What are the best opening lines from fantasy novels?

One of the best opening lines is from 'The Hobbit' by J.R.R. Tolkien: 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.' It immediately creates a sense of mystery and makes you wonder about this 'hobbit' creature. It's simple yet so effective in drawing the reader into the world of Middle - earth.

The opening line of 'A Game of Thrones' by George R.R. Martin, 'We should start back,' Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them. This line sets a mood of unease and danger right from the start. It makes the reader curious about who Gared is, why they are in the woods, and what the impending darkness might bring.

Some of the top opening lines include 'Call me Ishmael.' from 'Moby - Dick' by Herman Melville. This simple yet powerful line immediately draws the reader in, making them curious about who Ishmael is. Also, 'All children, except one, grow up.' from 'Peter Pan' by J.M. Barrie is quite memorable. It sets the stage for the story of the boy who never grows up. And then there's 'A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...' from the 'Star Wars' novelizations, which is iconic and gives a sense of vastness and mystery.

The opening line of 'A Tale of Two Cities' by Charles Dickens is also great: 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...' It immediately creates a sense of contrast and mystery, making the reader wonder about the two cities and the different situations within them. It's a very thought - provoking start to a complex and epic story about the French Revolution and its impacts.

A great opening line is 'All children, except one, grow up.' from J.M. Barrie's 'Peter Pan'. This line is simple yet very effective. It makes the reader wonder about that one special child and why they don't grow up like the others. It also gives a sense of mystery and the promise of an adventure.

One of the best is 'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.' from George Orwell's '1984'. It immediately sets an off - kilter, dystopian mood.

One more notable opening line could be 'In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.' from 'The Great Gatsby'. This line makes the reader curious about what that advice was and why it has been on the narrator's mind for so long. It gives a sense of a story that has been brewing in the narrator's head for a while.

Sure. In 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman, it starts with 'Shadow had done three years in prison. He was big enough and looked don't - fuck - with - me enough that his biggest problem was killing time.' This opening gives an immediate sense of the character, Shadow, and the situation he's in. It's a great way to start a story that mixes the real world with fantasy elements.

One of the best opening lines is from 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen: 'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.' This line sets the tone for the whole story which is centered around marriage and social status in the 19th - century English society.

In '1984' by George Orwell, 'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.' This opening line is really effective. The fact that the clocks are striking thirteen is immediately jarring and out of the ordinary. It signals to the reader that this is a world that is different from our own, perhaps a dystopian one where normal rules don't apply. It makes the reader curious to find out more about this strange world.