Those words. Those beautiful words. You open a book and there they are. Those magical opening lines that let you know that you’re in for a magical, fantastic, horrific time. Words that will instantly transport you to the world of the book.
Below are some of the Kali Krew’s favourite opening lines from some of their favourite books.
“My earliest memory of her smells like blood.”
Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed
Chosen by Tracy
“Today he would become a god.”
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Chosen by Eliza
“Father told me I’m broken.”
The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
Chosen by Eliza
Check out Eliza’s review of The Bone Shard Daughter
“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the mind’s inability to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity and it was not meant that we should voyage far.”
Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft
Chosen by Gracie
“The sun hung low along the western horizon, painting the forest with fractured orange flames, and Imogen Tremly knew in her heart the minister would be dead before it rose again.”
Devil’s Creek by Todd Kiesling
Chosen by Tracy
Check out Tracy’s review of Devil’s Creek
“The summers here are made of long, untended grass and flat, lemon light.”
Follow Me to Ground by Sue Rainsford
Chosen by Eliza
Check out Eliza’s review of Follow Me to Ground
“When your mama was the geek, my dreamlets,” Papa would say, “she made the mopping off of noggins such a crystal mystery that the hens themselves yearned toward her, waltzing around her, hypnotized with longing.”
Chosen by Tracy
“Louis ran through the dark because he did not want to die screaming while being torn apart and eaten alive.”
Grind Your Bones to Dust by Nicholas Day
Chosen by Tracy
Check out Tracy’s review of Grind Your Bones to Dust
“That summer I hunted the serial killer at night from my daughter’s playroom.”
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
Chosen by Tracy
“The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got nothing much to say. About anything.”
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Chosen by Lilyn
Check out Lilyn’s review of The Knife of Never Letting Go
“Her mother had once told her that the only way to truly know someone was to fight them.”
Chosen by Eliza
Check out Eliza’s review of Lore
“Carolyn, blood-drenched and barefoot, walked alone down the two-lane stretch of blacktop that the Americans called Highway 78.”
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
Chosen by Bill
“I’m pretty much screwed.”
Chosen by Lilyn
Check out Lilyn’s review of The Martian
“The Red Death had long devastated the country.”
Masque of the Red Death Edgar Allan Poe
Chosen by Gracie
“Everyone has a Cordova story, whether they like it or not.”
Chosen by Sam
Check out Gracie’s review of Night Film
“He was born south of here, somewhere between common sense and common decency.”
Chosen by Bill
Check out Bill’s review of South of Here
“The void churned and swelled, reaching up to pull them down into frigid darkness, clamoring to embrace them, every one.”
Chosen by Tracy
Check out Tracy’s review of Stranded
“Something is dead over there, hidden among the tall trees separating my property from Mr. Landon’s.”
To Be Devoured by Sarah Tantlinger
Chosen by Sam
Check out Sam and Gracie’s review of To Be Devoured
“If Dad hadn’t shot Walt Disney in the leg, it would have been our best vacation ever.”
“When Mom and me lived in Miami, the news was like a 24 hour Romero movie”
Welcome Home by Jessica Guess from the We Are Wolves Anthology
Chosen by Lilyn
We are Wolves is a charity anthology – all proceeds go towards helping the survivors of abuse and assault.
“The children were playing while Holston climbed to his death; he could hear them squealing as only happy children do.”
Chosen by Tracy
And now, a teaser from one of the stories from the upcoming anthology edited by Sci-Fi & Scary
Twisted Anatomy
“Mama always called me nosy, which is crazy because I only had one nose. She should have called me “eyes” since I had, at last count, a couple thousand of those.”
Chosen by Lilyn
Intrigued? Watch the site for upcoming news on release dates and more!
What are your favourite opening lines? Let us know, down below!
GracieKat was the first co-host of Sci-Fi & Scary, Lilyn’s partner-in-crime, and sub-head of the Kali Krew. She reviews horror books, movies, and games for the site. She also does a weekly Focus on the Frightful feature, and is the site list-maker. She is also in control of the Sci-Fi & Scary podcast which will relaunch soon.
My favorite is from Stephen Graham Jones’s “Night of the Mannequins”:
“So Shanna got a new job at the movie theater, we thought we’d play a fun prank on her, and now most of us are dead, and I’m really starting to feel kind of guilty about it all.”
That sounds interesting!
My favorite remains “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
That is such a great line!
“It was Hell’s season, and the air smelled of burning children.” – Robert R McCammon, Gone South
I think that’s one of the best McCammon lines I’ve heard, now I’m interested in the book!
That is intriguing, now I’m very curious!
I love ‘Geek Love’ and that opening scene.
I wrote an article one time that had an intriguing opening line: “Do you wish to remain a virgin, Mr. Temperance?”
Happy Trails!