Continuing my deplorable practice of recommending books I haven't read, you might also want to check out R. Scott Bakker’s
The Darkness That Comes Before (Book One of The Prince of Nothing). A good friend of mine absolutely loved this. Apparently these books have done quite well, and are viewed as being a bit more literary. You'll get philosophical and religious issues and such.
And you'd get bonus points for reading a Canadian author.
As a consequence of wading into this thread, I'm currently rejigging my own reading list. This has helped me figure out which fantasy books to seek out, being that I, too, have taken issue with books bogged down with background, history, and description.
Some reviews that hint that this is something that moves away from what you want to avoid:
Quote:
“Canadian author Bakker's impressive, challenging debut, the first of a trilogy, should please those weary of formulaic epic fantasy. Bakker's utterly foreign world, Eärwa, is as complex as that of Tolkien, to whom he is, arguably, a worthier successor than such established names as David Eddings and Stephen Donaldson.”
–Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)
“[R. Scott Bakker is a] class act like George R. R. Martin, or his fellow Canadians Steven Erikson and Guy Gavriel Kay. He gets right away from the 'downtrodden youth becoming king' aspect of epic fantasy in his very impressive first novel - The Darkness That Comes Before, which will be published in the UK in April 2004. But he also reminds us of the out-and-out strangeness that fantasy can engender, in a way no one has since Clark Ashton Smith. No clunky analogy of medieval Europe here. Odd, fascinating characters in a world full of trouble and sorcery.”
–“10 Authors to Watch,” SFX Magazine
“The Darkness That Comes Before is something special... A stunning first book, brilliant setting and characterisation, and if this was just a warm-up then the entire series is going to set a new standard for fantasy writers everywhere. Go read it now, as the publisher's blurb proclaims - ‘Something remarkable has begun...’”
–The Alien Online
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(This is on my list after I finish
The Once and Future King.)