My eyes glaze over when fantasy novel summaries start talking about usurper kings and world-dominating overlords and epic wars between good and evil. I’m in the mood for something that puts me in an imaginary world and just lets me kind of experience the small-scale but meaningful stories of well-realized individual characters.
The most obvious example that comes to mind, of what I’ve read, is the Discworld series. I’ve only read a couple of them (Small Gods and Men At Arms), but I enjoyed them a lot. If anyone thinks there’s another Discworld book I should definitely read next, I wouldn’t mind hearing it, but I’m looking to expand my horizons a bit.
The only other example I can think of is the Imaginary Veterinary series. They’re children’s books, but I’m not in a particularly picky mood, and the “protagonists are apprentices at a veterinary for mythical creatures” premise is refreshing enough that I had a fun time with them.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George RR Martin. Yes, that guy. It’s a spinoff set 90 years before ASOIF with none of the stakes of grand warfare or Kings and Lords scheming or nation threatening undead armies. Instead it’s the story of a young, newly knighted squire seeking fortune after his elderly master dies, and a mysterious boy who joins him on his travel as they resolve all sorts of odd jobs, like a jousting tourney, a minor land dispute, and so on. Extremely low stakes, excellent writing in a world that feels vast and alive while still hinting at some greater movements in the distance that are utterly ignored by our protagonists. It’s quite good and surpsingly lighthearted as well for a GRRM story, and it will also never, ever be completed. On the plus side, they’re quite self - contained, so it’s not like they end on a cliffhanger or anything
Not fantasy but somewhat adjacent - The Left Hand of Darkness is a fantastic sci-fi novel from ‘69 that still holds up insanely well. The personal stakes develop very satisfyingly, and the tension is almost entirely character-driven. It’s about a human Envoy who is sent as an ambassador and scientist to the planet Gethen, whose inhabitants are ambisex - they adopt either male or female characteristics depending on their mating cycle.
It’s hella emotional and is also a thoughtful exploration of gender dynamics. Highly recommend!!!
Oh hell yeah, I was literally coming into this thread to post this! Left Hand of Darkness might be my favorite book ever. Also, @BeamBrain, you might also enjoy the rest of the Haimish Cycle. It’s definitely on the sci-fi side of things, but since sci-fi and fantasy are kind of two sides of the same coin, I think it works. And every one of these books follows a character first and foremost. Large, historic things might be happening, but you’re experiencing them through the eyes of a well-fleshed-out character.
I particularly like Rokannon’s World, the Dispossessed, and The Word for World is Forest. (And, of course, Left Hand of Darkness, but that’s been covered already.)
Well, I haven’t read too many fantasy books, but I did like this one
It’s a rather straight-forward heist story where the main appeal is the excellent pacing and how easy it is to read. I thought it was a really well-done action/fantasy.
Apparently there’s a whole sub-genre of fantasy/heist stories.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/12-fantasy-heist-novels/
EDIT: Oh, and I guess the First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie also qualifies. It’s kinda grimdark in the ASOIAF vein, and it’s somewhere between small and grand scale, but it’s also definitely one of the better fantasy stories I’ve read.
This Used To Be About Dungeons is about some college-age people who team up to try looting a dungeon, then form a dungeoneering team and slowly become friends. There’s action in the dungeon chapters, but the long-term threats are like… someone’s crazy ex is in town.
