I’ve avoided fantasy as a genre because it’s always seemed nebulous and dorky compared to science fiction, a position probably informed more by laziness than any virtuous argument. Someone recommended Brandon Sanderson’s work because it promised magic with rules.
I was thoroughly captivated by the dark, intriguing, and relatable world that Sanderson created to tell a great story. It didn’t take long to picture and believe in these new characters and contexts that he presented, and I was pulled along by the humanity (individual characters and tribal dynamics) of the plot. Really good stuff!