I have gotten into many long discussions about opening lines of books. So, here's a thread where you can post your favorite(or least favorite) opening lines. Be sure to include the book title and the author. Here's a few to start off:
"I will weep no more for the lost, asleep in their watery graves." Taliesin, by Stephen R. Lawhead. (he is well known for his opening lines)
"I saw Byzantium in a dream, and knew I would die there." Byzantium, by Lawhead(again)
"My name is of no importance." The Iron Lance, by Lawhead.(again)
"I've wathed through his eyes, I've listened through his ears, and I tell you he's the one." Ender's Game, by you-know-who
"It was a dark and stormy night." A Wrinkle In Time, by Madeline L'engle. She used this opening line as a dare from a friend, and it's still a great book.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
We just had one of these a month or so ago, but they're always fun, so here goes:
quote:It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression "As pretty as an airport."
Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul Posted by Rappin' Ronnie Reagan (Member # 5626) on :
"The Concise Oxford English Dictionary is designed to be as straightforward as possible and the use of special dictionary symbols and conventions has been kept to a minimum." Concise Oxford English Dictionary
"The most beguiling city in the world, New York is an adrenaline-charged, history-laden place that holds immense romantic appeal for visitors." The Rough Guide to New York City
and a serious one... "Once upon a time there was a Martian named Valentine Michael Smith." Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
And here is a great opening paragraph or so, from Spider Robinson's Time Pressure (Thanks to Dan_Raven for finding this quote for me a while back):
quote: It was a dark and stormy night...
Your suspension of disbelief has probably just bust a leafspring: how can you believe in a story that begins that way? I know it's one of the hoariest cliche's in pulp fiction; my writer friend Snaker uses the expression satirically often enough. "It was a dark and stormy night--when a shot rang out..." but I don't especially want you to believe this story--I just want you to listen to it--and even if I were concerned with convincing you there wouldn't be anything I could do about it, the story begins where it begins and that's all there is to it.
[ September 19, 2003, 10:30 AM: Message edited by: Noemon ]
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
I'm still partial to HP Lovecraft's opening for the short story Call of Cthulhu:
quote:The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.
In fact, the rest of the opening paragraph is just as good.
-Bok
Posted by T. Analog Kid (Member # 381) on :
Noemon,
I had forgotten that one! Classic DNA... love it!
Roger Zelazny's Trumps of Doom (start of the 2nd Chronicles of Amber) begins
quote:It's a pain in the ass waiting for someone to kill you.
On the other hand, while the opening line isn't much, but I think my favorite opening Chapter is "The Two Poets of Saffron Park" from GKC's The Man Who was Thursday.
Posted by ae (Member # 3291) on :
"With the discovery of God on the far side of the Moon, and the subsequent gigantic and hazardous towing operation that brought Him back to start His reign anew, there began on Earth, as one might assume, a period of far-reaching change."—M. John Harrison, "Settling the World"
Let me add that the story is entirely serious.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:The irreducible strangeness of the universe was first made manifest to Anthony Van Horne on his fiftieth birthday, when a despondent angel named Raphael, a being with luminos white wings and a halo that blinked on and off like a neon quoit, appeared and told him of the days to come.
James Morrow, Towing Jehovah
quote:Alive! Still alive. Alive...again.
Octavia Butler, Dawn Posted by dan_parrot (Member # 5692) on :
"Call me Ismael" Moby Dick
What do you scurvy dogs expect on "Speak like a pirate day."
Pirate Opening Lines: "Wench, more rum!" "Surrender and prepare to be boarded" (Surprisingly, on ship or in a tavern, this line rarely results in surrender and often ends up with guns being fired.) "Brandy, you're a fine girl, and a good wife, you will be, but my heart, my love and my lady, is the sea."
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
Though this is from a movie, it always holds a place in my heart for one of the best introductions to a movie:
Seen: Mel Gibson with a noose around his neck, sitting on a horse in the desert.
"It had just been a shitty week from the start." -Maverick
Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
Lol! I love that movie! Posted by odouls268 (Member # 2145) on :
"In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice I've been turning over in my head ever since: 'Whenever you feel like criticising someone,' he said 'just remember that not everyone has had all of the advantages that you have had'" -The Great Gatsby; by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Posted by Jeni (Member # 1454) on :
I thought the Great Gatsby started off some some stuff about eggs...
Posted by Túrin (Member # 2704) on :
Okay, not exactly a single opening line, but this is just classic.
THE ASCENT OF RUM DOODLE
Foreword
by Sir Hugeley Havering, AISC, MPL, Chairman of the Rum Doodle Committee
It is with pleasure as well as with a sense of privelege that I associate myself with this account of the climbing of the world's highest mountain. The difficulties were many. They were overcome by the determination of each member of the expedition to give his best to the common cause. No praise is too high for these men. This is a book which should be read -- and re-read -- by every schoolboy and by all who value human endeavor and fortitude.
[on the next page]
Introduction
by O. Totter
It is a pleasure and a privelege to associate oneself with this account of the ascent of the world's highest mountain. The obstacles were tremendous. That they were overcome is due to the dogged perseverance, which each member of the team brought to the common cause. It is impossible to praise these men too highly. Every schoolboy should read this book twice, and so should everybody who honours courage and enterprise.
Posted by WheatPuppet (Member # 5142) on :
lol
While this isn't quite the first written line, it's close, and it's the formal introduction:
quote: It is said that there are no wonders and no horrors save those that man brings upon himself. It is said that butterflies were born of blind evolution and insensate Nature, that the sky is but a screen of molecules between humanity and the endless void. It is said that the highest form of life is man. People have looked for more, scientists and artists reaching for some hidden magic. They have found none... but it is there.
--Rebecca Sean Borgstrom, Nobilis
Posted by Erik Blackheart (Member # 5610) on :
E.N. a mighty idea fer a thread, indeed! But it was already done by the fair eslaine!
I don't think it was anywhere near the first line, but the intro to a calculus textbook of mine had this to say on the subject of penmanship:
Your paper should not look as though a stoned fly crawled out of an inkwell.
Posted by Trespassin’ Tiger (Member # 5696) on :
Greatest opening line: Arrr!
Hobbes Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
Sorry, didn't realize there was already a thread like this. But I can't believe I forgot this one: "There was once a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis.
"In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit." The Hobbit, by J."arr"."arr". Tolkien. (edit-'cuz it's talk like a pirate day)
[ September 19, 2003, 03:50 PM: Message edited by: Eruve Nandiriel ]
Posted by Yebor1 (Member # 1380) on :
I start all of my stories and books with great opening lines.
In fact those that are on the back burner are only opening lines.
The Towers Of Gath
"Reality is fleeting"
The Jewel and The Nautilus
"My Uncle Frank once told me: "Never get caught dead in a situaton."
Posted by Yebor1 (Member # 1380) on :
another great opening line
"Hey there beautiful, Should I call you for breakfast or just nudge ya."
and who can forget
"Did ya drop something, MY Jaw."
And
I thank god the heavens knew what they were doing when they created you
Posted by Yebor1 (Member # 1380) on :
Oh wait we wern't talking about picking up the opposit sex were we
sorry
my bad
Posted by Celtic Flame (Member # 5556) on :
It's okay, anyone could make that mistake.
I wouldn't say that this line is the best, but it sure is a fun way to start a book.
"It was a pleasure to burn." -- Farenheit 451
Posted by Mainstream (Member # 5693) on :
Thosands have started in this way or similar:
YAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!! Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
quote:Simple: I'll post an answer. You reply with a question which fits the answer, plus another answer for someone else to reply to. A: I'm telling you, he had a cucumber.
.... and awaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy we go......
Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :
quote:Is there a slight chance that the Roman Catholic "Church" is really not Christian? Think of the horrifying consequences!
Jack T. Chick, Are Roman Catholics Christians? Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
My favorite opening line (and not just because it has a swear in it):
"I can't believe I lost my @#$%ing ear; bang, bang!" - Have a Nice Day! by: Mick Foley
A classic, don't you agree? Posted by Jill (Member # 3376) on :
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." -The Hobbit
"O for a Muse of fire that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention, A kingdom for a stage, princes to act, And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!" -King Henry V
"Two households, both alike in dignity In fair Verona, where we lay our scene From ancient grudge break to new mutiny Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean." -Romeo and Juliet
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." -Tale of Two Cities
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." -Pride and Prejudice
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
::would marry Dobie for that one::
Jill - I love how P&P starts.
Posted by Happy Camper (Member # 5076) on :
Back again to Mr. Adams.
"The history of the Galaxy has got a little muddled, for a number of reasons: partly because those who are trying to keep track of it have got a little muddled, but also because some very muddling things have been happening anyway." - Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmess.
Of course there's the text before that that's even better.
"Anything that happens, happens."
"Anything that, in happening, causes something else to happen, causes something else to happen."
"Anything that, in happening, causes itself to happen again, happens again."
"It doesn't necessarily do it in chronological order though."
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
quote: His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god. But then, he never claimed not to be a god.
Roger Zelazny - Lord of Light
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
I believe I mentioned Eva Ibbotson last time this came up...
SOMETHING along the lines of "Kidnapping children generally isn't a very good idea. But sometimes, it just has to be done."
Not the exact words, but close enough.
~ Island of the Aunts Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
Another good one, from The Outlaws Of Sherwood, by Robin McKinley. It opens with Robin missing his target. Shocking, but in this book, Robin can't shoot; but it works, it's a really good book!
Posted by Feyd Baron (Member # 1407) on :
My two favorites (not mentioned so far anyways):
"Death came quietly to the Row." (Sten, Chris Bunch and Alan Cole
"The small boys came early to the hanging" (The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett)
Hmm... after reading those, I seem to think I might be in a fairly dark mood. Or maybe I just like dark books... Oh well. Both of those books are excellent.
Feyd Baron, DoC
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
So a couple weeks ago I was in charge of a ward FHE activity (Mormon - English translation: a geeky get-together to entertain prudish colledge students) and I chose to have a party to celebrate International Literacy Day. I designed a "Literary Jeopardy" game, in which one of the categories was "famous first lines."
I had no sooner uttered the words, "It is a truth universally acknowledged..." when every female hand in the room shot up..
The only one in the category that no one got right was the opening sentence of the Doctrine and Covenants. (oops!)
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:It wasn't until later that I figured out why the guy in line behind me, in Moscow's Yaroslavl train station, was missing half a leg.
This is actually the opening to an essay called Strangers on a Train by Bill Gifford.
Another essay of his, called Baikal Without a Seatbelt has what strikes me as an even better opening:
quote:"What are you looking for?" Alexander wants to know.
"Nothing," I say, digging furiously around my car seat. We're hurtling down a mountain road, and I'm looking for a seatbelt. I've found one side, but not the other.
"There's no seatbelt," Alex says.
I just came across this guy's material. I'm going to have to see if he's written any novels; I love his style.
Posted by Magson (Member # 2300) on :
quote:With my hand on the doorjamb, some buried-alive instinct thumps within my chest: this is going to hurt.
Matthew Woodring Stover, Heroes Die
Great book too.
Posted by screechowl (Member # 2651) on :
I missed one obvious, looking for a trap, one obscure, and the one where all the choices were by the same author.
Posted by Ryan Hart (Member # 5513) on :
"Happy families are all alike" -Anna Karenina
Posted by jehovoid (Member # 2014) on :
quote:Maman died today.
--Albert Camus The Stranger
quote:One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug.
Kafka The Metamorphosis
(and to be completely pretentious)
quote:Arma virumque cano.
Vergil The Aeneid
[ September 24, 2003, 10:32 PM: Message edited by: jehovoid ]
Posted by Samuel Bush (Member # 460) on :
“It was a quiet and still afternoon when I strolled forth in the goodly city of Edina.” – “A Predicament” by Edgar Allen Poe
“It was a chilly November afternoon” – “The Angel of the Odd” by Edgar Allen Poe
[Ok, I know those are not the greatest of opening lines, but I couldn’t resist after those “dark and stormy night” posts. However Poe did have . . .]
“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” – “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe
“The day I died: July 6 2021. I remember it like yesterday.” – “Aftermath” by Charles Sheffield
“Jeff Winston was on the phone with his wife when he died.” – “Replay” by Ken Grimwood
[Ok this next one is by Alistair MacLean in “When Eight Bells Toll” and the great opening line doesn’t happen until the end of the second paragraph. For about 250 words, MacLean explains in gory detail why the Peacemaker Colt is the most effective handgun ever made, and puts forth in gory detail how, if you are shot in the leg by one and by some miracle manage to survive the shock and torn arteries, you will still be crippled for life. And then he finally starts the actual story with . . ]
“And so I stood absolutely motionless, not breathing, for the Peacemaker Colt that had prompted this unpleasant train of thought was pointed directly at my right thigh.”
[But my favorite opening line of these eight is . . .}
“When a day you happen to know is Wednesday starts off sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.” – “The Day of the Triffids” by John Wyndham
Posted by Emperor Palpatine (Member # 3544) on :
Magson, I love Heroes Die.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. -Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Posted by ana kata (Member # 5666) on :
Samuel Bush!!!!! Hi, welcome back!
P.S. This is aka.
[ October 02, 2003, 06:37 AM: Message edited by: ana kata ]
Posted by ae (Member # 3291) on :
Heroes Die is great. For those who liked it, can I recommend you check out this forum? Matt Stover posts there, and it's a pretty good place besides.
Posted by Fyfe (Member # 937) on :
One of the best opening paragraphs of my acquaintance:
quote: The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do it to the end, which is a nuisance for the people who grow up. And one of the games to which it is most attached is called "Keep to-morrow dark," and which is also named (by the rustics in Shropshire, I have no doubt) "Cheat the Prophet." The players listen very carefully and respectfully to all that the clever men have to say about what is to happen in the next generation. The players then wait until all the clever men are dead, and bury them nicely. They then go and do something else. That is all. For a race of simple tastes, however, it is great fun.
--The Napoleon of Notting Hill, G.K. Chesterton.
Jen
Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
Another one of my favorite book openings was The Outlaws Of Sherwood, by Robin McKinley. It's not just one line, but it opens with Robin Hood missing his target. It works with the story. It's a really good book, and I'll let you read it for yourself to see how that works.... Posted by Ryan Hart (Member # 5513) on :
quote: The last and greatest of the mage-kings was Ceron the Wise.
-From a short story called "The fall of the blessed empire".
Posted by MaureenJanay (Member # 2935) on :
"Dad was a tall man, with a large head, jowls, and a Herbert Hoover collar."
-"Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank and Ernestine Gilbreth
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
"Wake up." -The Sandman
Posted by MaureenJanay (Member # 2935) on :
"Say your prayers" -Enter Sandman
Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
"Call me Ishmael."
I can't believe nobody posted that yet.
Posted by qkslvrwolf (Member # 5768) on :
From Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.
...The wind wasn't the beginning, but it was a beginning.
Might be a slight misquote, but its mostly there...
Posted by T. Analog Kid (Member # 381) on :
Good call, Fyfe.
Here's one:
quote:Two tires fly. Two wail. A bamboo grove, all chopped down From it, warring songs
...is the best that Corporal Bobby Shaftoe can do on short notice-- he's standing on the running board, gripping his Springfield with one hand and the rear view mirror with the other, so counting the syllables is out of the question.
...from Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. How can you not love a book that starts with a US Marine spontaneously composing haiku from the running board of a truck careening through Shanghai, 28 Nov. 1941?
[ October 06, 2003, 04:44 PM: Message edited by: T. Analog Kid ]
Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
Ok, I found my book. Here's the whole opening paragraph. (this is the best opening I have ever read)
"I will weep no more for the lost, asleep in their watery graves. I have no more tears for my youth in the temple of the brindled ox. Life is strong in me and I will not grieve for what was or might have been. Mine is a different path and I must follow where it leads." -Taliesin, by Stephen R. Lawhead
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
[edit: I like that Eruve. I've never read anything by Lawhead, I'll have to check him out.] "Bobby Shaftoe, you have a boo-boo."--Douglas Macarthur Shaftoe. "Watch out! The sniping had begun."--at a dinner party. ***Warning:Minor spoilers for Cryptonomicon--probably safe though***
"At least I don't write obscure academic articles about beards to break up with my boyfriend." "Who is this Woe-to-hice all the Brits kept referring to, wondered Waterhouse?" "Why is Julietta suddenly getting so googly-eyed at the thought of a baby? Snap out of it, woman, there's a war on!" thought Bobby Shaftoe. "Their bodies merged as effortlessly as two raindrops running down a window." "Her uncle the smuggler saved the day by literally pulling a diamond ring out of his a$$." "As Admiral Yamamoto, in flames, shot through the jungle at hundreds of miles per hour strapped to his flight chair, he considered that perhaps attacking Pearl Harbor was not such a great idea."
end spoilers******* Apologies if the quotes aren't perfect, that's from memory as I can't find my copy. We may argue about some things TaK, but we can agree that Cryptonomicon is one of the best books published in the last 25 years. Stephanson combines the sublime, the moving and the ridiculous in unique ways. I can't say enough good things about it.
[ October 09, 2003, 04:25 PM: Message edited by: Morbo ]
Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
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Oh wait ![[Blushing]](graemlins/blushing.gif)
we wern't talking about picking up the opposit sex were we![[Monkeys]](graemlins/monkeys.gif)
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