Your fantasy/sci-fi progession

[SkynJay]

We talk about it all the time, but I truly want to know peoples progression into fantasy. Did it start at a young age or come later in life? Ill start.

Around age 10- Narnia series. I know i read the first couple, but it didn't really make an impact on me yet. Still not a fantasy guy.

Freshman Year-- I pick up my first Pern book. While reading them my little sister brings me the first Goodkind book(which she finds in her JR High library), because it has a dragon on it. Sadly, as a 14 year old i find it entertaining, and thus I am now something of a fantasy/sci-fi guy. Star Wars comes soon after.

Late High school- I am now a sci fi guy, leaving fantasy behind after a few Goodkind books. Starship Troopers, Rendezvous with Rama, and lots of Star Wars books.

College- Other than continuing the damn Sword of Truth series I leave both behind for thrillers and mysteries. I just had to finish the series that had taken so much time.

Post-College -- I FINALLY read LoTR, and realize fantasy may just have something real good to it. Pratchett and Gaimon were next, followed by Abercrombie. From Abercrombie I find Martin, and have been hooked ever since.

I am truly said that my start was so strange. With better recs I probably would have joined the fantasy scene a lot sooner. I am truly sad I missed the magic of LoTR for so long as well.

Anyone else wanna share?

[Starkess]

My dad read The Hobbit and LOTR out loud to me when I was like 4, so yeah. I guess I started at a young age. :)

[Spring Bass]

In the beginning, there was R.A. Salvatore's Crystal Shard when I was 13. After that, I read all of his Drizzt novels, and all of his Demonwars novels as well.

At the same time, I somehow got into Star Wars novels. I can't remember exactly which one I started with, but soon enough I was reading all of them. In fact, I read every single Star Wars novel that was out before the New Jedi Order arc.

What really got me into fantasy was actually A Song of Ice and Fire, which I read for the first time in 2004 (I think - I know I read it at least a couple of months before A Feast for Crows came out), and loved. I then went into a binge of fantasy series, including the entire Wheel of Time series (which I read in 2006) and Lord of the Rings.

This was around the time that I started posting on this site, as well as reading some of the fantasy review blogs out there. I came across Warrior-Prophet by Bakker entirely by accident (the cover looked awesome at the library), and while I failed on that read-through, I later started from the beginning and read the entire series through. I also read Abercrombie's books, Scott Lynch's books, and Rothfuss's books, all in 2008-2009.

At some point in 2008, I also went through a "Stephen King" phase. I read all of his books except Rose Madder, Dolores Claiborne, and The Tommyknockers, and read through the entire Dark Tower series in 2008-2009.

At this point, I'm a Fantasy guy. There are a handful of science fiction books on my shelf, but I generally don't read much in the way of science fiction.

[Grack21]

Hold on, basic math late at night.....

My aunt gave me The Hobbit for Xmas when I was 10. Read Lord of the Rings when I was 11. At 12 I started reading Brooks and Dragonlance, and around 13/14 I discovered the wonder that is THE LIBRARY and haven't looked back since.

For the longest longest time I refused to read anything other then fantasy. Gene Wolfe and Alistair Reynolds finally got me back into scifi(I remember in high school I read some terrible terrible TERRIBLE SCIFI, so terrible I can;t even remember most of it, and it turned me off to it for, well, hold on basic math again.....oh about 17 years!). A few years ago on a whim I started reading Cornwell's Sharpe, and now I actually read all kinds of stuff. History, Historical fiction, mystery. I even started reading all those old omg-you-haven't-read-it yet classics. Five years ago I would have looked at you like a crazy person if you suggested I'd own copies of Shakespeare or Dante or Milton, or even something not with dragons in it. I'm trying to remember specific dates. 1992 was Wheel of Time. 1995 was god help me Sword of Truth. Katherine Kerr I remember specifically as November 27th 1998. Bad day in real life. Game of thrones was sometime in 2002. Gene Wolfe was 2006. Glen Cook was, yes, 2006. One thing about coming to a great author late is there so many good things to catch up on!

Erikson I bought on a whim at a used book shop in 2005. Kate Elliott was with leftover book store credit in 1998. Man I remember the weirdest things.

Lot's stuff I bought on a whim before I found this board. Abercrombie I bought cause I thought the font looked cool. There was a time when I would buy books on site if they had a Michael Whelan cover. That's how Hobb started.

Well I think this is my longest post ever.

Oh and I started reading King in 8th grade. God if my parents knew what was in those books back then....

[Curethan]

hmmm, Arthur Mee's encyclopedia for children got me really interested in myths and fairy tales. I then devoured those sections of the library.

Frank Baum's Oz series kept me entertained for a while, then I got into Moorcock which blew my mind.

Seeing me reading that, my father gave me a copy of LotR.

Then a frenzy of devouring the extant library of the 80-90's. Brooks, Eddings, Gemmel, Wolfe, Le Guin etc

Aside from the odd bright spot, not a lot of what I read hit the same inventive heights as Moorcock or the written craft of Tolkien, although I credit Feist's Magician for introducing a critical appreciation of deft characterisation.

Also Donaldson's Covenant series was iumpactful in it's use of dramatic dimensions outside of the standard fantasy plotting (I enjoy it only in retrospect, too depressing to read haha).

Read boxes of golden age sci-fi, I will forever love the twisted mind of PK Dick.

My reading is interspersed always with other contempary fiction, biographies and selections from the 'literary' classics to try to broaden my horizons and critical understanding, but fantasy and sci-fi remains my prefered genre reading.

In my mind, their modern forms have evolved a lot into various aspects that blend and encompass techniques of writing from all forms of literature.

I just wish we could get past the 1000 page polyvolumed repition fad.

[Procrastimancer]

Pre-Passion - Random smattering of books, including Harry Potter, Animorphs, and Goosebumps.

HS Junior Year, Age 16 - Discovered R.A. Salvatore, finished most of his books in a matter of months. Started rereading them.

HS Senior Year, Age 17 - Progressed to picking up random books from the library. Introduced to Feist. Read every book of his that I could get my hands on. Also, introduced to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Post High School -

- Introduced to Martin, then later, Gemmell, Erikson, and Bakker.

- Finally convinced to read Glen Cook, which broke my irrational hatred of first person.

- Introduced to Old Man's War by John Scalzi, which led to Starship Troopers and The Forever War.

- Someone leads me to pick up Ekaterina Sedia's Paper Cities anthology, which contains a short story featuring Jay Lake's City Imperishable. This leads to Trial of Flowers, my first taste of weird fiction, which then leads me to the works of Jeff VanderMeer. While waiting for the sequel, Madness of Flowers, I stumble across How to Make Friends with Demons by Graham Joyce. Both face numerous delays, leading me to buy the alternate version: Memoirs of a Master Forger. This leads to a Joyce marathon.

- Jeff VanderMeer led me to Michal Ajvaz, whose work inspired a taste for translated fiction. This has led to the likes of Haruki Murakami and Tea Obreht.

Someone in that mess there should be a bunch of other names thrown in and scrambled about. I never stick to one sort of book for very long, I don't even like to read individual volumes of a series back-to-back, and I tend to read a little of everything, so it is very difficult charting my literary progression despite the fact that my passion for reading was only kindled seven years ago. The above is, I think, the most relevant--the route to my current tastes without significant detour that displays my stunted experience with SF and my faltering taste for epic fantasies.

[kcf]

It probably started with horror for me. Once I reached junior high school (this would have been back in the '80s) I decided I was too old for the Hardy Boys and started reading Steven King. Keeping with King I also read a lot of the popular fiction my dad was - mostly thrillers. Cussler, Crichton, etc. My first taste of true fantasy was a gift from a cousin who got me the Darksword trilogy (I think it was Hickman). I loved it, though I didn't really jump on the bandwagon at that time. Then as a freshman in college I picked up The Eye fo the World by Jordan because a bunch of my cousins were raving about the series. I loved it and immediatly bought all the books in the series (at that time I think Lord of Chaos had just been released). I read and re-read the series a bunch of times. From there I picked up LotR and The Hobbit and started in on all the Star Wars books. A few years later, while waiting for new WOT books I once tried the whole new 'internet' thing and discovered people talking about the books. I lurked for years at various incarnations of discussion boards and usernet and such and then started posting over at wotmania sometime around 2001. Then I discovered a bunch of other recommendations - Martin, Gaiman, Erikson, Pratchett, Mieville and so many others. The rest I suppose is history.

[nickg]

Started with the Chronicles of Prydain at around 8 or 9. Still love that series and read it from time to time. Moved on to the hobbit and lord of the rings, then every star wars book or anything that mentioned King Arthur or merlin I could get my hands on.

Found the Elfstones of Shanarra in the school library in 6th grade which I loved. From Brooks I moved to Dragonlance and Salvatore. I received the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and the Riddle Master trilogy as a gift one Christmas and I guess that is where I moved on to what most people would call more serious fantasy and SF.

I still like elfstones and dragonlance though =D

[Grack21]

Started with the Chronicles of Prydain at around 8 or 9. Still love that series and read it from time to time. Moved on to the hobbit and lord of the rings, then every star wars book or anything that mentioned King Arthur or merlin I could get my hands on.

Found the Elfstones of Shanarra in the school library in 6th grade which I loved. From Brooks I moved to Dragonlance and Salvatore. I received the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and the Riddle Master trilogy as a gift one Christmas and I guess that is where I moved on to what most people would call more serious fantasy and SF.

I still like elfstones and dragonlance though =D

I still read Brooks and Dragonlance! Which is why I'm reluctant to post pics of my bookshelves.

Oh god so many memories!

Feist was given to me as a gift in 7th grade or so. Back then there were only 5 of them or so, so it hadn't yet gone...downhill.

Donaldson i also got as a gift in 6th grade, read the fist one, went OMG WTF ICK. Actually bought the first one again a few months back, since a lot of things I thought were crap as a young lad have turned out to be better once I was old enough to understand things.

Can't stand Moorcock. It's weird because despite my feelings for the man himself, I don;t think his writing is THAT awful. I think knowing a couple, what would today be termed EMO, kids in high school obsessed with elric scarred me for life. The Nomad of the Time Streams was neat though.

Gemmel I had never read til about a year ago. Read Legend. Awesome. Need to read more.

And someone mentioned first person narrative. I used to hate that too until Robin Hobb.

Edit: Oh, I've been reading Star Wars novels since the first Zahn, and still do. Lightsbaers are cool dammit! Bzzzt! Pzzzftt!

[Spaceman Hobbes]

My dad read Narnia and the Hobbit outloud to me when I was six. I was addicted, reading them for myself by the time I was 7 or 8. I tried to start LotR, but needless to say I never made it through concerning hobbits. I also was reading YA star wars novels at this point. Even ones written by Kevin J Anderson. :thumbsdown:

When I was ten I had my tonsils taken out, and since I had a week or so of downtime, my dad gave me his copy of LotR(again) and told me that he wouldn't take me to see the movie(which was coming out at the end of the year) until I read the book. I devoured them.

After that it was a lot of Star Wars EU, LotR rereads, and Harry Potter. I also had a love affair with Cussler in high school. I read Eragon but upon the realization that it was Star Wars with a dragon, decided there were better uses of my time. I read a good amount of Brooks, but only because my sister kept buying them.

I didn't really read much fantasy my senior year of highschool or my freshman year of college. Half way through my sophomore year(end of 09), I discovered Martin. That was follow by Butcher, Sanderson, Rothfuss, and Bakker. I don't really read Sci Fi, mostly because I have irrationally decided that not is going to come close to Dune(and therefore it's not worth my time).

EDIT: Forgot to mention brooks.

[Grack21]

Yeah I guess I should read Dune someday.

[damian]

i think i started with prydain, and lone wolf (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_Wolf_%28gamebooks%29) which were pretty awesome!

at some point, around 12 i want to say, i picked up some random d&d book, probably dragonlance legends or something. over the next 8 years or so i read every dragonlance/forgotten realms book in existence. now i am extremely picky and jaded with fantasy and few things really satisfy the urge.

[Jaime L]

My sister used to read to me from The Dark is Rising when I was little. She pretty much got me into the genre and a lot of the first books I read were hand-me-downs - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the all text computer game haunted me for years), Ender's Game and finally Raymond E. Feist. Think I read Silverthorn first for whatever reason, then went back and read the rest of the Riftwar Saga in order. Thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. This was middle school.

I dunno, by high school drifted back away from Fantasy/SciFi. Was really into whatever we read in English: Of Mice and Men, Catcher in the Rye, Brave New World...all of that. Also went on a Stephen King kick. Went off to college. Flying back home over the holidays, remember stumbling upon Game of Thrones in an airport bookstore and started reading it on a plane. Thought it was great...and then I don't know, halfway through, think I lost the book or something because I ended up buying it again years later, not even realizing it, and was struck with the thought I'd read all this before. Storm of Swords was out by that point so read all three in succession. Probably the most satisfying reading experience of my life.

The series reawakened the potential of fantasy for me and tried to find other things like it. Read several Goodkind books, which were okay. Tried reading Jordan which was beyond tedious. Someone bought me Zelzany and couldn't get past the second chapter. Really the only other fantasy author I found at all compelling from this time period was Guy Gavriel Kay and his lyrical prose. Never found his endings satisfying but always enjoyed the buildup between stories of rival bad-ass heroes with hearts of gold who gradually come to admit the other is just as bad-ass as he. Anyway, have realized in recent years that nothing compares to Martin so it isn't worth trying. He's ruined fantasy for me. But then I'd kill for any genre of book that would capture my imagination in the same way books often did when I was younger.

[damian]

He's ruined fantasy for me.

for the most part i agree, but i think it's still worth trying, and i think there is still some good stuff out there. now i tend to read a fantasy novel, then read some sci fi, a mystery or two, then a classic novel, something non fiction, and then go back to another fantasy novel. 10 years ago i read almost only fantasy novels. now i find the break between them helps the enjoyment.

[jdiddyesquire]

Started with the Chronicles of Prydain at around 8 or 9. Still love that series and read it from time to time. Moved on to the hobbit and lord of the rings, then every star wars book or anything that mentioned King Arthur or merlin I could get my hands on.

Found the Elfstones of Shanarra in the school library in 6th grade which I loved. From Brooks I moved to Dragonlance and Salvatore. I received the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and the Riddle Master trilogy as a gift one Christmas and I guess that is where I moved on to what most people would call more serious fantasy and SF.

I still like elfstones and dragonlance though =D

Identical to me sans the Donaldson books.

[gladius]

various collections of folk tales, fables and mythology -> Lord of the rings -> A song of ice and fire -> Prince of nothing -> once in a while i find something that interests me.

Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy -> Philip K. Dick -> once in a while i find something that interests me.

[Liadin]

I started reading fantasy when I was really little, Narnia being one that I remember. And The Hobbit. I got halfway through LotR before quitting because all the foreshadowing had me convinced all the main characters were going to die.... so I must have been pretty little. :lol:

Read a bunch of kids' and YA fantasy. There were a few years in there where I'd go to the YA section of the library, but the (adult) fantasy section of the bookstore. Read Brian Jacques and Robert Jordan until I got sick of them. Fell in love with Harry Potter.

Also, read a lot of really weird crap that never gets discussed on this board (much of it for good reason I'm sure). I was into Sara Douglass when I was maybe 14, and David Farland, although I had a tendency to not finish series and never finished either of those. But for the really weird stuff: anybody here ever read Jane Linskold, Deborah Chester, or Lynn Abbey? (Someone must have. But not many.) And there was this random trilogy by Douglas Niles that I thought was the shit. No idea what I'd think of any of that stuff now. Really, about the only fantasy authors I read as a teenager that I think are any good now are probably Juliet Marillier and Kate Elliott. Well, and Robin McKinley, and John Marsden's Tomorrow series was pretty good.

I didn't start to find much really good stuff until college. Randomly picking stuff up in used bookstores is fun and all, but reviews/online recs to find out more are a good idea too as it turns out. :laugh:

Edit: typo

[Jon AS]

My father read stories from Greek mythology and stuff like The Neverending Story to me before I could read myself, which pretty much set me up for fantasy. Not sure where science fiction came in, but I'm sure it's also my dad's fault. At the very least he gave me my first copies of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the Foundation trilogy when I was still fairly young.

[Grack21]

I started reading fantasy when I was really little, Narnia being one that I remember. And The Hobbit. I got halfway through LotR before quitting because all the foreshadowing had me convinced all the main characters were going to die.... so I must have been pretty little. :lol:

Read a bunch of kids' and YA fantasy. There were a few years in there where I'd go to the YA section of the library, but the (adult) fantasy section of the bookstore. Read Brian Jacques and Robert Jordan until I got sick of them. Fell in love with Harry Potter.

Also, read a lot of really weird crap that never gets discussed on this board (much of it for good reason I'm sure). I was into Sara Douglass when I was maybe 14, and David Farland, although I had a tendency to not finish series and never finished either of those. But for the really weird stuff: anybody here ever read Jane Linskold, Deborah Chester, or Lynn Abbey? (Someone must have. But not many.) And there was this random trilogy by Douglas Niles that I thought was the shit. No idea what I'd think of any of that stuff now. Really, about the only fantasy authors I read as a teenager that I think are any good now are probably Juliet Marillier and Kate Elliott. Well, and Robin McKinley, and John Marsden's Tomorrow series was pretty good.

I didn't start to find much really good stuff until college. Randomly picking stuff up in used bookstores is fun and all, but reviews/online recs to find out more are a good idea too as it turns out. :laugh:

Edit: typo

Ohhhh Jane Lindskold's Firekeeper books are personal favorites. I don;t know why they don't get much attention around here. Well, I think I know why, but I'll be polite about it. Great books, one of the few authors that did the raised by wolf things without it turning trite or into furry porn. Chester I've heard of but never read. Abbey wrote a couple decent D&D novels. Nothing special, but nothing terrible.

Also you make me feel old. I was in college when Sara Douglas came out.

Juliet Marillier I;ve been emaing to read for a while but don;t know where to start.

[nickg]

Identical to me sans the Donaldson books.

I think I dropped lord fouls bane 5 or 6 times before finally finishing it. I did enjoy it though. Can't believe I forgot The Neverending Story. God I loved that book. The Silmarillion too. Great stuff.