(no subject)

[neadods]

In a cheap and sleazy attempt to get more commentary on the "First Line" post of yesterday, I'll tell you where the first lines all come from.

"Some things start before other things." Wee Free Men (Pratchett)
"Everything starts somewhere, although many physicists disagree." Hogsfather (Pratchett)
"Now read on" Lords and Ladies (Pratchett)

(Note that these aren't particularly being held up as great examples of first lines! I'll just forgive Pratchett because I know that he has almost never disappointed me.)

"There once was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he very nearly deserved it." The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Lewis) Guessed by jeff_morris & queenmaggie

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Pride and Prejudice (Austen) Guessed by tamnonlinear & queenmaggie

"No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be an heroine." Northanger Abbey (Austen) Guessed by tamnonlinear

"Sam Vimes sighed when he heard the scream, but he finished shaving before he did anything about it." Night Watch (Pratchett) guessed by jeff_morris

"The day I died started out bad and got worse in a hurry." Undead and Unwed (Davidson)

"Chicago, 1929. There are a thousand stories in the naked city; and when you're a dwarf at four-foot-one, they all look that much taller." Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword (Morris)

"When Mr. Hiram B. Otis, the American Minister, bought Canterville Chase, every one told him he was doing a very foolish thing, as there was no doubt at all that the place was haunted." Canterville Ghost (Wilde)

"They say that the prospect of being hanged in the morning concentrates a man’s mind wonderfully; unfortunately, what the mind inevitably concentrates on is that, in the morning, it will be in a body that is going to be hanged."Going Postal (Pratchett)

I had to go home to look it up, but turns out that the first line to publishing's biggest powerhouse is equally predictive of tone and plot: "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of Number Four, Privit Lane, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." (Although the line where she had me as a fan forever was on the second page, when Mr. Dursley picked out "his most boring tie" for work.)

Comments

[queenmaggie.livejournal.com]

Ah... you see, I've never liked Prachett. Dunno what it is exactly, but the plots all seem a bit derivative, maybe, and the humor never quite captured me.
Chaqu'un a son gout...

[neadods.livejournal.com]

My Pratchett bias is obvious, but he's also got some great examples, both of totally vague, useless openings and some of the more intriguing ones.

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

It continues to amaze me that the generally-accepted definition of "normal" (as applied to people) seems to be "having no individuality whatsoever". It's as if, to be considered normal, we have to voluntarily live on Camazotz, doing everything in lockstep with everyone else.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Why don't you like IT? IT is your friend.