David & Leigh Eddings
These are our all-time favorite fantasy authors (he, and his wife!). If you love epic adventure, magic and characters that are so well developed and ALIVE that you find yourself discussing the things they've done with other folks that have read the books, these are for you!
I've lost track of how many times I've read them! Scott loved them all and Xander is joyfully devouring the last couple of books of the Mallorean as I write this.
You read them in this order:
Belgariad, Mallorean, Belgarath, Polgara. The Belgariad and the Mallorean are made up of 5 books each. Some volumes combine several books into one. There are more books by David and Leigh (and we have them all!).
Dean Koontz
Not even Stephen King in his early years can compare to Dean Koontz's work for passionate characters and fantastic suspense. Cold blooded killers, sci-fi high tech, old fashioned who dunnit's with a touch of nightmarishness, monsters both fabled and manmade. If you like King...you'll adore Koontz.
Mercedes Lackey
Welcome to the rich worlds of Mercede's creation. We all love her, the books are getting worn out...need I say more?