I like epic fantasy as much as anyone. Still read Lord of The Rings every few years, love the Wheel of Time Series and many others, but sometimes I want to read fantasy that isn't about someone changing the entire world, but also isn't silly. Perhaps it's just me but often this type of fantasy is harder to find than epic fantasy. Everything in the fantasy section is either massive doorstop epic fantasy, modern fantasy or diskworld.

Recently I discovered a series of books that fit the bill though. These are the Ethshar Series of books. The most recent is The Vondish Ambasitor  which I havnt' got to yet but I've read all the others.

Each book is a stand alone story about a single character and the most important point of these books is that they are fun. The characters do things that are important, but they aren't prophisied heroes or the world's greatest anything. Instead they are men and women who are on an adventure that is big to them.

There is a world here that you discover more about in every book, interesting magic, smart writing and enough humor to make you laugh but not so that it becomes the entire focus of the books.

They can be read in any order, usually don't take to long and are at their heart just a lot of fun. So, if you like fantasy but don't always have the eneregy for the complexities of epic fantasies then consider picking up the Ethshar series of books, a series that deserves more attention than it has been getting.

If you want to know more check out Lawrence Watt-Even's homepage. Here he discusses his books(including other interesting series), and sometimes puts out new work.