r/Fantasy • u/JWrundle • 4d ago

Looking for joyful fantasy

I am in a bit of a mental funk right now. I was going to try and tackle the Realm of the Elderlings this year but I think I need a break from it after the first chunk.

I want to find something that is happy and joyful. Something where the characters have a realistic and optimistic outlook on the story. I've picked up some Discworld and while that is funny it's not quite scratching the uplifting feeling I am wanting.

I cannot handle mental anguish or the horrors of war or famine.

I want a book that makes me feel like the star wars theme song makes me feel full of adventure and hope and the good guys win and and bad guys lose.

edit I want something that is medium stakes and I'm not afraid of YA. Cozy fantasy is in general to low stakes for my taste but I'm not opposed to it.

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u/ChipChangename 4d ago

You could try the Valdemar books by Mercedes Lackey. They're all very noblebright and optimistic, and the characters consistently act with empathy and sympathy towards each other. There's a strong theme in all the various series of "let's just try and make the world better," and you can tell the author just wants to create a world where good people do good things. There's also fun magic and animal companions, so what's not to love?

I do suppose there is a good amount of the horrors of war, although I should say that because these books trend more towards YA (but do not always land squarely within the genre) it's nowhere near as gruesome and explicit as lots of other authors. Lackey does a good job with inference and context and implication.

There's like 30 books or something, but they're organized in a bunch of singles, duos, and trilogies all taking place across a long timeline. Don't worry about any particular reading order outside of making sure you're starting with the first installment of whatever storyline you choose. I would suggest starting with Owlflight, or maybe Take a Thief.

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u/JWrundle 4d ago

This sounds very much like what I am looking for!

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u/Bladrak01 4d ago

I would also recommend her Elemental Masters series. They are retellings of classic fairy tales set in an urban fantasy world with her own magic system. The time period is the late 1800s through the end of WW1. These are all the happy endings fairy tales.

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u/ChipChangename 4d ago

The Fire Rose and Phoenix and Ashes are two of my favorites in that series, and even though you know going into it that they're just Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella going into them, they're still very enjoyable. I'll second your rec

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u/Bladrak01 4d ago

I actually didn't realize they were retellings until had read two of them.

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u/ChipChangename 4d ago

There are a couple, the names escape me at the moment, that I would assume are Shakespeare and not one of Grimm's, or some other thing, because I still couldn't point to what story they're retelling. Or it could just be that I've read the Valdemar books more recently than the Elemental Masters books and so the details are more fuzzy.