Tolkien and George R. Martin

[Alfirin]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

If you're looking for something less "profound", Guy Gavriel Kay's books have wonderful storytelling, recycling of old myths, beautiful language and deep tragedy, and Robin Hobb is a superb storyteller, character-creator and recycler of clichés.

If you can get around the religious overtones (and to me, they're no more heavy handed than the ones in C.S. Lewis's Narnia) I've also derived no small joy from Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series. At six books (with one more to go) and two short stories (plus one epic length poem if your a real devotee) it's a bit lengthy. but as has been discussed seven books is nothing compared to how long people like Jordan have strached things (one of my other frustrations with Jordan is that, as less and less actual "in story" time passed with each book versus outside time (the time it took the actual books to come out), and the story got more and more complex, it became harder and harder, and yet more and more necessary for my comprehsion of each new book, to re-read ALL of the previos ones before starting each new volume). Card's Alvin is particulary good if you have a fondness for American "Tall Tales" as opposed to the romaticized medival world that most fantasy writers seem to look to for inspiration.