Social media rules our world. Ever since humanity gained the capability to connect with the simultaneous masses with barely a few flicks of a single finger, society changed drastically. Yet even now as our eyes and minds are inexorably drawn ever so increasingly towards the panes of blue light that kill off our sleep, there is still a community that maintains a certain timeless hobby, one that stands in defiance of what social media stands for: book readers. Each book is a tiny world with each page a leaf upon the ever-growing tree of the author’s imagination. Many, including me, seek to immerse themselves into these microcosms, to relive and experience the beauty of creativity.
In my opinion, the most rewarding stories to read are those that require a sizable investment. According to senior Nicholas DeSantis, longer stories offer more opportunities to “expand the scope” of a given series, which often leads to a more enjoyable work overall when executed correctly. Here are five examples of incredibly immersive and impactful stories or series that’ll have you reading for quite a while.
Warriors by Erin Hunter
Kicking off this list is a series that has become renowned primarily amongst a younger audience. Warriors (often referred to as “warrior cats”) is an expansive series written by several authors under the collective pseudonym Erin Hunter.
Like another series we’ll see in this list, it’s one of those stories that may come off as cringe or childish because of its presentation, fanbase, and premise. However, as the age-old adage goes, “never judge a book by its cover.”
In case you’ve somehow retained your blissful ignorance of this series until now, Warrior cats is a series about… Warrior cats. Specifically, all of the characters are stray cats of different tribes who compete with one another as they tough it out in suburban wilderness based off of somewhere in England. IF phrased like that, it does come off as especially cringe and childish. But the story itself is anything but.
Each book features an abundance of violence, gore, and deep emotional topics, such as sibling rivalry, romance and forbidden love, perils of leadership, and more. It’s also very well-written and, although meant for younger audiences, is still very enjoyable for older ones. Nearly all of its characters are thought-out and very well-developed, with countless different plots and storylines, each holding their own in terms of depth and quality. I never would’ve read Warriors, but I was basically harassed by a sibling for months on end until I finally relented and read the first book… and got hooked quickly.
Spanning over 106 published books with still more on the way and over a thousand individual characters, the series is absolutely gargantuan in scale and by far the longest on our list today. Get your digital library card ready and read if you dare, because understanding all of Warrior cats lore is practically a lifelong commitment.
Animorphs – Katherine Applegate
This is a series that falls into the same boat as Warriors: it’s often perceived as a book for younger kids, but it reads as anything but.
Animorphs is the story of a group of kids working together as the sole resistance group fighting back against an alien invasion. But it gets a whole lot deeper than that.
The aliens in question are parasitic creatures that can take control of other humans. Here’s how a character in the story explains it: “you become a Controller, and it’s an ironic name because you have absolutely no control. You can’t speak, move, eat, even go to the bathroom unless the alien wants you to. You watch as it spreads evil and hatred using your hands, your voice. You can’t scream. You can’t run away.” In other words, “you are a hostage, trapped inside yourself. Screaming for help but no one can hear you.”
Featured in this story are incredibly realistic depictions of harrowing emotional and psychological turmoil, as our intrepid heroes have to actively maintain their personal lives while embarking on insane adventures to thwart the alien race while keeping their human identities hidden from their adversaries. Additionally, they can’t tell anyone else about their immense struggles with the alien forces, because for all they know, their entire families save for them could be enslaved too. And finally, they fight to maintain their humanity as their plans clash with basic morals over and over again. It’s dark. It’s deep. And it’s incredibly well-written. Each book is only around 120 pages, but with 64 of them (luckily, this series reached its completion a while ago) you’ll be wrapped up in this incredible story for a good long while.
Artemis Fowl – Eoin Colfer
First things first: this book series has a movie on Disney+. And it’s garbage. Do not watch it. At least, not until you’ve read the first three books.
Artemis Fowl’s charm comes from the unexpected nature of its main character (note that I didn’t say “protagonist”), Artemis Fowl, and how he and his connections with other characters and situations develop over the course of the series. Artemis isn’t exactly a nice guy. In fact, he’s a criminal mastermind from an entire family of criminal masterminds. Also, he’s 12. And his eyes are set on only one thing: gold. And he decides to steal it in one of the most diabolical schemes in fiction: by kidnapping an elf. In this story, fairies are an entire race of people that wield magic, have lots of gold, possess technology far more advanced than that of humans, and live deep underground, a result of being pushed there by human encroachment long ago.
The series, spanning 11 main books and a spin-off trilogy, is unparalleled in character development. Throughout each novel, Artemis’s interactions and relationships with the fairies, and vice-versa, become heavily intertwined and extremely dynamic. The many displays of his massive intellect are entertaining to read, as are the exploits of many other important characters such as Butler, his nigh-invincible bodyguard, who even the fairies grow to respect (and perhaps fear) immensely. Adventurous, humorous, witty, tragic, and a beautifully written tribute to the mythology of Ireland, this series is a must that will have readers “burning the midnight oil to the finish,” according to Publishers Weekly.
Eragon – Christopher Paolini
Like Artemis Fowl, this series was also violated by an awful cinematic adaptation that’s not worth any attention.
Fantasy books are some of the most beloved out of all genres of literature. With room for practically endless creativity, fantasy novels are immense in number and oftentimes length, with drastically varying degrees of quality.
Eragon is a fantasy series that has captivated me for so long. In its entirety it only consists of four large entries: the main trilogy (called the Inheritance Cycle) and a side story, as well as a number of short stories. The books are around 600 pages apiece, so safe to say it definitely meets the requirements of this list in terms of size.
And each and every one of those pages is full to the brim with near- unmatched literary excellence. The book is a masterpiece of fantasy, to the extent that I’m astonished it remains somewhat obscure in the genre. The story itself follows the tale of a young man named Eragon, orphaned and a mere peasant farmer, who embarks on a quest to challenge and destroy an overwhelmingly powerful tyrant king upon discovery of a dragon’s egg, rewriting the nature of the entire continent in which he lives as a result. The story’s quality is unmatched, featuring complex, well-developed characters and interactions, immaculately designed fantastical creatures and worldbuilding, and even several fully structured conlangs, or artificial languages. Eragon is special to me because it served as the primary well of inspiration that I drew from for my own massive fantasy series, Dragonsbane, which at present has grown to having 19 directly associated books in development.
This amazing series’s impact on my life has been enormous. Imagine what it could do to yours. If you’re into fantasy, all four books are available right here at the East Islip Public library.
Aru Shah – Roshani Chokshi
Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan is a classic that has enraptured a sizable fanbase, including me. However, there is a similar series that has gone completely under the radar in comparison: Aru Shah. The five-book series is one part of the “Rick Riordan Presents” group. Riordan himself created the group to help bring to light works by authors who create similar stories to his own, but with a different mythological twist.
As the name of the series’s titular character implies, Aru Shah is a story about the Hindu mythos. Within, a girl named Arundhati (Aru) Shah discovers her nature as the reincarnated form of one of six legendary warriors called the Pandavas. The story follows her quest to take down an entity known as “The Sleeper,” with the help of the other reincarnated Pandavas. It’s good for all the reasons Percy Jackson is good: great characters, heroic questing, a touch of wit, a whole lot of mythological butt-kicking, and in my opinion the most intense eating contest in any piece of fiction ever. If you want to dip your toe into deep and unique fantastical waters, then give this series an honest try.
