I don't necessarily associate them with D&D, so much as I do with the vast overuse they've received from authors since Tolkien's published works. Kind of like vampires. I've heard nothing but good things about The Black Company but as soon as I realized it was a vampire story, I put it down. I can't stomach vampire stories any more. They've been overdone. And they've been overdone in such a way that authors don't even challenge the norm. They just tell their story with that same old trope. Blah! [/rant]

If you want a good one-novel introduction to Tad Williams, read War of the Flowers. It's an amazing novel that offers a great twist to those fairy tales you grew up with.