I couldn't get past the first chapter. *hangs head in shame*
I plan on trying again though, It may have been my mood at the time. Harry Potter has my imagination for the time being, so it will be a while.

Tolkien is the best. The Hobbit/LotR are major literary achievements. Most of the time when you read fantasy you don't ever quite lose the sense of it being just that--fantasy. Tolkien on the other hand made his story seem real, like such things could actually be.

Not that I've read all that much fantasy. But those books are truly in the great story category.

I also liked Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series very much. I liked the cynical, dark sense of humor in those tales. But it was a very long time ago now that I read them. Not sure how I would like them now.

I can't say that I've been all that impressed by R.A. Salvatore. But I've only read The Crystal Shard. I thought it was a decent tale, and Drizzt is a great character. But it felt just a notch above the amateur level of writing, like a young writer still learning his craft. I was unable to get very far with Homeland, although yopu can see his craft has improved by then. I just could not maintain interest for some reason.