[Wings-n-Wind]

Tim LaHaye & company LEFT BEHIND series

[The Grammarian]

Gotta have Tolkien in there. What about the Dragonriders of Pern books? They'd be on my list.

[HairOfTheDog]

Ping....

[Hegemony Cricket]

Try out some Ursula K. LeGuin. She somewhat bridges the gap between fantasy and sci-fi, but I've always enjoyed her stuff.

[InvisibleChurch]

new york times staff - all the grits thats fits to prints

[Tax-chick]

Steven Brust, "Dragaera"

Roger Zelazny, everything

Is it fantasy? Is it SF? Who cares?

[kcar]

I nominate Poul Anderson, to whom I swear fealty, for something. How about for his Future History series, or the Tales of the Time Patrol. Either Anson Guthrie or Manse Everard has gotta walk away with something I figure. I love Poul like I love JRR, brilliant imagination, wonderful story-telling abilitiy, and awesome command of the language.

[Hegemony Cricket]

Also check out Robert J. Silverberg, particularly "Lord Valentine's Castle".

[shempy]

Gene Wolfe - The Book of the New Sun series.

[Maigrey]

I'vve been told that George R.R. Martin is good also. (I'vve not read him yet, since I'm re-reading WOT for the second time through...)

What about all of Hicks/Weis? I'm reading Weis in her Star of the Guardians once again, just to refresh myself on my namesake.)

[Maigrey]

You could also try Piers Anthony, and some of his Xanth Series, and also his series, Incantations of Immortality. Also interesting reading (if not too fantastic...)

There is also one by Greg Bear, called Songs of Earth and Power.

[billbears]

Not necessarily fantasy except the 'what if' part but Harry Turtledove. He's written a long series on what would possibly have happened if the South had won the War (he's past WWI in that one), another series if aliens had landed during WWII (last time I looked up into the 1980s on that one), and another couple of history ones including what if Mohammed had turned to Christianity. Haven't gotten into that series all that much, but did just pick up his latest book, Ruled Britannia, set 10 years after the Spanish Armada defeated the British.

For laughs, without a doubt, Terry Pratchett and the Discworld series. What I've always found so funny is how he ties in things from our lives into the stories

[Cachelot]

Well, this is kinda different from the selection you have there:

Mervyn Peake - the Gormenghast trilogy.
Certain books by Iain Banks, such as Walking on Glass and The Bridge.

A little more mainstream:

Hannes Bok - The Sorcerer's Ship and Beyond the Golden Stair
Robert Holdstock - Mythago Wood and Lavondyss
Christopher Stasheff - King Kobold

[VeritatisSplendor]

how about Harry Turtledove's alternate histories? Ruled Britannia, How Few Remain, Guns of the South (reading it now). I don't know if he did sword and sorcery type fantasy, but if he did you'd love it - the man can write unlike some of the authors you mentionned, who type, no offense.

And definitely, definitely Lois McMaster Bujold - the Spirit Ring, Curse of Chalion, (sequel due in a few months.) She writes too.

Mrs VS

[philetus]

A.E. Van Vogt

The Weapon Shops of Isher

[Malsua]

I agree with your list...

Add in Hard Sci-Fi though!

Jack Chalker - Well of souls

David Drake - Hammer's Slammers

Just about everything from Gordon R. Dickson.

And just about everything from Philip Jose Farmer.

on that note, I attended a lecture from Stephan R Donaldson at the Kiva at Kent State back in probably 1986 or so. it was fascinating. He explained the characters at length and why Thomas Covenant was so annoying.

[Phsstpok]

I met Stephen Donaldson at a book signing in a small San Francisco book store back when the first trilogy was being published. For a long time my friend and I were the only ones there so we ended up talking to him. Finally another lady came up for his autograph on a book, but then proceeded to complain about the vocabulary in his novels.

"Look lady, if you can't figure out that roynish is a bad thing from the context the ur-vile was roynish then you probably won't get the rest of the book either."

I loved it.

[Arkinsaw]

Tolkien (LOTR), Turtledove (South, Brittania), Ursula K. Leguin (Earthsea), Moorcock (Eternal Champion), Tom Reamy (Blind Voices), Tanith Lee, Lovecraft, Donaldson (Covenant)

Can't stand Pern, Shannara, or most of your typical young boy mage on a quest fantasy.

[Happygal]

What about Frank Herberts 'Dune'?

[redheadtoo]

Some great writers have been listed on this thread but I can't believe that no one has mentioned my favorite C.J. Cherryh. She is a great writer in both science fiction and fantasy. I especially enjoyed her Gate series and her Foreigner series.

Another favorite that has not been mentioned is Orson Scot Card. How can science fiction and fantasy readers make a list of the best writers and not include him.