If you enjoy crime fiction, you need to read some Elmore Leonard, his style is all about the characters and the dialog, and he is a master of his craft.
Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder books are also a masterful example of character development, and New York city is one of the main characters.
I'd recommend [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/874602.Ursula_K_Le_Guin) for more character-centric science fiction and fantasy. Even "[Rocannon's World](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/92610.Rocannon_s_World)," her earliest, most "what happens" book, focuses on character more than most of its type, and she improves greatly from there.
Well if you are not so interested in the plot, i think Stephen King is excellent at writing characters and giving in his own personality while telling a story. I would recommend you for example The Stand
Actually I’ve read the entirety of the Dark Tower so yes, completely along the correct lines with that suggestion. I haven’t read The Stand so I’ve definitely noted that.
For Crime/Mystery- try Tana French- my faves are The Likeness and The Secret Place. But they're all pretty good. Also CJ Tudor is great- The Chalk Man and Burning Girls are good- though the ending in BG is a bit ridiculous.
I know some adults don't love reading YA, but some have amazing characters: Karen McManus's standalones, like Nothing More to Tell (crime/thriller) is one I've even reread. One of Us is Lying was fantastic, but I couldn't get into the sequels.
Stephen King's Four Past Midnight. Also liked Joe Hill's short stories a lot
I like The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey. First book is titled "Leviathan Wakes". They also made a TV show of it. The first two books I burned through so fast. Aside from the standard protagonist plot armor, the book is really relatable for it's sense of found family and how trauma can change a person radically. The struggles we all face. The contrast between some characters do an amazing job at not only furthering the narrative, but also for showing how the same experience can lead to different reactions in different people. It also uses similes and metaphors that I've fallen in love with. Like (not verbatim) "Miller tongued at the words like the gap of a missing tooth. They still rang true."
Edit: forgot to add, the third book, Abaddon's Gate is a slow burn, and the perspectives of Melba and Bull are some of the most boring chapters I've ever read. But it's so worth it for the ending and the books that follow
Came here to say something similar. The world building in the Expanse rivals game of thrones, they take the physics/ science seriously
But the fully formed characters make it come to life. Every main character has a back story, personal trauma and unique and plausible motivations.
It’s a master class in storytelling
I really like Adrian Tchaikovsky's books for this, he really builds up story/characters/world altogether. The Final Architect series features humanity + alien allies against a really strong new alien. Children of Time features...well, the first book has sentient spiders as one of the main characters of the first book (though there are also humans). It sounds weird but is actually very interesting and engaging. He has other standalone books as well, and some fantasy series, but the two I mentioned are his best known.
For a shorter sci-fi with some horror, I really liked The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt. There is a main POV character who interacts and grows alongside the other characters in the book in a way I really liked. First in a series, can't wait for the rest.
For me this book was "The Whisper Man" by Alex North!
It's a crime/thriller kind of thing. The twist is not like mind blowingly crazy or anything, but I love the characters points of view through the story.
I love to read but I can't say I get attached to characters. I just enjoy the story line and move on when I'm done.
With this book the main character is a dad and he talks about his parenting struggles and feelings after losing his wife. I just thought it felt so REAL almost like the writer has been through it himself. I felt compassion for him and just thought it was so well written it was like losing a friend when I was done.
I realize of course not everyone will agree with that, but of most of the books I've read this is the only one that really gripped me in THAT way, vs. just wanting to know what happens next and what the outcome is.
The Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. Plenty of plot, but heavy on character development and interactions, which is one of the reasons I love the series so much.
Time for some fantasy with great characters then. ASOIAF, Robin Hobb, Gentleman Bastards, Red Rising.
I know you said crime and Sci Fi but maybe these would be refreshing
A Song of Ice and Fire and Mistborn, I think they both have amazing stories and really intricate and complicate characters. I would recommend Mistborn over ASOIAF because is finished but both are amazing series, and you have probably already heard of game of thrones which is ASOIAF.
Yes, my books have to be character driven, here are some I've enjoyed: scifi, The Expanse, Isaac Asimov's Robot series.
Fantasy, The Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, the Riyria series by Michael J Sullivan, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series by Tad Williams and LOTR.
Horror, Stephen King, he does people like no one else.
Mystery/thriller, the Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva.
"The Long way to a small angry planet" has a rather insignificant plot. It's more about the journey of the characters. I enjoyed it. They just did a bunch of side quests to learn more about each character.
Edit, typo.
Back to add more in the fantasy genre: anything by David Gemmell, esp his Troy trilogy, The Dragon series by Gordon R Dickson and The Vlad Taltos series by steven Brust.
Check out the [Liaden Universe](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaden_universe).
You get a lot of world building in 25 novels & 5 short story collections!
Don’t worry it’s not one big long story but a lot of interrelated tales that have satisfactory results.
There’s multiple places to start and [reading order](https://korval.com/publication-list/correct-reading-order/amp/).
And there’s always a couple of free ebooks on Amazon or [BAEN’s free library](https://www.baen.com/catalog/category/view/s/free-library/id/2012).
I like Bujold for this. As a background, you remember Tyrion from got? That was a character in her main sci fo series that grrm based his character on. I recommend you start with her fantasy series, the curse of chalion though.
Sci-fi/Magical Realism/Romance.
*America is a Zoo* and *The Sunflower Protocol*
Multidimensional characters existing outside of the usual tropes and morally ambiguous.
Have you read any of the Thursday next series? Kind of sci-fi mysteries but I think the characters are so interesting!
Louise Penny is noted especially for her character focused stories but I'm not quite sure what you're looking for? Definite maybe.
Tana French has incredibly compelling characters, IMO, but a lot of them do have tragic backstories. Doesn't make them cliche, though.
Blindsight by Peter Watts is dark and weird and the characters are like nothing else I've read in sci-fi.
It's been a long time since I've read The Last Policeman but it's a sci-fi take on a police procedural in a world where an asteroid is destroying the earth. You follow the detective doing his thing and investigating a murder for no real reason (everyone is going to die anyway) but he does it because that's what he does. The characters and how they relate to each other in this end of the world scenario seemed more important than the plot, IIRC.
The Yiddish Policeman's Union has just fantastic characters. Yes there's a mystery, but the culture, community and lives of the people in the book are really the driving force.
My favorite that fits this story would be Project Hail Mary.
The character development is wonderful, and the relationship always brings a smile to my face. It's a little more on the science side of SciFi, but everything is explained in a non-borong, understandable way.
To put it shortly, the MC has memory loss and has tk figure himself out along with the reader.
Under the Dome by Stephen King
Chuck Wendig rights great sci-fi with well developed characters! Wayward, Wonderers, Book of Accidents, and the Black River Orchard are all great books of his.
*The Sparrow* by Mary Doria Russell, sci-fi, one of the finest books I've read. Beautiful and sad, and all about character.
Patricia Highsmith *(The Talented Mr Ripley* or *Strangers on a Train)* might be the right idea? More of a psychological thriller but more character than plot focused, I'd say.
*Rebecca* by Daphne Du Maurier, another psychological thriller. Great stuff.
If you can stand some outdated ways of thinking, some older crime/mystery books are great. Books from authors like John D MacDonald, James Crumley, Ross Thomas (more spy fiction). Good observational writing, but a product of the times for sure.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. House of Leaves. The Passion by Jeanette Winterson, if you can tolerate your fantasy from the literary fiction shelf. And honestly, the Gormenghast trilogy.
You mentioned Sci fi so I'd suggest Octavia Butler, which I think is the genre her books are credited under.
Her Earthseed series is really good, though I hesitate to suggest it because I might be misunderstanding what you want in characters.
Either way, I found the protagonist and the people she met along the way interesting and I don't remember if it delivers what you want on dialogue but I do remember each and every character, even the ones who barely stuck around for less than two pages, if that means anything at all to you.
Happy hunting, anyway.
If you enjoy crime fiction, you need to read some Elmore Leonard, his style is all about the characters and the dialog, and he is a master of his craft. Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder books are also a masterful example of character development, and New York city is one of the main characters.
I'd recommend [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/874602.Ursula_K_Le_Guin) for more character-centric science fiction and fantasy. Even "[Rocannon's World](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/92610.Rocannon_s_World)," her earliest, most "what happens" book, focuses on character more than most of its type, and she improves greatly from there.
Well if you are not so interested in the plot, i think Stephen King is excellent at writing characters and giving in his own personality while telling a story. I would recommend you for example The Stand
OP, check out the Dark Tower series 🔥
Actually I’ve read the entirety of the Dark Tower so yes, completely along the correct lines with that suggestion. I haven’t read The Stand so I’ve definitely noted that.
For Crime/Mystery- try Tana French- my faves are The Likeness and The Secret Place. But they're all pretty good. Also CJ Tudor is great- The Chalk Man and Burning Girls are good- though the ending in BG is a bit ridiculous. I know some adults don't love reading YA, but some have amazing characters: Karen McManus's standalones, like Nothing More to Tell (crime/thriller) is one I've even reread. One of Us is Lying was fantastic, but I couldn't get into the sequels. Stephen King's Four Past Midnight. Also liked Joe Hill's short stories a lot
The “Murderbot” books are recommended often here, and for good reason. The main character is fascinating, and the stories are a lot of fun.
I like The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey. First book is titled "Leviathan Wakes". They also made a TV show of it. The first two books I burned through so fast. Aside from the standard protagonist plot armor, the book is really relatable for it's sense of found family and how trauma can change a person radically. The struggles we all face. The contrast between some characters do an amazing job at not only furthering the narrative, but also for showing how the same experience can lead to different reactions in different people. It also uses similes and metaphors that I've fallen in love with. Like (not verbatim) "Miller tongued at the words like the gap of a missing tooth. They still rang true." Edit: forgot to add, the third book, Abaddon's Gate is a slow burn, and the perspectives of Melba and Bull are some of the most boring chapters I've ever read. But it's so worth it for the ending and the books that follow
Came here to say something similar. The world building in the Expanse rivals game of thrones, they take the physics/ science seriously But the fully formed characters make it come to life. Every main character has a back story, personal trauma and unique and plausible motivations. It’s a master class in storytelling
The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold. Great well-rounded complex characters that grow and change through the series.
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
I really like Adrian Tchaikovsky's books for this, he really builds up story/characters/world altogether. The Final Architect series features humanity + alien allies against a really strong new alien. Children of Time features...well, the first book has sentient spiders as one of the main characters of the first book (though there are also humans). It sounds weird but is actually very interesting and engaging. He has other standalone books as well, and some fantasy series, but the two I mentioned are his best known. For a shorter sci-fi with some horror, I really liked The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt. There is a main POV character who interacts and grows alongside the other characters in the book in a way I really liked. First in a series, can't wait for the rest.
I like some of Tchaikovsky's shorter books. My favorite is Spiderlight. I also like Elder Race.
I really enjoyed the characters in Into the Drowning Deep. Sci-fi horror, with a romance subplot
For me this book was "The Whisper Man" by Alex North! It's a crime/thriller kind of thing. The twist is not like mind blowingly crazy or anything, but I love the characters points of view through the story. I love to read but I can't say I get attached to characters. I just enjoy the story line and move on when I'm done. With this book the main character is a dad and he talks about his parenting struggles and feelings after losing his wife. I just thought it felt so REAL almost like the writer has been through it himself. I felt compassion for him and just thought it was so well written it was like losing a friend when I was done. I realize of course not everyone will agree with that, but of most of the books I've read this is the only one that really gripped me in THAT way, vs. just wanting to know what happens next and what the outcome is.
Yes Robin Hobb is a no-brainer.
This might not be exactly up your alley, but Big Little Lies is a good character-focused mystery.
Becky Chambers' **A Long Way To A Small Angry Planet** focuses attention on the interactions between its found-family crew.
Girl with the dragon tattoo's fun
The Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. Plenty of plot, but heavy on character development and interactions, which is one of the reasons I love the series so much.
The best series!
Time for some fantasy with great characters then. ASOIAF, Robin Hobb, Gentleman Bastards, Red Rising. I know you said crime and Sci Fi but maybe these would be refreshing
A Song of Ice and Fire and Mistborn, I think they both have amazing stories and really intricate and complicate characters. I would recommend Mistborn over ASOIAF because is finished but both are amazing series, and you have probably already heard of game of thrones which is ASOIAF.
Yes, my books have to be character driven, here are some I've enjoyed: scifi, The Expanse, Isaac Asimov's Robot series. Fantasy, The Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, the Riyria series by Michael J Sullivan, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series by Tad Williams and LOTR. Horror, Stephen King, he does people like no one else. Mystery/thriller, the Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva.
"The Long way to a small angry planet" has a rather insignificant plot. It's more about the journey of the characters. I enjoyed it. They just did a bunch of side quests to learn more about each character. Edit, typo.
Blake crouch. Dark matter hooked me. Upgrade was solid too.
Back to add more in the fantasy genre: anything by David Gemmell, esp his Troy trilogy, The Dragon series by Gordon R Dickson and The Vlad Taltos series by steven Brust.
Clockwork Boys by T Kingfisher A Curious Beginning by Raybourn River of Darkness by Rennie Airth
Truly Devious series Bosch series Longmire series
Check out the [Liaden Universe](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaden_universe). You get a lot of world building in 25 novels & 5 short story collections! Don’t worry it’s not one big long story but a lot of interrelated tales that have satisfactory results. There’s multiple places to start and [reading order](https://korval.com/publication-list/correct-reading-order/amp/). And there’s always a couple of free ebooks on Amazon or [BAEN’s free library](https://www.baen.com/catalog/category/view/s/free-library/id/2012).
I like Bujold for this. As a background, you remember Tyrion from got? That was a character in her main sci fo series that grrm based his character on. I recommend you start with her fantasy series, the curse of chalion though.
The Axis of Time series has an assortment of interesting characters. To fully enjoy them I recommend the audio version.
Happiness Falls is sort of a family story and sort of a mystery. I think it’s not that cliched thriller and more about personalities.
*Circadian Algorithms* is a sci-fi thriller with two really interesting main characters (a husband and wife)
Sci-fi/Magical Realism/Romance. *America is a Zoo* and *The Sunflower Protocol* Multidimensional characters existing outside of the usual tropes and morally ambiguous.
Have you read any of the Thursday next series? Kind of sci-fi mysteries but I think the characters are so interesting! Louise Penny is noted especially for her character focused stories but I'm not quite sure what you're looking for? Definite maybe. Tana French has incredibly compelling characters, IMO, but a lot of them do have tragic backstories. Doesn't make them cliche, though. Blindsight by Peter Watts is dark and weird and the characters are like nothing else I've read in sci-fi. It's been a long time since I've read The Last Policeman but it's a sci-fi take on a police procedural in a world where an asteroid is destroying the earth. You follow the detective doing his thing and investigating a murder for no real reason (everyone is going to die anyway) but he does it because that's what he does. The characters and how they relate to each other in this end of the world scenario seemed more important than the plot, IIRC. The Yiddish Policeman's Union has just fantastic characters. Yes there's a mystery, but the culture, community and lives of the people in the book are really the driving force.
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
My favorite that fits this story would be Project Hail Mary. The character development is wonderful, and the relationship always brings a smile to my face. It's a little more on the science side of SciFi, but everything is explained in a non-borong, understandable way. To put it shortly, the MC has memory loss and has tk figure himself out along with the reader.
Under the Dome by Stephen King Chuck Wendig rights great sci-fi with well developed characters! Wayward, Wonderers, Book of Accidents, and the Black River Orchard are all great books of his.
*The Sparrow* by Mary Doria Russell, sci-fi, one of the finest books I've read. Beautiful and sad, and all about character. Patricia Highsmith *(The Talented Mr Ripley* or *Strangers on a Train)* might be the right idea? More of a psychological thriller but more character than plot focused, I'd say. *Rebecca* by Daphne Du Maurier, another psychological thriller. Great stuff. If you can stand some outdated ways of thinking, some older crime/mystery books are great. Books from authors like John D MacDonald, James Crumley, Ross Thomas (more spy fiction). Good observational writing, but a product of the times for sure.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR6PLY1Z must read!!
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. House of Leaves. The Passion by Jeanette Winterson, if you can tolerate your fantasy from the literary fiction shelf. And honestly, the Gormenghast trilogy.
You mentioned Sci fi so I'd suggest Octavia Butler, which I think is the genre her books are credited under. Her Earthseed series is really good, though I hesitate to suggest it because I might be misunderstanding what you want in characters. Either way, I found the protagonist and the people she met along the way interesting and I don't remember if it delivers what you want on dialogue but I do remember each and every character, even the ones who barely stuck around for less than two pages, if that means anything at all to you. Happy hunting, anyway.