I like epic, gritty stories set in imaginary worlds, therefore I like fantasy. However, I dislike magic, prophecies, zombies and anything else that's just implausable, so there's a lot of fantasy that I don't like. I guess I like fantasy that feels more like an alternate history than a fairy tale. "Hard fantasy" is sometimes defined this way. Any recommendations for me?
Some examples: I love ASoIaF for all the political dealings and intrigue in Westeros, but the zombies annoy me. I like Abercrombie's First Law trilogy because the magic is not that present.
It sounds like you're after what is sometimes known as "Low Fantasy" or "Historical Fantasy" - basically, where the focus is on realism rather than fantastical aspects, though they'll still be present in some form.
This is the area of fantasy I prefer to read - and write.
As for other writers in this part of the fantasy genre, aside from GRRM and Joe Abercrombie, I'd very much recommend David Gemmell - "Legend" is the book he's most famous for, but his "Lion of Macedon" set in Ancient Greece, and "Sword in the Storm" which has a Celtic feel, and are wonderful historical fantasy books.
Brian McClellan's
Promise of Blood is the first book in a series where gunpowder is more of a feature. I didn't think I'd enjoy something with a Napoleonic flavour, as I much prefer ancient and mediaeval world works, but his powder mages are a superb concept and the whole thing works surprisingly well.
Aside from that, I've found very little other historical fantasy, other than Raymond E Fiest's
The Magician, which doesn't actually have much magic in but a lot of historical detail. Douglas Hulick's
Among Thieves is pretty good, though he's just announced there's no book 3 coming any time soon. Scott Lynch's
Lies of Lock Lamorra isn't so much historical as much as lacking in magic, and the characters are sometimes like something from a Tarantino.
I'd actually recommend you give some historical fiction a try, if you haven't already - Robert Fabbri's
Vespasian series is superb, and the first book often runs at a big discount, and Robert Harris does wonderfully engaging Roman Historical Fiction - give
Imperium a try.
If you'd rather try something mediaeval, then Ken Follet's
The Pillars of the Earth is a pseudo-historical novel that is lavish and superb for its depth and breadth.
See if there's anything on that list to start with.