The Beginning
Obsessed, much!
Before I was 6 years old, I had probably watched Star Wars dozens of times - I knew it so well, I could speak every single line of the film; barely dropping any of the dialogue.
This was 1985 - we had just gotten a VHS player and I had a copy of the film, recorded from TV (quite possibly a Christmas showing of the film)
Little did I know, this was the start of a life long love story with space adventures, out of this world stories and futuristic utopias.
Bedtime Habits
When I started school someone ( I have a feeling it was an older sibling) bought me a children’s version of Return of the Jedi - shortened to make it a bedtime ‘read - a - long’ story to a cassette tape, narrated by Anthony Daniels (Probably, this is only a guess but can’t see it being anyone else) and with sound effects taken directly from the film.
I would listen to that tape every night and can still hear what sound an animal made in Jabba’s Palace that was on the tape and my ears prick when I hear it in the film.
Looking back at this - I realise that this formed a habit of reading before going to sleep - a very healthy and restful habit, instilled and supported especially by my mom without even knowing the true benefits to my sleep habits and hygiene.
My wife now does this; obviously following my lead…
Yearly Holidays
This love of the genre was further encouraged by the choice of films I was exposed to.
Formative experiences going to the cinema to see ET, Star Trek 2 and 3, Superman 3 - all films I saw whilst on holiday at Butlins in Minehead.
I was also allowed to buy a comic or magazine for the week. I always chose Judge Dredd - some omnibus, extra large version of the normal comic. I would read and re-read the stories for months.
All of these experiences formed a special bond with cinema, with comics, and most notably, with reading.
During the rest of the school holidays, my mom would take me to the library to rent a film to watch.
I would get films like “The Dark Crystal” (scary as shit Jim Henson puppets and thats just the two main characters) - “The Black Hole”; some rubbish Disney attempt at jumping on the Star Wars bandwagon - of course at that age, I loved it! - and episodes of Star Trek; The Next Generation forming a love affair with the Star Trek universe (yes you can be a Trekkie and love Star Wars too!)(and Patrick Stewart was born about 20 miles away from me and even gave me my degree certificate! Call Dr Crusher - I have a man crush!)
I also loved Transformers and had numerous copies of the G1 series on VHS. Going to the cinema with a friend to see Transformers the Movie and making sure I didn’t cry when Optimus died is a fond memory - so much so I made my kids watch it a month ago!!
I still cried.
They did not.
Head in a Book
All of my family are ‘readers’ as my Mom would say. She would read romance (Mills and Boon novels mostly, she says she would skip past the sexy rude bits), my sisters read alot of the classics like Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice and other Bronte/Austin titles. My eldest brother seemed to me to read large tomes like War and Peace but my other brother read fantasy and science fiction.
Seeing his books on his shelf with hand drawn images of Sandworms and seemingly insignificant characters riding them enticed me to want to read them - the images playing in my mind mixing in with the images of the 1984 movie. Ultimately my brother wouldn’t let me, saying “you’re not ready” or “it’s too complicated for you”
He was right to hold me back of course - I was only 7 or so!
He wouldn’t let me read them until I was in my early teens.
But once I read Dune, I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t fully understand it all. There were parts that went over my head. I often compare Dune to something that Michael Stipe says about REM, stating that their songs require multiple listens and listeners are rewarded with new details and nuances of the song. Frank Herbert also says this about his books and in particular Dune - rewarding the reader on subsequent reads with new details and plots. Plans within plans.
Since those times I have read Dune probably easily more than a dozen times and read the series multiple times, often using my lunch breaks as a time to get through a few pages and using the book like a shield so people wouldn’t speak to me…it worked maybe half of the time.
I love the complexities of the story - I love the hordes of characters in there, yet they aren’t shallow, they aren’t mere mentions on a few pages or used to further the story in a dull part. You get to know them. You read how vile the Baron is, how ambitious Feyd is becoming - how conflicted Paul is with his Golden Path.
But there are also secondary characters that you cant forget and love; characters like Gurney Halleck (played by Patrick Stewart in the 80s film and Josh Brolin in the recent films) the House Atriedes assassin, who is an incredible Baliset player, can quote the Orange Catholic bible, but is also motivated by revenge against the Harkonnens, most notably “The Beast Rabban” who gave him the inkvine scar across his face. All this for a secondary character. I have read books where the main characters had less back story.
Amazing storytelling!
These are just snippets of a life, full of experiences within this genre. I would be remiss to say thats all I did growing up but its not - its just the formative experiences that make me the man I am today - who still loves the genre and gets a big kick out of finding a new story or series.
I hope that you have enjoyed my early story.
Let me know what formed your interest in this or any other genre.
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