The Fellowship of the Ring question

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

Raymond E Feist - specifically Faerie Tale (standalone) and then Magician, Silverthorn, & Darkness at Sethanon set.

Anything by Patricia McKillip, especially the Riddle Master trilogy. Apparently it's the general consensus that if you loved LOTR, you will like the Riddle Master trilogy.

Terry Pratchett Discworld novels - the earlier books are better than the latest offerings IMO.

Simon R Green - Blue Moon Rising

Janny Wurts - try her standalone novels (e.g. Master of Whitestorm or Sorcerer's Legacy) first or the Cycle of Fire trilogy before starting her long set.

Margaret Weiss & Tracy Hickman - the Death Gate Cycle (7 books).

Melanie Rawn - Dragon Prince Trilogy

Denis L McKiernan - DragonDoom and the Eye of the Hunter.

Tad Williams - His Otherland Quartet is pretty good. So is his epic fantasy series.

Charles deLint - Harp of the Grey Rose.

C.J. Cherryh - the Morgain Saga (trilogy + extra book written 20 years later) - this is really good too.

Mary Gentle - Golden Witchbreed

Drowntide by Sydney J. Van Scyoc

It's darn hard to match the Lord of the Rings... try the Space Trilogy by Lewis. Also, the Iliad, Aeneid, Song of Roland, Paradise Lost, stuff like that.

There's always the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny was also good. I haven't read them but Steven Erikson's Mazalan books look interesting

Ranger's Apprentice! The first chapter sounds like John Flanagan copied it from LOTR, but once you get past the first chapter, it's really good!

For epic stories, but not strictly fantasy, I would recommend Bernard Cornwell's Arthur trilogy (The Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur). It's King Arthur's story, reimagined, and firmly set in England's Dark Ages (that is, more lice, Roman ruins, and Beowulf-style shield walls than magic, shiny castles and shiny knights.) Also, have you read anything by Lois McMaster Bujold? I have read and really enjoyed Cordelia's Honor and Miles in Love. They are sci-fi, but with many elements of other genres of fiction thrown in. Again, pretty epic, I think. And if you like fantasy and silly Monty-Python-style humor, have you read any of the Discworld books?

I highly recommend Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen. The scope is on par with The Lord of the Rings, perhaps even larger. I admit that it is brutal, but also heart-wrenchingly beautiful in that brutality. There is no quest to save the world but just a group of hardened soldiers who refuse to die. I'd say there are hundreds of named characters throughout the ten books, yet I remember most of them. The the world building is good, but Erikson's strength is his characters. Yes, many of them die, but dont doubt that you won't see them again. Gardens of the Moon is the first book and most definitely agreed to be pretty awful. It's confusing and you have no idea what's happening. By the end when you finally know what's going on, it's over. I'd give it until book 2 (Deadhouse Gates). Deadhouse Gates is a vast improvement over the first book!

My ex loved the Raymond E. Feist books is the first one and there are many in that series...

Have you tried Terry Goodkind's Sword of truth series?

Gothic fantasy: The Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake. It's not like anything else listed, as far as I can tell.

I would suggest giving Neil Gaiman a try. Not quite as epic as LOTR, but definitely worth reading.

Some others have already mentioned my first two thoughts: David Eddings various series (yes, begin with The Belgariad) and The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

Personally, I do like Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. I read them in the order they were written. Remember though, these are science fiction, not fantasy. The dragons are genetically bred, not magical.

Tad Williams wrote the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series that begins with The Dragonbone Chair.

I also enjoyed Guy Gavriel Kays' Fionavar Tapestry series, which begins with The Summer Tree. It's been years since I read the last two suggestions, but I liked them in the same vein as LOTR.

Don't know if you're the comic-book/graphic-novels type, but:

Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction

and

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Vol. 1

Here there be dragons is cool!and Enders game!

Here there be dragons is like a mixture off all the famous books in one epic story!

Homer's Odyssey or Iliad also if you find a good edition the epic of Gilgamesh

" I recommend Michael J. Sullivan, He's A Goodreads author & penned the series "Ryira Revealations," these are awesome!John Gywnne's "Malice" & Anthony Ryan's "Raven Shadow series,"are quite good also.These authors are lesser known and I think on the rise...

George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire", definitely. Beautifully written, highly dramatic. Also, Scott Bakker's novels are pretty wonderful. I feel I would not be out of place to mention my own dark, swashbuckling epic fantasy "The War of the Moonstone", but I apologize if that sounds like placing an add. Scott Lynch's novels are excellent, but I'm not sure if they're exactly epic.

Also, when it comes to fiction, I think it is usually if not always best to read the books prior to watching the movies. I am in the Middle of The Lord of the Rings, and I like reading it, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed it much more if I had read the Trilogy before watching the movies. I fid that there is more depreciation to experience, if you will, to watching a movie before reading the respective book that to reading the book before watching the movie.

I like reading fantasy literature by David Eddings, such as The Belgariad and The Elenium. If you have not tried these series, I would suggest starting with The Belgariad. Perhaps you won't enjoy it, but perhaps it will be great.

The Memory of Earth by Orson Scott Card is a great start to his Homecoming Saga, but it might be too religion or Philosophy oriented for your taste.

If you haven't closed the door on children's literature, Chronicles of Ancient Darkness might be a great series to read. I think such books can be enjoyable for older audiences if they are not blatantly shallow or lacking originality.

What I have read of the Dragonlance saga I find relatively original and fun. Like The Eye of the World, the only book of The Wheel of Time that I have read so far, it seems to draw from Tolkien's literature somewhat but does it creatively in a way that seems like homage and not plagiarism. I would also recommend giving Homeland by R. A. Salvatore a shot. These are all suggestions, and you may or may not enjoy these series, but I think the volumes and sagas I mentioned are worth the read or at least a try.

One Series I do NOT recommend is Dragonriders of Pern. The first book, Dragonflight, almost permanently turned me away from reading the following books. It focused too much on navigation science/astronomy in a way I found tedious and boring, and I thought the action was almost as rare as spelling errors in a published book. Of course, feel free to read it, but it's among what I find to be the worst series I've read, despite the poetry at the beginning of each chapter. I am aware that Anne McCaffrey did offer positive comments on Orson Scott Card's Homecoming saga, but other than that, there was very little that I liked in the book. I know some people do like Dragonriders of Pern, and anyone reading this comment who admires Anne McCaffrey's literature, I mean no disrespect. I'm only sharing my opinion.

You should give The False Prince a try.

Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle is wonderful for someone looking for a mixture of fantasy and history. Also, I enjoyed Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Now there's a complex world worthy of Tolkien!

Please, try the Pellinor quartet!!!!!! The four books are The Naming, The Riddle, The Crow and The Singing. Totally have that epic quest feel. When I was reading them I was totally thinking about how if they made them into movies they would HAVE to work as hard and long and do it as much justice as the Lord of the Rings movies did. They would have to have special extended editions. It is that kind of epic quest. The characters aren't always perfect and there is darkness inside them as well as light. There is Tragedy and wonder. Wonderful Books. Very like The Lord of the Rings.

I would also recommend A Song of Ice and Fire if you are looking for an epic series. Of course nothing compares to LotR, but aSoIaF has a huge scope of story with many intersecting plot lines. It is a fantasy with some supernatural elements but also draws a lot from European history with regard to its political entanglements

Try The Song of Albion Trilogy by Stephen Lawhead.

I've heard good things about GRR Martin/Game of Thrones but I haven't tried it myself.

A more quirky option is the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. HIGHLY imaginative, if you like his humour.(The only comparison I can come up with is Douglas Adams.)

I've only read the first volume (The Shadow of the Torturer), but I've been told that The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe is very good. I can attest to the first book being great. Maybe that's something you could enjoy.

If you haven't read any more Stephen King, I recommend The Stand. This is about a disease that wipes out about 99% of the world's population, and it focuses on a group of survivors. It's rather long, and it's not fantasy, but it's worth it if you're looking for an epic.

Good luck finding something great!

Since you likede Arthur C Clarke, I would strongly recommend Isaac Asimov Robot and Foundation series.

I haven't read the lord of the rings so I can't recommend similar but the Lorien Legacies is really good it amazing ( I am number 4, power of 6, rise of nine , fall of five )

What about A Song of Ice and Fire?

The Coming Storm Try this...