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Short(er) easy reading fantasy series that isn't YA or Discworld
Been reading a lot of Malazan BotF and while I love it, I'm looking for something breezier to read for a bit. Preferably something with under 5 PoV characters, 150-300 pages, a mostly linear plot and that doesn't take 100+ pages just to get my bearings on the world. If it's got humor or a bit of mystery too it, all the better.
You might enjoy the Earthsea series by Ursula K LeGuin. Some of them have won children's book awards, they're easy to read but can get quite dark. I wouldn't describe them as YA.
Edit: Thought I'd try to say a little more since this seems to have received a fair bit of attention. I have a hard time describing fiction that I enjoyed from many years ago to others because I forget much of the details. What was most memorable for me about the series was the pervasive sense of loneliness, loss and sadness. Similar to The Left Hand of Darkness, another LeGuin novel that might also fit your criteria. And I think, for the last two Earthsea books and the ending of TLHoD, a sense of hope.
Even if the first one might be ya, the series does not stay in ya territory at all.
The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. It's a series of 10 books. First 5 are from the POV of a single character, next 5 are from the POV of a different character. Each book is about 175-200 pages. Very easy to get through. Forgive the sometimes cheesy book covers - series was written in the 70s.
The rough, overarching plot of the entire series is that Amber is the only real city that exists, and every other city is just a shadow or distortion of Amber. The main character is from an immortal family (though not invulnerable - the family members can be mutilated and killed) who have been sabotaging one another for millenia to curry favor with their father (the king), in order to become THE successor to the throne of Amber.
Although it's fantasy, it gets really psychedelic and occasionally sci-fi since every city that you can imagine exists will exist in this multiverse, and the main characters do a lot of sliding to other versions of Amber in order to escape from or chase down each other, or rally armies to invade (and Earth is just a shadow of Amber, or an imitation of the one, true city).
Link to the first book:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/92121.Nine_Princes_in_Amber
I absolutely second all the Amber books! They're so good, so fun, so inventive.
Stephen Colbert to produce Chronicles of Amber tv series.
The Cradle series by Will Wight sounds like it might be a good fit! First book is right at 300 pages, some of the later ones in the series are a bit longer
The books are pretty short and definitely a quick read. Only issue is that there are 12 of them, so the series as a whole isn't necessarily short.
Genre is Progression Fantasy, so it's pretty much constant action. All free with Kindle unlimited, cheap otherwise
Unsouled (Cradle Book 1) https://a.co/d/6ZWiuBP
I was about to make the same recommendation. I was debating whether it fell under YA, but decided it didn't -- it's missing the romance tropes typical to YA, and the underage characters are (with exceptions) treated like competent adults interacting with other adults.
A 300 page hard cap is difficult for non-YA (unless the font size is small!) I strongly suggest looking for novellas rather than novels. For example, The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson is 192 pages on paperback. You could see what gets nominated for the various prestigious awards on the novella category.
The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir is an absolute riotous good time. The series opens with Gideon the Ninth, described on the cover as "Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted mansion in space". It means towards Science-Fantasy rather than pure fantasy, but is one of the best new series I've picked up in a long time. Currently there books are out, with the final installment to be released in January 2024.
If that doesn't sound like your thing I'd suggest Lies of Locke Lamora, it's a more straightforward fantasy adventure novel that's delightfully well written and one of the strongest opening sections I've read in a fantasy novel.
Clockwork boys by T Kingfisher
https://www.amazon.com/Clockwork-Boys-Clocktaur-War-Book-ebook/dp/B0783P29QP
It's only 2 books long and each book is under 300 pages. The way the book is written is very easy to follow. It has 3 or maybe 5 main characters. But it's mainly the 3. I don't remember if the other 2 get POV chapters. If they do, it's minimal. It does have humor and the book is basically them trying to figure out a mystery.
I was very unwell for some time and listened to the audiobook while huddling in bed and could still follow the plot. It was great.
Basically most books by her are easy to read and follow. I don't really know whether to recommend her books at times because she's not that great, but she's not terrible either. Her biggest strength is just how easy to follow everything is while still being somewhat humourous and entertaining.
I do genuinely like the world she has built though.
I read Nettle and Bone by Kingfisher last week and it's a short, fun read. I'll check out Clockwork Boys based on your recommendation.
If OP is willing to branch out to Sci Fi, I would recommend the murderbot diaries book series.
I'm partway through Nettle and Bone right now!
I do like Sci Fi too. I actually prefer Sci fi over fantasy in general. I looked it up, the Murderbot Diaries sound fun. I'll try them out.
I've read two so far. They are excellent. Also they remind me of noir detective stories just set in space and with a manufactured/robotic main character.
I've never read any noir detective stories, unless Dresden counts. LOL
But I really loved his inner monologue and the balance with his binging of soaps really killed me. I just loved the way he thought about everything.
Definitely check out the Saint of Steel series in the same world. The god of the berserking paladins is dead which means theyre not really "safe" berserking paladins anymore. So they help the temple of the White Rat in hopes to find meaning in their lives. And then they start to.
I think they're better written but they've also they've got some romance/sex which isn't everyone's bag
There's also other books in this world but not serialized so you can read more if you're enjoying it. And then yeah cosign the rec. She manages to have the light humor with some of the similar social commentary as discworld, but it's less sharp. And she brings her humor even to her horror. But her other unconnected works have the brief sketches of a world and then follow the characters into that world which is highly effective for me.
She actually was diagnosed with cancer around the same time as Hank Green and let's just say only one of them named their tumor Bob and peppered their doctor with questions about why the radiation and chemo required her husband to wear condoms. She seems to be a truly delightful human.
I have actually read the other books that are in the same world. I've gone through the Paladin Series and Swordheart (?) I think that's the title. But I didn't really recommend them because they're kind of focused on romance. I don't actually enjoy the romance part of it.
I kept going because I do like the world building and I do like the comraderie of the Saint of Steel Paladins and hope she writes one book where they all work together.
I've also read Minor Mage and that is a very good children's book I keep wanting to recommend to my nephews. I'm in the middle of A wizard's guide to defensive baking and that's quite fun too.
But unfortunately they're both kid's books so they don't work as good recommendations for what the OP is looking for.
The romance works for me, as part of a really light, fluffy, bit of fantasy. She's writing all seven of the remaining paladins into their own books so hopefully one of them is that team up
Swordheart is the other one yeah!
I just tried out her horror and liked it too so I'm just vibing with her work right now.
For me, I realise I have to be in a particular headspace or mood to enjoy her work. It's usually when I'm feeling down and just need something light, easy and fun to read. There's just this nice safe feeling you get when you read her stuff.
Especially with the White Rat universe, you know she's not going to pull a Game of Thrones on you. Everything will be kind of okay.
And her books are especially great to read inbetween heavier books when you just need a break.
So I'm currently in the headspace where I vibe with her work. So I'm going through them right now!
The Wayward Children is a series of novellas by Seanan McGuire about what happens after you come back from Narnia/Wonderland. The characters happen to be high school aged, but it isn't YA by my understanding. The first in the series is called Every Heart a Doorway and might be worth checking out.
If you like Seanan McGuire there’s a Humble Bundle sale right now.
Warning to bundle buyers: unlike every other Humble ebook bundle I've purchased which hands out DRM-free .epubs and .mobis, this bundle only gives you access to DRM-encumbered books through Kobo, so you'll need to deal with yet another third party to receive your books.
In a twist of irony, that bundle's chosen charity is the EFF. I wonder how much the EFF appreciates their name being used to sell DRM-shackled ebooks?
There is! Both of those are her much longer series but I don't think they take a ton of time to get into and the books themselves are fairly reasonable
Unfortunately, I'm not big on digital books. Thanks for letting me know though
Three Parts Dead (Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone) is great. Magic is basically lawyering so there are "firms" of 'magicians' headed by immortal skeletons. Cool noir-steampunk vibe, a god is dead so it hired someone to resurrect it / find who killed it, how it died.
Mercy Thompson series is pretty good. Main character is a Native American coyote shapeshifter, werewolves/vampires/fae crime/drama in present day Kennewick, WA, which was admittedly only a draw personally because I've lived around there so it was kinda trippy. There is a segue to basically an aged up YA plot around book 8, but the author apparently took the feedback to heart and it backs away from silly relationship tension again after that.
Alex Verus is IMO a better British Dresden Files. It also has the benefit of being done instead of ongoing.
River's of London is a bit longer than you're asking for, but London cop discovers magic is real and the British 'magic secret service department' has one wizard left and joins up.
You sure no Discworld? :)
The Riyria Revelations are fun enough. Thief and a Mercenary adventuring around a lite-magic fantasy world.
The Vlad Taltos novels are fun if you don't take them seriously. They're basically a guy describing how awesome his homebrew D&D character is in his homebrew world.
The Iron Druid Chronicles are another "kinda Dresden Files", but a Druid in Arizona.
Most of the others I can think of / find in my reading list are ~500 pages, The Rook, Sixty-One Nails, Six of Crows (though that does tend more YA, much less than the rest of the Shadow & Bone books, it's a heist).
Came looking for Rivers and Craft in the comments!
The Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander might fit what you're looking for. Somewhere between Narnia and Middle Earth, it's the series that inspired Disney's infamous The Black Cauldron. The whole series is only about 5 or 6 books long and they're significantly better than the Disney film, which is the first two books roughly stitched together. There aren't a huge number of characters and the books have a fun fantastic, though generally not too heavy-handed feel. The story continues significantly beyond what's presented in the film as Taran ultimately goes through the Hero's Journey. It's a favorite of mine, I recommend at least the first installment, The Book of Three to give it a try.
Not exactly fantasy but Calahan's Cross Time Saloon,
The Philosophical Strangler by Eric Flint
'Orcenomics' by J. Zachary Pike (first book of this short series) is a funny, fun, and easy read. It's satirical fantasy, but more on the light-hearted side too.
'Morningwood: Everybody Loves Large Chests (Vol. 1)' by Neven Iliev (first book in a currently 10 book series)
Very fun, funny, but at times pretty dark humor, read. The MC is a psychotic treasure chest-shaped mimic that gains sentience in a dungeon one day due a bunch of crazy coincidences. Self-described as a fun-loving murder hobo, lol. Everything is over the top, and gets quite a bit dirty at times, but is self-aware of doing so, which makes it not too icky (for me at least).
I'd suggest anything by Robert Rankin. Most of his novels are self-contained, although with recurring characters, settings, plot elements and running jokes that get funnier or more interesting the more you encounter them, but the order isn't particularly important (outside of a few connected series').
Many of the book titles are pretty cringe puns, but the wiring itself is much wittier and some of the most inventive fantasy / magical realism.
I picked up one of his books off a library shelf purely because the title font on the spine made me think of Terry Pratchett. Loved it and ended up buying a heap of his work over the years.
Piranesi is for sure my favorite book I've ever read. I'm constantly trying to get people to check it out, glad you liked it too
The Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. It checks all your boxes!
You might consider picking up some anthologies. I’d suggest the Legends anthologies edited by Robert Silverberg. These books contain several short stories by authors you are probably familiar with like George RR Martin, Ursula K LeGuin, Anne McCaffery, Terry Goodkind, Stephen King, and Terry Pratchett.
I know what you mean. I also felt the need for something light between Malazan's heavy tomes.
For a quick but still satisfying and often humorous read I'd recommend K.J. Parker's Saloninus series. It's three standalone novellas at around 100-120 pages each. The protagonist is dubbed the greatest philosopher of all time, but he is more a con man than anything else.
For something a bit longer, but still a light read at 350 pages, you can find Parker's Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City.
Otherwise, you can always look to the classic Sword and Sorcery genre. They're straight forward, no-nonsense and entertaining. Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser is a good place to start.
I also agree on the suggestions for Sanderson's novellas, Martha Wells Murderbot Diaries and The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny.
Happy reading!
Jhereg by Steven Brust and the rest of the Vlad novels are quick fun reads.
If you want to read source material for DND and GURPS, you might check out Jack Vance’s Dying Earth series.
Edit: I forgot to add the Penric and Desdemona novellas by Lois McMaster Bujold.
I think it was back in middle school that I stumbled upon & read the 1960s Tripods series by John Christopher. I read the main three books, but never the prequel.
The story is about humans rebelling from alien enslavement. It’s an easy read that I remember enjoying quite a bit. Each book is about 200 pages.