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Ten Amazing Story Openings

A great opening sentence can sometimes be as memorable as the book it begins.

A good opening sentence can engage a reader into an active universe, initiating a tension that will carry the reader rapidly into the story. It can create within itself a perfect image for that book. It can be poetic in its simplicity, yet full of conflict and character, encapsulating the theme of the book or an entire series.

So, I asked several readers what they thought were great opening lines and here are ten that I think are certain to intrigue, and hopefully make you want to read what follows (that is if you haven’t already read it!)

But I don’t want you to just read these ten. Have a thought to see what opening sentences you have found memorable and share them with the rest of us!

  1. “We need you to kill a man.” – The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein
  1. “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.” – Neuromancer by William Gibson
  1. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” – The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
  1. “They ate Jorgensen first.” – Plague Year by Jeff Carlson.
  1. “It was a pleasure to burn.” Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  1. “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” – The Dark Tower by Stephen King
  1. “Man,” said Terl, “is an endangered species.” – Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard
  1. “I’ve watched through his eyes, I’ve listened through his ears, and I tell you he’s the one.” – Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
  1. “I now knew what I was – knew who I was.” – WWW: Watch by Robert J. Sawyer
  1. “The blackness was absolute.” – Hominids: Volume One of the Neanderthal Parallax by Robert J. Sawyer

So now it’s your turn. Tell me a great first line to one of your favorite books.

8 replies
  1. K.A.C.
    K.A.C. says:

    Based on this list, my next read will be Nueromancer and then The Dark Tower! Thanks for the prepared reading list!

    Reply
  2. educational sites
    educational sites says:

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  3. Carla Moore
    Carla Moore says:

    I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife’s grave. Then I joined the army….
    OK, that’s 3 sentences, but they’re short! Old Man’s War by John Scalzi..

    Reply
  4. Carla Moore
    Carla Moore says:

    Okay and one more… “Today was Ildiko’s wedding day, and if she managed not to retch on herself or a guest, she’d consider the entire event a resounding success.” … by Grace Draven…

    Reply

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