Which fantasy world has the most novels?

[Red Menace]

If I had to guess, I'd say Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover. Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Darkover_books) recounts well over 30 novels, though some appear to be re-prints. Am I forgetting an obvious choice? And for the purposes of this thread I'm not including Forgotten Realms, Star Wars, Star Trek etc. One author - one world.

[ShannonA]

Well, do note that Darkover violates your one-author rule, since many of the later books are collaborations, and probably were written largely by the coauthor. They might still have "one vision" though.

Anne McCaffrey's Pern is close with 20+

Terry Pratchett's Discworld may exceed it with 36 to date.

Piers Anthony's Xanth runs 30+.

There are 40 Oz books which are considered to be canonical, though that includes Baum, Plumley, and several other authors.

There are 20+ Shannara novels

There are ~24 Riftwar novels, with several more planned.

My guess is that Discworld is the winner ...

[JavaApp]

And just to further my reputation as an elitist snob, I would say that most of the works that Shannon cites are absolute drek, with the possible exception of the OZ books. And even that point could be argued, I think.

I have read some of the first volumes of all of these books when I was younger and I wouldn't touch them now (with the exception of the OZ books) with a ten-foot pole. I wonder if there is a common denominator here...:D

[Red Menace]

Well, do note that Darkover violates your one-author rule, since many of the later books are collaborations, and probably were written largely by the coauthor. They might still have "one vision" though.

Anne McCaffrey's Pern is close with 20+

Terry Pratchett's Discworld may exceed it with 36 to date.

Piers Anthony's Xanth runs 30+.

There are 40 Oz books which are considered to be canonical, though that includes Baum, Plumley, and several other authors.

There are 20+ Shannara novels

There are ~24 Riftwar novels, with several more planned.

My guess is that Discworld is the winner ...


I had forgotten about Xanth & Discworld. I've never been able to finish any Xanth novel. I've never read any Pratchett, despite him being highly recommended by numerous people. Are the books all stand-alone? Does it matter where one starts?

24 Riftwar novels!?!? Wow. I read the first series of Riftwar books and was mildly entertained, but I really enjoyed the ones co-written with Janny Wurts. I never clued in that all those Feist books I see in the store were new Riftwar books.


40 Oz books!?!? Are any of them worth reading?

How many Recluce books has L.E. Modesitt Jr. written? That guy is one prolific writer.

[ShannonA]

I've never read any Pratchett, despite him being highly recommended by numerous people. Are the books all stand-alone? Does it matter where one starts?

You could probably get away with starting anywhere. However, there's series within the overall series, and it might be better to start at the start of one of those, or in a standalone novel.

Here's a nice chart showing the series:
http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/the-discworld-reading-order-guide-1-5.jpg

I'd say Mort or Guards! Guards!. The Colour of Magic is the actual best first book, but not Pratchett at his best.


40 Oz books!?!? Are any of them worth reading?
I've read the first 4 Baums and they're OK. Kind of fun, but on the juvenile side of things, so there's not a lot of depth. I've never read any by Plumley, Snow, and the others who are considered "canonical".


How many Recluce books has L.E. Modesitt Jr. written? That guy is one prolific writer.15.

[Red Menace]

ok, if we include worlds with multiple authors, include the Forgotten Realms novels, all the Star Wars & Star Trek books, any other franchise you can think of, is Discworld still come out on top?

[ShannonA]

Most definitely not. I'm pretty sure there are hundreds of Forgotten Realms* and Star Wars books. Back when the Star Trek books used to be numbered, you could count up to almost 500, putting together all the series. I'd guess the Star Trek books were the winners, since they've been publishing with multiple authors since the 1970s, while Star Wars and Forgotten Realms series didn't really take off until the 1990s.

* 143 in our index, and it's not even close to complete.