The Sword and Laser discussion

"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times"

"Call me Ishmael."

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

"It was a cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."

It's hard to better the classics.

April is the cruelest month.

If it was great first two chapters, I'd say Altered Carbon.

“I never knew an Earth that was unaware of life elsewhere.” — To Be Taught, If Fortunate, Becky Chambers

“On second thoughts, throwing myself out the window of a skyscraper may not have been the best idea.” — The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind, Jackson Ford

First two lines of Monster Hunter International:

“On one otherwise normal Tuesday evening I had the chance to live the American dream. I was able to throw my incompetent jackass of a boss from a fourteenth-story window.”

Trike wrote: "“On second thoughts, throwing myself out the window of a skyscraper may not have been the best idea.” — The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind, Jackson Ford"

The title of that book is fantastic. It's so terrible that it's good.

Dara wrote: "Trike wrote: "“On second thoughts, throwing myself out the window of a skyscraper may not have been the best idea.” — The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind, Jackson Ford"

The title of that book is fantastic. It's so terrible that it's good."

You will be unsurprised to learn that I bought it based on the title and first line.

Trike wrote: "Dara wrote: "Trike wrote: "“On second thoughts, throwing myself out the window of a skyscraper may not have been the best idea.” — The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind, Jackso..."

I read it a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it. It's the first of a series apparently.

“The grammarian was choking to death on her own words.” — Spellwright, Blake Charlton

“To test a spell that predicts the future, try to murder the man selling it; if you can, it can’t.” — Spellbreaker, Blake Charlton

“There’s no good way of waking up in a dead body.” — Grave Measures, R.R. Virdi

Lies of Locke Lamora I knew immediately I was going to love that book

A bit of a cheat as it’s two lines, but...

“It was a pretty nice burlap sack. Not the best he’d had the pleasure of inhabiting, not by a long shot, but it wasn’t bad either.” — Steal the Sky

“The first thing Onyii does every morning is take off her arm.” — War Girls, Tochi Onyebuchi

Exit Strategy: "WHEN I GOT BACK to HaveRatton Station, a bunch of humans tried to kill me. Considering how much I’d been thinking about killing a bunch of humans, it was only fair."

Jessica wrote: "Exit Strategy: "WHEN I GOT BACK to HaveRatton Station, a bunch of humans tried to kill me. Considering how much I’d been thinking about killing a bunch of humans, it was only fair.""

I love this series so much, and I don't even read that much sci-fi.

“Once upon a time, twice upon a time, all the way up to six, and I am seven.” — Anthropocene Rag

“A screaming comes across the sky.” — Gravity's Rainbow 🚀🌈

“They called me the Bitch Queen, the she-wolf, because I murdered a man and exiled my king the night before they crowned me.” — The Wolf of Oren-Yaro

“I was midway through packing when I paused to contemplate whether it was appropriate to bring the blood.” — The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant

I would quote the first two chapters from Altered Carbon, that the tv show ruined. (view spoiler)[It seems like the main character dies in the first chapter, then comes back in another body in the 2nd chapter The tv show insisted on going back and forth in time, which seems to be the trend. (hide spoiler)]

Trike wrote: "“It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size.” - Red Sister"

This does seem to be my most popular opener :D

Mark wrote: "Trike wrote: "“It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size.” - Red Sister"

This does seem to be my most popular opener :D"

and for good reason..I knew I was hooked when I read that line..

Mark wrote: "Trike wrote: "“It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size.” - Red Sister"

This does seem to be my most popular opener :D"

I was going to use the same line, but Trike had already beaten me to it. It definitely grabs you.

"It is a pain in the ass waiting around for someone to try to kill you."

Trumps of Doom by Roger Zelazny

"All things considered, getting abducted by aliens wasn't the worst thing to happen in my life."

I just bought this book (among others: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ4MX3ujS...)…

“Ralph Cutner was fictional, but Niles didn’t hold that against him.” — The Fictional Man

Tier Ranking Classic Books Based On Their First Lines!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnsDD... [25:05]

“Reginald Gatling’s doom found him beneath an oak tree, on the last Sunday of a fast-fading summer.” — A Marvelous Light

The whole first chapter is good. TBRed.

Lonnie wrote: "Surprised this one hasn't made it in there yet. It has got to be one of the best opening lined I have ever found:

"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it."
Voyag..."

Love this one!

I've always liked the first line of Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George. It's a kids' fantasy book, but the line is good:
"It was my aunt who decided to give me to the dragon."

And then it goes on:
"Not that she was evil, or didn't care for me. It's just that we were poor, and she was, as we said in those parts, dumber than two turnips in a rain barrel."

“ASK ME NOT if God exists, but why he’s such a prick.”

Jay Kristoff - Empire of the Vampire

Nice.

“I was seven years old the first time my uncle poisoned me.” - City of Lies

Ruth DNFed the book so I went to check it out, and that first line (and page) is great. It’s so grimly matter-of-fact about a childhood filled with abuse that leaves the narrator grateful.

I'm cheating, but this is the first line of chapter one, such a great chapter.

"He was one hundred and seventy days dying and not yet dead." — The Stars My Destination

Tamahome wrote: "I'm cheating, but this is the first line of chapter one, such a great chapter.

"He was one hundred and seventy days dying and not yet dead." — The Stars My Destination"

One of my all-time faves

This begins chapter 2 in Peter F. Hamilton's The Dreaming Void:

"Justine Burnelli examined her body closely before she put it on."

“It was on the first day of spring that Big Steve and I saw Shelly Carpenter giving head to the hairy man.”

Brian Keene - Dark Hollow

It’s Brian Lee Durfee’s fault.

“They grew me inside of my mother, which was unusual, because she was dead.” - What Should Be Wild

“As Sancia Grado lay facedown in the mud, stuffed underneath the wooden deck next to the old stone wall, she reflected that this evening was not going at all as she had wanted.” - Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

“This is gonna be my stupidest death ever.” - Mickey 7

“Midnight in Golden Gate Park was mostly quiet, just the distant sounds of city traffic and my grunts of exertion as I dragged the yeti corpse to my Jeep.” - Ebony Gate

“A thousand things can happen when you light a rocket engine. Only one of them is good.”—Frontier

"Halloran had been seeing dead people since early spring." -- Platforms -- A horror paperback from the 80's.

"Two things stood between me and a good night's sleep, and I was allowed to kill only one of them."

The Jasad Heir. Only just started reading this, so no idea if it lives up to this promise, but I'm certainly interested.

Trike wrote: "“I was seven years old the first time my uncle poisoned me.” - City of Lies

Ruth DNFed the book so I went to check it out, and that first line (and page) is great. It’s so grimly m..."

The first line is great! Unfortunately the rest of the book didn’t retain the same level of interest for me, hence my DNF. But I’m pleased to see that the Goodreads network is working its magic!

Ooooh, loving the first line of Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia:

"An engorged, yellow moon painted the sky a sickly amber hue, illuminating a solitary figure."

Got to add this month’s pick to this page. Love it! Strong opening image!

“Carolyn, blood-drenched and barefoot, walked alone down the two-lane stretch of black top that the Americans called Highway 78.

Reminds me of Ninth House.

"By the time Alex managed to get the blood out of her good wool coat, it was too warm to wear it."

“I’ll never forget the smell: human waste, the dead, and rubbing alcohol - the smell of a Pulitzer.”
—Germline