We talk a lot about iconic first and last lines but what about the chapters as a whole? Which books have a first chapter that instantly hooks you on, even if the opening line doesn’t grab you at first?
I’d offer the first chapter of ASOIAF. You start with a freezing landscape in the far North and, without knowing anything about the characters, you can tell that something is up. Slowly, the magic and menace of the white walkers is unveiled, as well as getting a hint at the political system of Westeros. All this right before shit gets real and you watch the raiding party get cut down one by one all until the last is all alone… and one of the fallen figures gets back up.
Pardon the pun but I get chills every time.
But what do you think? What are you suggestions for the best opening chapters?
by SaintedStars
4 Comments
The first chapter of Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore is one of my absolute favorites
Sevenes by Neal Stephenson
Hell, the best first sentence IMO
Moby Dick, Bleak House, One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Hobbit
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence. Both the prologue and chapter 1 are extremely iconic.