Satisfying a craving for ‘ fine literature’

Ever had a craving flung on ya?

For most, this phrase refers to food, as in, “I just had a cravin’ flung on me for some fried pickles.”

But it can refer to just about anything from binge-watching “This Is Us” or the Marvel films to an afternoon’s deep dive into a particular band’s music to cleaning house (the last one can also be classified as temporary insanity).

Over the past few months, I’ve given in to a craving for book series, like the seven in “Harry Potter,” for instance. I find that, given my leaky boat of a memory, it makes the reading experience more enjoy- able if I can plow through the entire series one right after another. That way, the details of the previous books remain clear as I’m reading the next one in the chain. That’s especially important when some of the series run 16 books with several short stories and novellas also included.

Following are four of seven series for my craving. All fall into horror, fantasy or science fiction.

› “Repairman Jack.” Twenty books and several short stories long, this series by F. Paul Wilson combines his “Adversary Cycle” series with the “Repairman Jack” series. A man who helps “repair” problems that people don’t want to take to the police — blackmail through photos of an affair, lingering effects of a past poor decision — is pulled against his will into a battle between two cosmic forces who both want Earth in their game of universal chess.

› “Sandman Slim.” Gritty, profane, violent and the only books that have made me laugh out loud in years. Nine books in (so far), the series is written by Richard Kadrey and tracks the life of James Stark, the only living human to wind up in hell, where he becomes a star in its “gladiator” games. He escapes from hell, but his past won’t leave him alone and often he goes after it, planning to beat it to a pulp. Brilliant world-building and writing so hard-boiled you could crack it on the edge of a kitchen counter.

› “The Dresden Files.” Undoubtedly the best series of books I’ve ever read. Harry Dresden is a wizard and private investigator. He’s incredibly well-developed as a character and the novels are emotionally rich and intricately plotted. Up to 15 books at this point with another soon to publish, author Jim Butcher says that when he starts a new book, he often heads to fan-run Wikia pages to remember some of the exact plot details he’s written so far.

› “Agent Pendergast.” FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast is an odd duck, but brilliant and relentless. Sort of like Sherlock Holmes for those who like a bit of otherworldly weirdness with their sleuthing. Seventeen books and counting.

Shawn Ryan