I'm a fan of R.A. Salvatore, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, Ed Greenwood type of fantasy. Read the first two books in the Song of Ice and Fire series, and they were ok...I prefer the writing of Weis & Hickman over Martin though. Anyway, if someone has some good suggestions, I'd be appreciative. Thank you!!
I rarely read fantasy, so the only recommendation I can make is Terry Goodkind's "Sword of Truth" series. It's page-turning entertainment, to be sure, with most of the same tropes and plot-lines being recycled every 5 books or so. Even so, I found these to be good "fillers" to read while I was looking for something better.
I was in love with "Sword of Truth" for a while, but yeah, it gets repetitive and even predictable after the first four books. Have you heard of the Wheel of Time series? I haven't read it myself, but I keep hearing recommendations for it, and it looks really good. Otherwise you could check out Discworld, a comic fantasy. Each book is a stand-alone, so you can read any of them out of order. I read "Going Postal" and loved it.
Terry Pratchett is one of my favourite authors ever, but while the setting is 'fantasy' it works more like satire. Going Postal is an excellent one to begin with, if you're interested in trying Pratchett. Another more straightforward, but EXCELLENT fantasy series is the one by Kage Baker, that includes The House of the Stag, The Anvil of the World and The Bird of the River. I actually began with Bird of the River, which worked really well. It's about two teenagers who join the crew of a river barge (in a fantasy setting), after their addict mother drowns. One of the two becomes the 'spotter' for the barge, spotting obstacles in the river in time to avoid them. They need to combat pirates, criminal gangs ...and, well, I don't want to give the game away. The other two books in the series, which were actually written first, (Stag and Anvil) can be read later on, but do read them in order. Kage Baker was a FANTASTIC writer of fantasy, and her Company series, beginning with In the Garden of Iden is another huge favourite of mine.
I found The Lies of Locke Lamora to be an excellent book. It is a series, but I have not read past the first one. Perhaps you might like the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb?
Have you tried Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series - this is similar to the Dragonlance series.
Try reading something by Mercedes Lackey. Dragon Jousters, the Obsidian trilogy.... their books are endless
You could try Charles de Lint, he writes urban fantasy. Dreams Underfoot is an early collection of short stories, so might be an easy way to see if you like his stuff. Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen is complete, I hate starting series that may not end. His friend Ian Esslemont has written a few stand-alone books in that universe. I enjoyed Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. I agree that Pratchett, Goodkind, McCaffrey, King's Dark Tower and the Wheel of Time are all worth reading. Have fun
If you want to start into the Malazan series, do not go and buy a whole bunch of his books. From my experience in reading most of the series and reading a fair number of reviews, there are many differences of opinions over the series. Some love 'em to death and some, like me, have major problems with the series. But at least try reading Gardens of the Moon, the first one, as it is a fairly self-contained work and it'll give you a good idea of the rest of Erikson's work. I would definitely second the Lies of Locke Lamorra and its sequel, Red Seas Under Red Skies. Loved both of them. Discworld, as mentioned, is pretty epic. Guards! Guards!, in particular, is absolutely hilarious.
The King Killer Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss (not complete) and The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks.
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien seem to me to be staples of a healthy literary diet.
I'm a big fan of Bob's work, and have read pretty much every book of his over the last twenty years. If you are looking for something else to read as a fantasy fiction series then maybe try Brent Weeks and the Night Angel trilogy. It's a good set of books and similar to R. A Salvatore's work, though it is a little more adult in some ways as well. Given the authors you noted above in your OP – and I’ve read more than just Bob’s work – I think you will enjoy this set as well.
