Written Gems discussion

Opening lines are some of the most important in a story, and I think it would be nice to gather some of the best here. To start us out, I turn to Dick Francis and his novel, Straight.

"I inherited my brother's life. Inherited his desk, his business, his gadgets, his enemies, his horses and his mistress. I inherited my brother's life, and it nearly killed me."

How can you not want to read this book after reading those three sentences?

Being a pulp fan, I'm familiar with a couple examples ;)

"It is true that I have sent six bullets through the head of my best friend, and yet I hope to shew by this statement that I am not his murderer. "

~ H. P. Lovecraft, The Thing on the Doorstep

This one from REH is a punchy intro....

"I came to Dagon's Cave to kill Richard Brent. "

~Robert E. Howard, People of the Dark

Gilbert wrote: "Opening lines are some of the most important in a story, and I think it would be nice to gather some of the best here..."

Great post, Gil! My buddy Scott and I used to drill each other with opening and closing lines. One of us would spontaneously spit one out and the other had to guess the story. Fun times from years past.

It’s an uncommonly known fact that a strong pot of tea will obscure a werewolf’s stench. Ghosts of Tsavo by Vered Ehsani

Chris wrote: "Being a pulp fan, I'm familiar with a couple examples ;)
"It is true that I have sent six bullets through the head of my best friend, and yet I hope to shew by this statement that I am not his murd..."

That is one powerful opening sentence!!!!

Charles wrote: "It’s an uncommonly known fact that a strong pot of tea will obscure a werewolf’s stench. Ghosts of Tsavo by Vered Ehsani"

That's a great one, Charles! I'm going to go have to read your review of Ghosts of Tsavo. (By the way, I read The Tuzla Run and Dire Wolf of the Quapaw based on your reviews. Thank you! Loved them both!)

Gilbert wrote: "Charles wrote: "It’s an uncommonly known fact that a strong pot of tea will obscure a werewolf’s stench. Ghosts of Tsavo by Vered Ehsani"

That's a great one, Charles! I'm going to go have to read ..."

Ghosts of Tsavo is free on Kindle right now (11/21/19).

Here is another I just came across - "I was trying to remember if I’d ever been blindfolded before.". The opening line from "The Pot Thief Who Studied Einstein" by J. Michael Orenduff.

That's another great one, Charles! It's surprisingly difficult to come up with a superb first line.

"My name is Pharpetron, among those who have known me in Poseidonis; but even I, the last and most forward pupil of the wise Avyctes, know not the name of that which I am fated to become ere to-morrow."

~Clark Ashton Smith, The Double Shadow

"The dead man was standing in a little moonlit clearing in the jungle when Farris found him."

~Edmond Hamilton, Alien Earth

"I was trying to remember if I’d ever been blindfolded before..."

Awesome line! Reminds me of something Christopher Walken would say.

There's a Kevin Pollack piece (Walken impersonator) where he said he comes upon Walken, asks how he is or something, and Chris is like: "Frankenstein never scared me. Marsupials do."

I bet Walken can come up with great opening lines all day.

Chris wrote: "
"The dead man was standing in a little moonlit clearing in the jungle when Farris found him."

~Edmond Hamilton, Alien Earth"
Here's another one I'll have to look up.

"There was thunder in the air on the night I went to the deserted mansion atop Tempest Mountain to find the lurking fear."

-H. P. Lovecraft, The Lurking Fear, 1922

Chris wrote: ""There was thunder in the air on the night I went to the deserted mansion atop Tempest Mountain to find the lurking fear."

-H. P. Lovecraft, The Lurking Fear, 1922

"
Another great one. I'm not sure if I've read The Lurking Fear.

Oh, it's creepy.

Chris wrote: ""There was thunder in the air on the night I went to the deserted mansion atop Tempest Mountain to find the lurking fear."

-H. P. Lovecraft, The Lurking Fear, 1922"

Hmm, this was interesting, from four years ago. I never knew there was a movie based on The Lurking Fear.

http://theunspeakableoath.com/home/20...

Chris wrote: "Chris wrote: ""There was thunder in the air on the night I went to the deserted mansion atop Tempest Mountain to find the lurking fear."

-H. P. Lovecraft, The Lurking Fear, 1922"

Hmm, this was in..."
That cover will give you nightmares.

Charles wrote: "It’s an uncommonly known fact that a strong pot of tea will obscure a werewolf’s stench. Ghosts of Tsavo by Vered Ehsani"

Charles, I finally got around to reading this novel. The rest of the book is as good as the opening lines. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Glad you liked it Gilbert. I think that series is Ehsani's best work so far.

Here's another great opening line, this time from D.M. Guay's new short story, Bake Off. "Ida Mae Turnbull knew the one hundred and twenty-third annual Happy Hollow Charity Ladies' Auxiliary Bake-Off Fundraiser was off to an unusual start the second she bit into Norma Burton's cherry pie, and a cherry bit her back."

Guay's book, The Graveyard Shift is the opening review of Occultober 2022. You can join the discussion on my Facebook site at: https://www.facebook.com/GilbertStack...

Good one!

Chris wrote: "Good one!"
It's a good short story! The ending really surprised me.