Just finished book 2 of the Legends of the First Empire series by Michael J. Sullivan.
I gotta say, this is probably going to make its way to film at some point. Excellent story, and I’d put him up there with GRRM, Rothfuss, and Lynch... the difference being that Sullivan actually gives a damn about his readers and churns the books out. The first two came out a year apart, and the next one is due out in July. I’m excited.