The Passage by Justin Cronin (much like the Kingkiller series, we only have 2 of 3 books published, and no definite release date for #3, so prepare to be frustrated by that)
You could try Anne McCaffrey's Pern series. Wikipedia has the reading/listening order. I seriously love it. It was written in the 60s and 70s though so she's not always pc with her language.