I used to read a lot of fantasy as a kid. But then I got bored of the general fantasy genre - however I still have two staple series of fantasy that I want to finish - That is The Wheel of Time Series (about 13 books) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. And The riftwar saga(s) by Raymond E. Feist (and I have no idea how many books this series is). I might start reading Brandon Sanderson books as he writes intriguing stories.
I like the Wheel of Time because it's an interesting story about prophecy, the growth and maturity of three young people (of which one is 'the dragon reborn' or essentially a 'military and magic dictator jesus') who go to save the world from the 'Dark One'. It's not just about those three - you'll get a range of viewpoints from various characters that describe their feelings about particular events. It's essentially an epic with huge battles, political events, and long and mystical journeys by various characters. But the most intriguing part about it is the magic system, men have magic called 'saidin' and the women have got magic called 'sai'dar'. However the men's magic had been tainted by the Dark One and all of them went mad a long time ago and caused massive destruction 1000's of years ago. THey're now hunted and executed, but the boy (the dragon reborn) has the ability to wield saidin and is slowly going mad but is expected to save the world by being at tar'mon gaidon (the last battle).
Essentially, there's a lot of lore in it as well. Makes me happy reading it
. I recommend reading it. The first book is called 'The Eye of the World'.
The Riftwar Saga is about the same sort of thing. I'll just describe the first book called 'Magician'. A boy named pug and thomas are growing up but then they discover invaders from another dimension travelling via 'rifts'. The first book describes the growth of both characters as they fulfill a different destiny - one a magician, and the other well - something hardcore
. The rest of the books is about them battling greater evils that resulted from the original book. This series is like a saturday morning cartoon in that you know what's generally going to happen but you still enjoy watching it because of the characters and fast paced writing.
I recommend that too.
Other books, Eleven minutes and the Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. The redemption of althalus by David and Leigh Eddings. And The Jackal of Nar by John Marco.