So I was just wondering if any of you have read the Gormenghast titles by Mervyn Peake. It is one of my favorite books of all time, and it's saddening that not many have read it.
Perhaps the most destructive aspect of the legacy left behind by The Lord of the Rings is that it led to a million books being written which are exact clones of LOTR, but equally bad is the fact that works like Gormenghast are no longer being written.
So, if you're tired of LOTR clones in the fantasy genre, and want something refreshing and different, then definitely give this one a go.

I've read the first book, Titus Groan, but not the other two. A few people have told me that the other two are something of a let down. This seems plausible, given that Titus Groan is something of a masterpiece and would take a lot of living up to.