All the lists without reasons or anything makes me want to punch myself in the eye.
Jonathan Stroud(The Bartimaeus Trilogy)
This. It is a lesser known (at least here) series making fun of Harry Potter, Narnia and all those other popular fantasy books, and does so in a clever and often well hidden way. The characters are amusing and goes through a good deal of development, and you are left both hating and loving most of them at the end.
The use of foot notes is quite well done, especially since this is actually fiction and not, say, a documentary where foot notes would be appropriate. The main protagonist, Bartimaeus, knows the way of the snark which has a way of getting him in trouble, but then again, he has had quite a while to develop that way of speaking.
The fourth book, a prequel of sorts, is also worth a read.
the hobbit,
From the 90's?
Definitely worth a read, but I wouldn't consider it a modern book.
I could mention a few others that has been left out, but most of those probably haven't been translated, but I will try (and check):
The Shamer Chronicles is one of those fantasy series that will leave you waiting for the next instalment (at least when they were still in the middle of being published). Not as high fantasy as LotR, but still with that general feel, you will most likely be suffering with the characters. As the books are - told through several characters, you get to see some details in a different light. Or worse, you get to see some details you would rather have been without.
Krigeren (The warrior) should probably also been mentioned, but since few of you probably read Danish, it will be brief: Awesome series where you follow a young boy from childhood to adulthood, all while he barely fits in in the medieval societies he travels through.
Yup. And gonna move this to the pop media now, since it belongs there anyway.
