What got you hooked on the fantasy genre?

[Qlippoth]

The very first influence was a book I borrowed from the school library in the 2nd grade: D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths--beautifully illustrated depictions of stories from Greek mythology. I devoured that book. That was 26 years ago.

 

[barsoomcore]

I was a dinosaur kid. You know, those kids what know every single dinosaur ever discovered, who discovered it, yada yada yada. I think I must have been about six or seven when I read Roy Chapman Andrew's book about his Mongolia expedition. That and "The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek" -- about two kids who find a living stegosaurus -- really sparked my imagination.

I'd still trade it all in for a one-way trip to the Cretaceous. Just to see a dinosaur walking around. Sigh.

Sorry, what was the question? Oh yes, got me into fantasy. So going from a love/obssession with dinosaurs to monster movies to fantasy seems like a pretty straightforward line to me.

Started with Tolkien. Ended with Tolkien, pretty much, though there's been a lot of floundering around in the interim. But I read LotR when I was ten-- that would be around 1978, I guess -- and somehow came across an article on D&D in a magazine somewhere and insisted my parents buy it for me.

Thank heavens for that "Suggested Reading" page at the back of the Player's Handbook. I went on to Zelasny, Leiber, Howard, Burroughs and many many others because of that.

Thanks for that, Gary.

 

[muhcashin]

I had read Lord of the Rings in grade 9, but it didn't make me fan just yet. Only after playing Baldur's Gate was I really interested. The fact that the player could see the game mechanics made me wonder what real RPing was like.

It's been about 21/2 years now. But in these 2 1/2 years, I've read all of Salvatore's FR books, the Dragonlance series, got close to 7 D&D hardcover rulebooks, not mention other supplements and roleplaying games. Ironically, I now find that computer rpgs suck.

 

[V_Shane]

I was dramatically influenced by reading LOTR in Highschool, but it all began when I was 8 years old and picked up my brothers copy of Conan The Barbarian (the really big magazine size one), from then on I worked at drawing John Byrme's Conan and there to Frazetta from some Molly Hatchet covers. After that I think it was Hildebrandts because of thier work on the original LOTR covers and calendars.

 

[haiiro]

That and "The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek" -- about two kids who find a living stegosaurus -- really sparked my imagination.

That was a great little book.

 

[Painfully]

My dad was an audiofile back in the 70's and he bought me a lot of audio storybooks of, "Jack and the Beanstalk," and, "Gulliver's Travels," and others, when I was a wee lad. I also remember a very special book called, "Grimm's Fairy Tales." Disney didn't come until much later for me, and in much smaller doses than Grimm. Eventually, I got around to the animated, "Lord of the Rings," and, "The Hobbit." I can still remember the "whip" song too

When I was about 9 years old my dad came home with the red boxed set, and we were busy getting ourselves prepared for, "The Keep on the Borderlands," the next night. It was so much fun, we played again the following night.

 

[BigBastard]

The movie Conan the Barbarian and the artwork of James Holloway. Holloway in my opinion was one of the best artists TSR ever used. The man is a fantasy art god!!

 

[the Jester]

I remember the Hobbit when I was young... first my mom reading it to me and then me reading it myself.

I don't really remember reading anything before that. It was my first book in the adult sense (not clearly a children's book). I read it before the Hardy Boys or anything... wow.

 

[s/LaSH]

Hobbit (I tried reading LoTR when I was five and found the opening scenes a little dull, so I gave it up. Stupid.), Narnia. All around the time I started going to school (which is age 5 in my country). I liked dinosaurs too, which might contribute a little to my dracophilia these days. Eventually (around age 10?), I picked up LoTR again, and round about that time my parents finally got me the big black box of basic D&D. I got together with a friend and we taught ourselves how it all worked. He also had a titanic collection of Fighting Fantasy books (although nowhere near the size of the bookshelves in my own home, which as I may have stated puts small libraries to shame - I have an entire wall made out of full bookshelves).

I didn't have a TV until about 8 years ago. It was good, and I'd recommend strict parental control on TV until your kids have developed at least one fictional universe without help.

 

[GreyOne]

When I was in Grade Five, my 5th Grade teacher read us the Riddles in the Dark chapter of the Hobbit. She did it with cool voices. After that I devoured that kind of stuff.

I'm a teacher now myself and each year I always read that chapter to my students, voices and all. They always love it. I'm doing my part to convert the young.