I finished up John Brown's SERVANT OF A DARK GOD, and we got a review of it up on EBR. I think the main problem people will have with it is that the beginning makes you think "Oh crud, another traditional epic fantasy. Here comes the epic quest." What's awesome is that after several chapters he kinda slaps you and says "don't be silly, no epic quest in this epic fantasy." It was SOOOO refreshing.
I just responded to Kaz on the blog about Epic Fantasy. For whatever reason, people seem to thin that Epic Fantasy MUST have an Epic Quest. I find this to be a common misconception. The term "Epic" has nothing to do with travel. Epic is a definition of great achievements or events that are narrated in elevated style. This can be done in a focused setting. How about we let the bad guys do the traveling for once? Good heavens. Once you get past the intro to SERVANT, things become crazy interesting. The second book (out next year i imagine) will be a siege (of sorts) of "Epic" proportions.
Epic Fantasy needs less traveling, and more focus.
WriterDan--Look at that! How awesome was that call? Though, really, I'm a bit sad that I'm right. For a long time I thought it was just me since everyone RAVES about TIGANA. I was gonna give it another shot, but I'm glad I didn't succumb.