If we’re talking Zelazny then I’d go with Dilvish the Damned. It’s the closest thing to traditional fantasy he ever wrote, and it’s pretty good.
For gritty, high magic there’s the Black Company series by Glen Cook. Does not come with dwarves and elves and trolls, and not as many ruins as such, but definitely gritty and serious and over-the-top magic.
Katherine Kerr’s Deverry series has magic, elves, dwarves, dragons, treasures, etc. The magic is a bit more subtle, and although gritty the series isn’t grim. Also, it is written in a convoluted reincarnation-flashback interwoven metastory through much of the series, which may be a bit confusing.
Obscure and out-of-print: Paul Edwin Zimmer’s Dark Border series. Gritty high fantasy with elves and Chthulu gribblies, basically.
It will be difficult for Joel Rosenburg to NOT leave us all hanging at this point. Didn’t he die not too long ago?
Dilvish is a series of short stories collected in one book; it starts strong, but loses momentum and doesn’t really bring anything to a conclusion. There’s a sequel, The Changing Land, which brings the plot to a conclusion but isn’t very good.
Yes, in June of this year.
Wow! Great suggestions, everyone. Thanks! 
I want to also say Dragonlance. At least the Chronicles and Legends books. It is not gritty but it does have some weight to it. Especially the Legends series.
Oh Bloody L! :smack:
Give me the rights, then. I’ll just finish it myself! :mad:
–G!
It’s been a long time since I read them, and I haven’t tried re-reading. But I remember them being family friendly enough to pass to my kids as they were coming out. I think I liked the Twins Trilogies best.
Much like the Lensman books, best read first when younger i suspect.
The *Dragonlance Chronicles *are basically a junior-high AD&D campaign in book form (it was, in fact, written by TSR employees as a tie-in to a series of modules). The *Legends *are a bit more literary, but are basically at the same level of sophistication.
Of all the D&D writers, Weis and Hickman were probably the best; still, that’s fairly faint praise.
Another set of votes for the Paksenarrion books, and Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (though, as Grestarian notes, they’re really more a series of short stories, which is probably how they were originally presented).
My understanding is that some of the traits of the characters, and certain events in the novels, came directly out of the playtests of the Dragonlance modules.
That’s correct; it was in one of the supplemental books (Art of Dragonlance?). There’s also an amusing bit about how they had to do a “head count” each chapter to be sure Tanis’ half-brother was mentioned because he was so boring they kept forgetting about him and Weis was begging the editor to let her kill him off.
I absolutely hated some of the characters in those books, but most of all Tanis. What an emo wimp.
Well, I hated the Shannara books, but since they are such a rip-off of Tolkien, maybe they’d fit?
Hmm. I also hated the only “Guardians of the Flame” book I read. I suspect I do not have a lot to offer in this thread, but maybe someone more in tune can comment on Shannara.
I like R.A. Salvatore’s drow elf series and Ed Greenwood’s Elminster books…but then again, I’m a gamer. They may have less appeal to non-gamers.
I’m a gamer, and I’ve always hated Salvatore’s and Greenwood’s books. While the concepts might be great for gaming, neither guy is very good at writing. IOW, the books succeed at presenting concepts, but fail as stories. Salvatore, in particular, needs to be strung up by his toes and beaten with nail studded rubber hoses for thinking up Dri-wossname. Goblins - Goblins -
Kender, on the other hand, are a pretty decent story concept…but a lousy game concept. At least, lousy if they are allowed as a PC race.
Ha, hilariously true!
[hipster mode on]
True story, but one of my early AD&D characters was a dual-wielding dark elf exiled hero, before Drizzt was ever created. I was trying to make an Elric clone without being too obvious. Later, after Drizzt became popular, I retired that character because it was too damn embarrassing to play, like wearing a Vanilla Ice concert t-shirt to a modern show.
[hipster mode off]
It’s less that Salvatore thought him up and more that everyone wants to copy him. Without that, he’d just be another moderately overpowered hero. Few people seem to want to copy Elminster, so he escapes the hatedom Drizzt generated, even though he’s way, way more powergamey than Drizzt.
Salvatore’s worse than Greenwood, but Greenwood’s mediocre at best. Still, the books are enjoyable enough for fans, though I’d rank them no higher than guilty pleasures.