Boy does it make me glad that people are talking and discussing Wheel of time here, especially since that series got me back into reading and into "epic fantasies" so it holds a special place in my heart. My judgement about that series may be biased but then again these are recommendations based on opinions. 

While yes the Wheel of time has the standard tropes, "great looming evil", "destined savior" etc, it also has heart. I mean if you pick this series and go with it till the end, it is not just a read it is a journey, an experience. You see the magnificent world, the cultures, the endless abundance of characters and especially the progression. How these three boys, whisked away from a small village, grow to be the 'Ta'veren' that they are and how they shape the world around them. Another something that I really liked was the each book was known for a special event that would change everything, a single event that is extremely important and would have consequences reflected in the next book. Throughout the book Robert Jordan shows us that fate has a grand plot, "the wheel weaves what the wheel weaves" and if you read carefully you can actually see how it is all woven. Each event propelling you forward towards the inevitable goal. 

Now aside from the wonderful Wheel of time series and it's bad ass titular character 'The Dragon Reborn - Rand al Thor - I also really enjoyed 'The Prince of Thorns'. Mark Lawrence knows how to create a gritty world and he really gets the reader into the mind of Jorg. I would not suggest this book to those that don't like gory and or dark and morbid themes. It is a story of vengeance and of a 'prince' who will go to any lengths to achieve that vengeance, he will quite literally watch the world burn and stomp right over to grasp at his ambitions. This is not a story of a hero but of a villain and his rise to power. 


EDIT: Oh and here are some of the book series that I have on my 'to read list', listed in priority.

The Book of the Ancestor - Mark Lawrence

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn - Tad Williams 

The KingKiller Chronicle -  Patrick Rothfuss

Stormlight archive - Brandon Sanderson