Surely there must be some fantasy classics left out there somewhere?

If you can still get hold of them!

Lawrence Watt Evans.

Particularly 'The misenchanted Sword' & 'With a Single Spell'

Totally agree with both David Gemmell and Brent Weeks (I loved Night Angel Trilogy). For the more "classic" style of fantasy try Fionavar Tapestry books 1-3 by Guy Gavriel Kay.

[Deleted by the author on 23 Mar 2012 22:38:48 GMT]

Any list should, in my opinion, include work by Tanith Lee - especially the Underearth series

Marion Zimmer Bradley dark over books have a certain appeal David Eddings The Belgariad books have got to be included in any fantasy list

Try scott lynch "lies of locke lamora" also.

From your reading list, you would surely lose yourself in Alan Campbel's "Deepgate Codex" trilogy, beginning with Scar Night. Very creative and quite dark, that goes in directions you would never predict. Ambitious, but carries it off.

Also I would highly recommend John Meaney (one of my favourite "must read" writers). Bone Song and Dark Blood are a mix of detective noir thriller in a fantasy city powered by the dead. It sounds contrived, but works really well due to his clarity of ideas and writing skills. Also, I would recommend his "Nulapeiron" sequence. Strictly speaking, these are billed as science fiction, but there is little actual science, and the settings, characterisations and story lines would appeal directly to good fantasy lovers. I have the same tastes in books as do you, and I loved these stories!

As for an utter classic you may have missed, (that was your question after all) .... Gene Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun" quadrilogy (in two omnibus volumes now).

P.S. I too loved the Night Angel Trilogy!

Oops,

Forgot to mention China Mieville. Perdido Street Station is surely now deemed a classic, followed by The Scar and Iron Council. Steampunk fantasy at it's cutting edge best.

Some good authors mentioned above, bit others missed. Janny Wurts is great (co-authored the Empire series with Feist) and her Mistwraith series is excellent. I also really lie Michelle Sagara's "Cast in..." series. She also writes under the name Michelle West. Anne Bishop is phenomenal, especially the Black Jewels trilogy. Guy Gavriel Kay is a Canadian author who has written many very good books, especially "A Song for Arbonne" and "Tigana".
Has anyone mentioned Steven Erikson yet, or Ian Esslemont for the Malazan books?
People seem to sneer at times but Terry Brooks ans his Shannara books are a good read,
And then there is the Raven series by James Barclay; just one description, fantastic.
I could go on with the likes of Tchaikovsky (very good), Lisa Shearin (funny), Eddings (enjoyable), Snyder, Farrell etc etc, but I will finish with Robert Jordan and the Wheel of Time, which I rank at the very top, not necessarily each book, but with the world he created.
Enjoy

Moorcock and Herbert (Frank) got me started with this whole genre many moons ago before which the thought of reading left me begging parents for jobs to do! Recently i have enjoyed Conn Iggulden's works and those of Ben Kane along with the much lesser known David Dalglish. Dalglish is perhaps most appropriate to this string - try him.

C J Cherryh and Gemmell are outstanding.

The Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake is fantasy at its best.

Well, don't forget Jack Vance (Lyonesse trilogy, Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel's Saga), and Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword. Phyllis Eisenstein's "Sorcerer's Son" is a one-off, and excellent. Riddle-master of Hed trilogy also worth a mention, and the True Game by Sheri Tepper. Many fine hours of reading pleasure to be had!

Have you read the Earthsea trilogy by Ursula le Guin? She's really good, though her work is quite sexist - at least till the last-minute fourth book.

I loved, loved, loved "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke. It's set in the early 1800's England where magic is a profession of gentlemen, somewhere below law and on par with medicine. Also try the Robert Heinlein fantasy short stories. Very imaginative and well-written. Finally, since you aren't averse to children/YA fantasy you could try my own novel. I won't post the title as that is against the Amazon TOS, but you can get to it through my profile. On April 4 it will be available for free all day. Please consider writing a review if you download it!

P.S. "J.S. and Mr. N" is fairly long at 800 pages but never boring, unlike some long-winded fantasy novels.

How about Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy, very gritty and philosophical and a brilliantly conceived setting. Kay's Tigana is also well worth reading.

Here are my suggestions. Apologies for the Sci-fi, but they are excellent.

The Black Jewels trilogy by Ann bishop was awesome.
The Daughter of the empire books by Raymond feist were also excellent.
Altered carbon by Richard Morgan is an excellent action packed sci-fi I would recommend to anyone.
Peter F Hamilton is my favourite author of all time - the nights dawn trilogy in particular, and has a strong fantasy element to it although its sci-fi.
The first two Hyperion books were also excellent, by Dan Simmons. These aren't character books, but the plot twists had me awestruck repeatedly.
Neal Ashers The Skinner, is a very original sci-fi with a fantasy element. Again very good.

Homeland by Salvatore has me pleasantly surprised. That was a very good fantasy involving dark elves. Very original to my mind, and addictive.

Battlefield earth was excellent, despite its flaws its a real gem of a book (despite the author creating Scientology, part of his genius I guess)

Finally, hesitantly I would suggest the Thomas covenant trilogies by Steven Donaldson. A dark set of fantasy novels, that although they can be grim, they are also original and gripping. Read the above suggestions over Steven Donaldson.

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A new writer I have been bowled over by is Helen Lowe and her Wall of Night trilogy - splendid twisty plot, interesting characters and writing that is a pleasure to read - not surprised to read she's also a poet.

I second R Scott Bakker - if you get on with Steven Erikson then you should like those too. And I don't think anyone's yet mentioned Fritz Leiber, which surprises me. His books about Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (collected by Gollancz in two volumes - Lankhmar and The Second Book of Lankhmar) are true classics. They're witty, a little bit like Abercrombie, but not out-and-out humorous like Pratchett.

I recommend Tanith Lee,s The Flat Earth series, and also her books of short stories. I,d also recommend The Rose Demon by Paul Doherty, who usually writes historical whodunnits but the Rose Demon has supernatural/fantasy elements along with a great tale. Finally, try the collections of short stories by Clark Ashton Smith.

check out Brandon Sanderson free ebook Warbreaker http://brandonsanderson.com/index.php

Patrick Tilley's Amtrak Wars series is one of my favourites (and is apparently being developed as a film series). Doris Lessing's Shikasta series is also a winner, imo.
I agree with earlier contributors that Guy Gavriel Kay's novels are pretty good too, but am very surprised that Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea novels haven't gotten a mention. Also, for good measure, Harry Harrison's West of Eden trilogy (nothing like his Bill, the galactic hero novels) - set in an alternative Earth where the dinosaurs didn't die out, but evolved intelligence whilst humans also evolved.

Three classics:
Barry Hughart, Bridge of Birds
Guy Gavriel Kay, Tigana
John Crowley, Little Big

Just to say that all three of the Barry Hughart books are well worth reading, Bridge of Birds, Eight Skilled Gentlemen, and 'The story of the stone'
Apparently published together as 'The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox'