@aegon: Ah. Googling now, thanks.
To clarify, I don't reject fantastical stuff as a general rule. I would be way into a story where magic is an acknowledged presence in the world, but that it's treated merely as medieval artillery, and doesn't end up with some wizard trying to unleash the ancient evil so go stop him.
When that stuff comprises the entire endgame of the plot, as it often does in fantasy, it can lead to developments that I personally find uninteresting. But then maybe I'm just reading shitty fantasy.
I would really recommend Robin Hobb, to me she is the only other fantasy writer which have captured me to the same degree as George R.R. Martin. I have only read the books that takes place in the Realm of the Elderlings and not all of them. In a way it is a series of trilogies, connected by its characters. First (chronologically) is The Farseer Trilogy which is only told through the perspective of Fitz or FitzChivalry Farseer, the bastard child of the crown prince. He is born with the ability to connect with animals, especially dogs and wolves, something that is surrounded my superstitious fear in the Six Duchies. Political intrigue is certainly a thing, but because of the perspective you might not necessarily learn about it. I think I felt more emotionally invested than I did in a Song of Ice and Fire, which is to say, while it isn't as graphically violent, but it got to me more than it did in a Song of Ice and Fire.
The second trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy takes place in a different place in the same world and with a completely different set of characters. These books are told in the same way as A Song of Ice and Fire with shifting perspective. I is a very nautical focused which I haven't experienced in any other fantasy series I've read. It is focused around Bingtown, a tradition bound trading community, with the added aspect that with the help of some ancient knowledge their ships are actually sentient. It might sound silly, but it really isn't. There is plenty of political intrigue, but in a smaller scale. Certain parts where really powerfully written, I haven't really experienced anything like it before. I can't really say anything more specific without spoiling anything.
The Third and Fourth you could say is like a second Fitz and a Second Bingtown trilogy, but at the same time they are still a chronological continuation of same story of the previous books. I especially enjoyed The Tawny Man Trilogy.
While Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast books aren't necessarily Fantasy, to me the first two books are still some of the best Fantasy books I have ever read. Simple amazing.
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