Definetly agree with Omegadawn... George R.R. Martin's trilogy (Game of thrones, Clash of Kings, Sea of swords) are masterpieces of tight complex storytelling in a brutally harsh setting that is almost believable (very little magic or non-human races). People get hurt, heroes die, betrayals surprise, and you simply can't stop reading.
Other books I enjoyed above average:
- The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay (rarely did I care about characters as much as those in that trilogy).
- Anything by Salvatore.
- Most books by Robert Heinlein (SF but still..).
- The recent Dune books by Herbert (the son) - House Atreides and House Harkonnen - Masterpieces of intricacy in a deeply developped SF setting.
- As mentioned by many, the classics of high fantasy by Tolkien, the Sword of Truth, the wheel of time (even though I got bored with the verbosity by book 5, the first few tomes were enthralling), the Coldfire trilogy (Gerald Tarrant is such a great villain) and Battlefield Earth (the BOOK, certainly not the movie!).
My 2 cents' worth...
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