I like Guy Gavriel Kay ~ mostly, I think because there's an element of real history intermingled & he's one of the few fantasy writers who knows his northern mythology!

Like Tolkien, though personally I think Tolkien needed a better editor. He waffles
waaay too much.

I didn't mind Eddings in the beginning but then he got repetitive & I got bored. I ran into a fantastic Chinese based one: The Two pearls of Wisdom ~ Alison Goodman, but I didn't find the 2nd book as enthralling as the 1st. I'll try anything once.