A Song of Ice and Fire has probably my three favorite books in the genre, but I'm at the point where I won't recommend the series anymore. Between the overrated fourth book, the author's treatment of his own fans (except the ones who pump his apparently fragile ego) and the people who spend their lives scouring the internet so they can get off over their own superiority at their infinite patience and supposed "insider knowledge" of the industry -- it's a terrible scene to even get involved with IMO.

I enjoyed Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind, but as the second book has now seen a multi-year delay when Rothfuss himself suggested the entire series had been mostly written already, I fear it could be GRRM all over again. Rothfuss has been a much better sport about it IMO, but who knows how long that can and will last?

The Prince of Nothing series by R. Scott Bakker might be interesting for more mature readers and/or those who are looking for some fantasy without the traditional Tolkien/D&D stereotypes. The main character is a pretty interesting study in the anti-hero archetype. There's very little redeeming about him, but sometimes you can't help but root for him anyway because the alternatives for the characters you actually like are often worse. Unfortunately, for newcomers, the series is a bit of a mess at the beginning with lots of invented/irregular place and people names thrown at you.