What book/author brought you into the Fantasy Genre?

[Sethanel]

I have been surfing through the forums of late and have noticed that a lot of people seem to have read RA Salvatore at one point. I have also read Mr. Salvatore's work (Drizzt moreso than the others) but no longer do.

So here is my question: What author or series brought you full heartedly into the Fantasy Genre?

For me it was a mixture of Anne McCaffrey, Terry Brooks and RA Salvatore. Who are yours?

[Randall Mach]

Just bought Book 6! I think the lady in the bookstore thought I was creepy cause I was shopping in the kids section...

[Sethanel]

I always shop there! good books in there

[William Jones]

The first fantasy book I read was The Hobbit when I was young. It still remains one of my favorite books of all time. I then read the Lord of the Rings. These were the only fantasy books I'd read until The Night Angel Trilogy. So I'd credit this trilogy with getting me into the genre as I've recently ordered other fantasy books.

[Nicholas Miller]

I never got into the fantasy genre untill i read way of shadows, now im addicted to brent weeks work. i still need to finish the series though.

[Jeremy]

"The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed..."

Stephen King's Dark Tower series really got me into reading.

[Randall Mach]

Lloyd Alexander-Chronicles of Prydain series. Ahhhh Nostalgia
Then drifted to SciFi for a few years when Dragonlance came out. Never looked back!

[Stee]

Definately Raymond E. Feist. discovered them about 3 years ago and have read all of them 4 times each since then.

[Infernal]

J.R.R. Tolkien and JK Rowling.

[Milo]

Lone Wolf (Magnamund) gamebooks by Joe Dever actually first brought me into the genre. My brother was into them and I just followed him into it xD

Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar saga also pulled me further into the genre :)

[Kage Houshi]

Oddly enough it was the Hobbit and the LOTR...which my grandmother got me in second grade(along with a dictionary) because she was sick and tired of me finishing a book a day.

Although technically if you want to say my real first it was most likely Bob Munsches Paper Bag Princess in kindergarten XD;;; though LOTR was my first LONG fantasy. Then I moved on to Diane Duanes Tales of the Five and other books...

[TokomonEatsUrFace]

Ohhh...Trying to remember that far back...I think it was Madeline L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" when I was in the second or third grade. I may have read something else younger...but I don't remember XD

[Kurt Loeblich]

Obviously Tolkien had a part in my reading of Fantasy books. But, believe it or not, Christopher Paolini and his Inheritance Cycle brought me back when I was 15 or so years old. They were easy reads, predictable, but still good.