

I’m gonna lean into the series part here, and point at some web series:
Pale is an urban fantasy story (modern day with a magical hidden world) by Wildbow. The premise for this story is it’s a murder mystery where none of the suspects is able to lie; and three girls are inducted into the magical world to solve it. This is actually the second web series of his in this world, after Pact. Wildbow is an extremely popular online author, and all his works are available online for free - his superhero stories (Worm and Ward) have influenced most of the online superhero fiction (and even some print publications) I’ve read since.
The Gods Are Bastards by D. D. Webb is a “high fantasy western”. It follows a class of 9 students going through the premier adventuring school in the empire; about a century after magitech advances have made that unfashionable. This series is entirely free online, as are most of his other works. Book 1 of 17 has been printed and is available under the same name. This series is on hiatus partway through his final book; he’s working on getting the mental space to complete it. If you read it online he’s very open about his process and issues as he goes; and if you find you enjoy it, he has a few other series getting updates in the meantime!
A Practical Guide to Evil is a fantasy series where story tropes are as strong as physical laws - the Law of Threes, for example, states that if a Hero is trounced by a Villain, and then is narrowly defeated in their second encounter, they will absolutely defeat the Villain the next time they meet. It follows the adventures of Catherine Foundling, an orphan who turns Villain to carve out a better life for her people. The first book is up on Amazon, the rest of the series is still available online.
All three of these have amazing, unique characters, extensive and fascinating world building, and go long - 15+ books worth apiece, so if any grab you, pace yourself! Also, they’re almost entirely available for free online!












Yeah… Don’t know that it has much to do with what people want, but it does show what the billionaires controlling these projects respond well to