For me there are two series that stand out head and shoulders above the rest in terms of quality and originality. And there are:
Steven Erikson - Malazan Books Of The Fallen
I discovered this series by complete and utter chance and boy was I rewarded. Well one day I was in Waterstones and was mesmerized by the front cover of this book called Memories of Ice. It depicted some great siege of a city with burning buildings behind the towering stone walls and waves crashing against a cliff face (it's built next to a Sea). I immediately wanted to get it but then I discovered it was the 3rd in a series, so naturally didn't want to rush into buying that before reading the first two. The first book in this series is Gardens of the Moon, and is a phenominal achievement in terms of epic writing. The plotline to this series is SO granderous and huge in scope it's unreal, and not only that but the writing is absolutely top notch. The sorcery, lore, worldbuilding, characters and description are absolutely superb and Memories Of Ice turned out to be not only a book with an awesome front cover, but the best book I've ever read.
George RR Martin - A Song of Ice And Fire
Any true fantasy fan has at least heard of this series and is aware of the fact it's regardest as one of the finest pieces of fiction ever written. For once the ridicolous amount of praise this series has recieved is completely justified. The characterization, the description, the plot, the lore, the world building... just everything about this whole series is different to anything you've ever read. You will be astounded by how good it is and will be hooked within a few pages of A Game of Thrones. The greatest thing about this series is that NONE of the characters are purely good or evil, but are realistic human beings. They all have some awareness of right and wrong and are comprised of infinite shades of gray, just like regular humans. There is no black and white in this series. There is no fair haired, gentle faced, courageous, farmer boy turned super swordsman man of perfect decency on a quest to find the Sword of Dreadanemnons Flame so he can defeat the evil Lord of Infinite Darkness Trezagulack upon the fiery slopes of Mount Drekkenscourge. The whole series is about how the characters react to what's going on, and all throughout he provides such deep insight into their thoughts and feelings that you will become completely emotionally attatched to them and will truly care if they live or die, and a lot of them do the latter.
Steven Erikson - Malazan Books Of The Fallen
I discovered this series by complete and utter chance and boy was I rewarded. Well one day I was in Waterstones and was mesmerized by the front cover of this book called Memories of Ice. It depicted some great siege of a city with burning buildings behind the towering stone walls and waves crashing against a cliff face (it's built next to a Sea). I immediately wanted to get it but then I discovered it was the 3rd in a series, so naturally didn't want to rush into buying that before reading the first two. The first book in this series is Gardens of the Moon, and is a phenominal achievement in terms of epic writing. The plotline to this series is SO granderous and huge in scope it's unreal, and not only that but the writing is absolutely top notch. The sorcery, lore, worldbuilding, characters and description are absolutely superb and Memories Of Ice turned out to be not only a book with an awesome front cover, but the best book I've ever read.
George RR Martin - A Song of Ice And Fire
Any true fantasy fan has at least heard of this series and is aware of the fact it's regardest as one of the finest pieces of fiction ever written. For once the ridicolous amount of praise this series has recieved is completely justified. The characterization, the description, the plot, the lore, the world building... just everything about this whole series is different to anything you've ever read. You will be astounded by how good it is and will be hooked within a few pages of A Game of Thrones. The greatest thing about this series is that NONE of the characters are purely good or evil, but are realistic human beings. They all have some awareness of right and wrong and are comprised of infinite shades of gray, just like regular humans. There is no black and white in this series. There is no fair haired, gentle faced, courageous, farmer boy turned super swordsman man of perfect decency on a quest to find the Sword of Dreadanemnons Flame so he can defeat the evil Lord of Infinite Darkness Trezagulack upon the fiery slopes of Mount Drekkenscourge. The whole series is about how the characters react to what's going on, and all throughout he provides such deep insight into their thoughts and feelings that you will become completely emotionally attatched to them and will truly care if they live or die, and a lot of them do the latter.
