Quote Originally Posted by Germ Hamee View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Ouch! View Post
The A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. The books are in no way like a Final Fantasy game (although the plot of Tactics has similar concepts, specifically politics), but they put any other fantasy series to shame. I now find it impossible to read other fantasy series without comparing them to ASoIaF, which tends to be a problem as they never measure up.
Actually, now that you mention Tactics, I have to admit that I always thought FFXII had a sort of George RR Martin/Robin Hobb feel to it. It's definitely Hobbtin on a bright happy day, but it does have a similar vibe.
Tactics and XII share the same writer, so it's unsurprising that they both share similarities to other books of the same style.

Dragonlance/Forgotten Realms books are easily accessible and pretty much right up your alley as far as what you want.