Let me give another recommendation for Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. As others have mentioned, the first few books are not fantastic, mostly because he was in the process of creating the world and the cast, and hadn't quite worked out how everything was supposed to work yet. However, the books frequently refer back to events from earlier books, so I recommend at least trying to read them chronologically. If that doesn't work for you, skip ahead to Mort (book 4) and go from there.

Be aware that the Discworld has Loads And Loads Of Characters, and that the novels are semi-independent, meaning that the primary plot of each novel is wrapped up within it. However, overarching developments carry over into subsequent stories, at least ones in the same setting or with the same characters. As such, there is something to be said for reading the books in the order they were written, even though that means skipping around both geographically and cast-wise. Different sub-casts tend to cross over into each other's novels, and if you haven't read any of the books about a particular character, you may wind up slightly confused when they suddenly turn up as "guest stars", expecting you to know who they are.

I realize that this all sounds quite bothersome, but I assure you it is worth it. The Discworld is one of the greatest literary worlds ever created, and has some absolutely fantastic characters. I have read most of the books several times.

Yes!!!!!!!

I think all of these have already been mentioned but these are my top six fantasy authors.
Joe Abercrombie
Jim Butcher
Steven Erikson
J.V. Jones
George R.R. Martin
Patrick Rothfuss

Julian May Saga of the Exiles.

Jim Butcher Alera Chronicles

Stephen Donaldson : Thomas covenant Chronicles.

This is a kick-ass series and one of my all-time favorites, with one of my all-time favorite characters (Aiken Drum). A note to anyone that may be interested though: it's more of a blend of sci-fi and fantasy than strict fantasy. Damned fine series though.

Had to go back and check that these were mentioned. Classic fantasy as well.

An interesting read is Andre Norton's Quag Keep. It is a D&D adventure told as a novel. You have to read it to really get what that means.

And one more series I can recommend - the Majipoor books by Robert Silverberg. Lord Valentine's Castle, the first of the books, is a wonderfully mature fantasy novel with interesting people and races, and marvelous intrigue.

Glen Cook, in general.

Yes yes yes:)

The Black Company series is awesome in particular.

In a similar vein I have to recommend The Blackhearts Omnibus which is a Warhammer Fantasy novel but don't let that stop you from reading it. I know some people dislike tie-in fantasy fiction just because it's tie-in fantasy fiction and while I've read some really execrable stuff I think most of the time the Black Library gets really food authors. Now if only they could do something about their appalling customer relations...
See...I agree with 1, 5, and 6 but am struggling to get through the Malazan books. Only on Deadhouse Gates and it just hasn't grabbed me. I actually liked the characters from the first book more but I was told/read that the story really picks up in two. I know it's a 'slow-burn' series but maybe I'm just not in the right headspace for the series.

I have quite a few Warhammer novels in paperback on my shelf, though I've never had the time to read them.

Do tell of these appalling customer relations?

I've enjoyed most everything from Cook, though I have yet to read the Tyranny of the Night series. I suppose something to do in the interim between the next Garrett PI omnibus.

A couple months ago my younger brother called me asking what the name of an old book based on D&D was called. It turns out it was this one. Took only a couple tries before I came up with it. I have fond memories of that one. I remember picking it up when it was first released way back in the '70s. I think I still have my copy floating around somewhere.

Oh, my, yes! This is one awesome read. Highly recommended.

And yes, Leiber is an absolute must read if you're a fantasy fan.

Back Company - ye gods, the good stuff mentioned in this thread!

1. Based on some of your other recommendations I will keep that name in mind, thanks.

2. Don't forget Moorish Spain/The Reconquista (The Lions of Al-Rassan). I've asked other GKK fans this so I'll ask you:What would you recommend first to someone who really enjoyed the above book?

3. Ah Ash! Unfortunately I've only been able to find the first book around these parts, and I loved it but moved on to others in my "to-read" list. I should really read the rest, the story was just getting grand.
Well they used to be like most publishers of genre fiction with a strong web presence and deep ties to gaming/other media. A couple of years ago they made some bizarre marketing decisions as if they wanted to lose money. A few key examples:

1. All of their ebooks must be bought through them.

2. Their prices, always a bit higher on average than other gaming fiction publishers, has grown exponentially. The multi-format releases, especially the fact they release 2 paperback versions months well apart, strikes me as particularly egregious, although that may be too strong a word. After all, when corporations act like corporations it hardly surprises me.

3. They have stopped doing any sort of pre-release advertising, to their own detriment. If I find the article I'll post it here but the gist was that when they had such advertising on FB, twitter, the BL website, etc almost all of their books hit the NY Times Bestseller List top ten the week of their release. Since changing their marketing that has stopped.

And just recently they did this:
http://natfka.blogspot.ca/2014/03/its-gone-forgeworld-and-digital.html

Honestly, if you like Lions you'll probably like all of his other works. They're all based on actual periods of history or cultures and all are very well written. The exception to this is his original trilogy (The Fionavar Tapestry), which is high fantasy a la Tolkien. But it's also extremely well written and more than worth looking at.

A brief run-down of his others:

A Song for Arbonne: Medieavl Provence type setting.
Tigana: Medieval Italian type setting.
The Sarantine Mosaic (2 book series): Later Roman setting (Constantinople)
Last Light of the Sun: Vikings
Ysabel: Modern setting, but deals with Druidic type references and linked to the Fionavar Tapestry.
Under Heaven and River of Stars: 12th century China analogue

Also if you're a science fiction fan I'd say.

Fritz Leiber is an interesting writer. I only discovered him by coincidence when I got a hold of one of his books by accident, and had otherwise never heard of him before. I've since only seen him mentioned very little, and what I have seen has mostly been other sci-fi authors praising him. He certainly deserves more exposure than he usually gets.

Its based on irish/celtic mythology, with some interesting takes on the races and characters. But does have a distinct scifi flavour :)