As the thread title implies, I've got a question about contemporary fantasy. I really haven't read too much of it and I find that I would like to become more familiar with the genre for a project I'm working on. Particularly "high fantasy" and not magical realism. I guess when I say contemporary I mean anything 80s to the present.
Here's my question: what works are the most representative of high fantasy literature during this period? I'm looking for a list, around 15 books long, but you can go as low as 10 or as high as 20. If you want to include a series (as so many fantasy books are a part of) just include the first book of the series, or the most representative book of the series in your opinion, but please mention the series along with the specific book.
Remember, I'm looking for 80s to the present, so no Tolkien, or early LeGuin, or early Moorcock, or other such stuff. And the criterion is not the best, but the most representative of the genre. If the best is the most representative in your opinion, that's fine. And just use what you consider to be high fantasy. I'm don't want to re-establish the fantasy genre classification discussion here.
I'm hoping to get a variety of opinions, and I'll value them all. I'm especially interested in the opinions of those who have studied the area of literature concerned because they have aspirations of contributing to it. It seems to me they'd be especially qualified to respond. But please, all who wish to, let me know what you think.