I don't read a lot of what is normally classed as Fantasy because I find it to be quite repetetive: sword/ring/ whatever, - quest, elves/monsters/gnomes nice scenery, character fulfilling potential (king/queen/wizard...blah blah blah) etc. etc.
It's probably just a bad choice of writer on my part but, there you go.
I try to look for something a bit different. Michael Ondaatje's In The Skin Of A Lion is not classed as a Fantasy but has some interesting elements that I
would class as Fantasy. It's refreshingly different.
Another is Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale.
I've got myself a couple of books by China Mieville so I'm hoping that he may offer something new (when I get around to reading them)
