Chapotraphouse

There's a more but its mostly background or ancient history and usually quite minor to the plot, in contrast with most other fantasy series/settings where magic/magical items are often McGuffins and the deus ex machinas. Eschewing the centrality of magic and instead focusing on very detailed worldbuilding allowing for 'realistic' portrayals of political intrigue/military conflicts and even what mundane life would be like with the implications of the setting is what made the series unique and popular even prior to the adaption

ASOIAF as always been more about the political intrigue, but in the books it is actually done well, and the depth of the world and number of fleshed out characters is impossible to translate to screen well(I'm pretty sure GRRM expressed the same opinion about its inadaptability before the show deal, and he was a screenwriter for years so he should know lol)

As for Sam at the point the book are at(which is around season 5 in the show iirc although the cutting, melding and changing of plotlines and characters makes direct comparison inaccurate, but its been a 15 year gap since the last book and there's supposed to be 2 more ) he just started training to become a Maester, which he does in the show but iirc they kind of rush the whole thing, their more like scientists/philosophers/alchemists than actual wizards but he is his apprenticing with a Maester who knows ravenspeach which is implied to be kind of magical, and has come into contact with Glass Candles which are basically non-evil lotr Palantirs which I don't think were in the show at all? so he is brushing up against magic a bit

But yeah magic is explicitly not the focus of ASOIAF, it's basically war of the roses in a fantasy setting. The show sucks give the books a go, if its up your alley you'll be hooked after a few chapters