[mxlm]

One note about the Coldfire trilogy; it's a bit formulaic. The second book is, in the broad strokes, the same as the first. The third breaks the mold a bit, but doesn't stray too far from the familiar.

Still worth reading, but don't expect any superduperfrickinawesomeness.

[Tsundoku]

I would have said the main character in Coldfire was more of an egomaniac and narcissist than anything else deliberately cruel, feeding methods aside ...

Brilliant trilogy that.

@Ozeo
Also try Paul Kearney's "Monarchies of God" quintet. I didn't mind Mark Anthonys' Last Rune quartet either. It was simple and had elements of some better-known recent epic fantasies, but I thought it was reasonably well-written and easy to read.

I might have to keep an eye out for Brandons' stuff too.

Cheers,

La Sombra, pimpin'

[mxlm]

Hold off on the Monarchies of God until it's released in omnibus next year. The fifth--and weakest--book is being reworked by the author so that it, um, isn't weak anymore.

Hopefully, anyway.

[Thimble]

I'd like to second (or third) the Coldfire trilogy.

Ditto for Glen Cook's "The Black Company".

And I'll throw in "The Prince of Nothing" series by R Scott Bakker. I made the mistake of reading this while reading the malazan books, alternating back and forth. My. Brain. Still. Hurting. From. Confusion.

I think these books (and the malazan series of course) epitomize "grey" fantasy, where the good guys aren't exactly very good in the Christian mythos sense of the word.

But it's my favourite author of all time, the recently departed David Gemmell, that really got me started on this theme with the Drenai saga. Start with Legend (even though it's not chronologically the first).

[euol]

I'll second Gemmel. Very cool--his books have the same feel as 300 the movie, in my opinion. Legend is great, though Knights of Dark Renown is a good stand-alone.

[Werthead]

I'm reading James Barclay's Cry of the Newborn at the moment. It would seem to fit the bill: major battles, superhuman central characters (four of them rather than one though), a fair whack of political intrigue (not as good as GRRM, but then who is?) and so forth.