Have you read The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch? It's the best new fantasy book I've read in years.

The Dresden Files (series) - Jim Butcher (urban fantasy)
Furies of Calderon (series) - Jim Butcher
Elric of Melnibone' (series) - Michael Moorcock
The Belgeriad, The Mallorean, Rise of the Rivan King, The Elenium, The Tamuli (serieses) - David Eddings
The Sword-Edged Blonde - Alex Bledsoe
The Night Angel Trilogy - Brent Weeks

Graceling and its companion, Fire by Kristin Cashore. So fabulous.

I had a co-worker who was a Sara Douglas fan and winded up liking Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy and Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books. The first one is called Outlander. I haven't read those, but she enjoyed them a lot. :)

Edited at 2009-12-29 11:44 pm (UTC)

Have a look at my book recommendations blog, mayitbe_books. If you look through the sci-fi & fantasy tags, you'll hopefully find something you like.

Of the ones already suggested, I heartily recommend Cashore's Graceling & Fire. Also, my very favourite book series is Isobelle Carmody's Obernewtyn Chronicles, which is kind of a sci-fi/fantasy crossover, with plenty of battles and powers (not quite sword fights and magic but, you know, similar).

Edit: And if you like a load of politics mixed in with your sword fights and magic, you could try the Empire Trilogy by Feist and... okay forgotton the other author, but it's definitely reviewed on my blog.

Edited at 2009-12-29 11:55 pm (UTC)

i second the Jim Butcher rec, and add Mercedes Lackey (i'm really enjoying her 500 Kingdoms series [fairy tale retellings], and have enjoyed others) and my favorite author, Charles de Lint. He's kinda hard ot get outside of Canada, but well worth the challenge:) I recommend starting with Jack of Kinrowan, but any are awesome;)

Also, there was a similar request a few days ago, so if you can find it, you might get some more ideas:)

i'm in Canada, so i was only speaking form what others have told me.:) My sister's in Colorado and she said he's difficult to find (and she really likes him too), as have most other Americans i've talked too. Also, i wasn't sure if the poster was in Canada or the Us, or somewhere else where he might be even harder to find. I know he's top-notch in the genre, but it's not always a very prominent genre to begin with:P i just wanted to let the poster know it might be hard to find him. Although thanks for offering a different experience, which might match the posters:) And now that i look again, i see the gift card's for B&N, so she may very well not have much problem finding him:)

Not sure about the States, but he IS hard to find in other parts of the world outside of Canada. Just went by the bookstores and zilch, no books from him. Even the American retailer Borders does not carry his titles. I am getting desperate. Sigh...

If you liked Lord of the Rings, maybe Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry trilogy.

From what you've described, Lynn Flewelling's novels would be right up your alley.

Her "Tamir" trilogy starts with The Bone Doll's Twin. It is about a princess who is magicked to look like a boy, to protect her from her usurper uncle. The books are somewhat dark in tone, but not grim throughout, and there's plenty of humor. There is a central romance, but it doesn't develop fully until the third book. There's a fair amount of political intrigue, several different types of magic, all of which are well thought out and fairly interesting. All the characters are well defined, and none are cookie-cutter heroes or villains - they all have their own flaws and virtues. Thestrong romance element (perhaps my favorite in any fantasy series) doesn't take over the plot, or get steamrollered by it.

Her Night Runner series is set in the same world, several centuries later. It follows a pair of rogues through various adventures, with much intrigue, magic, and derring do. These books also have a strong central romance between the two main male characters. These books are much lighter in tone than the "Tamir" books(at least the first two), but there are some scenes of torture and other unpleasantness visited upon the characters.

Diane Wynne Jones is a must for fantasy! Cool plots and neat characters.

For the last decade or so I've bounced between The Wayfarer Redemption (and the five books that followed that) and all of the Black Jewels books by Anne Bishop as being my favourite books.

The books in the original trilogy are:
The Daughter of the Blood
Heir to the Shadows
Queen of Darkness

The other ones in the same universe as those books are:
The Invisible Ring
Dreams Made Flesh
Tangled Webs
The Shadow Queen

There is also another book coming out next March that directly follows The Shadow Queen called Shalador's Lady.

And now that I think about it, I really enjoyed all her books so I would also say The Tir Alainn Triolgy (The Pillars of the World, Shadows and Light, and The House of Gaian) and The Landscapes of Emphemera Duology (Sebastian and Belladonna).

Other series sort of along the same lines that I would suggest checking out would be The Death Gate Cylce by Weis and Hickman (I loved the steampunk ideas that are incorporated, still involves some awesome ideas on magic but there's less sword fighting), and The Godspeaker Trilogy by Karen Miller (like all fantasy, some degree of magic but filtered through other means, and lots of sword fighting).

Sorry that this ended up so long :S

You should check out Maria V. Snyder's books. Poison Study is her best one, in my opinion. They have a bit of a modern feel, magic, fighting, and romance. Good stuff!

There isn't much romance in it, as far as memory serves, but I really, really like Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy. It remains the only fantasy series I adore that is written from the first person. I second Feist's Empire series, but I prefer the Riftwar saga.

Folks here have also been fantastic in providing me with some fantasy recs. Not sure if you have seen it, but here be the post. I've gone to pick up some of the books and they look fantastic!

Patricia McKillip's Riddle of the Stars trilogy, if it's in the store.

The Tomorrow Series by John Marsden is very good. Has a bit of a Hunger Games feel to it. It is about a group of teens trying to survive on their own in the Australian bush when the country is invaded.

...I didn't think anyone else had read the Wayfarer Redemption series (though, I keep stopping in the middle and then losing the first two books. No, seriously, I've had to replace book one THREE TIMES. So I haven't read the last book yet.)

However, I've read most of it and one that I think you'll really enjoy, Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon. The first three are the best three in the series. The last three are still good but not AS good and there's a definite gap between the two (just like Wafarer.)