What initially inspired you to get into Fantasy or Science fiction??

[Hilarious Joke]

Hey I've just recently got into Belgariad, after some hesitation because some people on here have panned it, but I actually love it and am racing through it.

[Rae]

Honestly...

It was went my Dad got me started playing D&D at age 6. I've been a Fantasy junkie ever since.

[chopper]

my parents amde the mistake of taking me to the cinema one rainy weekend in 1977. unfortunately for them, the disney film had finished its run at the Regal.

a long time ago.....

can't wait for my niece to be old enough to be sat in front of the dvds....

[Grimward]

I think mine was a cumulative series of things. I too watched the Apollo crew touch down and walk on the moon, after what seemed like endless hours of approach. Then we moved and the school library only had so many sports autobiographies, so I picked up Lloyd Alexander one day and, well, the rest is history! Having been an avid Marvel comic collector in my youth and a huge fan of "a long time ago...." like Chopper above kept me on course to eventually find Tolkien, Brooks, Zelazny, Williams, Wurts, Feist, Flynn, Friedman, Lackey and many others.

[Sar]

I was bored over Christmas break one year when I was a teenager and my dad had a Fiest (King's Buccaneer) book on the shelf in his room. I picked it up and devoured it. I've been hooked ever since.

[Hilarious Joke]

I think Feist is good for new readers of fantasy.

[CliffHinNJ]

One of the first times I went to the movies as a kid was to see Stanley Kubrick's 2001. I was drawn in by the speculative nature of the film. Also in High school back in the 1970's I was required to read The Hobbit as part of my English class. after that I read the Lord of the rings on my own. I was so hungry for more after that, so I took the bus to the local Mall,( not old enough to drive yet), and luckily there was a book store with a large Science Fiction and fantasy section. I am so thankfull for that English class because since then I have been transported to other worlds, alternate realities, Orc filled realms and deep within my own imagination. I read other genres but always find my way back to science Fiction.

[Xwing Mom]

Star Trek....it was definite escapism from a small rural town with no outside interests except football.

[MKG]

Wyndham without a doubt. I tried others when I was knee high to a flea, but they were mostly American and the references they used were (this was late 50s) alien to me. When I found Wyndham wrote similar things which were terribly, terribly British, I was hooked. Never looked back.

[daisybee]

As a kid I loved all the cartoons like D & D, Thundercats and Lost Cities of Gold (aaaahaha), and picked up a book called Pawn of Prophecy when I was about twelve.Cos it looked quite magical. Little did I know that there were more books, and the adventure went on and on- so I picked up more books that looked similar and went from there. The Stainless Steel Rat got me into sf, although I'm picky about what I read sf wise. Some just loses me completely and I feel dumb.

Give me a map, and a world in peril and I'm happy.

I still read in other genres, but love finding different styles of fantasy-stand alones that are little shiny nuggets of wonder. Yum.

I love the idea that anything is possible.

[Memnoch]

Originally Posted by daisybee

As a kid I loved all the cartoons like D & D, Thundercats and Lost Cities of Gold (aaaahaha)

Me to ha ha I used to love those cartoons, my girlfriend bought me the entire D & D collection for my Birthday after I said how much I used to love them. Still enjoy re-watching them although was gutted they never completed the last series before it was axed!

Thundercats!! Why do they not make cartoons or kids T.V. that good anymore or is it just me. The stuff today my nephews watch is politically correct rubbish where the female characters are amazing and lads are dumb!!

. . .

[Memnoch]

Or completely commercial shows that are based round the merchandise that sells off the back of the shows rather than decent plot lines and characters, i.e. pokemon cards etc . . . (Rant over.)

[daisybee]

Old cartoons seemed to have a more fantastic edge to them-epic sort of scope too, which led nicely to reading longer books and following them as a kid.

Dr Dolittle was a cool cartoon, and Dogtanian. That went on forever.

[Memnoch]

Belle and Sebastian ?! lol (love Dogtanian)

[Interference]

Originally Posted by Memnoch

politically correct rubbish where the female characters are amazing and lads are dumb!!

Politically ... err ... correct?? Sounds like Positive Political Correctness to me. The world is going to spiral into a political correctness nose dive any --- second ......... now!