggestions? I've read the sword of truth, wheel of tine, any tracy hicks or margaret weis books, (dragonlance).  I like the series to be at least 5 or 6 books long if not at least 10 books as I read a book a day (1000 pages). Trilogies are like a days work for me.  I'm running out of good fantasy series that are long enough for me!  I also like them to be finished, I was disappointed that the Wheel of Time wasn't finished and didn't find out until the last book that the author  was dead and someone else was finishing the series as a trilogy.  

I know, I know, I sound very picky.   But throw ANY suggestions at me.  I may have read them, I may have not.  I read so much I may have forgotten them!  I appreciate any help you can give! Thanks in advance!

and ignore the anthologies part in my signature up there please. i hate anthologies. at the time i didn't know they were just a book full of short stories.  THANKS!

*edited signature so never mind :)

Well. . . you could try Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy series. It's up to 7 books (all over 600 pages) with another due out at the beginning of summer. It's epic in every sense, with really well-drawn characters and a fascinating world that's almost more alternate history than anything else -- it's clearly Renaissance Europe, but with a couple different religions and some actual physical manifestations of the gods that have changed everything around quite a bit. There are some caveats I always add -- it's told in a very formal first-person style that turns some people off, there's a ton of politics which also turns some people off, and it does protray sex, sado-masochistic sex, prostitution, and homosexuality in a positive way. I promise that it's perfectly grounded in the world and handled beautifully, but if any of those are hot-button issues for you, avoid it.

I consider these more science fiction than fantasy, but I'll mention them anyway because they use a lot of elements that are normally considered fantasy (like dragons and telepathy and both are on low-tech worlds): Anne McCaffrey's Pern novels and Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover novels. Pern is companion animal fantasy that just happens to have a SF background; Darkover is varied in that the novels set early in the chronology read exactly like fantasy, but the ones late in the chronology are all about the culture clash between the low-tech Darkover natives and the high-tech Terran Empire. Both series were written in the 70s, so each novel is shorter than the average today and the style is a little different, but both are like 20 novels long (plus a lot of ancillary stuff) so if you give them a try and love them you have a lot of reading to do. I recommend starting Pern with one of the original trilogies, so either read Dragonflight, Dragonquest, & The White Dragon or read Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, & Dragondrums (though the latter trilogy is more YA-oriented). Darkover I recommend starting with The Spell Sword & The Forbidden Tower or with The Heritage of Hastur, unless you really prefer just the early very fantasy-esque stuff in which case I recommend starting with Stormqueen! and Hawkmistress! In neither case do I recommend reading in series chronological order -- both of the "first" books in that sense are really just filling in the blanks on how SF became fantasy-like, so they don't work as well if you don't have any grounding in the series already. The Darkover novels are now found in convenient omnibus editions that are organized kind of thematically, which works well for that series.

Hope that's helpful!

You could also try LE Modesitt's Recluse books.  Most are standalone and there are currently 16 books in that world.

Or his Corean Chronicles - They are 2 Trilogies and a standalone.

I second the Darkover recommendation.

Jim Butcher's Codex Alrea has 6 books.

If you enjoy dark fantasy, there are Anne Bishops Black Jewels.   IIRC, the world is up to 8 books.

Have you read Katherine Kerr?  She closed her Deverry cycle - there's 15 books, most grouped in trilogies or quads.

Janny Wurts Wars of Light and Shadow are good.  There are currently 3 published story arcs for a total of 8 books.  The first book in the fourth arc gets published later this year.  [To be honest, when I read the last book in the Alliance of Light arc, I thought the story completely done.]

If you have not read Terry Brooks Shannara books, you should rectify that.  You should also read the Word & Void books - Before you start the last complete trilogy (Genesis).

David Eddings.  Most anything he's written EXCEPT the Elder books.  That stuff was such garbage I couldn't finish it.  And that says a lot. 

Melanie Dragon Prince/Dragon Star - they're two trilogies.  Don't bother with her third trilogy, it's not complete and may never be.

Mercedes Lackey - mostly the earlier Valdemar books, although the newer stuff seems to be picking up. 

If you're kinda interested in...geeze, I don't even know what to call it.  Tad Williams Otherland books.  There's 4 of them, they're thick, and they involve a Virtual Reality world.  Or anything else by him.  He does not write short books.  At all.  I have book 2 of his latest quad and I  haven't read it yet b/c I forget most of what happened in book 1.  Of course, it didn't help that there was a 3 year gap between books 1 and 2.

Robert Newcomb -  I recommend his Chronicles of Blood and Stone trilogy.  The Destinies of Blood and Stone not so much.  I get the feeling that a lot of people felt the same way, as his publisher dropped his contract for the 3rd trilogy.

Mickey Zucker Reichert - She has two completed Renshai trilogies and is starting a new one.  The Nightfall Duology is good as well.

Jennifer Fallon - She has two trilogies written in one world (Demon Child and Hythrun Crhonicles), a third trilogy in a different world (Second Sons), and a quad that is still in publication (in the US, it's complete in AUS and if you have Australian friends and are impatient..  :D) called The Tide Lords.

Raymond E. Feist - If you don't read anything newer, read the original Riftwar, and while you're at it, Janny Wurts Empire trilogy.

Michelle West - The Sun Sword series - there's 6 books IIRC. 

That's it for now I think.  I'm trying to mentally go through what I keep on my shelves and stuff I've read years ago.

Oh, I loved the Pern series, Dragon Prince/Dragon Star series, and the Anne Bishop Dark Jewels trilogy. I'll definitely check out the Darkover series then! Kushiel's Legacy series sounds good but if it's not finished then I don't want to start it yet.

Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover novels

LE Modesitt's Recluse books, Corean Chronicles

Jim Butcher's Codex Alrea

 Katherine Kerr's Deverry cycle

Michelle West - The Sun Sword series

These all sound like great leads.  Thank you so much.  I had forgotten the ones I've read and can't wait to get into these!

Please keep the suggestions coming though!

I like Lois McMaster Bujold.  I have read the Chalion (3bks) and Sharing Knife(4bks)  but she does have the Vorkosigan series with a lot more books that I have not read.  Below is a link to the list of titles in the series.

http://www.librarything.com/series/Vorkosigan%3A+Publication+Order

I also liked the chronicles of Thomas Covenant but I think I read it when it was still only a trilogy, it now about 7 books or so. Link list the books in the series

http://www.librarything.com/series/The+Complete+Chronicles+of+Thomas+Covenant

My sister would give me these books after she read them & I would always insist she should only give them to me if the series was finished.  Funny that you have the same requirement.

I am on the last Codex Alera book now.  I think it is pretty good.

Michele West also has a couple other series.  I havent read them but my sister had me pick them up for her and the book are pretty long & she has many in each series.  She is also listed as Michelle Sagara West.  i am still looking for 3 books in the sundered series for my sister.

Here is a link for her.

the series are listed on the right side & down a little.  click on one to see the books in the series.

http://www.librarything.com/author/westmichelle

The Inda series by Sherwood Smith (the first book is Inda).  It's only four books total, but they are phenomenal and 600+ pages each.

Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series.  I believe he's up to ten books already.  It's not light but it's very good.

I second McCaffrey's Pern series.  Very good from a master of the genre.  Way more than 20 books but you'll have to get a reading order from the internet to know where to start.

Oh yeah, and if you like Jordan, George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series is better.  But it's not finished yet.  But he's still with us so maybe it will get finished soon.

Don't write off the Kushiel books as "not done" yet.  There's two complete trilogies and Carey is in the middle of the third.  The characters from the first two trilogies do not really make an appearance in the newer trilogy.

I also second the Bujold Sharing Knife series.  I just finished reading it a couple weeks ago.

I loved the Miles books by Bujold.  They are SF.   But very well written humor.

Sharon Shinn's Archangel series

Kate Elliot.  There is the Jaran series that is SF with horse clans.  Then there is the Crown of Stars series.  And she is working on a new group, Crossroads.

Tad Williams.

Kim Wilkins.  Okay, they are not a series.  But her books are so dark and lush.  Have to take them slow and wallow in the language.

Re: Kushiel

Sorry, I thought I mentioned that the fact that the series isn't finished is actually a good thing. . . each books has a complete story arc (no cliffhanger endings); she writes the books as part of larger trilogy-long story arcs (of which two are completed and one has just started); and, best of all, Carey has reliably published better than a book a year her entire career, so you know when to expect the next one.

And re: Bujold

Bujold is probably my favorite author (if I had to pick just one). I've read and reread her books over and over again, and each reread highlights new aspects of the story that I didn't notice the other times through. HOWEVER, I didn't mention them because her only really long series is the Vorkosigan novels, which are science fiction (space opera, actually). They're brilliant science fiction, but if you definitely want to stick to fantasy then she's a great author there too (especially the Chalion books) but she doesn't have the same output. :(

You could go to FanrasticFiction.com  That site is set up so you can see what all an author has written and what's coming.  It is divided into genre so the fantasy gene is separate from the other genres as well as by HC or paperback.  There are usually content descriptions for each book.  And series are grouped together.

If you want to start getting the Kushiel series' even though the last trilogy isn't out yet, you might want to get on the wishlist now since they are popular and have lengthy waiting lists.

The series mentioned by George R.R. Martin is nowhere near finished and he's 2 years behind in getting Dance With Dragons out and it is unsure when he'll get it out.  Readers are getting tired of waiting with the prospect of it not coming out until 2012.  And I don't think it's the last book in the series.

Erikson's series "Malazan" is very long with 800+ pages in each one.  The 9th one is due out later this year.  They are very complicated stories with the 2nd not very connected with the first and the 4th more related to the first book than the 3rd one.  It's a very complex world, and it's all at war.  He likes to kill off characters frequently.

 OT - Michelle - where did you learn about R. Newcomb's upcoming trilogy being dropped?  I'm always curious about how one learns about these things.

Ruth

My husband liked  'The Witches of Elian (not sure I spelled that right)' by Kate Forsyth.  About 7 books, mostly pro-feminism with strong female characters. 

He also liked 'Tales of the Otori' by Lean Hearn.  Three books that play in ancient Japan. 

George RR Martin comes to mind: Storm of Swords Series, He loved all 4 of them.

Um, Crown of Stars was written by Kate Elliot, not Kurtz.  But speaking of Kurtz, if you haven't read the Deryni books...  Fix it!

Elliot's Crossroads Trilogy is complete.

You can also try Fiona McIntosh.  She has 3 complete trilogies and is working on a fourth.  All are different worlds.

Or Trudi Canavan.  She has The Black Magician Trilogy then a prequel standalone to that trilogy.  She's working on a sequel trilogy to the Black Magician, but you can read Black Magician and wait.  Then there's also her Age of the Five trilogy which was rather interesting - it's a different world than the magician books.

Oh, I almost forgot.  James Clemens "Banned and the Banished" series.  5 books, all published.

He also liked 'Tales of the Otori' by Lean Hearn.  Three books that play in ancient Japan. 

There are now five books in this series.  A "last tale" of the Otori and the "first tale" - basically, a sequel and a prequel.

Thanks for the tip on the Otori Tales.  I will put them on my wishlist.

a long series i enjoyed was Chronicles of the Cheysuli by Jennifer Roberson.  8 books (i think), with most of them jumping a generation between the books, so it covers a long timeframe too.  plus i think you can get the whole thing in omnibus, which cuts it down to 4 credits to order.  :)

Aaaaah, I mean to mention the Cheysuli but forgot.

The good news is that she's revisiting the world sometime soon with new books!  [But the 8 currently published are good.]

I also recommend her Sword-Dancer saga as well.  There are six of them and they too are availabie in omnibus, cutting it down to 3 credits for the series.

Many great suggestions there -  I'd add an oldy but very good - The Dragon and the [various] by Gordon R. Dickson, about 7 or 8 in the series, each one stand alone but they often refer to back story and the characters develop along the way so it's best to take them in order.  Stephen King's Dark Tower is worth a mention, it's as much fantasy as anything and a roller coaster of a read.

Have fun with all these suggestions,

Margaret

I also have to mention David Eddings if you have not read his books yet

The Belgariad is Eddings' first fantasy series; The Malloreon is the sequel. The books follow the adventures of Belgarion, Polgara, Belgarath, and their companions.

The Belgariad series

• Pawn of Prophecy (1982)
• Queen of Sorcery (1982)
• Magician's Gambit (1983)
• Castle of Wizardry (1984)
• Enchanters' End Game (1984)

The Malloreon series

• Guardians of the West (1987)
• King of the Murgos (1988)
• Demon Lord of Karanda (1988)
• Sorceress of Darshiva (1989)
• The Seeress of Kell (1991)

The Elenium and its sequel The Tamuli feature the Pandion Knight Sparhawk and his comrades.

The Elenium series

• The Diamond Throne (1989)
• The Ruby Knight (1990)
• The Sapphire Rose (1991)

The Tamuli series

• Domes of Fire (1992)
• The Shining Ones (1993)
• The Hidden City (1994)

Kushiel's Universe from Jacqueline Carey is definitely worth reading atleast the first 6

• Kushiel's Dart (June 2001)
• Kushiel's Chosen (April 2002)
• Kushiel's Avatar (April 2003)
• Kushiel's Scion (June 2006)
• Kushiel's Justice (June, 2007)
• Kushiel's Mercy (June, 2008)

Anne Bishop The Black Jewel's Series

The Black Jewels

• Daughter of the Blood, March 1998
• Heir to the Shadows, April 1999
• Queen of the Darkness, January 2000
• The Invisible Ring, October 2000
• Dreams Made Flesh, January 2005
• Tangled Webs, March 2008
• The Shadow Queen, March 2009
• Shalador's Lady, March 2010

Not ended but something to keep an eye out for is George RR Martin's Song of Fire and Ice Series

• A Song of Ice and Fire series:
  • A Game of Thrones (1996) -- Locus Fantasy Award Winner, Nebula and World Fantasy Award nominee, 1997 ^[27]
  • A Clash of Kings (1998) -- Nebula Award nominee, 1999; Locus Fantasy Award winner, 1999 ^[28]
  • A Storm of Swords (2000) -- Locus Fantasy Award winner, Hugo and Nebula Awards nominee, 2001 ^[29]
  • A Feast for Crows (2005) -- Hugo, Locus Fantasy, and British Fantasy Awards nominee, 2006 ^[30]
  • A Dance with Dragons (forthcoming)
  • The Winds of Winter (forthcoming)
  • A Dream of Spring (forthcoming)

oh duh, i second kate elliott... I own all of Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind (much better than jordan imo), and Kate Elliott series in hardcover :)
I highly recommend all the series I have mentioned.  Just finished the Codex Alera and it's good as well.  Happy Reading!

• Crown of Stars fantasy series:
  • King's Dragon (1997) (finalist for 1997 Nebula Award for Best Novel)
  • Prince of Dogs (1998)
  • The Burning Stone (1999)
  • Child of Flame (2000)
  • The Gathering Storm (2003)
  • In the Ruins (Aug 2005)
  • The Crown of Stars (Feb 2006)

Gordon Dickson's Dragon and the George Series.  There are about 8 books in that series, the last being The Dragon and the Fair Maid of Kent.  I also recommend the Bujold Vorkosigan series. 

David Weber has several series.  The one that is finished is the Honor Harrington series [SF] but it has spawned a lot of spin offs in the same universe.  He also has another SF series about Daniel Leary.  First book is With the Lightnings but I don't think this series is done yet. 

There is also Andre Norton's Pip and Flinx series. 

Christopher Stasheff's Graymary series (SF & Fantasy in one series).  This one is done but again with several spinoffs.  He also has the Her Majesty's Wizard series but this is shorter.

You mentioned Pern, have you read any of her other series like Pegasus in flight (Rowan Damia's children), PTB series, Crystal Singer series, etc.

Lastly Eric Flints Ring of Fire/1632 series.  It is still in writing by several authors.  Lots of Anthologies called Grantville Gazettes that keep it going.

There are 6 or 7 books in this series.  They all start with Time Travel back to the late 1700s.  They are well written and good historical fiction with the modern female doctor bringing in her knowledge of modern medicine to the time of witchcraft trials.  There is also a spinoff series with Lord john as the main character.  These are all heavyweight books, no 300 page easy reads.

I love Diana Gabaldon's books.  But I really don't think of them as fantasy.  More as historical with a tiny touch of paranormal. 

I know I slide from F to SF to UF and all around.  But I do think we need to add the waiver to the Outlander books that they only barely touch on fantasy.  They are huge and numerous though.