On the advice of James Nicoll, started reading Rosemary Kirstein's Steerswoman series. It's pretty good. Not stellar in any particular arena except perhaps characterization. But no low points at all. So good dialogue, prose, world building, action and plotting. I believe they were written 20 years ago. (Available DRM-free in a variety of digital formats, for cheap, via Smashwords.)

I should mention that the main protagonists, both of them, are female, and the world depicted, though medieval/feudal in appearance, treats women both individually and as a category much better than our own does. So if that sort of thing turns you off, please step right this way into the rotating knives.