Here.
Please don't read comments until you've read this. It is very short and fast to read. It is radicalizing. It is a good short story to send to your friend who needs to understand what capitalism is. LeGuin wrote this in 1973, cementing her status as Chad Supreme of Fuck Mountain. Bow before her might.
Let's discuss in the comments below.
this is actually a whole subgenre in fantasy as long as grimdark stopped being ironic, maybe a dozen years ago. there's always been this pushback against grimdark for exactly the reasons you're citing.
for example, Malazan Book of the Fallen is an example of an intentionally, explicitly hopeful work that doesn't shy away from the dark, grim, and dirty, but rather uses those things to highlight the nugget of hope that survives, celebrating it and the people who never gave up, who fought through the most futile of circumstances to unearth, at great personal cost. also, a decent chunk of the books feature explicit critiques of empire and capitalism.
there's 10 books in the series and each one stands alone (except the ninth which is the only cliffhanger). the first book was written about a decade before the others so the writing quality is a bit worse but it's fantastic from there on out. two warnings: 1. the books don't hold your hand - if characters should already know stuff, it won't get explained to you, so you sometimes have to wait a while for explanations; 2. some of the books are utterly heartbreaking. they really cut across the whole range of human emotions.
I've heard so much good about Malazan, I should really jump in.
Read through the whole thing in like 9 month period and let me tell you, they really don't hold your hand. There's stuff happening in book 1 that isnt explained until book 6 or so, but it's a very rewarding read.
I enjoyed when some of that stuff comes up and your brain is like: "Oh wait a minute....THAT'S why that happened like 2000 pages ago!"
I'm already reading Malazan so that's covered. Do you have any other recommendations in the same vein?
the main issue with most of the books that come to mind are the politics. they're largely written by liberals, for liberals, and so you mostly have to take uncritical perspectives on empire, monarchy, and liberal freedoms as a kind of given - the books with decent politics are rare. so I have to divide my recommendations based on what you're looking for and what you're willing to tolerate. the one easy exception is NK Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy.
if you want a story about a great man and don't mind philosopher-kings, Robin Hobb's series are great. read these books for the amazing characterization stretching over long volumes that really leave you feeling like you know these people at least as well as you know yourself.
if you just want a plain happy story and can get past the completely uncritical lens the story brings to bear, the Goblin Emperor is one of the best antidotes to the erosion of hope.
if you want something a bit more historical, Guy Gavriel Kay's works each stand alone and tell wonderful stories in real places, featuring real people, but with the whole thing twisted just a bit towards the fantastic. the names of the people and the places are always changed so that he can tell interesting stories about them. but they always planted from seeds rooted in the real world. my personal favorite is the Lions of al-Rassan, but you honestly can't go wrong with any of them.
if you've already been through all of these, let me know and I'll dig through my collection for some weirder stuff.
Solid recs. Yeah the politics in most fantasy is not...good. Ngl tho, I really dug Goblin Emperor. I guess it was the purehearted nature of the MC and the court intrigue that appealed to me.
spoiler
_What did you think about the conversation between Maia and the guy who blew up the air ship?
I've heard about GGK and Robin Hobb and tried some of their works but I tend to drop books even if they're "good" unless something in it captures my interest early or if there's some idea in the book that I want to read about. So there's been a lot of false starts with those two authors but I hope to get around to them eventually.
I haven't yet read any of NK Jemisin's works so your recommendation might actually make me pick up the trilogy.
GGK is easier on that front than Hobb. you really have to give her two books before the whole scope of what she's doing in any given trilogy opens up to you. she's the complete opposite of a fast hook. GGK though... have you tried Tigana? I was glued to that one from the start as the intrigue begins within the first few chapters and he has this way of making you fall in love with all of the characters.
honestly, I barely remember the plot of the Goblin Emperor, it's been 4 years or so since I read it. I remember enjoying the sheer happiness of the ending and I might reread it if the world starts to feel like a dark place (moreso than usual) and I need a pick me up.
the Broken Earth trilogy is fantastic and I can't recommend it enough. Jemisin is a comrade and she's telling the story of slaves - it's very deeply about how colonialism works its way into our minds, the effects of being forced to pass for the majority (at the risk of violent reprisal), and the joy that exists only in spaces free of empire. I really need to reread this because I read it before I admitted to myself that I needed to transition and I think I'll react to it in a whole other way now.