Ben Hur is actually pretty good if you are into religious influenced books. It is totes different from either of the more famous film adaptations though, so be warned on that.
If you have read the Earthsea trilogy, the first five books in the Belgariad by David and Leigh Eddings should be a piece of cake. They are so easy to read it is easy also to miss how well they are written. They shamelessly use every trope in the how to write a fantasy novel list but they absolutely are all the better for it.
The Belgariad books are really fun...I once was in a phase in which I read a lot of fantasy. I'm just in the process of getting rid of most of this books. But I'll hold on those for sure. They have a really settled humour I appreciate. And they manage to keep the balance between not being dark while at the same time not becoming silly or meaningless.
I've thought about picking up the Song of Ice and Fire series, but some friends have warned me away from it. They say that stylistically, Martin's prose & dialogue are pretty damned mediocre and clumsy—not much better expressed than your average bestselling potboiler. And the few fantasy authors I've really cared for have been firm, memorable stylists: think Tolkien, Peake, Gene Wolfe, etc. Does Martin's prose have any detectable zip to it?
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Hmmm... Well as a Tolkien fan, I enjoyed them, but I can see they're not for everyone. I'd recommend you maybe read some of the first book and then make your decision. Its real merit is in its concepts rather than prose style.
Martin prose is nothing especially good, although I think the first book is better than the others in that respect; read the first few chapters and see if you like it. Stop after the first book; things get continually worse (both in terms of writing quality and the conditions of the protagonists).
edited 21st Sep '13 3:23:40 PM by WarriorEowyn

Infinite Jest. I've seen thunderous acclaim for it on the Internet and I like the prose based on the 10 or so pages I've read, but I know it has a reputation for being extremely difficult to finish. Is it worth the effort?
The message is... there is no message.