Books - What are you reading?

SciFi: Iain M Banks culture books. Not exactly a series but fit together nicely. Consider Phlebas -> Player of Games -> Use of Weapons are the first three (and probably the best)

Fantasy:
A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall and the 2 sequels. Recommended by me up-thread

Broken Empire series and Red Queen series by Mark Lawrence. 3 books in each series, nice little touch that they happen simultaneously in the same world and a couple of times characters bump into each other. Read Broken Empire first.

First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie

More SciFi:

Europe in Autumn and the 3 sequels by Dave Hutchinson. These are amazing and like nothing else I've ever read

Station Eleven and the 2 sort-of sequels by Emily StJohn Mandel. Not exactly a trilogy but set in the same world. Quite moving

last one for now, One Way and No Way by SJ Mordern. Fairly easy to read, quite fun hard SF about convicts sent to Mars by an evil corporation

If you want to go Slavic, Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch series is very digestible SF/Horror/Fantasy. Even has a vampire in space at one point. Slavic, so not terribly cheery but does have a sense of humour. Has a protagonist who becomes a major player entirely by fluke and not due to any inherent qualities.

Staying Slavic and going post-apocalyptic SF, there's Dmitry Glukhovsky's Metro series (whence the video game franchise). Relentlessly grim, but gripping and rolls along at pace.

Still Slavic, the first two books of the Witcher series are short story collections with lightweight bridging arcs. The novels that follow are probably a bit much for interrail.

I'm working through the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons and really enjoying it. I'm halfway through the third book having started the first one a few weeks ago and they're all 500 pages plus. The first one in particular is really easy to blast through. Best sci fi I've read in ages!

There’s a new James S A Corey one out recently. First of a new trilogy, separate universe to the Expanse. Was good. Not outstanding, but I’ll still read the next when it’s out.

Also on Hyperion at the moment (after
It was mentioned a few times here in the last month). About halfway through the first book. Does sound a little dated at times, but probably no more so than something like Snowcrash would too

Any recommendations for decent-length but fairly digestible sci-fi and fantasy series?

The first three books are quite short but The Murderbot Diaries are the best sci-fi I've read in a while. Very funny at times too.