The Magic of a Good Opening Line

What makes some fantasy novels unputdownable from the very first sentence?

Hey guys, it’s Jim Wilbourne, author of The Continua Chronicles, and a few months ago, I asked you guys: what are your favorite opening lines from fantasy novels?

You responded on Facebook, Twitter, and Discord, and I loved so many of your top picks.

Today, we’ll look at some of your favorite opening lines from fantasy novels and talk about what makes them so compelling.

For me, there are five things that make the first line of a book masterful. The first line doesn’t necessarily have to do all of these things, but doing just one of them well can really make me want to keep reading.

In Medias Res

The first technique is used a lot in genre fiction. It’s called in medias res, which Latin for “in the midst of things.” Essentially, the author will drop the reader in the middle of an event without any preamble, forcing us to catch up.

This is probably one of the most popular techniques for storytellers when beginning a story.

Kip crawled toward the battlefield in the darkness, the mist pressing down, blotting out sound, scattering starlight. — The Black Prism, Brent Weeks

This is a great example of in medias res because it drops us right into the action.

Kip is crawling toward the battlefield. The supporting clauses “the mist pressing down, blotting out sound,” and “scattering starlight,” all present a sense of danger.

This line raises questions about what Kip has gotten himself into, and really prompts me to read on to discover the answers.

The Building was on fire and it wasn’t my fault. — Blood Rites, Jim Butcher

Again, we’ve dropped right into the story with virtually no preamble. The conflict is clear from the beginning. There’s a fire, and our protagonist might be blamed for it.

Simple, elegant, brillant.

I was about to die. Worse, I was about to die with bastards. — The Blacktongue Thief, Christopher Buehlman

This one is similar to Jim Butcher’s in that it immediately establishes a conflict already in progress.

And when he adds the line “Worse, I was about to die with bastards,” the author adds a whole new layer to the situation that makes continuing to read nearly irresistible.

And like the previous examples, it also nails a second technique simultaneously: mystery.

A Mystery or Question

A mystery or a question is the second potential ingredient of a captivating opening line. It’s pretty straightforward, really. When an author presents a line that tickles our curiosity, we can’t help but feel that rush of excitement, eager to unravel the answer and savor that delightful sense of reward.

It’s like a little dopamine boost that keeps us hooked, and we can’t resist the satisfaction of diving deeper into the story for that sweet, satisfying payoff.

How does the opportunity ever arise for one person to alter the destiny of the world? — Illborn, Daniel T. Jackson

In this line, the author asks a question that sets up the context of the story he’s about to tell. How does one person alter destiny?

It’s an implicit promise to the reader that reading on will answer that question.

There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife. — The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is a master at his craft, and like Jackson, he knows the power of a good mystery.

Who’s hand is it? Why is it holding a knife?

The element of darkness promises that there is something sinister afoot, foreshadowing the tragic nature of the story, and it’s up to us to read on and discover not only whose hand it is but also what menace is coming to the protagonist.

The palace still shook occasionally as the earth rumbled in memory, groaned as if it would deny what had happened. — The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan

I’m glad that one of you picked this one. I didn’t want to do this without including one of my favorite authors.

We don’t know why the palace is shaking, but the author is sure to tell us. Jordan uses metaphor to heighten the mystery. Something has happened to change the world irrevocably, something so terrible that the earth itself wants to suppress the memory of it.

This mystery is layered and sets a haunting tone, which is yet another characteristic of a good opening line.

Tone and Voice

A good opening line can set the tone for the story or establish the unique voice of the author or narrator. It’s a great way for an author to help us understand what kind of story we’re about to read, giving us a reason to read on.

Ash fell from the sky. — The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson

In addition to creating a mystery, this short and simple first line does two things for Sanderson.

First, the idea of ash falling from the sky sets a tone of darkness from the very beginning, letting us know that we can expect a world that is coated with corruption.

Second, its simple and unadorned nature plays into the author’s intentionally straightforward prose style.

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. — Monster Hunter International, Larry Correia

This one has a brilliant setup and payoff structure between its two sentences. It relates to how I’m sure a lot of readers might feel on a “normal Tuesday evening” after a long day of work.

The phrase “incompetent jackass” gives us a taste of the narrator’s voice and the phrase “fourteenth-story window” adds an element of humor that tells us a little bit about the tone.

It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size. For Sister Thorn of the Sweet Mercy Convent, Lano Tacsis brought two hundred men. — Red Sister, Mark Lawrence

This one could have easily landed in the first two categories because of how well it fulfills both. But in an incredible stunt of prose, Lawrence also establishes tone, voice, and even character.

Well done, good sir. I wouldn’t expect anything less of an author of your caliber.

And speaking of expectations…

Expectations of Genre

A good opening line can also do a lot to set up expectations for the book’s genre.

Can we just talk about how consistent my transition game is today? I’m on fire. Hopefully, I didn’t just jinx it.

The cover, title, and category a book is placed in will usually give us a strong signal for the genre. It might even clue us in on the tone and mysteries involved. But it can also be useful for an author to give us a bit of that in the first line so we know exactly what kind of story we’re in.

The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed. — The Gunslinger, Stephen King

The name “Stephen King” on a cover has long been enough to sell a book all by itself, but that fact doesn’t stop King from delivering as though you’ve never heard of him.

This first line, though simple, establishes a lot about the genre. The “man in black” the “desert” and the “Gunslinger” are all big conventions of the western genre. And though this story isn’t a pure western, it uses many of the conventions and imagery of the western genre.

Moreover, the “man in black” sets up a fight between good and evil, which lets us know something more about the story.

And when King suggests that this story’s genre is closely related to a Western, he also establishes an expectation for a theme of “freedom.”

This line does a lot more heavy lifting than initially meets the eye.

Apocalypses always kick off at the witching hour. — Battle Ground, Jim Butcher

Look who’s back, Mr. Butcher!

Battle Ground is book seventeen in The Dresden Files, and based on the line we examined earlier, not all of his first lines are making these types of genre promises. The previous example doesn’t really make a strong promise about what’s going to happen in the story.

Well, I could be wrong. I still haven’t read the Dresden Files. Technically it’s a crime story, right? So maybe it is when you think about it.

But here, we know something significant is coming, and the author lets us know that in the first line.

“I’ve watched through his eyes, I’ve listened through his ears, and I tell you he’s the one. Or at least as close as we’re going to get.” — Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card

When Card’s Ender’s Game begins, you may not know who the author is referring to in this, which establishes a strong mystery.

But what isn’t a mystery is that we’re definitely dealing with a “chosen one” story.

Not only that, but we can also see by the final sentence that this isn’t your typical chosen one. It’s not destiny that makes him the chosen one, and we can’t be certain that he has what it really takes.

Clearly, though, Orson Scott Card has what it takes to write a good opening line, and that’s one reason why his story has been a trusted masterwork for decades.

Wait, was that another segue?

Trust in the Author

Finally, a good opening line serves to let us know that we can trust the author to deliver on what we’re there for.

This one might be a bit more vague, but sometimes how a first line is constructed can put the reader at ease, assuring us that we’re in the hands of a master storyteller.

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. — The Eye of The World, Robert Jordan

I cheated a little by including a whole paragraph, but this passage really makes me feel like I’m in the hands of a master storyteller.

There’s a way that Jordan uses his language here that invokes a mythic tone.

Part of it is simply framing the story with an epic scope. But the use of phrases like “fades to myth,” “an Age yet to come,” and “a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist,” all tell the reader that the author understands the conventions of the story he’s telling.

The comet’s tail spread across the dawn, a red slash that bled above the crags of Dragonstone like a wound in the pink and purple sky. — A Clash of Kings, George R. R. Martin

Martin’s opening prose is a vivid metaphor.

In addition to the brilliant omen of a comet, the “red slash” and “wound” tells the reader that the author understands how to use his words to great effect. And, like Jordan, Martin drops in Dragonstone so we know that he understands the type of language we expect in an epic fantasy.

It was night again. The Waystone Inn lay in silence, and it was a silence of three parts.

The most obvious part was a hollow, echoing quiet, made by things that were lacking. If there had been a wind, it would have sighed through the trees, set the inn’s sign creaking on its hooks, and brushed the silence down the road like trailing autumn leaves. If there had been a crowd, even a handful of men inside the inn, they would have filled the silence with conversation and laughter, the clatter and clamor one expects from a drinking house during the dark hours of the night. If there had been music… but no, of course there was no music. In fact there were none of these things, and so the silence remained. — The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss

I cheated again, clearly. I could spend a whole video breaking down why this passage is masterful.

Rothfuss’s lyrical prose is renowned and this passage creates an immersive atmosphere. You can hear the creaking sign, the rustling of leaves, the attenuating clatter and clamor, and even more, you can feel the weight of the silence.

We’re drawn into his world, and he sets the bar high for the rest of the story.

The Ultimate Combination

All of these opening lines are excellent examples of literary techniques that set up a great story to follow.

But can someone do it all in one line?

That’s a really tough feat that most opening lines don’t clear. And they don’t really need to. All the opening line needs to do is keep us reading on.

But one of you mentioned with an opening line that might be doing all these things simultaneously. And I think it’s doing it quite well.

I killed my first dragon with a blunt sword and the engine block of a 1977 Volvo station wagon. — Knight Watch, Tim Akers

I wouldn’t list one as an obvious example of In Medias Res, but it only takes a few paragraphs to realize that this line pulls a piece of a story to fore just before it rewinds to lead you to this mysterious event.

And yeah, I think this one raises a mystery or question, a few really.

How did this character find himself battling a dragon?

Wait, a sword and a station wagon? How did these two worlds collide?

There is definitely tone and voice here. I’m expecting a tale that’s fun and often humorous.

This leads to the genre expectations: I’m expecting both a comedy, but I’m also expecting a fantasy story, maybe urban fantasy or perhaps some form of portal fantasy.

Trust in the author is relative, but this is such a unique first line that I truly believe the author can keep my attention and deliver a fun experience.

Other Notable Examples

Here are a few other first lines you guys loved. What categories do you think these fall into?

It was a curious feeling, being trapped in his own mind. — Stones of Light, Zack Argyle

Like a house slave sweeping dirt into a pile, Orholam had heaped together all the earth’s horrors and sin. — The Blood Mirror, Brent Weeks

All stories begin because someone was an idiot. — George, Kate Danley

From the twisting, smoke-filled clouds, blood rained down. — Midnight Tides, Steven Erikson

Suri sat alone with a sword across her lap, staring at what most would call a dragon, but which the onetime mystic of Dahl Rhen saw as a fragment of her broken heart. — Age of Legend, Michael J. Sullivan

A well-constructed first line in a fantasy novel is like a sparkling gemstone glinting amidst a pile of ordinary rocks. It catches the reader’s attention and draws them into the world the author has created.

A talented writer crafts their opening line to entice and captivate their audience. The first line sets the tone for the entire story and can determine whether we continue the journey or set the book down.

But what do you think? What are the characteristics of a compelling first line in fantasy novels? What are your favorite opening lines in fantasy stories?

Let me know in the comments. I’d love to know what you think and discuss it further with you.

Oh! And bonus points: When you tell me your favorite fantasy opening line, let me know which one of these techniques you think it matches.

If you’d like to support me and this channel outside of liking, subscribing, and hitting the notification bell, you can buy my books. If you enjoy Fantasy stories, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy mine as well.

And I hope you enjoy the first line of The Seventh Cadence.

And until next time, err on the side of awesome.