I started reading fantasy back as a kid – drawn into it with The Hobbit. The wonder of the book drove me to read LOTR and then jump into other books written by Patricia McKillip, Anne MacCaffrey, Terry Brooks and many others over the years. Fantasy has changed over that time so that it has many sub-genres under its umbrella. So here’s several questions for you to consider with an answer in the comment section below:
What drew you to read fantasy?
What fantasy books did you read first?
How old were you when you first started reading fantasy?
What authors influenced you the most from the fantasy genre?
How much fantasy do you read these days?
Of course, you don’t have to answer just the questions to leave a comment. If you have anything else regarding fantasy on your mind, feel free to share your thoughts.
I’m P. H. Solomon and I live in the greater Birmingham, AL area. I strongly dislike yard work and sanding the deck rail. However, I perform such duties to maintain a nice home for my loved ones as well as the family’s German Shepherds. In my spare time, I ride herd as a Computer Whisperer on large computers called servers (harmonica not required). Additionally, I enjoy reading, running, most sports and fantasy football. Having a degree in Anthropology, I also have a wide array of more “serious” interests in addition to working regularly to hone my writing. My third book of The Bow of Hart Saga fantasy series, The White Arrow, will be released October 2017. I’m also a contriubtor to Story Empire and a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
This blog is about my writing, other authors, writing-related topics and my chosen genre – speculative fiction (science fiction and fantasy to be specific). Join me regularly as I highlight other writers and share my journey as an author. See my Contact page for more information.
23 thoughts on “How Do You Like Your Fantasy Genre?”
My parents begged me to read, as I hated it. So I relented when a family friend suggested Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny. That was age 13, and I haven’t looked back. Probably my favorite author (biggest influence???) is Raymond Feist, followed closely by David Eddings. I don’t read much of the older authors. And I read a LOT of Fantasy, but mainly Indie Authors for the last few years.
I read some David Eddings back in the day as well. Interesting that you got hooked by a friend’s suggestion. Word of mouth is powerful with books. There are a number of authors I meant to read over the years and Raymond Feist is one of them – still need to do that. What’s your favorite by Feist? Thanks for the comment on the post today!
For Feist, you need to start at the beginning. Magician: Apprentice.
I’ll get them on my TBR list!
You know me well enough to know that I’m sworn to fun and loyal to none when it comes to genres. Fantasy is the same way for me. Gotta admit to reading a ton of Conan paperbacks as a young guy though.
Me too. One of my favorites is Red Nails.
It’s been so long I can’t even remember the titles. I must have read a hundred of them.
I’ve forgotten most of them myself.
Sci Fi, Asimov in particular, got me reading for enjoyment and self-learning in middle school. (Asimov wrote great nonfiction). It was in high school that I ran into the Hobbit and then TLOTR. But, my first love remained Sci Fi. I’ve become more interested in fantasy as an old-fart kind of reader.
Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy was a favorite of my brother. I’ve enjoyed my share of Sci-Fi over the years – most recently David Weber. Any recent authors you like?
I also started reading fantasy with The Hobbit followed by Lord of the Rings. I also read the Narnia Chronicles. My older son is now an avid fantasy reader.
I followed a similar path myself and my daughter is an avid fan of fantasy as well as reading in general. Any recent reads in fantasy that you’ve enjoyed?
I am enjoying Thomas the Rhymer by Paul Andruss right now.
Interesting, I’ll take a look at that one. I recently enjoyed the Powder Mage series by Bryan McClellan.
Asimov, Tolkien, Terry Pratchett and Julian May (a lady if you’re not familiar with the Saga of the Pliocene Exiles) are my Big Four heroes. George R. R. Martin is probably already worthy of joining the pantheon, except I worry about how young some his more abused main characters are away from HBO… 🙂
The main thing for me with the 2 elder role models, is that the worlds had to be believable and as real as possible. The younger ones have all embellished on that, by writing well-conceptualised worlds and relatable characters, that appeal to a more contemporary audience to the point of almost painful grittiness (thank you again, Mr. Martin!).
For my own writing, I’m trying (not very hard just now, but that’s another tale) to combine those two cornerstones and apply them to my most beloved fantasy genres, Arthurian and Norse myth/legends – in an archaic far-future scenario. The real world is what’s holding me up just now, but I’ll get there! Soon-ish… 😛
That’s a good list of authors who influenced you, Jan. I understand about distractions leaking into the writing. Keep pushing ahead with the work and you’ll get to the end! Thanks for the comment.
I started with Marrion Zimmer Bradley, Mercedes Lackey, and Robert Jordan. There have been many over the years though. I loved The Hobbit and LOTR, Anne McCaffrey. More recently, His Dark Materials, The Winter People, The Immortals, and more.
I thoroughly enjoyed Robert Jordan and Lackey. Bradley is an old standby for Arthurian legend. Dragonriders was very enteretaining as well. I haven’t read those recent titles but I’ll have to get to them sometime soon! Thanks for the comment today, Traci.
You’re welcome, P.H.!
Thanks for the link back to this post, Traci.
I appreciate the link back to the post today!