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What makes a great opening line?

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41–50 of 202 posts

Re: What makes a great opening line?

#41

"We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold."

I am reminded of the first sentence of The Postman Always Rings Twice, something like "They threw me off the hay truck about noon." I suppose this is because it was somewhere out in southeastern California also.

Re: What makes a great opening line?

#42

"The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason." I think Seveneves was one of Stephenson's weaker novels overall, but you can't deny it has a killer opening line.

The first half of this book was absolutely amazing... Could have been one of the best sci-fi books ever, but the second half was mediocre and unconvincing... Such a disappointment. Still worth it though overall.

Re: What makes a great opening line?

#44

"I opened my eyes to see the rat taking a piss in my coffee mug." -- Crooked Little Vein, Warren Ellis

Hah! I'm an Ellis fan, or at least a fan of his Comic Books (or are they Graphical Novels, I never learn), but I didn't really get along with Crooked Little Vein. I honestly don't remember a single piece of the plot (it's 15-ish years since I read it), but I do remember that I got the feeling that his main objective was to gross me out. A bit like Garth Ennis, but it novel format. I get a bit annoyed when (it's a bit too obvious that) the author's main objective is to play his audience rather than to tell a story.

Re: What makes a great opening line?

#49
post #8

"Longtemps, je me suis couche de bonne heure"* -- Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu. * For a long time, I would go to bed early.

And for a long time you'll be reading the rest of the book!

I started reading it in jail, after reading 1Q84 which had a line stating that the only place you'll ever get enough time to read that book is in prison.

Re: What makes a great opening line?

#50
post #7

“Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn to study statistical mechanics.”

Peeked into the dark sea where the old ones reside...
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