Some people will pick up a series and read it through from start to finish. Some people will wait until a series is completed before they even think about reading the first book. I am neither of these people. I pick up books and read them willy-nilly. This means I’ve ended up reading a lot of ongoing series. For the sake of this article I’m omitting all the shared universes like Star Trek and Warhammer 40,000. When it comes to my general science fiction reading, however, here are all the series I’m currently reading.

Neal Asher: The Polity
Books Read: 3
Total Books: Ongoing

I’m in no rush to complete the Polity, but it’s a series I occasionally nibble at. When I next need my fix of grimdark SF, I know where I’ll be looking.

Stephen Baxter: Manifold
Books Read: 3
Total Books: 4

I only need to read Origin and I’ll have ticked this series off my list. It’s far from a traditionally structured set of books, but each book has been a unique reading experience.

Stephen Baxter: Destiny’s Children
Books Read: 1
Total Books: 4

Existing within Baxter’s larger Xeelee universe, this is already turning out to be one heady series. I’ve got my first review of it coming up in the near future.

John Birmingham: The Cruel Stars
Books Read: 2
Total Books: Ongoing

The third and, presumably, final book in this series keeps getting delayed, but I’m still excited to read it. This series boasts some of the first review copies I was ever sent by a publisher, so holds a special significance to me.

Ben Bova: The Grand Tour
Books Read: 13
Total Books: Ongoing

The late Ben Bova crafted one of my favourite hard SF series, but his death left it uncompleted. However, the final book will now be published at the end of this year thanks to the aid of Les Johnson.

Amanda Bridgeman: The Subjugate
Books Read: 1
Total Books: Ongoing

I only discovered this series recently, but it’s a perfect hit for my love of SF crime and deep ethical debates. A third book is now in the works, so I have some catching up to do.

Eric Brown: Helix
Books Read: 1
Total Books: 2

Helix is a great piece of hard SF, and easily my favourite Eric Brown work. I don’t know how the sequel will hold up, but I look forward to finding out.

Arthur C. Clarke: Rama
Books Read: 1
Total Books: 4

Rendezvous with Rama was finally a book to convince me of Clarke’s greatness. I have heard mixed thins about the sequels, and those by Gentry Lee in particular, but I’m the sort of man who wants to find out for himself.

Arthur C. Clarke & Stephen Baxter: Time Odyssey
Books Read: 1
Total Books: 3

It’s not my favourite work be either author, but there was enough going on in the opening novel that I’m willing to give the rest a look.

David Drake: RCN
Books Read: 12
Total Books: 13

I read the first twelve RCN novels too close together and burned out hard. I think it’s now been long enough that I can read the final volume with fresh eyes and get the most out of it.

Scott G. Gier: Genellan
Books Read: 3
Total Books: 4

Genellan was one of the first adult series I ever read, and I hope to reread it in the near future. It was only a few years ago that I learned of the fourth book, but as it’s a digital exclusive, i don’t know if I’ll be able to read it.

Chris Hadfield: The Apollo Murders
Books Read: 2
Total Books: Ongoing

Top notch cold war thrillers informed by Hadfield’s own astronaut experience, these are scraping the barriers of what I consider science fiction, but they are worth reading even if you’re not a fan of the genre.

Marko Kloos: The Palladium Wars
Books Read: 3
Total Books: Ongoing

I have somewhat stalled on this series. Kloos is a great writer, but his series rarely have any sense of momentum despite being, essentially, action thrillers. I might wait until I have a better idea of how long this series is going to be before I commit to reading and further.

Ann Leckie: Imperial Radch
Books Read: 1
Total Books: 3

I didn’t expect to like Ancillary Justice, but I did. It’s a worthy award winner, and I’m looking forward to returning to the universe.

Jack McDevitt: Alex Benedict
Books Read: 3
Total Books: 9

Possibly my favourite series right now, I think this is now a finished series, but never say never. Better yet, they all work as standalones, so it doesn’t matter too much that I’m missing several volumes.

Jack McDevitt: The Academy
Books Read: 3
Total Books: 8

I really like McDeviit’s wiring, but The Academy feels like a lesser series. For that reason, I’m focusing on Alex Benedict for the foreseeable future, but will doubtless return to visit this other series at some point.

Michael McCollum: Antares
Books Read: 1
Total Books: 3

I have only read the middle volume of this trilogy, but it was a good mix of things I enjoy about slightly older science fiction. I’m on the hunt for book one.

Suzanne Palmer: Finder
Books Read: 1
Total Books: 4

This was a nice surprise based on a book I only half-remembered seeing a release date for several years ago. The final book has just released, so I suppose I should start playing catch-up.

Christopher Ruocchio: Sun Eater
Books Read: 6
Total Books: Ongoing

I admit, I’ve slightly soured on the theological aspects of the series, but Sun Eater is still some of the best space opera out there. It’s all coming to an end this year, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that Ruocchio can stick the landing.

John Scalzi: Old Man’s War
Books Read: 6
Total Books: Ongoing

It’s been twenty years since Scalzi became a household name with Old Man’s War, and how better to celebrate than with a new book in the series? Details are scarce, but I’m looking forward to seeing Scalzi return to a more serious vein of storytelling than his recent work.

Adrian Tchaikovsky: Dogs of War
Books Read: 2
Total Books: Ongoing

Dogs of War was great. Bear Head was good. I don’t know what Bee Speaker holds in store, but I do know I’m interested in finding out. Thankfully I don’t have to wait too long.

Adrian Tchaikovsky: Children of Time
Books Read: 3
Total Books: Ongoing

Okay, so Children of Memory wasn’t the book I hoped it would be, but I am reliably informed that the next book has a shrimp character, and for that alone I will pay good money. Even if I do have to wait until next year.

S.L. Viehl: StarDoc
Books Read: 1
Total Books: 9

It’s the medical drama in space I’ve always wanted! And it feels like Star Trek with the serial numbers filed off, which is always fun. I’ve got a couple of these books on the TBR, and will definitely be getting to them sooner if not later.

David Weber (et al): The Honorverse
Books Read: 26
Total Books: Ongoing

This is another series that I burned out on a few years ago, but I think now might be the right time to get back into it before I fall too far behind. Especially if those rumours about multiple spin-offs are true.

Whew. That’s a lot of series. I’m hoping to make progress on a lot, and maybe even finish a few of them this year. The reality is that I’ll likely be adding to their number before the year is out. As always, if you have thoughts on any of these series, just leave them in the comments.