Hello again dear reader or listener, I hope you’re enjoying your Sunday! I once again have literary appetizers for you.
Since I recently received a (very amusing) spam bot comment on one of my old list posts, I thought I might as well make a part 2 given it’s been three years! As you can guess from the title, I felt like listing the very first (or first few) lines from books currently on my shelves, that I found especially captivating for one reason or other. Maybe they’re particularly ominous, or amusing, or intriguing, but in each case, they set the tone incredibly well.
Here you can also find the first version of this article if you want!
There’s a lot of stress that comes from wanting to nail those first few lines in a novel and while we as readers know we’ll never stop at just those to vet a book, a memorable opener is hard to beat.
In no particular order then, I present you with a mix of SFF – all adult this time. If I’ve read and reviewed any of these, I’ll be linking their titles to their respective reviews either here or on BWG in case you want some extra convincing to pick them up.
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The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry
No decent story ought to begin with a dead prostitute, and for that, apologies, for it is not something upon which respectable persons would desire to dwell.
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling
Dr. Augustine Lawrence’s cuffs were stained with blood and his mackintosh had failed against the persistent drizzle. He looked damp, miserable, and scared.
Of her.
There was nothing scarier than a blind old woman with whites for eyes suddenly gripping your arm under a full moon night,
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst (out July 2024)
Kiela never thought the flames would reach the library. She was dimly aware that most of the other librarians had fled weeks ago, when the revolutionaries took the palace and defenestrated the emperor in a rather dramatic display. But surely they wouldn’t touch the library.
The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish
All his life Cyrus Lythan had been told his parents’ armada was the greatest in the world, unmatched by any fleet from the mainland continent of Gadir. It was the pride of his family, the jewel of the island kingdom of Thanet. Standing at the edge of the castle balcony, his hands white-knuckling the balustrade, Cyrus watched their ships burn and knew it for a lie.
The Cloisters by Katy Hays
Death always visited me in August. A slow and delicious month we turned into something swift and brutal. The change, quick as a card trick.
The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan
It is a strange thing to think that the end of the Empire of the wolf, and all the death and devastation that came with it, traced its long roots back to the tiny and insignificant village of Rill.
Mushroom Blues by Adrian M. Gibson
No good day ever started with death before coffee.
Red River Seven by Anthony Ryan
It was the scream rather than the gunshot that woke him. It was not a human scream.
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
In the back-left corner of the Days Gone Funeral Home, underneath a loose floorboard, there was a metal box with a bunch of old journals inside. To anyone who found them, the scribbles looked like some teenager venting her sexual frustrations with Lestat of that one guy from The X-Files.
The Part About The Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson
Few indeed know the paralyzing terror of a mighty dragon’s roar or the skin-blistering heat of its fiery breath. Few, I say, for most who do experience such things know them for but the briefest instant before they are consumed by flame, burned beyond all hope of recognition, their hopes and dreams turned to smoke and ash.
Play of Shadows by Sebastien De Castell
Everyone has a talent, and these days, mine is running. So superb is my aptitude for panicked flight that it almost makes up for my less admirable traits, which include cowardice, poor fencing skills and a regrettable tendency to forget those faults while making bold threats against brutish thugs who suffer no such deficiencies of their own.
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
Her father fell in love with a god of the sea.
In A Garden Burning Gold by Rory Power
A week was too long to be a widow. Even after all her marriages, Rhea had never got used to it. The black, the singing, the veils – it was enough to drive anybody mad. At least no one ever expected her to cry.
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Hope you liked this second list and I look forward to writing a part three in a few years!
Until next time,
Eleni A. E.
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