Ten addictive sci-fi and fantasy book series

Charlie Jane Anders, editor at io9, named ten book series so addictive, you never want them to end.

One entry on the list:

Iain M. Banks' Culture novels

Like Discworld, this is more of a shared universe than a series with the same characters in each book — but Banks creates a universe that's impossible to resist. There's the fascination of imagining just what it would be like to be a Special Circumstances operative, working with the super-intelligent and notoriously perverse artificial intelligences (or Minds) that run the Culture — but there's also all of the tricky questions that tend to arise when a massive, super-advanced post-scarcity civilization bumps up against more primitive cultures and worlds. Banks' plots are always fascinating and thrilling, but there's usually a fascinating set of philosophical questions buried in there as well.

Read about another series on the list.

Consider Phlebas, the first story in the Culture series, is one of Peter Millar's six favorite satires on despotism.

--Marshal Zeringue