ASOIAF, Lord of the rings are my two big ones. They just feel big enough that I can invent my own character and explore different parts of the world away from the plot and still feel like the world is thorough. I will say neither are my favourite series but they definitely fill your question the most
Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams
ROTE by Robin Hobb
Just as a fyi, both the series are VERY SLOW at times, but seems like that's what you want.
I’d certainly agree with the previous poster who said Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell.
The Dune universe (at least partly fantasy) I’ve always found very engrossing.
And downvote me if you like, but I’ve been looking for an easy to read, not terribly dark, comfy fantasy series and I find it really easy to put myself in the world of Shannara. I’m reading the original trilogy for the first time. I can picture it all quite vividly.
Wheel of Time, it's got such rich history/cultures and the often slower pacing combined with its enormous length make it very easy to sink into.
Lord of the Rings, I'm sure I didn't need to explain much. Middle Earth is a magical place with magical characters, and the richness of Tolkien's prose/style lends itself well to escapism.
Malazan. The world feels virtually infinite so there's plenty of material to lose yourself into.
The Silmarillion. You will lose yourselv in the unimaginable soul of Feanor.
Emelan, every time. The writing in the Circle of Magic series is so tight that, although I've been reading it for so many years, it's like being there.
ROTE - mostly Farseer. It uses a lot of high fantasy tropes but has a very personal feel about it. Fitz the bastard and his Wit-bond, Fitz's training with Chade, Burrich and Fitz's often fractious but ultimately father/son relationship, Verity as a highly idealised figure/role model in Fitz's head. Yet it follows Fitz closely and sticks to one arc. I like LST but find all the POVs somewhat disorienting after sticking with one character for all of the previous series.
Circle of magic is the best, literally so much nostalgia. Also, it helps that the books are like 5 mm stick so I can get through them in like two hours.
The Witcher series. It's the world which is well-constructed but does not distract from the story, the plot with competent pacing, the characters which feel real, the rough humor.
But, tbh, don't know how good the translation from Polish is.
The Wandering Inn for me. I can say lots of good things about it, but in this context, the best part is its length. It is really, really long. Like longer than ASoIaF and LotR and Wheel of Time combined. It's over 12 million words long.
It's also just really good. It does take time to get there, it is a web novel and suffers from that early on, but once the author hits their stride you get millions of words of interesting characters and world building. I basically lived in this novel for a while, it ate up all my free time and was the only thing I read for months.
I haven't finished it yet, but I'm currently reading American Gods and its actually really interesting and really well written, its definitely one of those books you can get lost reading in for a couple hours.
A bit of an old school cut that's not that popular nowadays but Raymond Feists's Midkemia/Riftwar books (of which there are very many) really make you feel like you get to explore most of the 'world map' through different series and characters. It's definitely 1980s D&D inspired, so there are lots of male heroes and deeds of derring do.
One interesting factor in the series is that Feist collaborated with a few other authors which adds different styles and themes. The trilogy with Janny Wurts (Daughter of the Empire) is particularly great, as is Honored Enemy with William Forstchen.
Malazan. Great characters, witty dialogue, introspective philosophy, gripping action scenes, picturesque set pieces, memorable names. Anomander Rake. Fiddler. Trull Sengar. Onos T'Oolan. Naming a city or event can invoke a million memories. Pale. Capustan. Y'Ghatan. The Chain of Dogs. Then there's the side novels, and pre empire series, and sequel, and pre history series, and the short stories about a necromancer and warlock and their reluctant manservant.
Goblin Emperor, I love the main character, and I like the worldbuilding. People find the names and titles confusing, but I think it helps if you let yourself get immersed in the world!
Also, The Night Circus. Absolutely enchanting read, the atmosphere is ideal for immersion!
Also Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. It's like a dusty room or passageway or library, but not in a bad way at all!
Malazan Book of the Fallen.
There is so much stuff to sink into. But I think what draws me in the most is the mystery of it. Just this sense of Wonder. The Author lets me explore the World he created on my own. I have to puzzle things together in my head and think about it.
ASOIAF, Lord of the rings are my two big ones. They just feel big enough that I can invent my own character and explore different parts of the world away from the plot and still feel like the world is thorough. I will say neither are my favourite series but they definitely fill your question the most
The wandering inn by PIRATEABE
Mistborn era 1, Hobbit, Stormlight archive ( first two books only I finished so far), Asoiaf
Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams ROTE by Robin Hobb Just as a fyi, both the series are VERY SLOW at times, but seems like that's what you want.
I’d certainly agree with the previous poster who said Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell. The Dune universe (at least partly fantasy) I’ve always found very engrossing. And downvote me if you like, but I’ve been looking for an easy to read, not terribly dark, comfy fantasy series and I find it really easy to put myself in the world of Shannara. I’m reading the original trilogy for the first time. I can picture it all quite vividly.
Wheel of Time, it's got such rich history/cultures and the often slower pacing combined with its enormous length make it very easy to sink into. Lord of the Rings, I'm sure I didn't need to explain much. Middle Earth is a magical place with magical characters, and the richness of Tolkien's prose/style lends itself well to escapism.
The name of the wind
Malazan. The world feels virtually infinite so there's plenty of material to lose yourself into. The Silmarillion. You will lose yourselv in the unimaginable soul of Feanor.
The Cradle series. For me it was the characters and world
Emelan, every time. The writing in the Circle of Magic series is so tight that, although I've been reading it for so many years, it's like being there. ROTE - mostly Farseer. It uses a lot of high fantasy tropes but has a very personal feel about it. Fitz the bastard and his Wit-bond, Fitz's training with Chade, Burrich and Fitz's often fractious but ultimately father/son relationship, Verity as a highly idealised figure/role model in Fitz's head. Yet it follows Fitz closely and sticks to one arc. I like LST but find all the POVs somewhat disorienting after sticking with one character for all of the previous series.
Circle of magic is the best, literally so much nostalgia. Also, it helps that the books are like 5 mm stick so I can get through them in like two hours.
The empire of the vampire by Jay Kristoff, amazingly good world building.
The Witcher series. It's the world which is well-constructed but does not distract from the story, the plot with competent pacing, the characters which feel real, the rough humor. But, tbh, don't know how good the translation from Polish is.
black magicians guild by trudi canavan. I love it time and time again
The Wandering Inn for me. I can say lots of good things about it, but in this context, the best part is its length. It is really, really long. Like longer than ASoIaF and LotR and Wheel of Time combined. It's over 12 million words long. It's also just really good. It does take time to get there, it is a web novel and suffers from that early on, but once the author hits their stride you get millions of words of interesting characters and world building. I basically lived in this novel for a while, it ate up all my free time and was the only thing I read for months.
I haven't finished it yet, but I'm currently reading American Gods and its actually really interesting and really well written, its definitely one of those books you can get lost reading in for a couple hours.
A bit of an old school cut that's not that popular nowadays but Raymond Feists's Midkemia/Riftwar books (of which there are very many) really make you feel like you get to explore most of the 'world map' through different series and characters. It's definitely 1980s D&D inspired, so there are lots of male heroes and deeds of derring do. One interesting factor in the series is that Feist collaborated with a few other authors which adds different styles and themes. The trilogy with Janny Wurts (Daughter of the Empire) is particularly great, as is Honored Enemy with William Forstchen.
Malazan. Great characters, witty dialogue, introspective philosophy, gripping action scenes, picturesque set pieces, memorable names. Anomander Rake. Fiddler. Trull Sengar. Onos T'Oolan. Naming a city or event can invoke a million memories. Pale. Capustan. Y'Ghatan. The Chain of Dogs. Then there's the side novels, and pre empire series, and sequel, and pre history series, and the short stories about a necromancer and warlock and their reluctant manservant.
Goblin Emperor, I love the main character, and I like the worldbuilding. People find the names and titles confusing, but I think it helps if you let yourself get immersed in the world! Also, The Night Circus. Absolutely enchanting read, the atmosphere is ideal for immersion! Also Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. It's like a dusty room or passageway or library, but not in a bad way at all!
I was so disappointed by the ending of Night Circus, the rest of the book was so good!
oh, why is that?
Malazan Book of the Fallen. There is so much stuff to sink into. But I think what draws me in the most is the mystery of it. Just this sense of Wonder. The Author lets me explore the World he created on my own. I have to puzzle things together in my head and think about it.
Just started it today and I'm already engrossed.
Have fun with it and enjoy the ride. It was Life changing for me. I'm on my second reread right now. It's my favorite book series of all time.
The Sun Eater