First Lines

First Lines from Legendary SF & F True Fans Read

Lynette M Burrows

First Line Friday is a series of blog articles posted on the first Friday of every month. The first line of a story, we’re told, must hook the reader. Implied is that the reader will not buy the book if the first line isn’t great. These are the First Lines from Legendary SF & F true fans read. Do they hook you? Which one(s) will you read? A noble gentleman that had been married many years, but his wife being barren, did bear him no children; at last she died, and his friends did advise him to marry again, because his brother’s children were dead, and his wife was likely to have no more: so he took to wife a virtuous young Lady, and after one year she conceived with child, and great joy there was of all sides: but in her child-bed she died, leaving only one daughter to her sorrowful husband, who in a short time, oppressed with melancholy, died, and left his young daughter, who was not a year old, to the care and breeding of his brother, and withal left her a great estate, for he was very rich. The Blazing World Margaret Cavendish (1666) You […]

Dystopian SF First Lines

Lynette M Burrows

Today’s Dystopian SF First Lines post is part of my First Lines Friday series. The first line of a story, we’re told, must hook the reader. Implied is that the reader will not buy the book if the first line isn’t great. These entries are from Amazon, my personal library, or other online booksellers. Do these first lines hook you? Would you read more? A twig snaps somewhere in the woods. I shoot up from my sleeping bag and reach out in the darkness. The Burn Our Houses Down Trilogy by Kelsey D. Garmendia Bursting open, the thin, wooden door slammed against the wall and cracked in half.“Get down!” a man yelled. Prep For Doom by E.R. Arroyo, Laura Albins, Amy Bartelloni, Brea Behn, and 16 others Feet pounded across the young messenger ran as fast as his legs would take him. Legacy of Light: The Series by by M. Lynn and Michelle Bryan “What better way to destroy our enemies than to simply allow them to destroy themselves?” The Good, the Dead, and the Lawless: The Undoing by Angelique Archer Deep beneath the surface of the earth, two men stood of a dirt walkway. Virulent: The Release The Virulent […]

First Line Friday Full of SF&F Love

Lynette M Burrows

February’s First Line Friday Full of SF&F Love Stories is part of a series of blog articles posted on the first Friday of every month. The first line of a story, we’re told, must hook the reader. Implied is that the reader will not buy the book if the first line isn’t great. These entries are from Amazon, my personal library, or other online booksellers. Do these first lines hook you? Do you want to read more? When Commander Rhys “Rest in Peace” Rykus walked back into her life, Ash smiled because she knew it would piss him off. Shades of Treason: An Anomaly Novel by Sandy Williams “Lady Mother,” Adena whispered, lips barely moving. “I don’t think I can do this.” Chosen by the Rakian Commander: Rakian Warrior Mates by Elin Wyn Not long ago, the sweaty hand snaking up my skirt toward my ass would have turned to mummy dust on contact, but I restrained myself. To Catch a Stolen Soul: A djinn haven story by R.L. Naquin “Mom?” I pushed my headphones off my ears and looked at my bedroom door. I could have sworn I heard a scream. Defy the Ravaged: Matron’s Watchmen Book 1 by […]