Timothy Zahn (Score 1)

I see a few people have already mentioned Robert Jordan, so you might want to consider Timothy Zahn's stuff. It's Sci-Fi, not Fantasy like the others mentioned, but still very good. His Star Wars books are the best out there (hey George, Thrawn would make a cooler villain than these Darth idiots) and what I've read of the Conquerer's series is good too.