Xanth, OH GOD. Is it a requisite that every young bibliophile had to go through their Xanth phase and then at some point we all had that disillusioned moment when we realized that the books were total crap? I really hate to psychoanalyze authors on the basis of their books, but Piers Anthony, get thee to a therapist, stat!

I read and loved the Riftwar series as a teen, but haven't read any of his later books. I tried Wurts' first book, but found it awfully dull to plow through. It's odd that I love the idea of fantasy, but in reality I find most of what's out there very self-similar and dull. Authors who manage to breathe life into the genre earn my devotion! And there aren't very many of them.