Fantasy Reading List

[skip.knox]

My favourites are sarah j. Mass books there the only ones I have picked up and not put down till I have finished them

This is pertinent. That which would be "required" reading is really those books that you yourself couldn't put down. Those are the ones that spoke to you. Go study those!

 

[MudDobber]

Not to rain on the parade here, please continue throwing out books as you please. But I think the fantasy genre is too big and diverse for anyone(except maybe Ravana) to 'master'. It all hinges on the question of what fantasy is, and that's different for everyone. We all want something different out of our fantasy. Some people want steampunk, some people want traditional epic fantasy with elves and dwarves, and some of us are content with just humans running around butchering each other for our own selfish power-mad reasons.

The only titles I feel compelled throw out there are:
A Song of Ice and Fire series, by George R.R. Martin
The First Law trilogy, by Joe Abercrombie
Talion: Revenant by Michael Stackpole
Villains by Necessity by Eve Forward
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (much better than American Gods IMO)
Either pair of David Edding's Series, either Belgariad/Malloreon or Elenium/Tamuli

I agree Neverwhere is better than American Gods.