tolkien as an intro...

[Tonguez]

Actually I was introduced by two plastic bullywugs and a carrion crawler! I saw them in a 'bargain shop' and went to look and whilst there picked up the red box with the picture of a dragon on it. Then I got mum to buy the lot for my birthday

However before that I was reading lots of Greek Myth and the Narnia series. Our Teacher read us the Hobbit in Year 5 I thnik (so I was 9 maybe). I too found the LOTR tedious to read (though I did finally get through it) but with lots of detours to the more interestring Prydain series.

 

[JeffB]

I was in 4th grade. My fave teacher ever (John wood, Mantua Elementary, Fairfax VA, if he's out there), read books to us every few days for an hour or so.

He read most of the Narnia books and the Hobbit. Most other kids were bored, but I was fascinated. I then bough the Hobbit and read that...then I moved on to LotR...then I found out about D&D and I was off from there..then I really got into Elric; talk about a rude-awakening compared to the good Professor!

To this day Tolkien is my fave, and Middle-earth my fave "mythical" world. Though I enjoy other fantasy, I don't/haven't read much at all ( Ihave a 2 year old...nuff said..). I really enjoyed the Elric series, the first 3 DL books, Eye of the World (1st WoT book), The Thieves' World short stories, and I just finished reading one the Earthdawn novels (lost kaer) that I thought was very entertaining.

I've tried reading the FR novels..the Avatar Trilogy, Some of the compilations and some EC's work, and I just thought most of it was pretty bad..Many folks seem to like Salvatore, but I'm just nto a fan of the concept of Drizzt..so I've skipped them..perhaps they are better...

I'm itching to pick up some Jack Vance, but it's impossible to find on the shelves around here, and I just never bothered to order it.

In the end though, Tolkien is King in my book.

 

[kengar]

Originally posted by JeffB ...I found out about D&D and I was off from there..then I really got into Elric; talk about a rude-awakening compared to the good Professor!

In the end though, Tolkien is King in my book. [/B]

Wow, I had forgotten to mention Moorcock in my earlier post. He was huge for me. I bought most of my Chaosium stuff because of the Stormbringer game (though I already owned RQ by then).

I agree about Tolkien, though. Originally I wasn't impressed. It was something I had to come to aprreciate slowly. With each reading of LOTR (I think it's been 6 times now), I find it better & better.

On a tangent, the Peter Jackson FOTR movie takes on a whole new level if you have read the books; esp. if you've read a few times. The details he includes yet never mentions or draws attention to stun you. Even what he left out is impressive: my respect for the man's decisions on what to include and what not to grows with every viewing (Saw 5 times in theatre & am wearing out my DVD! ) and each reading. It may be heresy to say this, but I may actually enjoy the movie more than the book, though I recognize the book as a superior example of its medium. Apples to Oranges in a way, I suppose.


The funny thing is, I am not -by any stretch- a Tolkien "scholar." I simply enjoy the story and the setting.

 

[barsoomcore]

It was definitely Tolkien for me. But I was reading Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock all kinds of stuff by the time I got D&D in front of me.

Tolkien's still the King, though. My wife and I were watching the movie the other night (for the umpty-millionth time) and started talking about Galadriel and her past and so I had to check a reference in the Silmarillion and just got lost in it again. Man can he write.

 

[EOL]

Certainly Tolkien, but like Frosty I also was heavily influenced by Ivanhoe. I read Lieber and Moorcock because EGG had listed them in the back of the DMG under recommended reading...

 

[Taloras]

Hmmm...read Tolkiens books around 3rd grade (8 or 9 years old, iu had a 12th grade reading level). I have read so much fantasy since then, its impossible to list all the authors...ill just mention a few.....any of the Dragonlance or Forgotten Realm's novels, Anne McCaffrey's Pern series, Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series, Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince books......and many more. I have only read a little elric, cuz i cant seem to find any near me. I only got to play D&D this year, but was interested for a long time.

 

[Tyler Do'Urden]

Back when I was in elementary school, I didn't have much of a liking for fantasy. In fact, I found wizards, elves, dragons, and knights in shining armor to be, frankly, stupid. I was a science fiction man- spaceships, aliens, and bizzare pieces of high technology were my bag.

Then, when I was nine, a friend of mine handed me a copy of Dungeons and Dragons (yes, the old red-box set). I became... addicted. Fanatically addicted.

After a year of playing (mostly with myself, cause none of my other friends were interested), my parents decided they had had enough (my grades had fallen in the crapper because of my obsession), and threw the books in the trash. I was devestated.

So, deprived of my beloved game, I borrowed my uncle's copy of the Lord of the Rings trilogy- and moved into a new world, where I would spend my middle school years, devouring the Silmarillion (I've read it FIVE times), and nearly the entire history of Middle Earth series. In the 8th grade I also started reading Jordan- I became hooked on Wheel of Time, and soon after I began to play Magic: The Gathering, and I read the Artifacts Cycle (which is probably the best shared-world fiction I've read... I found it to be quite a bit more stimulating than Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms). I got back into D&D in High School, and I've been playing up until now (I'm a sophomore in college). Recently, I've been reading a lot of Moorcock... I've become fascinated by his writings. They're definitely a departure from Tolkien! (and everything else...)

 

[Hawkshere]

Lord of the Rings here too. The first adult novels I ever read were LotR, the Earthsea trilogy, and Dune, in that order. This was years before I started playing RPGs. By the time I got the blue boxed basic set, I was already pretty well read in most of the classic SF/Fantasy authors.

Its funny, though. Middle Earth, Earthsea, and Dune still pretty much form the foundation of my SF&F gestalt. I had no idea what I was doing when I picked those out, either - I think I was pretty damn lucky to start out with the best stuff, hehe.

 

[kingpaul]

To this day Tolkien is my fave, and Middle-earth my fave "mythical" world. Though I enjoy other fantasy, I don't/haven't read much at all ( Ihave a 2 year old...nuff said..).

So read it to them! Or will you spouse kill you for that? My wife has threatened death if I read that kind of "boy" stuff to my 2-yr-old daughter.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

My wife has threatened death if I read that kind of "boy" stuff to my 2-yr-old daughter.

That sentence is a beastly anachronism.

That said, I think Tolkien actually makes a pretty bad primer. There's a lot of better paced fantasy out there which is a lot more accessible for those new to the genre. Fellowship of the Ring the single worst-paced book I've ever managed to read all the way through. At least with subsequent readings, I've known where it was going, but the first time through was a CHORE.