First Fantasy book you ever read/Introduction to Fantasy

[SusF]

I'm giving fantasy a broad definition here, because my first Fantasy was in learning about Greek mythology in seventh grade.

I had an excellent teacher who made the heroes and gods come alive. The stories were fascinating. We had nine weeks of mythology. Most of it Greek, and then some Norse. From there I found the mythology section of the library and read the Illiad and Oddssey.

A few years later, I saw Bakshi's Lord of the Rings and read Tolkien, which introduced me to modern fantasy (modern as in not 2000 years old..)

There are few books that seem as magical to me as Homer or Tolkien. Was it because I was young, or is it because I've read so much since then?

Susan

 

[Gooch]

My first was the Dragon Lance trilogy. My friends and I were getting into D&D, and it seemed naturaly to check out the DL books, since we were already hooked on the the fantasy element of D&D.

 

[Qin]

Technically Lord of the Rings introduced me to fantasy literature, but I really didn't think much of it when I'd read it. Around the time I'd begun reading it, I was part of a D&D group as well.

What finally captivated me and instigated an interest in fantasy literature was Wheel of Time.

I'd seen Conan the Barbarian years before when I was younger, but it never registered with me as being anything other than a big guy killing people with a very big sword.

 

[estranghero]

Well, if you gotta ask me, I'd say (top of my head):

1) the Bible, with its wonderfully scary scenes in the Apocalypse and its big battles

,
2) Lord of the Rings borrowed from the local library (a big book, all three bound in leather and smelling like all old books do),
3) Chronicles of Narnia, courtesy of the cartoon on "the Lion, the Witch, and Wardrobe", and
3) the Dragonlance series, which introduced me to the world of fantasy again when I was in my teens.

Hmmm, if you wanna talk about movies (even b-movies), I'd say Conan and Beastmaster. And how can I forget the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon series?

 

[SusF]

I saw SO many horrible Sword and Sorcery movies. Conan was actually pretty good compared to some of the others, whose names I've long ago forgotten.

Hmm ok then does King Kong and Godzilla qualify? I saw them years before I read mythology even. Oh and the Addams Family and Munsters on TV. Addams Family was my favorite. I wanted to live with 'em.

Susan

 

[mundanemies]

Conan the Barbarian is actually a rather decent movie all by itself. I must have seen it almost ten times (last night almost wholly again from Scifi

) and I still consider it a very good fantasy-movie.
Barbarian movie genre, now there's a topic! I've seen some 60-odd movies I'd categorise as such, but then again, I am a b-movie aficionado. Made in Turkey, shurely it's great!

Fantasy.
I'd reckon my first glimpse into that would have been either Moomin-comics aeons ago or Edgar Rice Burroughs about the same time. I remember also reading C.S. Lewis a full year before I read the first translation of Tolkien's Hobbit. Now that was an eyeopener.
I'd guess I started the habit about 1977.

I think I'll say Tove Jansson and Moomin-books. That'll make me look smarter than saying Tarzan...

 

[Rhaegar]

The Hobbit and LOTR hooked me on fantasy at a very early age. These books had a profound impact on me. After that it was the Sword of Shannara - I was young enough not to notice how terrible it really was. The Wheel of Time fascinated me for many years until my intrest waned around book 8.

 

[SusF]

Hey now don't knock Tarzan. Edgar Rice Burroughs was highly entertaining. I think I read all the way up to book 10. I loved Tarzan, hehe.

I've never read any of his Mars books though. I have the first one around here somewhere.

Hmm then there was that horridly campy/fun Batman and Robin TV show. Holy Almost, Batman! I watched it religiously there for a while.

Susan

[This message has been edited by SusF (edited December 30, 2001).]

 

[Alucard]

The never ending story by micheal ende is what got me hooked. Still one of my favorites, if for nothing more than that reason.

 

[Shehzad]

Does anyone else remember the Fighting Fantasy and Lone Wolf books?? They got me started-- then I moved on to D&D/AD&D-- then The Hobbit and DL Chronicles.

 

[Qin]

Fighting Fantasy and Lone Wolf? They don't ring a bell. What're they about?

 

[Erebus]

My first introduction to fantasy? When I understood the truth of politican's promises!

After that it was C.S. Lewis and The Hobbit, of course!

 

[Stark Direwolf]

the hobbit, although I read a whole bunch of fantasy books when I was a kid, but now I cant even come to remember the titles of them...

 

[Hans]

Well the Fantasy book that actually got me started to read Fantasy was Harry Potter, though I had read other fantasies before it at school, they did not get me into reading, I used to think only sad people read books, but Harry Potter changed that for me. I couldn't resist looking at what all the hype was about.

 

[jbcohen]

My first fantasy novel was a Star Wars novel called Splinter of the Minds Eye.

I am convinced that the best way to introduce a friend or family member to great fantasy litterature is to start with some of the modern clasics that no one else would consider to be fantasy novels but really are. For example: Frankenstien, A Cristmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life.

 

[Rob B]

When I was a wee lad, I used to read the choose your own adventure books....

...then I moved onto DragonLance...

 

[avsgrrl]

My brothers and I would fight over who got to read the better ending in the "Choose your own adventure" books...

Those were the days....

My son is three, I started reading Harry Potter to him. He also has a really cool book on Dragons. I will get the title. It is all poems about dragons.

 

[Loaba]

I started with The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings in 8th grade. I also read the Chronicles of Narnia at that time as well.

 

[SusF]

Oh I want a book of poems about dragons! I'll go buy it myself, hehe. Please give the author.

Susan

 

[Sammie]

Technically started with the usual CSLewis, Tolkien etc sorta pre-secondary school age. Then read the entire literary contents of my parents house (no fantasy at all). Then ran out of those at age 14ish (my parents have a LOT of books!) and - oh woe - had to start buying my own. Read Edding's Belgariad at about this point. Then everything else he'd written, then everything McCaffrey-wise in my local book shop, (it's not big, though

), then Goodkind etc etc (ie i'm officially hooked on fantasy by now!) and then...

....about a year or so ago (aged 17 or 18) I returned to the world of books written for grown-ups...!

*hides before the Eddings fans arrive*