[Cerek the Barbaric]

Not even one single mention of R.A. Salvatore??? You've got to be kidding me.

Maybe he isn't considered "current" but he is my far and away my favorite author.

His Icewind Dale Trilogy and Dark Elf Series are both in "compilation hardback" form (my term, means that all three books are published together).

While these are his most famous works, he has written MANY other series outside of the Forgotten Realms. I've read the Crimson Shadow series. It was excellent. One of the main characters was a halfling duelist that was extremely entertaining. Once again, Salvatore establishes an unorthodox race/class mixture and makes it believable.

There is also the Demon War Saga. I have all three books, but have not started reading any of them yet. But, in an interview on his home website, R.A. Salvatore said that he felt the main character in that series was "the most real character he had ever created".

So - in case you haven't guessed - R.A. Salvatore gets my vote for a new author to explore. All of his books are well written and read very quickly.