Elric of Melniboné

It's hard to believe it's taken me this long to get to the Elric saga, but I'm so glad I did! It is immediately evident how much influence this series has had on the whole genre. And with classic fantasy, you get very quick stories, as well. The series includes quite a few books, but at 200 pages or less, it goes quickly and seems to force the author to concentrate their concepts, characterizations, and prose. Extremely “refreshing” in this day/age of series of 17 800+ page books.

One of my favorite series all-time is the Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust and there is clearly huge influence here. Love it! Already starting book two after devouring the first in a day.