Some previous suggestions:
recomendation for a good fantasy book
Young Adult Fantasy Novels
SCI-Fi Fantasy readers please help
Fantasy Novel Recommendations
Another book post…sorry…Please could you list your favourite SciFi/Fantasy book
Some obscure Fantasy Novels I think everyone should read.
Fantasy help needed
Favorite SF/Fantasy books that no-one else has heard about
Do you mean Diana Wynne Jones’ Dogsbody? Jones does have some excellent books, but they rarely seem to be published in paperback in the US. It’s a pity. She does seem to get published in paperback more often now, and I do hope that this trend grows.
You could do worse than The Monarchies of God series by Paul Kearney. Book one (of five) is Hawkwood’s Voyage.
A great Eastern city is about to fall, the Church is trying to root out magic and there are rumours of a strange Western continent…
As good as Martin or Hobb, IMHO.
I heartily recommend Gene Wolfe, who puts a lot of detail and depth into his works, particularly:
The Book of the New Sun, consisting of The Shadow of the Torturer and it’s sequels, and
Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete, collected together as Latro in the Mist.
Also, Roger Zelazny is one of my favorites, especially the Amber series, starting with Nine Princes in Amber. Zelazny’s a very poetic writer, and does a lot with setting, and imagery.
I recently read Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest, which is a fleshing out of an old Celtic legend, and is very good - heavy on character and interactions.
For something completely different, try Tim Powers’s The Anubis Gates, a time traveling fantasy with an unusual style of magic.
… known in some circles as EFP (Extruded Fantasy Product.) 
Don’t forget The Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart. Not derivative of anything, except maybe some Chinese myths.
Another one that’s very different, and that I liked very much was The Fox Womanby Kij Johnson. That one draws from Japanese myths.
I don’t read any of the “Forgotten Realms”-type series. Just not my thing. I’ve read fantasy and science fiction for so long it’s tough to find anything really new.
Michael Scott Rohan
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author=Rohan%2C%20Michael%20Scott/103-6997690-8874203
He has two good trilogies out there -
The Winter of the World (conventional fantasy set in a magical late ice age period)
The second is set in a modern/semi fantastic setting - books include Chase the Morning, Gates of Noon, and one other.
I see from Amazon that he has other novels as well, though all appear to be oop
Someone mentioned alreay R.A. McAvoy’s “Tea with the black dragon”, this is a really really good read.
I can also recommend anything by Alan Garner, especially “The Weirdstone of Brisingamen” and “The Moon of Gomrath”. Both written for children but excellent.
I always buy anything with Guy Gavriel Kay’s name on it. Most are definitely fantasy, often with an underpinning of fairy tale quality, but are also realistic and geared toward the adult market (and, no, I’m not talking about sex scenes :))
Some great suggestions here, many of which I have not read. Keep 'em comming! And thanks! 
The two sequels, The Story of the Stone and Eight Skilled Gentlemen, while not as good as the first book, are both distinctive and enjoyable. An omnibus of the three books is available as The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox.
For something a little darker, I suggest (as I always do when I see these threads) P.C. Hodgell. Godstalk is my favorite fantasy novel, Dark of the Moon is good (if somewhat weaker), and Seeker’s Mask is excellent. The first two books are available in the omnibus Dark of the Gods. The series is original without being incomprehensible, and the books are rife with rich settings, complex characters, and dark humor. The only problem is that she hasn’t finished the &@*# thing yet–there’s at least one or two books to go.
:smack: Yes, that’s the one.