Recommend me books like SoIaF

[SolitonMan]

A non-fantasy book that was recommended to me by my brother a while back was Ken Follett's "The Pillars of the Earth." It's a medieval setting and spans several decades, covering the building of a cathedral in Kingsbridge, England. I found it to be as entertaining as any fantasy I've read, even though it's historical fiction - probably because of sword fights and armored knights and interesting characters.

It's not as grandiose in scope as Martin's work, but I think that that gives it a greater sense of believability.

I'm going to have to check out "The Darkness That Comes Before" I think...