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Fantasy series that are both character-driven and with great worldbuilding


Pilusmagnus

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From my limited readings of fantasy (I read more than most in the world but less than most on this forum) I feel like the series I read fall into two categories:

Either the characters are great and very engaging, but the world is not very developed, or rather is not developed any more than it needs to be to tell its story (Examples : The First Law, Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, Narnia) or either the world is huge, but the text is not character-driven (Malazan, Tolkien, Discworld, and from what I read around here, apparently Bakker and Sapkowski also fall into that category).

A French series I read by Jean-Philippe Jaworski that most of you wouldn't know since it hasn't been translated is also in category number one, although the author does a great job at concealing the "poverty" of his universe behind his excellent writing style.

The only series that I read that has both a great universe and great characters is ASOIAF (and also maybe Tolkien, since although his characters are not masterpieces of psychology, they are still likeable and we see the story through their eyes).

 

As I said, I have not read a lot of fantasy, so maybe I'm just biased. Do you know any series that achieve both points?

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Just now, W. Wrycthen said:

I think the world-building is more than sufficient in First Law, Harry Potter, and Narnia.

As I said, it is sufficient, but not great. It is just what you need to understand the story.

You would never get a companion book on them. (Except Harry Potter but I find that worldbuilding in Harry Potter is clumsy rather than "poor")

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1 minute ago, Pilusmagnus said:

As I said, it is sufficient, but not great. It is just what you need to understand the story.

You would never get a companion book on them. (Except Harry Potter but I find that worldbuilding in Harry Potter is clumsy rather than "poor")

 

HP is a great example of so-called "low fantasy". I don't really agree with the term.

 

Have you read Prydain? It's a great example of dense worldbuilding with minimal length.

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You could try Vance's Lyonesse trilogy. It is rather different from most other (especially more recent) fantasy in that characters are often not described in psychological depth but rather fairy-tale-like. But there is one well done tragic character, one fairly plausible hero and a few nice picaresque ones. (No really great villain, but a few decent ones.)

Unfortunately he wastes/never develops one potentially very interesting character (Melancthe) and I found the first book to be the best, the second fairly weak and the last one better than the second but also slightly disappointing.

The world is more colorful than many others but not for those looking for realism and RPG systems. (It's a weird mix between fairly realistic aspects and completely over the top magic.)

And add my vote to Earthsea although it's been about 20 years or more that I read it. (They are fairly short and quick reads, so not a big waste should one dislike them)

What I have read of Bakker (2.5 books) and Sapkowski (the first two novella collections, not the multi volume saga that follows) does not really fit your scheme. Someone called Bakker "idea-driven" which may be true but both the characters (at least some of them, the main one could only taken ironically and is not meant such, unfortunately) and the world are pretty well done.

Sapkowski is driven by both "ideas" (prosecution and driving back of "magical creatures") and ironic twists on traditional lore and fairy tales; I find this interesting because it is different but I don't like it as much as I probably should.

 

 

 

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I'll second Hobb and the Kingkiller Chronicles.

The Gentleman Bastards books by Scott Lynch. Very good characters, but not a large cast. The world-building is mostly show and little tell, with new cities and lands revealed in each novel. Very fun novels.

Memory Sorrow and Thorn trilogy, by Tad Williams. Very good world-building, but the main characters aren't quite as fleshed out as you may like. The main character can be a bit annoying. I find the peripheral characters more interesting.

I recently purchased the Riddle-Master trilogy of Patricia A. McKillip based on a recommendation as having those qualities you are looking for. I have yet to read it, though.

 

 

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I would say her entire series of novels set in the Realm of the Elderlings, but I've only read the Farseer trilogy so far. I can see how confusion would exist in the translation of titles.

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You guys did not just like Mr Rhymes with Quote as a well written engaging character. No. I refute this claim.

Also, yes, Robin Hobb is what you're looking for.

32 minutes ago, Chaircat Meow said:

I'd say Bakker is reasonably character driven. Don't put him in the same category as Malazan.

The issue is a lot of people don't like his characters very much.

Yeah, Malazan is much better.

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2 minutes ago, Astromech said:

I would say her entire series of novels set in the Realm of the Elderlings, but I've only read the Farseer trilogy so far. I can see how confusion would exist in the translation of titles.

It's a nightmare. I could create another topic entirely on that, but translation of fantasy in France is catastrophic.

You have books being cut in three with invented titles, and then being re-assembled together a few years later into "Integrals" which are basically the original books.

A Song of Ice and Fire is just called "The Iron Throne" and has 15 volumes re-worked into 5 integrals.

And most of the times the title of the series in French becomes the title of the first volume which the publisher probably made up.

Not mentioning when the translator changes in the middle of a series and the names don't match anymore. I am a student in translation and I want to support translators, but when it comes to fantasy I read in English as often as possible.

(but this is going off-topic)

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