There is something rather marvellous, is there not, about discovering a trilogy that has already reached its conclusion? One needn’t pace the floor for years, wondering what shall become of beloved characters. The entire adventure awaits, complete and whole, like a wrapped present under a Christmas tree—only better, for one knows precisely what sort of present it is: the very best kind.
We have assembled here the finest completed trilogies worthy of your reading hours, each one a doorway to worlds both strange and wonderful. So settle into your favourite chair, dear reader, and prepare to discover stories that shall sweep you quite away.
Tales of the Wendy by Erin Michelle Sky and Steven Brown
The Wendy • The Navigator • The Captain
If ever there were a trilogy designed to capture the hearts of adventurous readers, it is this one. The Tales of the Wendy reimagines the story of Peter Pan with Wendy Darling as the heroine she was always meant to be—not a girl whisked away to serve as mother to lost boys, but a young woman who dreams of commanding her own ship upon the high seas.
Set in the late 1700s, this trilogy follows Wendy from her days as an orphan with impossible dreams to her position within England’s secret service, where she must contend with both the enigmatic Peter Pan and the formidable Captain Hook. The writing style echoes the whimsical narration of classic tales, complete with a narrator who addresses the reader directly and characters whose eyebrows are quite as expressive as their dialogue.
Readers have declared it “better than the original” and “a modern classic in its own right.” The magic tastes like pickles, the dogs possess opinions of their own, and Wendy herself is described as “the kick-ass Wendy we knew was in her heart.” The trilogy is now complete, meaning one may devour all three books without the agony of waiting—and devour them you shall, for they are quite impossible to put down.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Fellowship of the Ring • The Two Towers • The Return of the King
One cannot speak of trilogies without mentioning the grandest of them all. Tolkien’s masterwork created the very landscape upon which all modern fantasy adventures now travel. Here one finds hobbits and wizards, elves and dwarves, and a quest so perilous that the fate of all Middle-earth hangs upon a single golden ring.
The world-building remains unparalleled—complete languages, histories stretching back ages, and maps so detailed one might actually navigate by them. This is the trilogy against which all others are measured, and it has earned that distinction many times over.
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
The Golden Compass • The Subtle Knife • The Amber Spyglass
In a world where every person’s soul walks beside them in animal form, young Lyra Belacqua embarks upon an adventure that spans multiple universes. Pullman weaves together armoured bears, witches, and fallen angels into a tale that asks rather large questions about the nature of consciousness and free will.
The trilogy earned the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Book of the Year, becoming one of British fiction’s greatest achievements. It is fantasy that dares to be philosophical without ever forgetting to be thrilling.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games • Catching Fire • Mockingjay
In the nation of Panem, children are selected by lottery to fight to the death for the entertainment of the wealthy Capitol. Katniss Everdeen volunteers in place of her sister, and thus begins a story that has captivated over one hundred million readers.
Collins crafted something rather remarkable—a tale of survival that examines power, media, and the terrible costs of war. Katniss is no simple heroine; she is complicated and fierce and altogether unforgettable.
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
The Final Empire • The Well of Ascension • The Hero of Ages
What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? Sanderson asks this question and proceeds to build an entire world around the answer—one where ash falls perpetually from red skies and an immortal tyrant has ruled for a thousand years.
The magic system is remarkably clever, allowing certain individuals to ingest and “burn” metals for supernatural abilities. The plot twists fit together like an intricate puzzle, and the conclusion is widely celebrated as one of the most satisfying in all of fantasy.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Daughter of Smoke and Bone • Days of Blood and Starlight • Dreams of Gods and Monsters
In Prague, a blue-haired art student named Karou was raised by monsters who deal in teeth and wishes. When she encounters a beautiful angel with burning hatred in his eyes, she discovers that the war between seraphim and chimaera stretches back a thousand years—and that she is far more entangled in it than she ever imagined.
Taylor’s prose is “exquisitely written and beautifully paced,” with plot twists that leave readers gasping. It is fantasy romance at its most inventive and poetic.
Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab
A Darker Shade of Magic • A Gathering of Shadows • A Conjuring of Light
Four Londons exist in parallel: Grey, Red, White, and the lost Black. Kell is one of the last Antari, magicians who can travel between these worlds, and when he accidentally smuggles dangerous magic from the dying White London, he finds an unexpected ally in Lila Bard, a thief with ambitions as vast as the worlds themselves.
Schwab’s worldbuilding is masterful, her prose elegant, and her characters delightfully morally complex. The trilogy offers pirates, magical tournaments, and romance both doomed and delightful.
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bone • Siege and Storm • Ruin and Rising
In a world inspired by Tsarist Russia, orphan mapmaker Alina Starkov discovers she possesses the power to summon light—the only force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold, a swath of monster-infested darkness bisecting her nation. Bardugo calls her genre “Tsarpunk,” and it suits admirably.
The magic system divides practitioners into those who control elements, materials, or the human body itself. The Darkling makes for a charismatic villain, and the folklore elements deepen with each book.
The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee
Jade City • Jade War • Jade Legacy
Imagine The Godfather, but set in a fantasy world where jade grants supernatural abilities to those trained to wield it. The Kaul family controls the No Peak clan, and when rival clans threaten their territory, the ensuing conflict spans generations.
This trilogy won the World Fantasy Award and is celebrated as “fantasy’s answer to The Godfather.” The political intrigue is masterfully woven, and the final book ties together an ambitious tapestry of plots with stunning precision.
The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin
The Fifth Season • The Obelisk Gate • The Stone Sky
Every few centuries, the Stillness experiences catastrophic seasons of destruction. Those with the power to control seismic activity are both essential and despised. Jemisin made history when all three books won consecutive Hugo Awards—a feat never accomplished before or since.
The narrative employs unusual techniques, including second-person perspective, to create something genuinely innovative. This is fantasy that challenges and rewards in equal measure.
Arc of a Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Scythe • Thunderhead • The Toll
In a future where death has been conquered and an all-knowing AI governs humanity benevolently, only the Scythes may end lives—a necessary duty to control population. When two teenagers are apprenticed to become Scythes against their will, they must master the art of killing in a world that has forgotten what death means.
The philosophical questions are profound, the twists unexpected, and the world-building wonderfully inventive. It is dystopia that dares to imagine something different.
The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty
The City of Brass • The Kingdom of Copper • The Empire of Gold
In eighteenth-century Cairo, a con woman accidentally summons a djinn warrior, and soon finds herself in Daevabad, a magical city hidden from human eyes. Chakraborty draws upon Middle Eastern mythology to create a world of intrigue, rebellion, and ancient grudges.
The worldbuilding is gorgeous, the magic systems fascinating, and the plot twists genuinely surprising. It is epic fantasy with a setting refreshingly different from the European-inspired norm.
There you have it, dear reader—twelve completed trilogies waiting to transport you to worlds of wonder. Each one has reached its conclusion, which means you may read straight through without pause, tumbling from one adventure to the next until you emerge, blinking, back into ordinary life.
Though ordinary life, after such journeys, may never seem quite ordinary again. And that, perhaps, is precisely the point.
