If you're at all into fantasy lit, you've got to check out Steven Erikson's unbelievable "Malazan Book of the Fallen" series. I make it eight volumes at about 800 pages each. A whole world: dozens of major characters, continents, empires, tribes, cities, each with an incredibly rich history; species, forms of government, religions. And more than a world: dimensions, warrens, pantheons of gods (and people in the process of becoming gods), realms of the dead. It's a very dark vision: there are a lot lot of corpses and splattering bodily fluids, routine pain and degradation. But also true moments of nobility and small redemptions. The sheer scope takes some getting used to and a lot of paying attention to, but the writing is consistently outstanding, the thought deep. He must never do anything but write. I have yet to pick out a single inconsistency. And I can't think that there has ever been a comparable achievement. Because it's hard - on amazon, say - to keep them numbered, I'll do you a list of the eight volumes in order. There almost has to be more coming, though *Toll the Hounds* brings the thing around (almost) full circle, and could be interpreted as a place to end. Of course he could go back, to any moment over tens of thousands of years and any place in his own universe, for the next piece. I'd suggest more on the ascension of Shadowthrone and the Rope, or the Jaghut/T'lan Imass wars. But whatever it is, I'll read it.I should say I think the Malazan Book of the Fallen is at its most engaging when it's dealing with normal human beings - especially, the Bridgeburners, and the Darujistan crowd (including the world's best talker Kruppe! (of course there's the amazing, disgusting Iskaral Pust, who's incredibly self-serving interior monologue is always unconsciously spoken aloud), Cutter, Murillio, etc). It's a little bit harder to care about all the interactions of gods and ascendants.

(1) Gardens of the Moon
(2) Deadhouse Gates
(3) Memories of Ice
(4) House of Chains
(5) Midnight Tides
(6) The Bonehunters
(7) Reapers Gale
(8) Toll the Hounds