George R R Martin - A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords & A Feast for Crows

Steven Erikson having made up my epic fantasy diet in recent months, on re-reading Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series (at any rate, as far into it as he's gotten - unfortunately, he lacks Erikson's ability to turn out weighty tomes on a more or less annual basis), it's striking how quickly he sets up many of the key character arcs and narrative threads at the very outset. This was the third time that I've read these books, and they were correspondingly less gripping and intense, but they're still immensely good.