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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It's been awhile since I read it but I really enjoyed The Black Company. I only read the first book and it's pretty old, but I liked it.
More modern I really loved The Lies of Locke Lamora. Really strong characters in that.
The first Malazan book was good to but nothing after that. Story goes off the fricking rails and I hate it
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I made the mistake of consulting reddit for good fantasy, and its name always came up. I couldn't finish the first book because it felt so typical, like a D&D campaign. Very flat.
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It actually is a DnD campaign. The author took his campaign and made it into the series. Which maybe why it makes no sense and goes so off the rails
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Yeah you can't ever ask Reddit for good fantasy
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I'll look into them.
I did try the first Malazan book, Gardens of the Moon I think? At first glance it seemed to have the problems I mentioned. It didn't grab me
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Yeah gardens of the moon. I liked it, but it wasn't mind blowing. The rest of the series just goes down hill
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I think i made it like halfway through the third book? People said it was tough to get through but very rewarding, but i pushed that far and said no sir, not 7 more books of this shit.
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Part of why I hate discussing media with redditors.
Noo it's good you just need to sit through seven books/seasons/movies. You didn't finish it? Then you're not allowed to criticize!
It didn't grab me
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You cant even bother with them at this point, too much of their personalities are tied into the media they consume. They take it as a personal insult if you dont like what they like, marvel meltdowns are always fun
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