Taking a stab at fantasy.

I've never really read fantasy novels before. The closest I get is space opera. I've been wanting to check out some for a while, but don't know what would be a good starting point.

So, I was thinking of possibly starting George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy tale "A Song of Ice and Fire", consisting of 4 books. Is anybody familiar with this, or this author for that matter? I don't want to end up wasting my time reading something shitty, but this won some fairly reputable awards such as the Hugo.

For some "light" fantasy, you could read Neil Gaiman. His books are often about supernatural things, but not in the "fireballs, elves and wizards" way.

A Song of Ice and Fire is great! It's the good kind of fantasy books, wherein the characters and plot isn't overshadowed by the fantasy-elements. A great read!

Also, I've been pleasantly surprised over China Miéville's books. He made a steampunk/fantasy world called Bas-Lag, and have written three books that takes place therein. Worth a look!