[Keyoke]

It's great to see this message base hoping with activity.. It's been somewhat on and off for some time..

Figure I might as well introduce myself.. Since, I frequent the board often..

Name is Keyoke (Mike) and i live in Calgary AB, Canada.. Been reading Fantasy for almost, god, 15 years? Started reading with The Hobbit, and hated it.. http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif So, I went out and bought my own book for my Grade 6 reading class.. It was a scifi novel called "The Ivanhoe Gambit" By Simon Hawke. I guess that is what got me into Scifi/Fantasy.. And, after that, most likely the Rift War Saga by Feist, Shannara series by Brooks (First 3), and The Dragonlance Chronicles. Those are the one that started my reading obsession.. Now, well, you name it.. I've probably read it, or at least heard of it. =)

Keyoke

[Lani]

Well, this topic just brought me a question. What was everybody's first fantasy and how they started?
For myself I started about 5 years ago, when I got couple of new friends and was feeling that I have nothing to read(before fantasy I was detective stories fun). So one of the friends gave me Amber series by Zelazny, which are still one of my favourites. As well, right then I was introduced to Dragonlance series which totally hooked me up and since then I read mostly fantasy and sci-fi.

[Rob B]

Well as I stated in another post my first really good fantasy reading experience was the Dragonlance Chronicles. I was also big time player of Dungeons and Dragons (can't wait to see the movie!) so that obviously helped.

Also, I can remember when I was younger (like 10 or 11) occasionally reading those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. Ace books also had a series of young adult books called "Magic Quest" and some of the authors were Tanith Lee and Patricia Wrede.

But it was the Dragonlance Chronicles and the Darksword Series by Weis and Hickman that really got me more interested in the Fantasy Genre and reading other fantasy authors.

[Giarc]

G'day...well, my first true fantasy book would have been the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander back when I was about 11 or 12 (too long ago by far!). I must go back and re-read it actually. As I recall it was a fantastic little series http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif I think I spend my fantasy apprenticeship in mythology, graduated to pick-a-path fantasy books, then discovered the wonders of fantasy novels. Most recently, Paul Kearney's series. (Not available in north america unfortunately)
Cheers,
Giarc

[FitzChivalry]

Well, i first played some game books of Steve Jackson, than i got the hobbit and was hooked by fantasy, the next stop was Dragonlance Chronicles that i still think got the best groups of heros ever.

[Eventine]

I started reading Victor Kelleher when I was about 9 or 10 or so (I think). He's a great Australian author of young adult fantasy. I read a few of the Steve Jackson game books as well, but pretty quickly moved on to Brooks, Donaldson and the odd Forgotten Realms book.
As far as personal infor goes I'm Ben from Wollongong in Australia. Been reading fantasy for 10 years or so. How many other Aussies are there posting? I know of Sojourn. Who else?

[Lady Fox]

My first true fantasy book was "The Children of Ynell" by Shirley R. Murphy, but before that I read "Dragonsong" by Anne McCaffrey, which I guess is really scifi and not fantasy. At the time I didn't really know the difference - I was 10. From there I went on to read Susan Cooper, Andre Norton, and Heinlein, maintly because they were in my local public library. I was hooked at an early age and I'm still a true scifi/fantasy addict.

[Sojourn]

Yup Keyoke, it's great to see a sudden burst of activity in this forum. Guess I'm lucky to have popped in during the revival. ^_^

My first exposure to fantasy was role-playing games back in Grade 5. From there I graduated to those 'choose-your-own-adeventure' books and then one day, I stumbled across my dad's stash of fantasy and sci-fi novels in a cupboard. With the help of a chair to reach those elusive books, I read a few of them and was hooked. ^_^ I recall fondly Feist and Brooks as my first authors. I progressed on to other authors, but I was still then only an on-and-off reader.
Then, along came a sudden urge to collect books. This along with many visits to bookstores, both new and 2nd hand, got me sucked into fantasy again, prob for good now. My interest in mythology and ancient cultures helped too, since I'm also an avid reader of those 'alternate prehistory' books on lost civilisations and the origin of the human race.

Oh, and Japanese anime & manga ROCK! ^_^

IMHO... ^_^

[Gooch]

I was thinking the same thing reading through here tonight. I've been lurking around here for almost a year, and all of a sudden, we're in buisness!

My first was Dragonlance, about 15 years ago. Woo Hoo! A steadily rising addiction ever since.

[Shehzad]

My first run-in with fantasy was back in France in 1987 (6th Grade). A friend handed me one of the Fighting fantasy books called "House of Fear" or something similar. From there I went on to more Fighting Fantasy, then to something called "Lone Wolf" which was similar but much better (does anyone remember that one?)... My introduction to fantasy novels started with The Hobbit. Before I knew it I was into Dungeons & Dragons (a longtime addiction) reading the Dragonlance Chronicles, then The Darksword trilogy.... and so it grew... In Grade 8 I read Asimov's The Gods Themselves and that got me started on Science Fiction as well.

By the Way, as a Science Fiction Purist, I strenuously object to the use of the term "Scifi" to refer to science fiction. In our parlance, sci-fi is a derogatory term for poor science fiction. The correct term is "SF".

Thanks...
Be True, Unbeliever