I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been a sucker for a good superhero story. Most of the time, this meant superhero TV shows or movies in the theater. I read some comic books, but only on rare occasions. I wanted stories with more depth than the comic books could delve into. There weren’t many superhero books. Today, it’s a different story.
So let’s celebrate the superhero novel with first lines for the month of August. Maybe one of these will hook you on a new-to-you genre or a new-to-you author. No guarantees. After all, the hookiness of the first lines is in the eye of the beholder.
First Lines is a series of blog articles posted around the first of the month. Inspired by a friend’s suggestion that I write a post on how to write the first line of your story, I started this series. My idea was to inspire my writing with these examples. I hope you, my readers, are inspired and will consider purchasing and reviewing one or more of these titles.
The Experiment, A Superhero Noir Book1 of 5
Prologue
Picture this. You’re a scientist, right? And you’ve got yourself a pretty nice lab setup; you’ve got big gleaming, sterile tables, crisp white lab coat, state-of-the-art microscope trained down on a petri dish full of bacteria. And you’ve got some stuff you want to test out, some chemical that should interact with the bacteria in interesting ways.
So you get your dropper, peer through your microscope, fix one bacterium in your sights and juice it. Then you sit back and take notes. Maybe the chemical does what you thought, and the bacterium thrives. Maybe it doesn’t, and it dies. Maybe it reacts in really bizarre ways that you never saw coming, but hey, so much the better right?
The Reluctant Superhero by Micah B. Edwards
The Druidverse Superhero Fiction Series, Book 1 of 3
As I stepped out of the twisted paths, a swift-moving shadow alerted me to something flying by just overhead. It wasn’t a bird–too large for that. Acting on instinct, I ducked under some foliage, nearly tripping over my feet in the process.
It wasn’t until I was under the pine tree’s branches that I remembered I was still invisible. Feeling like an idiot for hiding, I took a few moments to sit and rest against the tree trunk. I was shaking like a leaf, and it wasn’t because of that passing shadow
Focus, Colin. This is no time to fall to pieces. Pull yourself together so you can get the tech you need, get out, and go home.
Superhero World by M.D. Massey
Prologue.
3,043AD
Almost eleven centuries after man first walked on the moon, humans have colonized over one hundred planets. For the last thirty years, Earth and its colonies have engaged in a bitter war for survival–one they have been steadily losing, their star bases destroyed and planets razed. Only Earth and one colony remain as humanity prepares for its final stand against the Korilian Empire.
Chapter 1
As the battle in the Ritalis planetary system entered its third day, Regina Caine stood beside Admiral Jon McCarthy on the bridge of the 1st Fleet command ship, assessing the deteriorating situation. She pushed the hood of her blue robe behind her head as she examined the five tiers of consoles in front of her, manned by fifty men and women wearing the crimson-and-burgundy uniform of the Colonial Navy.
The Final Stand by Rich Campbell
The Post-Break World: The Storm Who Rides, Book 2 of 2
What Came Before
Long decades after the Break reshaped the world and rewrote so many of its rules, the ageless mercenary known as the Queen of Smiles finished her life quest. In the City of the Sun, she confronted her creator, the dreamer who had caused the Greak, and found not a god but immortal.
Dr. Nowhere was just a man, one who’ve been living with guilt and fear for all the decades since. He hadn’t had a master plan or even a plan at all. Nor did he have any explanation for what he’d done or how. For why the Queen of Smiles had been born out of the Break or what she’d been created to do.
Minutes later, he was dead at the hands of a young necromancer, and any remaining answers died with him.
The Queen of the Road by Chris Tullbane
As he ran, Shane felt the burn deep in his legs and in his lungs. He could hear the shouts of the noble boys behind him, close, always too close, and tried to run even faster. Sometimes, he could get away. He hoped that today would be one of those days. He clutched the precious burden in his arms as tight as he dared. Not too tightly, or he might damage it, but tight enough, not to drop it. His long hair whipped into his eyes for a moment, obscuring his vision. He prayed that no one would step in front of him. Another moment, and the wind carried that offending hair out of his eyes.
Unintended Cultivator by Eric Dontigney
Clarification
There are no affiliate links in this post. I don’t make a cent off of the books listed on this page. Usually, I pull these titles at random. They are from Amazon, my personal library, my area public library, or other online booksellers.
Reviews Don’t Have to be Difficult
No matter what book you’re reading, leave a starred review, or a few words on the website where you bought the book. You don’t have to say anything profound or fancy. Say the kind of thing you would tell a friend about it. Reviews are always appreciated by writer and readers alike. They help sell more books to the readers who will love them. And they help the author write more books.
Do You Want to Read More?
Do these first lines hook you? Do you want to read more? They are here for your enjoyment. And to entice you to buy more books. Let me know which ones sparked your interest.
Like this post? Check out previous First Lines posts.