[neal66]

I could not limited to five but here is my to best fantasy authors
1. Guy G. Kay
2. J.V. Jones
3. Terry Goodkind
4. Laurell Hamilton
5. George R.R. Martin
6. Robin Hobb
7. Kate Elliott
8. Dennis Mckiernan
9. Raymond Feist
10. Paula Volsky

[dragondreamer]

Folks, I am shocked! I don't believe that amongst all you erudite well read people nobody mentioned Fritz Lieber! Where would modern fantasy be without the wondrous tales Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser?
What of Michael Moorcock? The Elric Saga is a classic! Well, that's enough lecturing for now. Here's my short list in no particular order:
Anne McCaffery
Fritz Lieber
Robin Hobb
David Eddings
Orson Scott Card
J.K. Rowling - don't laugh, the Harry Potter books are outstanding fantasies with great characters. Don't let the fact that they were written for children keep you from reading some of the finest examples of the writers art that I have ever read.

[Cellandros]

Since there's a favorite series thread too, I'll just try to list single books from my favorite series that really blew me away.


Lord of Chaos (Wheel of Time bk6) - Robert Jordan. The best novel of the WoT series to date.

The Power that Preserves (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, bk3) - Stephen Donaldson. If you haven't read any of his books, log off now and get to a bookstore or library.

Ship of Magic - Robin Hobb. If I were ever to write a novel, I wish it could be half as good as this.

[Elric]

My favourite books are anything fantasy by:

Tolkien
Michael Moorcock (Elric and Corum)
Jack Vance (The Cugel books)
Robert Jordan (WOT)
Raymond Fiest
Fritz Lieber (Swords)

If I had a wish, I'd be tempted to wish I had never read any of the above before, so I could have the pleasure of doing it again.

I'll never forget the wonder of reading The Hobbit when I was 14 (34 now), thinking "my god what a great book, even though it's aimed at children". Then I read The Lord of the Rings, exponentially better, and my life changed...I was addicted. The quest for other great authors began. To my mind, the above are the best of 20 years hunting.

I'll try Salvador (?) and hope Drizzt isn't so much hype...the quest lives on.

[kestra]

In reference to JRRT--Those who come after must bow in the presence of the master! He began this whole addiction, and no one has topped him yet! Many have found new approaches to the fantasy formula, but most are variants of the original. I find I like the authors with the honesty to tip their hats openly to the original while still introducing something fresh. Several have done a good job of updating characterization, but they are writing characters around a story. Tolkein used characters as tools, not people. Having said too much, my list is "the usual":
Tolkein
Jordan
Goodkind
The Thomas Covenant series (although you have to be strong of heart)
PS-fantasy can not have too much detail!

[Heresy]

Top 2 authors I like are:

1. Terry Pratchett
2. Barbara Hambly

The next two are for the fact that they have interesting story lines and characters:

3. Dennis McKiernan
4. Tad Williams

I include the last for introducing me to a lot of DETAIL description and 'neverending book' ending publishing.

5. Robert Jordan

[Evil Agent]

There's a really good thread on favorite authors right now, and a whole bunch on favorite books/series...but I'm too lazy to provide links!

In a nutshell, my favorite books are by my favorite authors, and they are:

JRR Tolkien (Lord of the Rings)
George R R Martin (a Song of Ice and Fire series)
Robin Hobb (Farseer trilogy, Liveship Traders trilogy, Tawny Man trilogy)
Steven Erikson (Malazan Book of the Fallen, series)
Tad Williams (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy)
Stephen R Donaldson (First and Second Thomas Covenant trilogies)