Can you give some examples of first lines of cyberpunk novels?

Sure. 'It was a time.' is a really bad first line. It's so vague that it doesn't give the reader any idea of when this 'time' is, what kind of era, or what might be significant about it. It just leaves the reader feeling lost from the very start.

Sure. For example, in 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen, the first line is 'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.' And the last line is 'Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them; and they were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towards the persons who, by bringing her into Derbyshire, had been the means of uniting them.'

Sure. In 'Moby - Dick' by Herman Melville, 'Call me Ishmael.' This simple yet powerful line draws the reader into the story, making them curious about who Ishmael is and what his story will be. It's a very direct way to start a novel that goes on to be an epic adventure on the high seas.

A classic example is from 'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy: 'All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.' This line sets a philosophical tone and makes the reader anticipate stories of different families, both happy and unhappy, which is a central theme in the novel.

Sure. 'All children, except one, grow up.' is the first line from J.M. Barrie's 'Peter Pan'. It immediately sets a sense of mystery around the one child who doesn't grow up.

Sure. For example, in H.G. Wells' 'The War of the Worlds', 'No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own.' This first line creates a sense of mystery and foreboding. It makes the reader wonder who these 'intelligences' are and what they are up to, while also setting the time period which adds historical context.

Sure. In Arthur Conan Doyle's 'A Study in Scarlet', the first line is 'In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through the course prescribed for surgeons in the army.' This line begins Holmes' story and gives some background about the narrator, which helps to establish the context of the mystery.

Sure. Consider 'There is an old saying there: Let the past die. Kill it if you have to.' from 'The Last Jedi' novelization. This line has a sense of finality and a call to action. It makes you think about the past in the context of the story's world and how characters might deal with it. It's a bit of a dark and decisive start that hooks you in.

In 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' by C.S. Lewis, it begins 'Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy.' This line sets up the main characters right away, making it clear who the story will be about. It also has a simple, matter - of - fact tone that draws the reader in, as we start to anticipate what will happen to these children.

Another inspiring line comes from 'Lord of the Rings' by J.R.R. Tolkien. 'All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.' It encourages people to take control of their lives and make the best use of the time they have.