http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/simon-r-green/

One of my favorite 'light' fantasy authors.  Blue Moon Rising was just a very fun read, and most of the rest of his works are in a similar vein.  Though I've not read his detective stuff since the setting doesn't appeal to me so much.

All the Deathstalker books are fun as well, lots of great Sci-Fi ideas.

Hi, I am a fan of all the above mentioned books . . . in a very particular order

1) George R R Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire . . . I have the habit of reading his books in one setting cuz they are impossible to put down ( as to what GRRM is up to I find this is the best website http://grrm.livejournal.com , he seems to be a very, very busy man and now they are turning the song of ice and fire into a hbo mini series)

2) Robin Hobbs, another writer who i read in single sittings for the same reason as above

3) Stephen Erikson, Malazan Book of the Fallen . . .  I believe they are the most complex fantasy world ever created with stories happening on a world wide scale

4) Robert Jordan, Wheel of Time series . . . the first 4 or 5 books were utterly fantastic, and then he got bogged down with an overly meandering storyline, never did finish the series, will do one day after I reread the initial books

5) Terry Goodkind, Sword of Truth series . . . like Jordan the first few books are utterly amazing but the storytelling seems to falter in the later books, I believe there are now 11 books in that series

6) Raymond Feist, the Riftwar cycle . . . loved these alot when I was younger and still intrigued by the main story arc

7) David Eddings, Begariad et al . . . also loved these when I was younger, but i think that at this point in my life I prefer the more complex fantasy stories

8) Robert Scott Baker, Prince of Nothing series . . . another Canadian like Erikson, very complex trilogy, great story though, he just started a second trilogy that follows this one

9)Terry Brooks, Shannara books . . . this guy has been writing forever, and I have been reading his books for thirty years now

10) Kate Elliot, Crown of Stars . . . seven books in this series, very epic story line

11) David Farland, the Runelords series . . . eight books in the series

Hmmmm, I can name more but these are the most memorable books . . .  the best thing about high or epic fantasy is that when you read that one really, really good book, you are not done yet, cuz there are many more books in the series to which you can look forward to.  However, the problem with some of them is that the plot tends to got convoluted, or you simply get bored with the characters . . . this was the case for me with robert jordan and terry goodkind . . . but was definitely not the case with grrm and stephen erikson.

Cheers!!! 

Thanks for the replies Zorastra and jaythewise. My reading tastes blend in with both of yours quite well with the exception of David Eddings and Kate Elliot. David Farland's are built around a great concept of magic. I have read the first five or six in the "Runelords". I love his take on the magic side and for every plus there is a downside. The more powerful the more your people have to give to make you the way you are.

I have been reading Glen Cook's books since I started Steven Erickson's books. I like his point of view from the Black Company and enjoy reading about them and all there conflicts their bosses (the bad guys). I find his story telling a little had to follow but I enjoy them all the same. Great ideas and some great characters. Kinda reminds me of "Myth:Total Codex" games as the story is mainly a narration about the Black Company. 

I have read "The Prince of Nothing" series and it is something that one day I will have to re-read. I have a bad habit sometimes of reading but not taking in what I am reading. Now I do remember alot of the books just it has been awhile and I have read many great authors since.

It was alright.

I have read "The Red Wolf Conspiracy" by Robert V.S. Redick and I enjoyed it. Will get the next book in the series.

David Gemmell dudes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gemmell

best heroic fantasy ever - properly moving stuff

Druss; Legend

Glen Cook is probably not the best writer out of the bunch... but his is probably the darkest series of books I have ever read. The characters are great as well. It almost reminds me of a war movie with fantasy to be honest. Like following a platoon of guys @ war who rape and kill with magic and get eaten/killed/etc by all sorts of characters who are all sorts of shades of evil...

I think I need to give Steven Erickson another chance. I tried his first book but I just couldnt really get into it. Just too long winded but everyone I know who like George RR Martin likes him as well so meh ill try again...

And for a different type of book I recommend this for everyone who likes really weird books:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scar-China-Mieville/dp/0330392905

China Mieville is more fantasy/sci fi and it is also pretty dark...

WINTER IS COMING 2011!

The reason why GGRM hasn't published the rest of the books is because HBO is making the books into a series. The Fire & Ice, or the the HBO title Game of Thrones, has been in production for the better part of a year now, so I'm hoping early 2011. Here is a link with a few trailers and stuff http://www.hbo.com/#/game-of-thrones . The production so far looks awesomely superb.

-Chuck <LIFE><!----Insert boring stuff here----></LIFE>

Just finished the "Way of Kings" and it is really good. It started off slow and most of the book focused on 2-3 story arcs but there are a few chapters that actually only deal with different arcs that must be explained in the upcoming sequels. Anyone who has read The Mistborn Trilogy are in for a treat because the magic is alot the same in the way one of the characters are able to move about and things they can do.

Like his previous writing he looks at stories and writes outside traditional fantasy views instead of being from the good side or the bad he writes from neither and asks lots of questions that have to do with morals. I felt you could definitely see his writing grow as this was his first book he started writing more than ten yrs ago and by the end it looks like this will be his best yet.

Great reading and I recommend this to anyone who likes George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, or any of the other writers I have mentioned.

I will be reading it Frogboy very very soon. I have heard good things so far. Thanks for the reply.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Terry Pratchett, China Mieville or Alan Campbell...

Terry Pratchett writes the Discworld novels, for those of us who prefer a little comedy with their fantasy. There's more than 30 books so far. If you haven't read any of them yet, I recommend "Small Gods" as a jumping-off point.

China Mieville is, in my opinion, one of the most original voices in the world of Fantasy at the moment. He has a series of novels beginning with Perdido Street Station that set up a gritty, crowded and believable world full of wonders. I'd like to tell you more about it, but I absolutely do not want to spoil anything. A very enjoyable read.

Alan Campbell wrote a trilogy of books beginning with Scar Night that introduced me to the sprawling, suspended-by-chains city of Deepgate. The concept of a city built along those lines was enough to get me to buy the book. The story made me devour it. A good read with some interesting concepts throughout.

I would also be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to the series of books a drew my name from. The Lone Wolf series of Gamebooks, by Joe Dever. They were a kind of cross between choose-your-own-adventure and a D&D session. I discovered them at an early age and got most of them before they went out of print. Now I hear they are back in print in the UK, not to mention the fact that Mr. Dever was kind enough to let them be reproduced online for the team at Project Aon. I realize that this is not a traditional epic fantasy story, more akin to the Conan mode of storytelling, but they did pave the way for all the fantasy I have read since. If anyone is interested, Flight From The Dark is the first book.

So an Omnibus of sorts came out for the first Black COmpany books.  I think the first 3.  Is this really good?  I hate buying books that are highly recommended and they end up being junk.

Hello Everyone.

I just finished reading a book called "The Way of Shadows" by Brent Weeks. It is part one of "The Night Angle Trilogy" and once I was a few chapters in it was a great read. Follows the life of a street urchin who becomes a "wetboy". An assassin of sorts, only better. Good story with some really interesting magic and great fight scenes all set in an East Asian setting.

Now I am not a big fan of asian fantasy but this is pretty minimal in this book and you can really imagine this story taking place anywhere.

I enjoyed it and I can't wait to read the next two books in the series. I have them both on my shelve right now and will be starting "The Shadows Edge" this evening.