All that xxxxverse stuff made me realize I need to recommend a series called The Emberverse, by S.M.Stirling.
It started as a pair of trilogies, and, well, the guys at Roc started to throw lots of zeroes on large checks in front of him, so he kept writing more. Started writing that series in 1998. Lots of NYT bestseller list appearances by the books.
I'll give 5 stars to all of the series, except maybe the last two books at 4 stars maybe. The series appeal more to sci-fi & fantasy readers than pure sci-fi readers, even if the underlying Change (the original name of the series) is on the Clarke spectrum of explanations ("Any sufficiently advanced technology, blah blah..."). The original trilogy is completely self-contained and perfectly fine for non fantasy fans, and you can read the first two trilogies in any order you wish. I would recommend reading the prequel trilogy before starting on the Sunrise Lands, though, or you may grow confused on the third book of that trilogy.
I'll keep to vague and mild description of the books global themes to avoid spoilers on the action (the blurbs on Amazon are probably more spoilery than me). I'm splitting the series in a set so that, if you want to play it safe, you can purchase each set of 3-4 books, finish them, then decide to keep on reading if you liked them. He writes a book a year currently so you don't have to wait overmuch, but be warned the series is not over.
Prequel and original trilogy is the
Island in the Sea of Time, which has the island of Nantucket ripped from present and dropped back in 1250 BC. The most sci-fi part of the series. (Books: Island in the Sea of Time, Against the Tide of Years, On the Oceans of Eternity)
Second trilogy is the
Dies the Fireseries which opens with people hearing on the radio about a mysterious force-field around Nantucket island, before all powered technology stops working. That trilogy revolves around the founding of the big NW realms in Oregon: the Bearkillers, the Clan MacKenzie, the Portland Protective Association. This is pure post-apocalyptic stuff. (Books: Dies the Fire, The Protector's War, Meeting at Corvallis).
Third trilogy is "Dies the Fire, the next generation" books:
The Sunrise Landsin which the children of the original founders cross the continent to Nantucket because "The Lady" sent for young Rudi MacKenzie. Classic fantasy quest (Books: The Sunrise Lands, The Scourge of God, The Sword of the Lady).
Fourth series is "now, we fight" directly coming off the previous one:
The High King of Montival, this one is a classic fantasy of good vs evil epic war and all that. Oh, and that's a four-books series instead of a trilogy, and it felt a bit stretched from that. (Books: The High King of Montival, The Tears of the Sun, The Lord of the Mountains, The Given Sacrifice).
Fifth series is just starting recently:
The Golden Princess, which, as the title implies, moves to the next generation and the grand-children of the founders. Two books out (The Golden Princess, the Desert and the Blade) with a third coming out later this year (Prince of the Outcasts) and apparently a fourth planned. This feels a bit like a re-tread of the previous two series, with similar themes, just on a broader canvas.
There's also an anthology of short stories by well-known authors (
The Change), but beware that it includes a couple stories directly linked to the current series, so you should read it last. But it's intensely fun.
