I loved the invention in this: the strange lands, stranger peoples and a loathsome anti-hero who is just engaging enough that you want him to win through. I think I'll have to sit down and read it again. This is fantasy without the usual trappings, and utterly unique for now. My favourite is The Illearth War, but read from the beginning and weep. However, I have to say that this series shows a greater understanding of human nature and of evil. These are cursed by comparison to Tolkien: there's a dark lord, there's a gold ring.

Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson And as for that other sword, Excalibur? Pah! Use it to spread your butter. Of its tragic hero incarnations, my favourite is Elric of Melnibone and the best book has to be Stormbringer. Moorcock's interlinked Eternal Champion series is a constant source of enjoyment. This one presented the idea that the quality of worship creates the god long before Terry Pratchett's Small Gods.

Only recently did I discover, to my delight, how many more of her books I've yet to read. I've been reading Tanith Lee since I was a teenager, beginning with The Birthgrave and The Storm Lord. Who can fail to be amused by the travails of a vampire, transformed into a bat, being stunned by a piece of garlic sausage tossed out of a window, and then eaten by a dyspeptic cat? 5. Foremost of these has to be Witches Abroad. I enjoyed his neglected SF books, like Dark Side of the Sun, and every single one of his Discworld books. People seem to forget that it is mimicked because it is very good, original for its time, and written with an understanding of story and language that few can match. It seems fashionable at the moment to pick holes in the greats, and Lord of the Rings gets the biggest hammering because it is the progenitor of most swords/wizards/elves/dwarves fantasy. I recommend all his heroic creations - Druss the axeman, the Jerusalem man, among others - but my favourite has to be Waylander: Clint Eastwood with a crossbow and the same 'make my day, punk' attitude. Gemmell's name guarantees a satisfying story and a thumping good read. The best of the line is The Guns of Avalon. I've read his Princes in Amber books so often I know them almost verbatim, so much so that I am now trying to forget them so I can return to them with renewed pleasure.

With fantasy one often has to think of a well-loved series before narrowing the selection to a favourite book.

Gridlinked by Neal Asher