My eyes glaze over when fantasy novel summaries start talking about usurper kings and world-dominating overlords and epic wars between good and evil. I'm in the mood for something that puts me in an imaginary world and just lets me kind of experience the small-scale but meaningful stories of well-realized individual characters.
The most obvious example that comes to mind, of what I've read, is the Discworld series. I've only read a couple of them (Small Gods and Men At Arms), but I enjoyed them a lot. If anyone thinks there's another Discworld book I should definitely read next, I wouldn't mind hearing it, but I'm looking to expand my horizons a bit.
The only other example I can think of is the Imaginary Veterinary series. They're children's books, but I'm not in a particularly picky mood, and the "protagonists are apprentices at a veterinary for mythical creatures" premise is refreshing enough that I had a fun time with them.
yep, that's the one. it's also unfinished and unlikely to ever be finished so it's a tough recommendation. the writing is very pretty though.