They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but there’s no such rule regarding opening lines. Check out the initial sentences of three recent releases, and then vote which one starts out least promisingly.
* History is full of guys who did stupid things for women. Paris started the Trojan War over Helen. Marc Antony abandoned Rome for Cleopatra. John Lennon gave up the Beatles for Yoko Ono. You can say I’m a dreamer, but they’re not the only ones. Like my friend Joe Mackenzie: He was about to jump off a five-story building just to impress a girl. — from Something Wicked, by Alan Gratz
* From the chamber where she had been locked for hours, the young woman hears shouts and laughter rising from the great dining hall below. As the evening advances and talk becomes more heated under the influence of alcohol, her anxiety mounts at the thought of the fate intended for her by the men she can hear carousing below. — from Sherlock Holmes Was Wrong: Reopening the Case of The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Pierre Bayard
* The rain didn’t bother him, even though London’s rain fell thicker and harsher than country rain. Full of the city’s stench, the drizzle descended in matted wire, pricking the skin. Crispin’s leather hood took the brunt of it. The beaded water ran off his head in long rivulets and pooled at his feet. — from Veil of Lies, by Jeri Westerson
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I’m putting “Something Wicked” on my reading list based on that opening sentence. That’s a sentence that gives you a clue to the story to follow.
I was torn between the last two.
I think I want to read “Something Wicked”. That’s a wicked opening paragraph.
On the other hand, was that Sherlock Holmes one for real? Because dude.
The “Something Wicked” opening is really intriguing – I may have to check it out, even though I rarely read fiction. And as to the “Sherlock Holmes” opening, I too have to ask, was that for real? Yuck, yuck, yuck!
Both Wicked and Veil just made it to my must-read list . . . Holmes, not so much.
“Something Wicked” has an excellent first few lines. The other two…not so much. I’m particularly adverse to messing with the Holmes canon, so “Sherlock Holmes Was Wrong” gets the boot.
“Something Wicked” is the only one that started out with any kind of intrigue factor. The author’s got me. I’m interested. I want to see what happens to his stupid friend. The other two? Okay, I guess the girl’s locked somewhere, but the tone is dry as dust and squanders any interest that might have created. As for the third sentence, it’s just character description. Blehhh. Fine if you want to throw it in later, but I don’t care about your character yet, and I sure as hell don’t care about the weather.
Have to agree with the other commenters about Something Wicked. I am now very intrigued, and I will check it out. The other two, not interested at all.
The Sherlock Holmes one loses points for the tense shift in the first sentence (if it’s in present tense, which itself is weird, that should be “the chamber where she HAS been locked for hours”).
Something Wicked piqued my interest, the other two…not so much.
And yet they all lose out to a great opening line: “In a hole in the ground,t here lived a Hobbit.” Can anyone tell me I’m not right??
The editor in me wants to take a red pen to the opening lines of “Sherlock” and “Veil” – I can’t decide which is less interesting. “Veil” I guess, since it has the most generic title.
“Something Wicked” sounds kind of intersting. I may have to check it out. The other two, sound kind of awful.
Nice history lesson from “Wicked”; how much else is he going to tell me that I already know?
Wow, these are all terrible. The one I’m least likely to read based on the first line is “Something Wicked”, although I’ll avoid a book called “Sherlock Holmes Was Wrong” on principle.
If you liked the lines to Something Wicked, you should check out Gratz’s other two books, Something Rotten and Samurai Shortstop, which was on a lot of YA ten best lists. Both are fun reads.
Having actually READ Something Wicked, I can attest that it’s a fun, tongue-in-cheek noir-ish read.
Ha, I totally agree with Cara on all point. I voted for ‘Veil’ being the least interesting bceause at least the second one is trying for some intrigue or something interesting at least! Something Wicked seems like it has a sense of humor and I am hooked.
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As someone who’s read Something Wicked, these opening lines just give you a taste of the fun, snarky, smart story to come. It’s an awesome read.
I never fail to be intrigued by tales of ridiculous male activity, and SOMETHING WICKED delivers tenfold–I loved it. Given all the books out there celebrating thinly veiled misogyny in their spineless, besotted female leads (ahem, TWILIGHT), it’s about time we chronicled all the men throwing themselves off cliffs…
How was SOMETHING WICKED forced to share the company of these other two books? I actually want to read it now based on the strength of its opening lines. Who lumped these three books together?
Worst opening line ever has got to be “Howard Roark laughed.” I mean, c’mon!!! It’s always best to judge a book by the opening line. That Ayn Rand was a dunce! “Howard Roark laughed”????? Three whole words? And two of them are names, which don’t even really count!
Alan Gratz kicks ace and so does Something Wicked. It’s a hella good book. Tina should have kept on reading.
I have to echo a previous comment asking how Something Wicked got lumped in with these other two books. It’s great, and the first line is pretty great too. These other two, I don’t know about…
It’s an odd mix but it’s worth noting that all three books are well reviewed and have good customer feedback on Amazon. I’d like to know how they were picked.
Not quite the opening line, but about 3 or 4 in to my book Learn Me Good is a nice one — “Jack Woodson is currently living and working in Dallas, TX. He has forty children, and all of them have different mothers.”
I still love “It was a dark and stormy night.”
The RAIN didn’t bother him, even though London’s RAIN fell thicker and harsher than country RAIN.
Just too much. Editor?
What I wonder is: how come 28% of votes were for Something Wicked? Based on the comments…I would have guessed maybe 5%
Something Wicked is cute but comes across to me like it’s trying too hard.