Hi Bear
Yup, it had Alhana's son too...he was called Silvanoshei, or something. And yes, it also featured Tanis & Laurana's son Gilthas. That trilogy was quite bad..the characters were all so annoying. Anyway if you do read GRRM, lemme know if you like it k? His books are all quite long (almost 1k pages per book..3rd book is so long it had to be split in 2)...so it guarantees at least a few weeks of enjoying a wonderfully written story. Have recommended it to people who don't even read fantasy, and now they are hooked! Unlike Dragonlance, they don't have different races like elves, dwarves etc. the only mystical creatures are dragons, and this evil being called 'The Others'. Also has wights (scary!) and direwolves. For people who are into medieval history and characters, this may also appeal to them. There are jousting tournaments, heroic battles and heartbreaking fights to the death. The unique thing about his books is that each chapter is written from the point of view of one particular character, and they range from the good, bad to adults, children.
Oops avid..thought you read 'normal' fantasy too. Heh. Well, yeah LOTR does count. It's the granddaddy of all fantasy books. Oh yeah, am a fan of LOST too. Last week's Locke episode was so cool.
Am also a Stephen King fan. My favourite King book of all time is The Stand. Have not read his newer stuff though. I love horror, and other horror books I've enjoyed are by Richard Matheson (he wrote Stir of Echoes - the kevin bacon movie, and also the twilight zone episode that featured the gremlin on the plane)