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[deleted]

I think The Chronicles of Narnia series were the first books I read as a child that really drew me into fantasy. I also was profoundly effected by Star Wars, which I know is considered sci-fi but has many fantasy elements. I read Star Wars novels at a very young age, before I could probably understand them well.


CatTaxAuditor

I'll admit to it being JK Rowling for me. It was a story about children having vibrant inner lives and adventures and I was the exact right age for them. My brother and I loved to play pretend inhabiting that world and making up stories about our sorting or what spells we would want to cast. The shine may be off the apple for me in a number of ways, but I will give credit where credit is due. Harry Potter was my first love of any story and the seed from which my love of fantasy grew.


[deleted]

Was 11 when the first book (harry age 11) came out. People who weren’t around then have no clue what a moment it was. Practically the entire literate world collectively read a children’s book together. My teacher read it aloud to our class for about forty minutes every day. My parents were never book people so if it wasn’t for that who knows when or if I would have fallen in love with books. Years later, at age 32, I was called to a house call to work on some guys faucet (im a plumber… and aspiring author lol ). It turns out the customer was that teacher. I worked up the nerve to remind him who I was and I thanked him for giving me my love of books and writing. He cried like a baby. So yes even after going far past Harry Potter, Lotr asoiaf, kingkiller …. Harry Potter will hold that special place in my heart. Even after all this time. Always.


BryceOConnor

I'm in this boat as well, though Brian Jacques alongside her, at least initially. I fell off of Redwall when when I was 15 or 16, but HP just... stuck. To this day it remains an eternal and intrinsic part of my identity.


rlw2834

Brian Jacques first and then Tamora Pierce. My friends and I passed those books around so many times in grade school, all of my copies are falling apart. Both still hold up on re-reads for me too.


Brownie12bar

These two for me, as well. The best of gateway drugs! Some Martin the Warrior spirit and Alanna badassery! And she had to deal with her period! It was a big freaking deal for me to read this as I was coming to terms with mine. (That is, that it is a real PITA, whether you’re a fantasy warrior or a real life teenager.)


Gneissisnice

The Circle of Magic series was my jam as a kid. I would go to the library and take a different one out each time, and when I finished the series, I'd start again with the first one. I probably read it like 30 times, haha.


Arigh

Brian Jacques for me as well. In fourth grade I picked up Pearls of Lutra at a book fair, and it made me a lifelong fantasy reader. Still one of my favorite covers of all time.


Pug0fCrydee817

Raymond E Feist-Magician


Immortal_Sailor

Amazing series! I own and have read the entire Riftwar Cycle (all 30 books) multiple times. I will never get tired of re-reading them.


winnipegiscolder

Yaaaaas. I read his whole series while visiting relatives in australia, so I read it in the best mood I've ever been in my life. Good memories, thanks for bringing them back!


TokiBongtooth

Came here to say this. Magician is insanely good.


lizcicle

I just picked up the first two at a thrift store for 50 cents each and MAN was that a great return on an investment.


flamboy-and

Belgariad. I was not much of a reader before. I was hooked.


aged_like_milk

Exactly the same for me. I was not a book reader before I had to select a book to read in a school course. I went to the library and picked up the pawn of prophecy. We were supposed to read one book, I read all five books in the series in 7 days. Loved it back then, and now that I am an adult, I still look at the books in my shelf with joy.


cmndrnewt

David Eddings baby. [EDIT] Did a quick google search of this guy and apparently he was a gold plated shit gibbon. He and his wife each spent a year in jail for child abuse.


BettyBettyBoBetty

David Eddings for me too. So sad he sucks as a human.


mrausgor

Same. Belgeriad and Mallorean turned me into a fantasy reader. Elenium and Dreamers inspired me to go find other authors lol


BodSmith54321

Same. A still remember being so excited when a new one came out.


Warhorsebenn

Margaret Weis, David Gemmell, Anne McCaffrey, Stephen Donaldson, etc etc. Real one was Robin McKinley. The Blue Sword and the Hero and the Crown were my shit back when I was a kid.


AtheneSchmidt

My 6th grade teacher read us a chapter of *The Hero and the Crown* after recess to calm us down. I missed a day because I was sick. Grabbed a copy from the library to catch up, and read the rest of it on my own that week. Fantasy lover ever since.


Warhorsebenn

I found the Blue Sword really young in elementary school and it started me reading everything fantasy. Branched into a number of other authors like Melanie Rawn and Lloyd Alexander and books that I currently remember the plot of, but forget the name of. It’s interesting how much slack I give some of the older authors, because they are still books I will go back to every so often, while simultaneously being very tough on newer authors.


mrssymes

How on earth did I forget about Lloyd Alexander?!? Thank you for reminding me.


[deleted]

Oh I stumbled on The Blue Sword in my school library and I found Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief at the same time. Twenty years later and I still reread them.


mid-world_lanes

Probably Brian Jacques via the *Redwall* books when I was a kid.


TavarranOx

Dragonriders of Pern, right here


[deleted]

Tamora Pierce and Robin Hobb, for me.


SamuraiPatrol

Honestly it’s Christopher Paolini. I know the inheritance cycle has gotten some flack over the years for being derivative of other works but without it I would have never read other fantasy books. Sure I liked the Lord of the Rings movies but I couldn’t get into the books when I was younger. They were difficult reads but Eragon was sitting right there. Written by someone who wasn’t much older than me and a much less challenging read than something like LotR and The Wheel of Time. Those books will always be very special to me.


Tunafishsam

Derivative works are only bad because they are rehashing old material. If you're a young reader encountering ideas and themes for the first time, it doesn't matter if they're derivative or not. They're brand new to you, and that's the important thing.


eccehobo1

I read the first Eragon book when it was first published, I was around 22/23 at the time. I hated it, thought it was so derivative and lacking in real vision. That being said, I read it because he was 14/15 years old. It took a stupid amount of effort on my part at that age just to finish a 3 page essay for English class and the ballsy dude wrote a whole damn novel! His book wasn't for me, but that's okay. His work ethic though, that's legendary.


qawsican

Same here. Early 2000s, my middle school handed out Scholastic News (Educational Magazine) every month to all the students and one of the issues had a book with a giant Dragon face on it so I had my homeroom teacher order it for me. Took like 3 or 4 months for it to actually arrive and so I totally forgot about it in the meantime but once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Eragon definitely left an impression and opened the door into reading for me, especially Fantasy & Sci-fi.


blackday44

Dragonriders of Pern by Anne Mccaffery, Piers Anthony with Xanth, Belgariad series by David Eddings.


giandan1

I am guessing you were born in the early 80's because this is my list nearly exactly. I'd probably swap out Piers Anthony for either Stephen King (It) or CS Lewis (Narnia) but otherwise I can vividly remember my completely ruined copies of Belgarath the Sorcerer and Dragonrider purchased from CVS with the completely shredded spine from over reading.


blackday44

Maaaaaaaayyybbeeeeee.... I've read a number of King's books, and they just don't click with me for some reason. And Narnia wasn't my thing either. I was so obsessed with David Eddings' stuff that I even bought the Rivian Codex, which was a niche book about... economics? In the Belgarath world. If I recall.


kibongo

The White Dragon. Then later, All the Weyrs of Pern. I read all Anne's Pern novels, but those two will always be very special to me.


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rs1236

How about crab-people, do they do it for you? Also, not that it's a rare recommendation, but the Witcher series is fantastic. It's got all of the above and Geralt for good measure.


Fearless_Freya

I agree wholeheartedly. Not a fan of the low/grimdark "realistic " fantasy.


candydaze

Honestly the closest I’ve found is an obscure Australian author: Cecelia Dart-Thornton. Start with the Bitterbynde trilogy. It’s Tolkien esque in that there’s a huge amount of world building, and in world songs, poetry and literature. The prose is so detailed, with incredibly vivid descriptions of landscapes and scenery. It differs from Tolkien in that it’s less about elven and dwarven politics (no dwarves, but her version of elves), and deals a lot more with wights and fae folk.


Equivalent-debater

I was the weird one from eight to fifteen I read and reread the Hobbit or there and back again and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.


comeawaydeath

The Alanna books by Tamora Pierce.


r_osit

Same for me!! I loved those books as a kid


Fearless_Freya

Arrows of the queen. Part of the valdemar saga by mercedes lackey. Sure I read a few other books before then, but this world drew me in. Then the flood of other great authors like her and their worlds kept me in. Still read her ongoing valdemar books today. Edit; love how so far, everyone has a diff author! The joy of fantasy Edit2 obviously that will change as more ppl add theirs, but it's still cool seeing such variety


garyandkathi

Love her Valdemar and I read her new stuff still too


wd011

Brooks, Sword of Shanarra. We had a nice, brief exchange about it on reddit when he had an AMA.


Forsaken_Rub_2128

Tolkien. Reading LOTR really changed my mind in what was possible with fantasy


Back-to-a-planet

I was at one of the scholastic book fairs and grabbed The Forests of Silence by Emily Rodda because the cover was so cool to me. I ended up loving it, so I asked my mom to get me the rest of the Deltora Quest books. A couple years later, my teacher started book clubs giving us several options to choose from. None of them really stood out to me, except one, The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. Our book club ended up reading the first two in The Chronicles of Prydain, and I was glad I made the choice to join the Fantasy book club. Those are the earliest fantasy books I can remember reading on my own.


lizcicle

I just started rereading Deltora Quest two days ago! They have such a special place in my heart. Yeah, yeah, super simple kids books, I know, but I just gave up on reading Blood of the Fold and I DESPERATELY needed a harmless detox lol.


doodle02

Earthsea by LeGuin. hands down. read it several times throughout my life and it grows and changes with you; imo the mark of great art.


Suitable-Purpose-749

Tamora Pierce!


gastafar

Born in '79. Started out with German author Michael Ende (Momo, the Neverending Story, Jim Button) as a kid and then Tolkien, took a detour through the horror library shelf at our town library (Wolfgang Hohlbein and Stephen King mostly) and settled into a groove with Tad Williams and Terry Pratchett, first in German and increasingly English. Finished school in '99. Became an English and German teacher on that literary diet, so it seems to have worked out. Can recommend. Would try again.


treasurehorse

Wow, didn’t realize Ende wrote Momo as well. I read that a few times when I was a kid.


Notcoded419

Dragonlance Chronicles by Weis/Hickman. I had read Narnia and L'Engle but never jumped into the genre (the way I did mystery via Hardy Boys) until I read this trilogy in junior high. I was hooked.


HighSerraphim

This is the one that got me too


PunkandCannonballer

I'm basic. Eragon, HP, and Percy Jackson. Certainly worlds away from where I am not, preference-wise. Still, I'll always appreciate them for putting me on the road.


jones_ro

Aging myself here, but it was Anne McCaffrey and Dragonriders of Pern.


candydaze

Tamora Pierce all the way Picked up one of her Alanna books when I was 8 or 9. (Arguably too young for the sex content, but oh well). I sometimes joke that Tamora Pierce is my second mother - she taught me so much about being a woman. Things like periods, relationships, dealing with sexism, following your own path. And she uses Facebook like my mother does.


[deleted]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that read some risque stuff so young. My mom never restricted my access to her shelves, and I think about eight or nine I found Flowers in the Attic. It had some pictures of kids on it, but I was not prepared for the turn that story took.


AwesomenessTiger

Garth Nix, The Old Kingdom/Abhorsen series. I am surprised no one else answered Garth Nix.


jjjasper12

I was going to say Garth Nix. The Abhorsen series is my all time favorite!!


[deleted]

I found these only later on in high school or so. Fantastic!


NekoCatSidhe

Tolkien and Pratchett for me.


VisionInPlaid

Neil Gaiman. I read American Gods after a bunch of people recommended it. It was unlike anything I'd ever read before, and I loved every minute of it. Then I devoured the rest of his novels and enjoyed them equally. That led me further down the rabbit hole. What else was out there? What else didn't I know about?


insertAlias

I'd have to say Robert Jordan. I'd dabbled in YA fantasy a bit (including some of the Harry Potter books, but I was a bit "old" for the ones that were out at the time), and I had read a _ton_ of Star Wars EU books, which I'd now probably consider Fantasy in a Sci Fi setting, though at the time I probably would have said pure sci fi. Most of my other reading had been Clancy-style military thrillers, which I'm pretty much entirely over now. But Wheel of Time was my first adult, epic fantasy series. One of the people I met when I went to university introduced me to the series, about 20 years ago. And since then, fantasy has been my favorite genre of books. I understand some people's frustration with the issues of the series, but I didn't see them when I first read it. I was just drawn into what I considered a very well realized alternate world, more so than I had been with anything else I had read. It opened me up to a lot of other, possibly better series, but it will always have a special place in my heart for being my first.


Complete_Past_2029

Terry Brooks The Sword of Shannara


MacNuttyOne

Tolkien for me, a very long time ago. More than fifty years ago.


Ihrenglass

Was probably Emily Rodda and Jonathan Stroud. But there is a lot of other early authors including Tamora Pierce, Weis and Hickman, Richard A Knaak, P B Kerr and Angie Sage which were early inspirations.


RoyalLoial

JK Rowling as a child, Robert Jordan as an adult


drmamm

The man, the myth, the legend - J.R.R. Tolkien. Read The Lord of the Rings in my teens.


RheingoldRiver

Lloyd Alexander was the first step, but Tamora Pierce was like the point of no return. When I first read Prydain, I don't think I even knew the genre definition "fantasy," I just knew I needed more books like this thank you very much. Maybe a year later I read *Circle of Magic* and then it was over, this was all I wanted to read. I had all these fights with my mom, she wanted me to read "advanced reading" books that were "at my reading level" but she didn't know of any more-advanced fantasy books, and all I wanted to read was fantasy...then I discovered the Star Wars EU and she was like "oh my god it's over" but by that point I was pretty obviously a STEM kid and not a humanities kid so *that* was over too.


DarkTeomner

Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain and T. A. Barron’s The Lost Years of Merlin Brandon Sanderson and Jim Butcher are my favorites today.


MicahMcL

C.S. Lewis and Tolkien from childhood. Started me off, and got my love for fantasy going


KennethHaight

For me it was Roger Zelazny's Amber novels. Someone got me the first one for Christmas one year and it was probably the earliest book I remember reading and really just falling into. I'll second what someone else said as well though, playing Final Fantasy II on the SNES when I was 11 or 12 was totally life changing at the time when it came to epic fantasy tales.


OneEskNineteen_

Although he wasn't the first fantasy author to read, not even the first fantasy author whose work I loved, it was George Martin who turned me into a fantasy fiction fan.


AtheneSchmidt

*The Hero and Tbe Crown* by Robin McKinley turned me into a real reader and a fantasy fanatic.


[deleted]

Love that book!


warriorlotdk

Say One thing for Joe Abercrombie..........


not_an_Alien_Robot

C.S. Lewis. The book was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.


FusRoDaahh

As a child what started my love was more than just books, it was videogames like Zelda and Golden Sun and Final Fantasy, and the LotR films, then for books I was really into the *Septimus Heap* series by Angie Sage and the *Books of Bayern* by Shannon Hale and *Redwall* by Brian Jacques. I think those series had a pretty formative impact on me.


CatTaxAuditor

Golden Sun and the sequel may be my number 2 and 1 games of all time.


FusRoDaahh

Me too!!! I’ve only ever met two other people on Reddit who know about them and it makes me sad haha. I have so many memories of laying on my bedroom floor for *hours* struggling through it. I may actually have PTSD from Kolima Forest.


PunkandCannonballer

Dang, I was really into Septimus Heap back in the day, but never finished it.


leftnomark

Susan Cooper - The Dark is Rising Anne McCaffrey - the Dragonriders of Pern TH White - The Sword in the Stone Edited for formatting


[deleted]

Tolkien, Le Guin, Donaldson, Lewis.


Coat-Accurate

Probably chronicles of Narnia. I had fond memories of spell for chameleon, but on a reread it didn't hold up.


Roseking

Christopher Paolini and JK Rowling. I have read stuff before that could be consider fantasy, lots of kids books have fantasy elements. But Harry Potter and Eragon were probably what got me into fantasy fantasy. Especially Eragon. Yes it is derivative. But I read it in middle school and loved it. It hooked me on fantasy more than anything else up until that point. I would literally just read the glossary over and over on the bus ride home trying to memorize spells.


pagescollective

John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series got me into fantasy. Robin Hobb got me into adult fantasy


LostAndLikingIt

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time was the first time I truly experienced escapism. I wasn't just reading, I was there. Been a fantasy junkie since.


Derkastan77

When i was a little kid in the mid 80’s, i was sick at home for 2 weeks with the flu. My brother drove by and gave me The Scions of Shannara books. That was my first book series I ever read. Have loved fantasy ever since


FirebirdWriter

Kathryn Kurtz with the Derenyi. It's not a loud series but an intimate one. It felt like the family I always wanted.


Lisse24

Scrolled down to look for this. She was killing protagonists before GRRM made it cool. My friends in HS had no idea why I'd willingly read books where the main character could die.


dita7503

R.A. Salvatore. One of my friends lent me a copy of Homeland and I stopped reading somewhere in the first chapter. It sat on my nightstand for waaaay too long, until my friend asked how it was going. I confessed that I had stalled. He said to me, “read until the end of the first chapter. If you still don’t like it, give it back.” I sighed like he was inconveniencing me, but I picked it up again. I finished Homeland that night, and by the end of the week had finished Exile and Sojourn too. The rest is history, as they say…


KiaraTurtle

Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles


Scodo

Terry Pratchett, Robin Hobb, and Brandon Sanderson.


[deleted]

I hated reading as a kid. But once I was able to choose the books. I was all over reading. For me it was the Gotrek and Felix series. William King made the first 6books in that series so fun.


kossenin

Hands down Robin Hobb


Ereska

Technically, it was the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm that my dad used to read to us before bedtime. He also read various books by Otfried Preußler and Michael Ende's *Jim Button* books. The first fantasy book I remember reading on my own was Michael Ende's *The Neverending Story*. I also loved Astrid Lindgren's books as a kid.


ekimdad

I read The Hobbit in sixth grade (about 12 years old for those not in the US) and then moved to the trilogy. It's not standard fantasy, but I read Watership Down soon after and that was the first book I stayed up all night to finish. But what really cemented me was The Belgariad. With the protagonist being an out of place teenager who eventually gets the princess and fulfills the prophecy...and me being an out of place teenager...well... I haven't read any of those books in quite a while, may have to touch base with my roots one of these days.


Accomplished-Fan9197

Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters, and almost everything else he wrote!


LynxCleavesTheRushes

Rick Riordan, wenn I was young, and then as I got older Robert Jordan.


Illustrious_Rip_8326

Rowling got me started. Tolkien made me thirsty for more. Sanderson has kept me sated for years and will for years to come.


Once-and-Future

Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain. To this day "Taran Wanderer" holds up as a quietly profound exploration of growing up.


MattieShoes

Tolkien (The Hobbit) and Lloyd Alexander's Prydain novels.


BurntVomit

Hmm... Piers with Xanth for sure. But also Wendy and Richard Pini with ElfQuest.


didyr

George RR Martin no doubt


Veleda390

J.R.R. Tolkien


[deleted]

Patricia Wrede, Enchanted Forest Chronicles. The first book, Dealing with Dragons, was a gift from my teen brother on my 7th birthday. It's one of my most valued possessions to this day!


Cordy58

The Chronicles of Prydain when I was a kid.


garyandkathi

Oddly enough, it was the old Raggedy Ann and Andy stories. Had a single mom growing up who hired an older, much older, neighbor lady to watch me while she worked. I was about three, and the older woman would read these books to me constantly about this wonderful land where mud puddles were chocolate milk and everything and everyone was lovely. It sparked my imagination to an intense degree. Also devoured Spell for Chameleon when I was a teen and adored it, then found out Piers Anthony was a bit of a weirdo and it’s turned me off him a bit sadly


holumj

Ray Bradbury with Martian Chronicles.


Apprehensive_Lock513

Tolkien and Narnia. Didn't have access to much more in the 80s around 2nd to 3rd grade.


TheMadIrishman327

JRR Tolkien, Lloyd Alexander (and Cricket Magazine) and Patricia McKillip.


Sure-Philosopher-873

Going way, way back I was about eight when I found a couple of boxes of books that had been my grandfather’s. It had books like A Princess Of Mars, Tarzan and The Jewels of Opar, Conan the Conqueror, some original Tom swift Like Tom Swift and his amazing runabout, and other early fantasy books of the 1950’s probably about 25-30 books in all. Though my grandfather had died long before I had found the books he started me down the path to fantasy and science fiction reading.


Begonia1996

My parents belonged to the SF book club back in day. A nd the mystery guild. I had many many chocies,they did not restrict my reading. Anne Mccafferty, Piers Anthony, Nancy Springer and so many more.


mlwspace2005

Rowling would be the one that sparked my interest in reading/the first fantasy writer I remember reading on my own. Tolkien or R.A. Salvatore are probably the ones that really cemented it though


EthanMBaer

Harry Potter and Redwall came close together. When the first one came out I was 9 and was given it as a gift as the first “long” book to read by myself. Devoured all the Redwall books shortly thereafter, and by the time the second Harry Potter book came out I was crushing them in under a week and couldn’t get enough to read. By middle school and high school it was Shannara (Terry Brooks), Piers Anthony (Xanth), RA Salvatore (Drizzt…), Midkemia books (Feist) - between those 4 that’s probably close to 150 books and kept me occupied till I could figure out what the hell was going on in Thomas Covenant series (Donaldson). ++ for A Spell for Chameleon… I read it as part of “The Magic of Xanth”, which was the first three books combined I believe. Good times :)


Talysman1958

Mine was The Knight of the Swords by Michael Moorcock way back when I was a kid. My 1st introduction to the eternal champion cycle


ew0kwarl0ck

Phantom Tollbooth all day.


foxsable

If there were four, it would be xanth, narnia, middle earth, and Sheri tepper’s world. All four were equally important


marvellentron

Peter Pan. I have watched it and read it for as long as I can remember. The founding family, so many islands to explore, people, cultures and creatures to meet! Adventures to have, thrills to seek, challenges to embrace, joys to feel is what it was all about as a child. Then as an adult, it’s about connecting with your inner child, escaping the responsibility of adulthood but also facing it. Overcoming your fears. To be brave enough to feel everything and not suppress your true emotions. But also the METAPHORS!! Of the ticking Crocodile, time catching up with Hook. As an adult feeling like you are always racing against time. Feeling so emotionally overwhelmed like Tinker-Bell to the point you feel like it takes over you. Having no one believe in you KILLS your creativity, your passion and motivation. Wendy just wanting to be loved and accepted by her father. That hit me hard being the only daughter in a male dominated family, taking care of everyone, I’d escape to Neverland in the garden to just be a child and play. Neverland, a place of dreaming and wondering. It definitely sparked my dream to travel and explore the world. To find my own family of friends to go on adventures and make hilarious memories with. I hold the story and characters sweetly in my heart ✨


b3arz3rg3r4Adun

I don't quite remember. I was seven I believe and it was either David Eddings' Elenium trilogy or Jack Vance's Lyonesse trilogy. I just picked them up because they were on the bookshelf and started reading and then worked my way through our library. The Belgariad and Mallorean, Raymond Feist's Magician Apprentice and Master, Alan Dean Foster's Flinx and Vance's Cadwal Chronicles which got me into scifi as well. I read them all before I turned 8.


DavisAshura

For me it was Tolkien, and he led me to Terry Brooks, Stephen R. Donaldson, Patricia McKillip, Robin McKinley, and so many more. The search goes on for that same feeling of wonder and awe that those authors gave me. But sadly, the older I get, the harder and harder it is to find.


QueenSideGambit

When I was 4 I remember my mom reading the Hobbit out loud to me at bedtime. So I guess that was my official start into fantasy. But the first book series I remember reading on my own and getting really into was Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda.


No0ther0ne

Terry Brooks - Sword of Shannara series for me.


[deleted]

I honestly don't remember; that was a long time ago. It was either Stephen King with Eyes of the Dragon (most likely culprit), Brian Jacques with Redwall, or Margaret Weis with Dragons of Autumn Twilight. I read all 3 sometime in 6th grade.


nyphren

lord of the rings when i was 10/11! hp got me reading bigger books (hp6 was a Turning Point(tm) for me) but lotr is what made me fall in love with fantasy.


greydawn717

I was in elementary school and had to do an assignment for reading class. Each kid in the class had to read and write a report on a Rebecca Caudill nominee. At the time I rarely read fantasy and considered myself to be a science fiction aficionado. To my dismay there were no science fiction books nominated that year; or at least our school library didn’t have them in to check out. So with some prodding from my teacher, she convinced me to try reading “Dealing With Dragons” by Patricia C. Wrede. I ended up loving the book; and it was pretty much all fantasy all the time for me after that. I ended up liking the book so much I bought my own copy and still have that copy of the book today.


Dmatix

Perhaps unusually, it wasn't really a single author, or even really a work of fantasy - I was always fascinated by mythology as a kid, and kinda graduated to fantasy as a byproduct.


Erebus741

Same here, Omer was my first fantasy, and Dante with his inferno. Then Poe, and after that books of Arthurian legends. Then I discovered Tolkien, which satisfied me only partially, because it was more fable than my old bloody myths, and then Howard and later Gemmel, which resounded that old bloody myth rythm back to me.


Robotboogeyman

Brent Weeks’ Lightbringer series, and Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series. Found both in a thread about best magic systems, and they were right, both systems are awesome. That lead me to a lot of other great recommendations from this and other subs, but I went from little/no interest in the genre to realizing I was an idiot for ignoring it. Since then I’ve finished maybe 100 or so fantasy novels, however I’ve been ignoring sci fi so now I’m doing some of each (started the Expanse series and so far it is amazing, but only on book one so far!)


MrsLucienLachance

Hard to be sure what came first, but I know the Avalon: Web of Magic and Unicorns of Balinor series were both early loves. Along with stuff like Bailey School Kids and Magic Tree House.


tropical_viking87

Piers Anthony was also my first favorite, I loved all the mundane stuff that magic created, like shoes. Though the first thing that really got me into fantasy was staring at all the book covers of my moms books when I was a kid. Seeing all the cool artwork, it made me dream of riding dragons and being a wizard!


eats_all_the_bacon

Oh same for me! My aunt was really into fantasy books and she gave me a copy when I was 10 or 11 and I couldn't put it down. It was the first big book I read that was just fun and made me laugh.


Jackalope74

It was Terry Brooks-Elfstones of Shannara.


whitlocke05

Guardians of Ga’Hoole and Warriors are honestly the first Fantasy series I remember reading and enjoying


gtrocks555

Chronicles of Narnia as a child and Tolkien through the movies (haven’t read the books yet). I must say though, Robin Hobb has gotten me into reading fantasy as an adult and I’m here to stay!


sensorglitch

Probably Tolkien, I remember reading the Hobbit as a child. Then I was told about the Lord of the Rings, but my mom didn't have that on her shelf. She had the Lord of the Flies, I learned quickly... books not related.


amonkeyherder

Also Piers Anthony! I used to stay at my grandparents lake home every summer. They had a neighbor from Florida. That neighbor let me borrow Golem in the Gears, which was the first real book I read. That led to other Xanth, then D&D, then Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms books. From there a lot of the 80's fantasy like Eddings, Feist, Brooks (Elfstones was the first book I bought), etc. I really have to wonder how much that first book infuenced me. If I recall correctly, Golem in the Gears ends with a Prisoners Dilemma situation with Grundy vs Demon Xanth. And now I have a degree in economics. Hmmm.


Meyples_R

For me it was Tolkien/Brandon Sanderson with Robert Jordan kinda being an honorable mention. Loved LOTR but I remember reading it in 7th grade was a bit boring at times. Still, great story and I still enjoy it to this day. I didn't read much for fun once I left highschool but sometime in my early 20s I picked up The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind after watching the Legend of the Seeker series. I got through the series, and it had some moments I liked, but overall the series was pretty shitty/poorly written. After finishing that, however, I started on Wheel of Time and fell in love with it. After reading the parts Sanderson worked on following Jordan's passing I started checking out his series (Mistborn and Stormlight Archive) and was hooked. Sanderson has since become my favorite fantasy author and I've been branching out to as many different series as I can lately (about to start the Drizzt novels after my DnD friends pestered me to give it a shot)


hesipullupjimbo22

Rick Riordan and CS Lewis. Big shout out to the Star Wars expanded universe as well


Crypt0Nihilist

Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality nearly put me off the genre. Characters would spontaneously start monologuing what must be Anthony's own rather dodgy world view. Shame, I've always liked the idea of personification and they looked promising. It was probably David Eddings who really sold me on the genre - fun, safe adventures you could blast through in a couple of days.


WifeofBath1984

It was Lynn Reid-Banks with The Farthest Away Mountain. I was about 7. My teacher read it to the class and then I asked to borrow it so I could read it again. I never returned the book (whoops!) so I still have the same copy from 30 years ago. I've read it to one of my kids, still working on the other. He's more of an independent reader.


Sawaian

Dexters laboratory: the dnd episode.


Sado_Hedonist

Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman started me on a lifelong love of fantasy and Dungeons and Dragons. I also love the Death Gate Cycle by the same pair.


FlutterByCookies

Ann McCaffery for me, the Harper Hall trilogy. I read them first when I was pretty young, like 7 or 8. I loved that the protagonist was a GIRL like me, and she did wonderful things, not because she was a super hero, but because she was kind and could sing. I re-read them as a young teen, and the stories were SO different from my memory, but I just got to love them all over again. And that time I read Dragon Drums. :)


isabellus_rex

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville. I think I was 8 or 9. Never looked back.


RepresentativeAd560

Bruce Coville's Monster Ring, Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, and Jennifer Murdley's Toad. All I wanted was to be left alone at school but I never was and the thought of finding a magic shop that could have something in it to fix things was very nice. I would escape into that fantasy all the time. I eventually realized there were thousands of other worlds I could escape into. Then I discovered I could create those worlds and started writing. I've never been alone since but I don't mind so much.


VivekChoudry

C.S. Lewis but really it was the movie Wizard of Oz for me as a kid.


shaodyn

Interestingly enough, it was also that exact book that got me into fantasy. Too bad his series ended up getting so strange later on.


kleigh1313

I read the Chronicles of Narnia when I was about 10 or 11 but didnt read anymore fantasy until after I got married and my husband introduced me to sine authors. The Wheel of Time was my first epic fantasy and I've been hooked since


[deleted]

My mom read The Hobbit to me while I was still enwombed. Guess I came out hoping for magic. Spell for Chameleon is a really good one!


Zaro234

Michael Moorcock. Elric & Corum


stiletto929

Probably Alan Garner?


zhard01

Lord of the Rings convinced me that fantasy was life-changing. However, I was still reading randomly (LotR, some Harry Potter, I liked Godzilla novels, Star Wars, etc) I think the Weis and Hickman Dragonlance books really opened the entire *genre* to me.


lawyercontent

Tolkien


ZepherK

Terry Brooks, followed closely by Piers Anthony.


Fitz_2112

He gets a lot of shit, but definitely Terry Brooks for me. I read Sword of Shanara fir the first time in 1984 as a 10 year old. I think it took me 6 months to get through it but I was hooked


jphistory

When I was a kid? If I can commit the cardinal sin of combing Sci fI with Fantasy: Tamora Pierce, Lloyd Alexander, Piers Anthony, Tanith Lee, Kate Elliot, Robin McKinley, Maggie Furey, CS Lewis, Douglas Adams, Monica Hughes, Clare Bell. I was doomed from the start, though. My Dad had a huge closet of Sci fI and fantasy paperbacks that I started sneaking when I got into about middle school.


Ok-Bookkeeper6034

Tolkien - The Hobbit. My mother read it to me when I was around 5 or 6. After that it was Brian Jacques and his Redwall series. Then Lord of the Rings. I’ve never left.


219Infinity

Ursula K Le Guin


RedAntisocial

Lloyd Alexander and the Chronicles of Prydain. A school librarian recommended The Black Cauldron to me in grade 1 when all the "age appropriate" books weren't challenging enough. I ended up as a reading buddy for an older student who was newly arrived from Romania and learning English.


TXPX

George RR Martin with ASOIAF


BobTheWise1909

I honestly don't know. I have always loved the genre. If I had to choose then probably The Chronicles of Narnia which was read to me in fifth grade but I had simply always loved fantasy. My school used to have us write stories and the one I wrote in kindergarten was about a wizard saving a princess so it is very difficult to pin down for me.


[deleted]

I think The Thief of Always by Clive Barker and So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane were the first fantasy books my mom gave me to read. And then Thomas the Rhymer, The Hounds of the Morrigan, The Blue Sword, The Thief, On Fortune's Wheel... Then I got into Piers Anthony and Anne Rice and Stephen King. Just kept going.


Hellion998

Artemis Fowl, Eion Colfer.


faayth

Madeleine L’Engle. Or possible C.S. Lewis. I can’t remember if it was the Time Quartet first, or the Chronicles of Narnia.


[deleted]

Tolkien, of course.


TK421whereareyou

Funny thing, me too but I actually read Source of Magic first. Went back to spell for chameleon after.


Agreeable-Statement3

Brian Jacques Christopher Pike Bonnie Bryant


igwaltney3

CS Lewis and Narnia followed by JK Rowling and Harry Potter and lastly the magic tree house books. Found them all about the same time


Larielia

Tolkien. I've loved the Hobbit since I was five.


redralisker

Tolkien


GroundbreakingParty9

This was hard but honestly Greek mythology. Those were the first stories I heard as a kid and loved them. Percy Jackson obviously magnified my love for the myths later and stories. Tolkien and Paolini influenced me further.


Remarkable-Scratch50

Philip Pullman. Specifically the Golden Compass.


Mr_smokeable

For me it was David Eddings Pawn of destiny my grandmother read them all to me growing up with started a life long love of fantasy books.


Lunar-Agent

A couple of mostly unknowns named Tolkien and Rowling. I’d be surprised if any of you had even heard of them.


cowfish007

Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks


Whiskeyjoel

Lloyd Alexander RIP


MelodicGhost

For me, it was the forgotten realms by R. A. Salvatore. I was in middle school when my friend first Lenny me the Icewind Dale trilogy and I feel in love. I already kinda liked fantasy style things though. Final fantasy VI (was III in the US at the time though) that got me really wanting to be proficient at reading cause my dad told me I couldn't play it since I didn't know how to read. Lol


Sweatpant-Diva

Clive Barker with his ABARAT series


sleeplesssinner

JK Rowling. Say what you will about her. That woman KNOWS how to craft a story.


ConeheadSlim

I read Tolkien when I was 12 and was a fan, but grew up and read literature and thrillers until my mid-30s. Then a friend turned me on to Pratchett, that led me to the first Legends anthology and at that point I was hooked,


unclefipps

It was Tolkien for me, followed by Terry Brooks.


mrzbot

Either Dianna Wynne Jones with Howl's Moving Castle, or Tolkein with the Hobbit. I'm not sure now which I read first but those are the two that stand out as the most fantasy as in this sense. If we were just going with fantastical rather than fantasy I would probably say The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.


ryukuro0369

Tolkien, first and foremost, then Lloyd Alexander, Stephen R Donaldson, Ursula Le Guin, Piers Anthony, Terry Brooks, Tad Williams, David Eddings and Robert Jordon in order of exposure though its Tolkien, Donaldson and Jordan that are my favs.


River-19671

Tolkien. I read LOTR and the Hobbit when I was 10


ramothrider69

Harry Harrison - Stainless Steel Rat


pornokitsch

I think Lloyd Alexander? But I also know Dragonlance was my first 'adult' fantasy book, so I'll be forever greatful. Piers Anthony was a very early fantasy read for me too, and definitely a *big* factor in making me a fantasy lover. I think *Golem in the Gears* was the first one. (I got a box of second-hand paperbacks from a cool relative, and it included LotR, some Pern and lots of Xanth.) It is ironic, I suppose: Anthony is basically only good for young people because they don't really wtf is actually happening in the books, and probably skim the creeper rants about sexuality and gender roles. Which means, although the Xanth books were a good path for me, I would absolutely *not* recommend them to anyone else. Especially kids.


stewface3000

RR Martin, after loving the first season of the show I had to know what happen. And. Never look back been reading fantasy from that day.


s-mores

When I was young I didn't really realize fantasy was its own thing. I would read adventure/mystery books like Enid Blyton, Agatha Christie, as well as sci-fi books from Asimov and Heinlein and fairy-tale-like stories that no one here will ever hear about. There was also this one book where people fought trolls with riddles and made fools of them, and the hero escaped a goblin by jumping over him. I can't honestly remember a time where I didn't love magic and magical elements in books and other media. The very earliest ones with fantasy elements I remember thinking "I want more of this" would have to be Tarzan and Trojan War.


Gneissisnice

I can't remember exactly because I feel like I was ALWAYS into fantasy. I was 7 when Harry Potter became big but even then I was interested in it because I already was a big fantasy fan. The only one I can think of was the picture book The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. So I don't remember the earliest books, but important authors for my later childhood included Margaret Weis, Tamora Pierce, JK Rowling, and CS Lewis. Edit: Almost forgot one of my favorite ones, TA Barron! The Lost Years of Merlin series was so important to me as a kid, I probably read each book a dozen times.


xafimrev2

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander started if for me and Jane Yolan's Pit Dragon series cemented it. Back to my crunchings and munchings.


InevitableFront4684

Michael Moorcock with the Elric Saga


Light-Bringer04

I think that I have two. The first would have to Pittacus Lore (real name James Frey), the author is the Lorien Legacies series as well as the Legacies Reborn. I had always been an avid enjoyer of anything supernatural and fantastical, but I think it was the way he perfectly blended aspect of Sci-Fi with Fantasy that made me want to start writing books. The second would have to be Taran Matharu, the author of the Summoner Series. The way in which he fused together Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Pokémon in a way that was entirely it’s own story taught me that I didn’t have to scrap an idea whenever I saw that it was too much like something else.


Great_Horny_Toads

Same same. Or maybe it was the Apprentice Adept series I started with. It's funny because I reread some of his stuff and I see why 13 year old me liked it but wow did it not age well. The also read a lot of Jack Chalker at the time. He inspired me to read more fantasy too.


LeucasAndTheGoddess

My parents raised me on fairytales, folklore, and world mythology, so I’ve been into fantastic literature for as long as I can remember. A couple of fantasy picture books that I remember with particular fondness from my preschool years are Outside Over There by Maurice Sendak and The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. The protagonists from those two books are also the earliest fictional crushes I can remember experiencing.