Several fantasy the books radiate excellence from the opening scenes of their respective narratives. Fantasy novels don’t always start with compelling sequences — may end up being excellent narratives, but their start is slower. Some fantasy novels can’t pick up the pace until a good portion of the story is over. However, some of the best fantasy books of the last 10 years need space to establish the story before things get interesting. This is often the case, especially in multi-genre stories, spanning books that mix fantasy and horror.
On the other hand, there are fantasy books that accomplish the opposite. These stories start out strong, but eventually crash and burn, turning into significant disappointments. But there is a third type of fantasy story – books that are excellent from the opening scene and remain stellar throughout the narrative. These fantasy books are often ambitious without wavering for a second, making an impact from the first scene. Whether the opening scene is vague and obscure, jumps straight into the action, or features an iconic quote, it hooks readers immediately.
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Game of Thrones, by George RR Martin
Opening Scene: Men of the Night’s Watch encounter White Walkers
A Song of Ice and FireGeorge R.R. Martin’s hugely successful epic high fantasy series has one of the best opening scenes in a fantasy series. While each A Song of Ice and Fire book has an intriguing prologue, the one in A Game of Thrones stands out. Three men of the Night’s Watch search for the bodies of the wildlings that Gared claims to have seen – however, these bodies have mysteriously disappeared. The three guardsGared, Waymar Royce, and Will – also encounter the Others, resulting in Waymar becoming a White Walker, Will dying, and Gared running for his life.
After the prologue, A Game of Thrones picks up at Winterfell with the Starks; the Lord of Winterfell, Ned Stark, must execute Gared, who fled the Night’s Watch and betrayed his vows. While the characters puzzle over why someone as loyal as Gared would abandon the Night’s Watch, the prologue answers this question – it has something to do with the mysterious White Walkers. It’s a chilling opening scene that begs to learn everything possible about the Others and how the A Song of Ice and Fire the narrative will be built towards them.
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The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
Opening scene: Percy Jackson’s field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
One of the most memorable first lines in a fantasy book comes from Rick Riordan’s book. The lightning thiefthe first installment of Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Not only is it an iconic first line in fantasy, but it is one of the most striking passages in literature in general. However, the opening scene doesn’t stop there. After Percy’s famous introduction, he recounts the time he accidentally killed his algebra teacher, Mrs. Dodd, who turned out to be a harpy.
Shortly after the incident, the narrative unfolds as Percy discovers the truth about his heritage, but the epic story begins with the illustrious first line: “Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.” THE Percy Jackson and the Olympians the books are still among the best fantasy books today. They are timeless classics and not just children’s fantasy books. It’s hard to beat The lightning thiefthe epic opening scene because It has everything an ideal opener needs – iconic quotes, riveting action and a perfect narrative setup.
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The Fifth Season of NK Jemisin
Opening scene: The boy at the end of the world
The Fifth SeasonThe opening scene alternates between two characters from the prologue. The narrator speaks to the protagonist – later revealed to be Essun – as she stumbles upon the lifeless body of her son, beaten to death by her husband and father. On the other hand, another character — Alabaster — is in the center of his continent, Stillness, accompanied by a stone eater. Alabaster breaks the entire continent in half, triggering a Fifth Season, the deadliest type of catastrophic natural disaster the Earth can sustain. This scene marks the beginning of a great romance for two reasons.
First, the illustration of the contrasting scenes in the prologue foreshadows how these two characters are irrevocably intertwined in their pasts, presents, and futures. Both are orogens, people who can manipulate the textures of the earth. Essun deals with the consequences of her husband’s intolerance against the Orogens after discovering that her own son is one of them. Alabaster is ravaged by orogens who have faced oppression from the Fulcrum for hundreds of years. However, none of the characters relate the frightening third-person passage of the prologue, the other reason why The Fifth SeasonThe opening scene kicks off an excellent story:
This is what you must remember: the end of one story is just the beginning of another. After all, this has happened before. People die. Old orders pass. New societies are born. When we say “the world has ended”, it is usually a lie, because the planet is fine.
But this is how the world ends.
This is how the world ends.
This is how the world ends.
For the last time.
This passage suggests that the Earth has ended many times before, but there is something inherently different about this time. When the world ends this time, it will have a tone of finality that was missing beforemaking it much more catastrophic. Therefore, the opening scene provokes several questions regarding the characters’ identities, how the world will end and how it has ended before.
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Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi
Opening scene: Guards demand taxes from Mama Agba and The Maji
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi is an action-packed romance from start to finish, but it’s still surprising that a simple opening scene is so effective in the overall story. The protagonist, Zélie, is training with Mama Agba when King Saran’s guards suddenly arrive to collect taxes. The guards eventually leave, but not before Zélie illustrates her disdain for them because of the way they treat Maji, the oppressed class in Orïsha of which Zélie is a part. Maji used to use magic, but lost this ability over a decade ago.
The purpose of this opening scene is to establish the world Zélie lives in and what she must fight against if she wants to defeat the oppressive regime. It also establishes Zélie’s character, her presence in the narrative and her place in this world. The most fascinating factor Children of Blood and Bonethe opening scene is the final linewhen Zélie’s brother, Tzain, suddenly arrives and says: “It’s Baba,” referring to the father. It’s an excellent way to end the first chapter and begin a compelling narrative.
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Furyborn, by Claire Legrand
Opening scene: The Blood Queen forces Simon to flee with her newborn
Born of Fury is the first book in Claire Legrand’s Empirium trilogy, with the prologue depicting Queen Rielle giving birth to her daughter. It provides critical narrative information, establishing Rielle as the Blood Queen and noting her betrayal of humanity to the angels. The stakes rise when Rielle realizes someone is coming for her son, so she rushes to protect her with the help of a boy named Simon. The opening scene is non-stop action, a great way to delve into the chaos of this world and illustrate how it has fallen apart under Rielle’s command.
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The Poppy War by RF Kuang
Opening scene: Fang Runin takes Keju’s test
The Poppy War is a monumental high fantasy trilogy loosely based on the Opium Wars between China and Great Britain. It revolves around Fang Runin, as she enters a secondary education institution with war looming. However, before these events occur, Rin takes the Keju, the entrance exam for the school she hopes to attend. The prologue illustrates Rin’s entire process, from dedicating himself to studying, taking the exam and obtaining the highest grades. in her region. The prologue is emotional because of the extreme efforts Rin endured to beat Keju.
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The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon
Opening scene: Niclays Roos hides a foreigner
The Priory of Laranjeira is an epic fantasy novel about a broken and divided kingdom that must unite when a dark force rises again after a thousand years. The opening scene takes place in the East, where a woman notices a stranger sneaking into Eastern territory. She brings this person to the home of Niclays Roos, an alchemist who once escaped hermetic borders. It is a serious crime if authorities catch Niclays hiding a foreigner when his kingdom’s border has been closed for a thousand years.
The Priory of Laranjeira has an excellent opening scene because high stakes are automatically established when Niclays welcomes the stranger. This raises the question of what could have happened a thousand years earlier that led his kingdom, Seiiki, to fear the Draconic Plague so much that any outsider captured will face execution, along with anyone who helped him. The brief chapter ends with Niclays seeing a dragon flying above, which is the introduction of mythical creatures into The Priory of Laranjeira.
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The Throne of Jasmine by Tasha Suri
Opening scene: Emperor Chandra tries to burn his sister Malini
The Throne of Jasmine is the first novel in Burning Kingdoms trilogy, a fascinating narrative from the first page. The prologue is made up of a very short opening scene, but it uses the right formula that dives into the narrative in the most convincing way possible. Emperor Chandra ordered his sister Princess Malini to be burned alive on the pyre to save its purity. Emperor Chandra also accuses Malini of betraying her family and purpose. The prologue immediately raises several questions, given the vague nature of the events that unfold.
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The Wolf and the Woodsman, by Ava Reid
Opening scene: Évike poses as a seer to the woodcutters
The Wolf and the Woodsman is a fantasy historical fiction novel based on Jewish and pagan mythology. It’s about a Yehuli and pagan girl named Évike, who doesn’t have the same magical abilities as her people because she’s also Jewish. The opening scene is great storytelling because it wastes no time getting into the action. Évike and his fellow villagers are preparing for the Lumberjacks’ arrival until their seer, Katalin, realizes that the Lumberjacks are coming for a seer. Évike’s village then betrays her by disguising her as a seer instead of giving up on Katalin.
This opening scene reveals a lot about Évike’s character, her life and what’s at stake. The book portrays the terrible intolerance that pagan and Jewish communities suffered at the hands of European monarchies. However, Évike doesn’t fit in anywhere and, therefore, must make his own way in the world, as evidenced by the betrayal of his village. There is a lot to unpack in just the first scene, but the narrative continues on an epic journey for Évike.
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The Familiar, by Leigh Bardugo
Opening scene: Luzia magically fixed the burnt bread
The familiar by Leigh Bardugo revolves around Luzia, a Sephardic Jewish girl who hides her identity in 16th century Spain. THE The opening scene is a short chapter about Dona Valentina’s cook burning the bread. Valentina checks the kitchen staff every morning and, on a certain day, she smells burnt bread coming from the kitchen. After seeing the bread, she has to answer the door before finding her cook. When Valentina returns to the kitchen, she is shocked to discover that the same bread is perfectly baked.
This opening scene seems ordinary, but it establishes a compelling narrative immediately because of the first line: “If the bread hadn’t burned, the story would be very different.” That’s how Valentina discovered that her servant could perform miracles. However, Luzia’s miracles are magical words spoken, rooted in her Sephardic Jewish culture. The opening scene suggests that the novel will revolve around Luzia and her magic, and raises the question of what chain of disastrous events could have arisen from simple burnt bread.