12 Days of the Best Free Serial Fiction on Substack
what to read on your one (or two) weeks off, no cooking involved.
I am imagining many of you are taking a break the last two weeks of December, or at least some time between Christmas and New Year’s. You might be visiting with family, curling up by the fire with a book, or lounging by the pool, or doing whatever you can to beat the heat. This post will cover all hemispheres, for why read a book when you can read…
The Best in Serial Fiction (IMHO)
And we’re doing it in 12 Days of Christmas style. I will restack this on the app so you can see what you should be reading on each of the 12 days from now or you can binge these all at once. Make sure you save this either in the Substack app or in your email inbox!
OK, so maybe you only get a week off … then pick your favourites from below, or follow along for however many days of vacation/PTO you were able to grab this year.
Best of all, this doesn’t impact your holiday budget. All of these are free to read.
The 12 Days of (Mostly) Serial Fiction
Day 1
We’re starting short with
‘s 2.5 parter (that will make sense once you reach the end.) But we are not starting small, oh no. This is literally the best thing I have read all year and I’ve read some good stuff both here and on my Kindle. Once you’ve read that, go check out her Freelance and Fishmaids series and if you like your spooky scary (and you write), check out The Imp.
Day 2
Recently, a bunch of authors got together and wrote stories in honour of The Twilight Zone TV series and called it The Substack Zone. There’s 31 of them. This one by
is my favourite. This story technically isn’t a serial, but it is connected to those 30 other stories.You can find all of the stories here (plus a new set for Christmas that I haven’t read yet. I’m saving it for my two week break!)
Day 3
Last time I shared my favourite Substack reads,
was also on the list with her Down in the Holler series. If you aren’t already following her, psychic consultant Judith is back in Beasts of the Field. If you’ve not read the first series, get to it! It’s going behind a paywall in January. Keen eyes on her publication will note she also wrote a story for The Substack Zone.
Day 4
Ever wondered what like was like on the Steppes? Me too …
brings it vividly to life in his new series, with each instalment meant to be stand alone. Three stories are out to date.
Day 5
I haven’t finished reading this one yet but
‘s The Art of Darkness marries academia with vampires and … it’s a little on the romantic side! It is five parts so far.
Day 6 & 7
Do you love rollicking adventure that takes you back to the movies of Indiana Jones? Then check out
‘s work. I’m reading two of his serials right now: Death Whispers is his newest (how could I not when it has a library with thesaurus crabs? And pirates?), and I’m working my way through the first in the Windtracer Tales called Dark Device of the Great Chasm.
Day 8
Ok, this one has dragons…. and nuns of a certain age and at least two potential male love interests and one of the nuns has a magic that scares her. To say more would give it away, and it’s currently ongoing. Check out Escape from Ice Mountain.
Day 9
Last month saw me finally getting caught up with
Tranith Argan series. Dragons make an occasional appearance, but it’s all about a young man and his sister seeking to claim their destiny. It starts at the very beginning with the hero as a boy, but stick with it, it will suck you in. It’s one of my weekly must-reads.
Day 10
Do you remember reading those Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid? They were a fave of mine. There are a couple of these bouncing about Substack, but this one has been really good in giving big choices—which
then has to write into being. Catch up and start making choices in Hero Quest:
Day 11
I’m recommending
’s short and free serial: The Truth of Who We Are. It is a gay pianist’s memories of living through WW2. It is beautifully and sensitively written. (Ben hooked me on his work Locksley: The Beggar’s Knave with the most brilliant prologue (which is free to read). But it goes behind a paywall and is not for the faint-hearted, as the knights are quite rough with even rougher attitudes toward women.)Day 12
I plan to continue to share new instalments of A River Trembles over the break, but if you haven’t started the series yet, what better time than when you’re:
(a) snowed in, or
(b) sitting in front of the AC
and hoping the power doesn’t cut out?
What’s your favourite serial fiction for the year? Share your finds in the comments!
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I have to confess that your own serials are on my list to read when I get the chance! Been meaning to read A Grail for Eiodethea ever since it started 😆
What a great list. You are very widely read on Substack. That’s impressive. Thank you for adding me to your list of so many fantastic authors.