George R.R. Martin's series "A Song of Ice and Fire" is absolutely phenomenal. A Sword of Storms is the third book, so you wouldn't want to jump to it--read A Game of Thrones first. There are a few naysayers out there, but I don't understand how. I won't profess to have read much fantasy, but I don't think there's a lot out there that wouldn't look anything but shallow and pathetic in comparison to Martin.