It's even more difficult than "Your top Sci-fi"!
I've read a loads of it (I like the fantasy more than sci-fi). Some of them are awesome, other ones - is ok. And then there are those "Damn, and why did I read that".
Well.
Roger Joseph Zelazny - "The chronicles of Amber". It was one of my first fantasy books and still one of my favourites!
Glen Charles Cook - "The black company". Dark fantasy about mercenaries, it's awesome! That's right, the last few books are worse ("Santa Barbara" again) but still pretty good. "Garrett, P.I." series - fantasy noir. I've read only six of them. This one is pretty good too.
Clark Ashton Smith. He is awesome, especially "Zothique" series. This is one of the most atmospheric ones (even better than H.P.Lovecraft, wow! And yes, H.P. is awesome too! Not that H.P with glasses and lightning, damn!
)
Andrzej Sapkowski - "The Witcher" series. It's another one of the best series I've read ever!
Jack Vanse. I've read only "The Eyes of the Overworld" (Cugel the Clever) sadly.
Terry Pratchett is awesome. I've read just some of his books, but I must read them all.
Michael John Moorcock (The Elrik series is awesome!), Anne Inez McCaffrey ("The dragonriders of Pern" series), Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ("Fafhrd and Gray Mouser" series) and many, many others - I've read these in childhood and then I liked them (I was really hungry for books that time
), but now they’re not very impressive, sadly.
I never understood the fuss (hype) surrounding the "Song Ice&Fire" and "H.P." series.
And (don't hit me!
) I never thought "The lord of the rings" was a masterpiece. I respect John Ronald Ruel Tolkien and his work and legacy, but...
I've read "The hobbit", "The lord of the rings" and "The Silmarillion". I've read it several times, in childhood and in adulthood, in Яussian and in English (in it's original language it is much better, no doupt), but...
It's ok, but not a masterpiece. Perhaps it’s just not my thing.
I'd like to read something like "Ravenloft" and "Dark sun" series (it's a D&D settings. Horror and post-apocalyptic fantasy respectively). But I'm afraid it will be like some kind of pulp fiction.
Has anyone read that: "The edge chronicles" series by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell ? I've only seen illustrations from it and they are awesome. It's a children' fantasy about the pirates (and there are many goblin tribes, wow!).