Once again, pornokitsch and I reveal that we are, in fact, twins separated at birth...
KJ Parker's Engineer's War trilogy
China Mieville's Bas-Lag books
Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn
The Earthsea books
David Eddings' Belgariad and Mallorean.
(and in the 'sci fi is fantasy' camp)
Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs novels
Peter Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy