Fantasy Book Club discussion

After spending a bit of time itemizing and discussing some of the essential elements of epic high fantasy, it might be interesting to consider some of the predominant themes that provide the foundation for the genre...It would be an interesting exercise to serve up a theme and list one or two works that might epitomize that theme...I'l start with two from a pair of my favorite authors

Theme 1. the glory of war (dubious or otherwise) and the clash of empires - Steven Erikson's Malazan books of the fallen

Theme 2. The struggle of an oppressed people to free their country from tyranny -
Guy Kay - Tigana.

These are two examples and they are rather shop worn (at least, to my mind)...so I'd love to hear about works that offer more innovative themes.

There should also be personal struggles. I found the best parts of LOTR were not the great battles but Sam and Frodo. Not all world-shaking events require great armies.

I am currently reading the first book of the black jewels trilogy by anne bishop...I will say that it certainly has been gifted with a unique theme structure...I am only 40 % into the novel, but sadly, I evidently lack the intellectual capacity to grasp exactly what the story's theme might be...thus far at least...but I will plunge ahead.
To my mind, fantasy is one of perhaps the most creative genre one can either read or create...and while the worlds created and characters vivified are unique and splendid...I have found that some of the themes explored are comparatively mundane...I hope that this thread can provide some examples of refreshing thematic foundations for fantasy stories

Fantasy is as you say George, the most creative genre. It mirrors the existing world by addressing not reality, but the infinitely larger world of nonexistence, unreality so to speak.

As for prevailing themes, there are multitudes, but some few are particularly recurrent.
1. The axial conflicts, traditional fantasy's Good-Evil and Sword and Sorcery's Law-Chaos (beginning with Moorcock and his Elric saga) are central to most fantasy books.
2. More on morals, I'd say that a theme is Morally ambiguous being "more good than good". The sarcasm and sheer sophistry of some characters (Elric again is the most obvious example) gives an air of mercilessness, however that the reader still stands by the character in question evinces the possibility of being "more good than good".
3. To give an old staple as my last point, the conflict between Gods/Titans/Immortals and other beings. These pairings vary from the immortal couplets in Eddings (The orb v. the Sardion, Bhelliom v. Klael, the Elder Gods of Styricum v. the Younger Gods etc.) to Gods with a mortal antagonist.

An interesting post which i shall definitely be following.