I'm still working my way through a reread of Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince series (two trilogies). I first picked these up at the used bookstore in high school, and I used to reread them pretty religiously, every year or two. It's been several years this time around, and for once that old cliche of "like sitting down with old friends" holds true, at least for me. I look forward to my lunch break at work every day so I can read a few more chapters, even though I know everything that's going to happen. This is largely where I picked up my love for sociopolitical fantasy novels the size of doorstops, with a cast of hundreds. (the author was a former English and Social Studies teacher, and it shows.) It's in the same *family* as Martin in terms of content type, but not nearly as complex nor (quite as) bloodthirsty. Parts of the overarching plot do have flaws, but it's got very memorable characters (which is highly important to me), a lot of momentum, and a solid mix of serious and silly.
(and it has dragons!)
(and it has dragons!)
