I want some good fantasy recommendations, but so much of the genre is unbearable. I've identified two main reasons why, though I'm sure there are also many others.
- YA desperately written for a movie deal and/or teenaged foids
by older foids 
Can't stand this garbage and I doubt I need to explain why.
- Conversely I can't get through a lot of "standard" fantasy written by moids who don't see the difference between a novel and a DnD campaign.
Characters and plot usually take a backseat to pointless wiki lore and unending exposition. I'd say I like worldbuilding but it should be done more naturally than vomiting paragraphs. The plot shouldn't stop because the author needs us to know every detail about the temple or whatever we just passed by. The majority of these settings will also be shameless ripoffs of Tolkien and/or DnD with nothing new to offer.
I need some fantasy recs that avoid these pitfalls. I'm interested in finding any of the following
- Unique main characters. Examples of anything that made a particular protagonist stand out above the genre.
- Same with settings. Any that stood out (ideally right from the get-go, and not just because you'd gotten used to it after eight books)
- Stories that were concise while still being good. I'm not against wordier entries, but I think a lot of fantasy authors have trouble with brevity. I'm wondering if anyone knows of exceptions who still managed to pull off something creative.
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I like the broken empire series, before they are hanged, The Blade Itself, Last argument of kings
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You've got to be realistic,
@Civilization_IV. It's a fun series because it does cut the cruft and indulges in action scenes. On my second 
, I still enjoyed it.
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My fav part was the jailbreak back story in prince of thorns. No drawn out "he falt this, he felt that, the prison thought more" just "The boy unbolted the door and the prison brutally set upon his captors, beating them to death with the hot iron they had intended to use on him"
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Broken Empire was fun because most every other "grimdark" series still makes the protagonists heroes. Jorg was a piece of shit through and through and it never felt like the author was trying to justify or redeem him/his actions.
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Holy shit The Blade Itself is such garbage. OP don't listen to this guy unless you want to read edgy shit where all the characters talk and swear like millennials on top of the bad writing.
This is the problem with the genre, even the "good" authors are usually mediocre af.
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