getting lost in big worlds

[ekalb]

let me start off by getting right to the point.
Is it just me, or does anyone else think that there's way too many 'BIG' worlds in fantasy? What's wrong with subtle worlds, where the character is having his adventure within a small, convined area? Say, a single village...or maybe a single house. The characters and the crisis could come to him, instead of the other way around. And maybe the world outiside never gets 'explained'--a little mystery about the world is, i think, a good thing.
I really want to see some 'out-of-the-box' writing, and am trying it myself.
I don't think our worlds are more interesting if they include complexity for the sake of complexity. I would rather read a well-written story about a single person, written entirely in one POV, about one singular crisis, than a bland story about a huge world, with a massive political plot... oh, and throw some elfs and dwarfs in too
I don't know, am I alone on this?

[Teresa Edgerton]

There have been plenty of fantasy novels that take place all or mostly in a limited location. Before Gollum does so, I'll recommend that you take a look at some of the books in the Fantasy Masterworks series.

As for writing a more intimate story that brings one place and one set of characters vividly to life, instead of a sprawling epic, I think that's a laudable ambition.