Some unorganized ideas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Pratchett
There were some threads about which books of his should be read first
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Asprin and his Myth series
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Cook and his Garrett P.I. series
combination of excellent old-school hard-boiled detective ala Phil Marlowe and fantasy