The Sword and Laser discussion

It's not from the SFF genre but I've always loved

"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." from Tale of Two Cities, my favorite book ever.

Travis wrote: ""Dear you, The body you are wearing used to be mine."- The Rook"

Recently finished reading this book, and it was this line (which was also on the blurb on the back) that convinced me to pick it up. It was great!

Trike wrote: "After watching the S&L interview with Trudi Canavan I looked up her first book, The Magicians' Guild. I'll have to read these simply because of the awesomeness of the first line: "It is said, in Im..."

That first line to the Magicians' Guild definitely makes me want to read the book!

Not really sword or laser but always loved "He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad. And that was all his patrimony" from Sabatini's Scaramouche (okay perhaps it is swords or at least it has swords in it).

"All stories are love stories."

Eureka Street: A Novel Of Ireland Like No Other
by Robert McLiam Wilson

Not sword or laser, but the deepest impact of any first line I've ever read.

Let's see, "It was the best of times..." is the greatest.

I'm partial to "It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain, he fell madly in love with him" from "Catch-22". I really enjoyed "Catch-22" as a teenager and it helped that the question was on my SAT test; so, I've never forgotten it.

Most recently, I think "Our mother performed in starlight" from Karen Russell's "Swamplandia" is a great first sentence. In fact there are several lines in that book that book that are excellent. Ms. Russell has tremendous control of language and a great ear. I expect great things from her.

All of these are far, far removed from S&L. Well, maybe not "Tale of Two Cities". Swords were still being used in that book :)

From H.P. Lovecraft's "Call of Cthulhu":

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents."

The rest of the paragraph is amazing. One of the only times I've actually used a highlighter in a book!

"Taran wanted to make a sword."
--The Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander

"It was a dark and stormy night;"
Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford

My favorite from Theodore Sturgeon's The Dreaming Jewels. "They caught the kid doing something disgusting out under the bleachers at the high school stadium , and he was sent home from the grammar school across the street. He was eight years old then. He'd been doing it for years."

"It was night again. The Waystone Inn lay in silence, and it was a silence of three parts."~ The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

In my opinion one of the greatest lines, as well as the follow up on how he goes on to explain this first line. Not to mention he starts the next book in a very similar fashion. Gives a sense of continuity that is very fitting with his books.

LOG ENTRY: SOL 6

I'm pretty much F***ed.
That's my considered opinion.
F***ed.

From Andy Weir's The Martian.

One of the few first lines to truly capture my attention.

‘On reflection,’ Crake said to Frey, as they huddled behind an upturned table, ‘this wasn’t one of your better plans.’
-The Iron Jackal by Chris Wooding

William wrote: ""It was a dark and stormy night;"
Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford"

What he actually wrote was: "It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

It he had stopped after that first phrase, it wouldn't have been bad.

I don't know that it is bad; it wasn't cloaked in mediocrity or indiscernible genius - it was bodacious and florid, demanding the interest of the reader with its audacity (for being interesting is by far the most treasured quality of writing), taking his inhibitions by the lapels and shaking him until its desperate thirst for attention is met.

Dharmakirti wrote: "I particularly like the Dhalgren partial sentence...it's a mystery (just like the book)...what came before? What's going on? Plus, the novel ends with the first part of that sentence, so you can go from the end of the novel right back to the beginning."

He stole that from Joyce's Finnegan's Wake, which begins, "riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.", and ends, "A way a lone a last a loved a long the". The entire book is circular.

William wrote: "I don't know that it is bad; it wasn't cloaked in mediocrity or indiscernible genius - it was bodacious and florid, demanding the interest of the reader with its audacity (for being interesting is ..."

Very good. Or bad.

I agree with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" from Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities.

Actually, the first sentence goes on, but I particularly love those first lines, so simple, but still beautiful.

Might be a little corny and not really the start of the book (since there's a prologue), but still a great start to a book/series.

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend.
Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth
comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long
past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither
beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning."

Since the announcement by Iain Banks today that he has late-stage gallbladder cancer and likely won't live out the year, here's one from him:

"That was the day my grandmother exploded." -- The Crow Road

Dirk wrote: "Might be a little corny and not really the start of the book (since there's a prologue), but still a great start to a book/series.

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memorie..."

I agree with you. I think it is a great first line. Especially after the prologue, since the prologue is usually a little vague and mysterious. I always look forward to that opening line.

This is neither Sword nor Laser, but a recent favorite first line of mine is from Jose Saramago's 'Manual of Painting and Calligraphy' (which is actually a novel, despite a misleading title):

"I shall go on painting the second picture but I know it will never be finished."

Dropped me right into it.

"Once upon a time there was a martian named Valentine Michael Smith." -- Stranger in a Strange Land

"All this happened, more or less" Slaughterhouse Five

"The man who was not Terrence O'Grady came quietly."
--the first line of Agent of Change

Here are some I rather like.

"Prime Predictor Tae Ran-Kaiel was long dead but he lived in the bellies of his aggressive progeny." -- Courtship Rite

"The small boys came early to the hanging." -- The Pillars of the Earth

"Ten and a half hours before a mounted knight with a machine gun tried to kill her, tech journalist Miriam Beckstein lost her job." -- The Family Trade

Anne wrote: "I agree with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" from Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities.

Actually, the first sentence goes on, but I particularly love those first lines, so simple, b..."

This line is probably the most famous first line of all time.

"Call me Ishmael."- Moby Dick

"A screaming comes across the sky."- Gravity's Rainbow

Dharmakirti wrote: "A couple come to mind:

Samuel R. Delaney's Dhalgren "to wound the autumnal city."

and

R. Scott Bakker's The Darkness that Comes Before "One cannot raise walls against what has been forgotten."
..."

I second the Dhalgren quote. I would have added it if I hadn't been beat to it. This line just drifts up and assaults me from time to time. I love it.

I agree with others who've pointed out the opening line of 'the Hobbit.' I'd also like to add one more recent, this one from Jasper Fforde's 'Shades of Grey':

"It began with my father not wanting to see the Last Rabbit and ended up with my being eaten by a carnivorous plant."

Nyx sold her womb somewhere between Punjai and Faleen, on the edge of the desert.

The opening line of Kameron Hurley's God's War.

Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination:

"This was a golden age, a time of high adventure, rich living and hard dying ... but nobody thought so."

Just a great line for setting the story that follows.Kurt Vonnegut must have been jealous.

Also William Gibson often gets props for the opening of Neuromancer:

"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."

Gibson gets props for a good reason. In one sentence he creates a sense of grimy wonder, and his world immediately feels "lived-in." I can't think of any other book where I have seen an author establish his/her "voice"so quickly,

The Iliad has swords (or at least spears) and gods, so it should count as fantasy:

"Anger be now your song, immortal one,
Akhilleus' anger, doomed and ruinous,
that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss
and crowded brave souls into the undergloom,
leaving so many dead men---carrion
for dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done."
(Fitzgerald's translation)

Ditto the Aeneid:

"Arms, and the man I sing, who, forc'd by fate,
And haughty Juno's unrelenting hate,
Expell'd and exil'd, left the Trojan shore."
(Dryden's translation)

"Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;"

First line of Richard III by William Shakespeare

Michael wrote: "The Iliad has swords (or at least spears) and gods, so it should count as fantasy:

"Anger be now your song, immortal one,
Akhilleus' anger, doomed and ruinous,
that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss
and crowded brave souls into the undergloom,
leaving so many dead men---carrion
for dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done."
(Fitzgerald's translation)"


I'm sure it's just because it's the way I learned it, but I prefer my version (I forget whose it was) in which the lines read something like:

"Rage, goddess, sing the rage of Pellus' son, Achillies, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achieans countless losses, hurling down to the house of dead so many sturdy souls, great fighters souls, but made their bodies carrion, feasts for dogs and birds, and the will of Zeus was moving towards its end."

I think it sounds punchier somehow. I love the insults in this books. :)

Rasnac wrote: ""Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;"

First line of Richard III by William Shakespeare"

I especially like that line as delivered by Ian McKellen in the film adaptation of Richard III (IMHO, one of the best film adaptations of Shakespeare).

Not from a real book but written by Billy Crystal's character in "Throw Mama From The Train" ...

"The night was humid."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLli0u...

The thought process leading to that line is painful.

I demur. It's certainly a great first line and Ian McKellen does give a good very performance, still I prefer the Sir Lawrence (1955) version.
http://youtu.be/q0PFH5K59gg

Both of which are better then the scottish play but to each his own.

Dharmakirti wrote: "Rasnac wrote: ""Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;"

First line of Richard III by William Shakespeare"

I especially like that line as delivered by Ian Mc..."

Definitely! IMHO Sir Laurence Olivier's version is a close second; and Al Pacino's adaptation/documentry is a very interesting third.

I have a Technicolor bias which no doubts colors my choice
(groan). In any case, Bill came up with somre great one liners.

Ok, it's really two sentences, but it did make me buy the book, from an author I'd never read (or even heard of) before, on the spot. From Simon R. Green's book Wolf In The Fold:

When you are tired of life, come to Haven. And someone will kill you.

"No one noticed the rock"

from The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi

I also like the first line of part two of the book but I won't spoil that for you!

Rasnac wrote: ""Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;"

First line of Richard III by William Shakespeare"

The best Shakespearean opening must be "Who's there?" from Hamlet. Talk about in medias res.

Ruth wrote: "I'm sure it's just because it's the way I learned it, but I prefer my version (I forget whose it was) in which the lines read something like:

"Rage, goddess, sing the rage of Pellus' son, Achillies, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achieans countless losses, hurling down to the house of dead so many sturdy souls, great fighters souls, but made their bodies carrion, feasts for dogs and birds, and the will of Zeus was moving towards its end."

I think it sounds punchier somehow."

That sounds like it might be Lattimore's translation:

SING, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus
and its devastation, which put pains thousandfold upon the Achaians,
hurled in their multitudes to the house of Hades strong souls
of heroes, but gave their bodies to be the delicate feasting
of dogs, of all birds, and the will of Zeus was accomplished ...

Personally, I find Fitzgerald punchier, but Lattimore follows the Greek much more closely.

Warren wrote: "Both of which are better then the scottish play ..."

MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth!

There, I said it, and nothing happ---AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!

I Googled - it's Robert Fagles' translation. Looks like it was published in November 1998.

Neil wrote: "Laughed out loud for a good while at The Exploding Detective - "I suppose the first thing I should do is apologize for the billions of dead.""

Haha.

Warren wrote: ""Both of which are better then the scottish play ...""

The scottish play will always be closer to my heart. Maybe because I saw and fell in love with Orson Welles's adaptation of the play at avery young age. Witches, scottish warriors, curses, murder, war, and an awesome swordfight scene at the end...which nerdy kid who loves fantasy genre can resist? It was almost like Starwars. And it was surely my gateway drug to The Bard's world.

Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" and 1990 mob adaptation "Men of Respect" are both very strong adaptations also. Honestly I believe the script and themes are so strong, there is almost no way to make a bad adaptation of Macb...(an anvil falls on his head)

And then, after walking all day through a golden haze of humid warmth that gathered about him like fine wet fleece, Valentine came to a great ridge of outcropping white stone overlooking the city of Pidruid.

Lord Valentine's Castle, Robert Silverberg (1980).

I love that he starts this with a conjunction which makes you feel like you are already in the middle of the story and which also makes a lot of sense once the plot starts coming together. I first read this many years ago when I was little but I still remember double checking that I really was on page one and the book wasn't missing some pages.

Michael wrote: "Warren wrote: "Both of which are better then the scottish play ..."

MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth! MacBeth!

There, I said it, and nothing happ--..."

It only works if you're an actor. And stupidstitious. Yeah, I said it. :p