As a die hard D&D player I love the Forgotten Realms. R. A. Salvatore makes his mark with credible heroes whose characters develop over long periods of time, but also with extensive battle scenes.
I especially admire the cleric Cadderly and his invincible friend and later wife Danica from the five volume series "The Cleric Quintet" (German: Das Lied des Deneir, Goldmann and Blanvalet).
Very exciting and pretty dark are the adventures of the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden, a series that I took over in 2010. Coming soon: "Night of the Hunter" (Companions Codex).