Argh. Your quoting skills need work.
- Edit 1

Before modification by Ghavrel at 09/12/2009 08:58:27 AM
Fantasy should not include science fiction. It would be a list along the lines of:
- Tolkien
- CS Lewis
- Lloyd Alexander
- JK Rowling
- Robert Jordan - Wouldn't add this one, due to the poor characterization skills.
- George RR Martin
- Brandon Sanderson - OK, but as I said in your post, more of a "popcorn" level read
- Pratchett
- Pullman
- Mieville
- Erikson
- Goodkind - You're sadomasochistic, aren't you?
- Gaiman
- Farmer
- Bakker
- Eddison
- Moorcock
- Wolfe
- Zelazny
- Salvatore - Ummm...no
- Weis & Hickman - see above
- McCaffrey (collective vomit after the last three) - or maybe with the first three as well?
- Fritz Lieber - LEIBER
- Piers Anthony - Meh
- Clark Ashton Smith (largely only for Averoigne)
- Holdstock
- Gary Gygax (he wrote the Gord the Rogue series in addition to D&D modules and rulebooks) - Not what I'd consider to be the best written stuff out there, to say the least
- Lackey - Meh
- Guy Gavriel Kay
- Vance
- Eddings - Nah...
- Lewis Carroll (can't forget him!!!)
I'm sure I've forgotten a few, but those are the major fantasy writers I can think of.
- Tolkien
- CS Lewis
- Lloyd Alexander
- JK Rowling
- Robert Jordan - Wouldn't add this one, due to the poor characterization skills.
- George RR Martin
- Brandon Sanderson - OK, but as I said in your post, more of a "popcorn" level read
- Pratchett
- Pullman
- Mieville
- Erikson
- Goodkind - You're sadomasochistic, aren't you?

- Gaiman
- Farmer
- Bakker
- Eddison
- Moorcock
- Wolfe
- Zelazny
- Salvatore - Ummm...no
- Weis & Hickman - see above
- McCaffrey (collective vomit after the last three) - or maybe with the first three as well?

- Fritz Lieber - LEIBER
- Piers Anthony - Meh
- Clark Ashton Smith (largely only for Averoigne)
- Holdstock
- Gary Gygax (he wrote the Gord the Rogue series in addition to D&D modules and rulebooks) - Not what I'd consider to be the best written stuff out there, to say the least
- Lackey - Meh
- Guy Gavriel Kay
- Vance
- Eddings - Nah...
- Lewis Carroll (can't forget him!!!)
I'm sure I've forgotten a few, but those are the major fantasy writers I can think of.
And most of them are just commercial bestsellers of various times. Might as well choose The Titanic as being the best movie of all time, since it was so visible back around 10 years ago

Oh, and there's no real clear boundary line between science fiction and fantasy.