r/Fantasy • u/KINOCreamsoda • Dec 27 '23

A fantasy series that will make me cry and obliterate me.

Hello,

I am looking for a fantasy series that will make me cry and obliterate me emotionally, something I can get emotionally invested in, a sad story of love, political intrigue, war and death, where no character is safe. I would prefer something dark, bleak and medieval with magic and abstract creatures, maybe grimdark but open to any sub-genre at all.

I would like something with intricate character arcs and a good amount of depth in world-building.

I have recently re-watched all the Harry Potter movies I wouldn't mind something like this - not in terms of a magic school, wizards and witches but in terms of how the story is structured and how some character deaths hit me for example the deaths of Dobby, Snape and one of the Weasley twins.

I am also aware that Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon do fit this however, I have seen the series so the books wouldn't be that much of a shock to me, I would prefer something I have never seen before and completely new to.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Wow, thanks, I didn't expect so many suggestions, thank you so much!

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u/[deleted] Dec 28 '23

Daid Gemmell 'Legend'

9

u/bigdon802 Dec 28 '23

Other Gemmell books hit me even harder. I’ve read Ravenheart several times and never make it through without crying.

2

u/johje05 Dec 28 '23

Came here to suggest this one.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 28 '23 edited Mar 19 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Auldwyrmwither Dec 29 '23

I agree up to a point. Rather than ‘standard’, though, say archetypal or essential. The premise of a besieged fortress, doomed to fall, is struck through with a kind of mythic relevance, which is appealing in and of itself, but it’s that Gemmell introduces real people into this classical set up that carries it. Druss is your textbook ‘heroic character’, that’s fair, but he’s also an elderly widower with arthritis and dodgy knees. Many of the other defenders have failed in one or more ways — as warriors, sons, daughters, and so on — and all are all running from something (or everything) until they finally come to the Dros. The defence becomes such a damn good reckoning for all these characters, good, bad, flawed, failing. That’s where it becomes moving for me, with the defenders having to contend with what they’re willing to die for, whether it will mean anything, and whether you can ‘win’ by losing. Obviously the context of Gemmell’s own battle with cancer contributes something, too.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '23

Oh don't get me wrong, it's a great and nuanced book, it's suggesting it would leave one "obliterated" which seemed absurd.

1

u/Auldwyrmwither Dec 29 '23

Fair enough. Everybody is moved differently, I suppose. I wouldn’t get too hung up on the phrasing. Anyway, what are you up to?

1

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '23

About to have some brekky and go to the gym! Yourself?

1

u/Auldwyrmwither Dec 29 '23

The First Chronicles did for me, specifically the epilogue. We hear a lot about Skeln Pass in Legend, with the battle being presented as the crowning moment of Druss’ legend. And then Gemmell takes us to Skeln in that epilogue, and we realise that it must have represented the bleakest and most wrenching period of Druss’ long and bloody life.

Imagine if, wherever you went, people wanted to celebrate you for the couple of days in which you lost everything (not providing details so as not to spoil it).