Mine was Edgar Rice Burrough's "A Princess of Mar's" and the reason.   My creative writing teacher said I had an imagination that would rival the great Edgar Rice Burrough's based on the stories I use to write for his class.    I didn't even know who Edgar Rice Burrough's was at the time, so he lent me his copy.    I was like, this looks like a silly book about martians...read it anyway.   When I was done(read it in one night), took it back the next day and told my teacher -  I want more!  He said the schools library had the other books from the Barsoom series.  I ended up reading the whole series over the next two weeks.   I was hooked.   From that moment on I read every sci-fi and fantasy book I could get my hands on.    

So what was your first sci-fi fantasy book and why did you read it?

BTW Disney and Pixar are working on movies based on the Barsoom series!   Cool huh.

A friend of mine in Jr. HIgh introduced me to GURPs. Of the books in particular I liked the Cyberpunk ones. To learn more of the genre I picked up Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, and I've been a huge fan of the genre and works based on it since. I got into the graphic novel Transmetropolitan around the same time too.

The title is long lost in my memory but it was a Hardy Boys series book. A series not known for science fiction. I found Edgar Rice Burroughs soon after.

Some may frown upon my choice of reading material but none the less this is the first fantasy book I ever read:

I picked it up only because my sister read it and then gave it to me as something to do since I was bored.  I didn't think I'd enjoy it but did and have worked my way through the rest of the series as well as some others.

'cos i liked kittens

The War of the Worlds in grade 5 or 6 for school.  We also heard the Orson Welles radio broadcast and learned about the panic that it caused.

We were also subjected to:

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of War of the Worlds <--- Warning: don't clicky if you don't like disco.

Probably an Asimov-Greenberg compilation, i mustve been six at the time, cant really remember...

Originally posted by Illius

Some may frown upon my choice of reading material but none the less this is the first fantasy book I ever read:

I picked it up only because my sister read it and then gave it to me as something to do since I was bored.  I didn't think I'd enjoy it but did and have worked my way through the rest of the series as well as some others.

I am on the 5th book in the series and am greatly enjoying it.

My first book is either Harry Potter 1 or The Hobbit. I can't remember which I read first.

Childhood's End- Arthur C. Clarke.

Found it on my uncle's bookshelf when I was 7 or 8.  Been an avid scifi fan ever since.  While I have great respect for the Tolkien books I have always found fantasy much harder to enjoy because of the requirement of suspension of disbelief.

"His Dark Materials" trilogy by Phillip Pullman. Favorite book series. A series that will please adults and kids alike. Although, some of the source material is a bit racy. Those who are super religious, do not read.

Originally posted by Teala

Mine was Edgar Rice Burrough's "A Princess of Mar's"

That was my first novel as well.

The reason?  One day when I was eight or nine years old I was complaining to my mother that I was bored.  She pulled a book off the bookshelf in our livingroom and told me to read it.  I overcame my nine year old tendency to be contrary and did as she said.  After just a few pages I was hooked and went on to read the entire series.

A little off topic but this brings to mind something I've thought about.  Kids over the past five or ten years (maybe more) usually start out with novels like the Harry Potter series.  Light and campy and very politically correct for the most part.  Kids in my generation started with things like the John Carter of Mars series; bloody and violent and with semi-nude women running around.

Don't know if that means anything, just pointing it out.

The librarian in grade school introduced me to The Chronicles of Prydain.  I then moved on to the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  After that, I was hooked on imaginary worlds

War of the Worlds when I was 9 or 10. Simply because it was my dad's book and he gave it to me. I thought it looked interesting so I read it. GOOD book. Closely followed by Doc Savage series. Also great books.

I got caught drinking freshman year of high school and was punished to one month of no t.v. or friends.  So I figured the Lord of the Rings trilogy would keep me company, and it did.  As far as becoming an avid fan of sf/f, I can't say I understand where most of you are coming from.  I put down about 75% of sf/f books before page 100.  Wheel of Time got boring to me after 5 or 6 books. Ursula LeGuin I respect the hell out of, but she just can't keep my attention.  I love H.G. Wells.  I also enjoy Gene Wolfe and George R.R. Martin.  I'm sick to death of the "average joe discovers his destiny" archetype that dominates most of the books.

Does anyone want to recommend me a series given that history?  I really have trouble finding good books in this genre.

Hum not sure here... either the Hobbit (JRRT of course) or the Amber Cycle (Zelazny).

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Originally posted by modjoe86
I got caught drinking freshman year of high school and was punished to one month of no t.v. or friends.  So I figured the Lord of the Rings trilogy would keep me company, and it did.  As far as becoming an avid fan of sf/f, I can't say I understand where most of you are coming from.  I put down about 75% of sf/f books before page 100.  Wheel of Time got boring to me after 5 or 6 books. Ursula LeGuin I respect the hell out of, but she just can't keep my attention.  I love H.G. Wells.  I also enjoy Gene Wolfe and George R.R. Martin.  I'm sick to death of the "average joe discovers his destiny" archetype that dominates most of the books.
 
Does anyone want to recommend me a series given that history?  I really have trouble finding good books in this genre.

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well, you have perseverance in comparison to me. the wheel of time series only lasted 80 pages before I gave it up. The prologue was great, but after starting the main portion of the book, after 80 pages, two guys had walked down a road. a very well described road....

I am however looking forward to book 9 of Steven Erickson's Malazan books of the fallen "dust of dreams". Far better than GRR Martain for developing complexity and maturity with his plots and that is with good humor and the fact that Erickson actually has published eight 1000pg novels in the time that Martin has published half a book.

It isn't for everyone's tastes, it is complex and unforgivingly starts in the middle of a story (like history).

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Originally posted by modjoe86

I got caught drinking freshman year of high school and was punished to one month of no t.v. or friends.  So I figured the Lord of the Rings trilogy would keep me company, and it did.  As far as becoming an avid fan of sf/f, I can't say I understand where most of you are coming from.  I put down about 75% of sf/f books before page 100.  Wheel of Time got boring to me after 5 or 6 books. Ursula LeGuin I respect the hell out of, but she just can't keep my attention.  I love H.G. Wells.  I also enjoy Gene Wolfe and George R.R. Martin.  I'm sick to death of the "average joe discovers his destiny" archetype that dominates most of the books.

 

Does anyone want to recommend me a series given that history?  I really have trouble finding good books in this genre.

The first Sci-Fi book I remember ever reading was Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card back in eighth grade. My Mom tells me the first one I ever read, though, was Have Spacesuit, Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein. After reading Ender's Game, I was hooked on Sci-Fi. I have read Ender's Shadow, and have read a lot of Heinlein's stuff, as well as The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny.

To modjoe86, I would recommend The Ender's series, consisting of Ender's Game, A War of Gifts, Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant, Ender in Exile, Speaker for the Dead, Children of the Mind, and Xenocide.  A War of Gifts and Ender's Shadow are parallel novels to Ender's Game, but Ender's Shadow develops into the Shadow series (Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, and Shadow of the Giant). The actual original Ender's series is Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Children of the Mind, and Xenocide. That list with all of the books is the chronological order that they should be read in to fully develop characters so you understand what's going in other books, and to really follow along the timeline of the story.