fantasy after LOTR

it's the only fantasy i've really read, what else is there? hoping for something that's not just a generic ripoff. or should i read more tolkien?

Yeah, Erikson is neat, but much as I lament the inane fluff most fantasy writers churn out, such as telling you at great length that the sky was indeed blue at the time, and trees have bark which is brown and leaves which agree green, Erikson goes a bit far in the opposite direction.

You're safe from long infodumps about the First Great War Between The Elves And The Dwarves And This Is Why They Hate Each Other with him, sure, but you have to be constantly alert for even hints of facts about the setting, or you'll just sit there scratching your head and wondering who the Forkrul Assail are and why Erikson assumes you live in the Malazan Empire and thus know all about them and thus he doesn't need to repeat himself.