George R. R. Martin is my favorite author and writes what I consider to be the best fantasy series of all time: A Song of Ice and Fire. Yes, better than J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Whether you agree with that or not, if you like high fantasy, you will probably like Martin. The 5th book has been a long time coming and still will be a while, but according to his recent update, we might see it published this fall. He has also posted a new sample chapter from the perspective of Jon Snow.