Which Long Series Are Worth Reading If You Like Stephen King Epics?

2026-07-24 16:05:21
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3 Answers

LocalRay
LocalRay
Active Reader Photographer
A lot of folks are hitting the big names, so I'll toss out a couple of cult favorites. Jonathan L. Howard's 'Johannes Cabal' series follows a necromancer who sold his soul and is trying to get it back, involving deals with demons, traveling carnivals, and dirigibles. It's a darkly comic, episodic series that builds a wonderfully weird world. The tone is lighter than King, but the inventive horror-fantasy mashup is a joy.

Tim Powers writes 'secret history' fantasies where supernatural forces explain historical events. 'The Anubis Gates' involves time travel, body-swapping sorcerers, and beggar empires in Regency London. 'Declare' is a Cold War spy thriller with djinn and Noah's Ark. They're meticulously plotted, standalone epics that feel like you've uncovered a hidden layer of reality.

For a manga series with epic horror and incredible art, 'Hellstar Remina' by Junji Ito is a shorter, planet-eating cosmic horror story, while 'Gantz' is a brutal, long-running series about people forced to hunt aliens in a deadly game. The latter is controversial for its violence and pacing, but its scope and premise are undeniably epic.
2026-07-25 07:41:47
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IsaacCase
IsaacCase
Plot Detective Consultant
I wonder if the manga 'Monster' by Naoki Urasawa counts as an epic. It's a psychological thriller about a brilliant surgeon hunting a former patient who became a manipulative serial killer. The story spans years and multiple countries, delving into Cold War experiments, trauma, and the nature of evil. It’s not horror in a supernatural sense, but the tension and moral dread are absolutely epic in scale.

For a lighter but still long-form fantasy series with horror touches, 'The Dresden Files' by Jim Butcher follows a wizard private investigator in Chicago. The early books are noir monster-of-the-week, but by the later entries, the stakes become apocalyptic, with wars between supernatural nations. The character growth and expanding mythology over 17+ books is a massive, addictive journey.

If you want pure, unrelenting body horror and cosmic dread in a manga format, 'Junji Ito's Cat Diary' is not it. But seriously, 'Uzumaki' is a masterpiece, but for a longer series, 'Tomie' is a collection about an immortal, manipulative woman who drives men to murder and madness—repeating the cycle endlessly. It's episodic but builds a terrifying mythos around its central figure.
2026-07-25 15:06:46
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TaliaJoy
TaliaJoy
Plot Explainer Librarian
Don't overlook older pulp paperbacks. James Herbert's 'The Rats' trilogy and other novels were huge in the UK, offering fast-paced, graphic horror on a city-wide or societal scale. They're simpler than King, but the sheer propulsive energy and disaster-movie scale can be a blast. Similarly, Graham Masterton's early horror novels like 'The Manitou' are bonkers, premise-driven epics with a lot of gore and folklore.

For a more literary, slow-burn epic, try Andrew Michael Hurley's 'The Loney' and 'Devil's Day.' They're standalone but share a mood of folk horror and isolation in the English countryside. The horror is subtle, atmospheric, and rooted in landscape and community, much like King's Maine settings. The pacing is deliberate, building a deep sense of unease.

If you want a series that feels like a long-running TV show, the 'Charlie Parker' series by John Connolly starts as noir detective stories but gradually unveils a sprawling supernatural mythology involving fallen angels, haunted detectives, and a war in the afterlife. It's over 20 books long and deeply invested in its characters' long-term arcs.
2026-07-29 08:23:23
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