Modern retellings of iconic, ancient tales

A collection of the pilot books for popular series, for those of us who love to follow a character's journey for as long as an author will let us! Some of the below series have heavily debated starting points and book read orders--in those cases the pilot was selected based on what seems to be the most popular approach.

Books that made it on the big screen

The four books in Tolkien’s main Middle-earth saga + several other collections published posthumously.

If you're a completionist, read in this order. Otherwise you can start with The Liveship Traders Trilogy or The Rain Wild Chronicles, but make sure you save Fitz and the Fool for last.

Step into the Cosmere... Listed in the order that Brandon Sanderson recommends to new readers of his work in 2024.

Listed in the recommended reading order for people who like to read full series.