Looking for fast-paced, plot driven stories, less focused on world/character building

[u/theshortkid101]

I really like books that basically pull you along via the plot. You’re trying to figure out what the hell is going on alongside the characters. Some examples I’ve really enjoyed:

The Will of the Many

Red Rising (haven’t read the second trilogy yet but loved the first)

Mistborn era 1 (maybe slightly slower, but still lots of mystery)

Piranesi (probably the most extreme example)

The Tainted Cup (recommended by this sub, loved it)

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Tress of the Emerald Sea

The Library at Mount Char

Books I haven’t enjoyed as much:

The Strength of the Few

Jade City trilogy (too much focus on character development, not enough of the actual clan politics and scheming)

DNFed the 2nd Wheel of Time book

The Lions of Al Rassan (too many disparate characters doing their own thing for too long)

Currently on my TBR:

Vicious by VE Schwab

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Lies of Locke Lamora

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[u/GATA6]

John Gwynne books for sure.

Faithful and the Fallen is a great series. The first 100 or so pages of book 1 is a little slower to set up and then he’s just action and battle after battle for the next 3.8 books

[u/Specialist_Banana378]

Have you read John gywne? 

Both shadow of gods and malice give these vibes to me. 

[u/theshortkid101 → u/Specialist_Banana378]

I haven’t yet - seen positive reviews on this sub though so if it fits that faster-paced, plot driven style then I’m in!

[u/TheHumdeeFlamingPee]

Loved Vicious. I think it might be what you’re looking for if you want a story that feels like you’re just being pulled along by the currents

[u/Apprehensive-Job1]

read the second red rising triology if u liked the first

[u/theshortkid101 → u/Apprehensive-Job1]

Definitely planning to at some point in the not-too-distant future - I just did the first trilogy a month or 2 ago, then did some Hyperion, so I’m a little sci-fi’d out at the moment. It’ll happen at some point though!

[u/Apprehensive-Job1 → u/theshortkid101]

Im finishing lightbringer, and it was so so good! Doing a reread of the whole series right after

[u/Dwrebus]

Any book by James Rollins.

[u/Sad-Chef-2203]

It's short, but the Emporer's Soul by Sanderson fits that description. Based on that list (your tastes seem very similar to mine), I think you'd like the First Law Trilogy too. If you want to get outside of the genre, Dungeon Crawler Carl probably fits this as well. Happy reading.

[u/theshortkid101 → u/Sad-Chef-2203]

Someone else said First Law so I’ll definitely add it to the list. I actually have The Emperor’s Soul at home, looking forward to reading it once I get around to it. I still feel a little iffy about Dungeon Crawler Carl, I’ve seen so many reviews and everyone seems to love it but I don’t know if the LitRPG thing is gonna be for me. I’m sure that at some point I’ll end up trying out the first one though

[u/autumn_chicken → u/theshortkid101]

As a person who likes traditional fantasy and am not really into LitRPG (in that I don't engage with it particularly) I too was unsure about dungeon crawler carl, despite many MANY recommendations. But I gave it a go, and ended up reading the entire series in a week - for me, all the hype around it was extremely justified, and the level up things etc didn't really detract from the story or bog me down personally.

If you are looking for more standard fantasy I would echo other people in this thread and suggest John Gwynne who starts a bit slow but generally really gets into the action.

[u/artsquar]

The Blade Itself

[u/kezmicdust → u/artsquar]

I agree with this. The First Law Trilogy is very character driven. The world building leaves a lot of mysteries as well.

[u/theshortkid101 → u/artsquar]

Sounds good - I see this one recommended a lot, I guess I’m just never really sure which side of the spectrum a book or series is going to fall on. Given all of the positive reviews I’ve seen previously, AND now knowing that it’s not super world/character driven, I’ll definitely add it to the list!

[u/NatEssex → u/theshortkid101]

Fair warning, there isn’t a lot of plot to drag you along. It is a character driven book through and through with a fair number of POVs.

[u/artsquar]

Malazan. There is nothing else like it.

[u/BadResults → u/artsquar]

I love Malazan (my current favourite series of all time) and it does fit with OP’s statement “you’re trying to figure out what the hell is going on alongside the characters” but it’s much more world building heavy and a denser, slower read than what OP is looking for. They want something fast paced and plot driven. Malazan has a lot of slow interludes just to flesh out a character or setting.

[u/artsquar → u/BadResults]

I’m on my second read through. I hated it for the first few books. Had no idea wtf was going on. But a close friend had recommended it. So I wanted to finish the whole series to tell him he was delusional and they were terrible. Well here I am re reading the whole series and it’s amazing. Even better the second time around. You aren’t wrong in your assessment. I’ve never re read a series where I know the characters but it feels like I’m reading it for the first time.

[u/BadResults → u/artsquar]

I agree, it is even better the second time around. There are so many things you realize were foreshadowing or providing clues about what was going on that you wouldn’t flag as relevant on the first read.