This week’s “beginning” comes from Anne McCaffrey’s 1968 novel Dragonflight, the first book in her Dragonriders of Pern series. The late Ms. McCaffrey was one of the all-time great fantasy novelists, and her books are among the top fantasy classics in my view. Lessa woke, cold. Cold with more than the chill of the everlasting…
Lately I’ve been reading a mix of vintage and more recent novels in the historical and fantasy fiction genres, and I’ve come to realize I can get quite annoyed with narrative viewpoint. Even damn near curmudgeonly about it. Although there are several different types of narrative points-of-view, there are only two I really like, and…
Continuing my posts on the “beginnings” of vintage works of fantasy fiction, I’m featuring the opening passage from Stephen R. Donaldson’s 1977 novel Lord Foul’s Bane, the first in his Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series. Because the story begins in the modern day, this beginning may read differently than that of the other vintage fantasy…
Last week I read that Syfy Network is planning on turning Stephen King’s The Eyes of the Dragon into a movie or miniseries, perhaps trying to follow in the footsteps of HBO’s Game of Thrones. For those who haven’t read it, The Eyes of the Dragon is one of King’s fantasy novels and the one…
This week’s post on the opening passages of vintage works of fantasy fiction features the beginning of Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea: The island of Gont, a single mountain that lifts its peak a mile above the storm-wracked Northeast Sea, is a land famous for wizards. From the towns in its high…
For my second post on the opening passages of vintage works of fantasy fiction, I’ve chosen the beginning of Katherine Kurtz’s Deryni Rising. Published in 1970, this novel was one of my favorites growing up. It has a puzzle-like plot filled with murder, intrigue, and magic. I’ve read this book more than once and enjoyed it…
Last week I wrote about What Makes a Great Beginning to a novel. Today I am focusing on two beginnings that in my opinion best reflect the elements of a great opening passage. To recap, these elements include conflict (or the hint of conflict) and writing that sets the tone or mood for the story….
Last week I wrote about what makes a great beginning to a novel. This includes the hint of conflict, an interesting character, and, perhaps most importantly, writing that sets the tone or mood for the story to come. My first 10 “beginnings” focused on a number great works of historical and fantasy fiction, some of which…
The final “cliché” in fantasy fiction needs little introduction. He is the granddaddy of all antagonists, the embodiment of evil that threatens the main character, and often the survival of kingdoms, continents, and worlds. Relatively recent incarnations of this antagonist, whose power usually dwarfs that of our poor hero, include Sauron from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The…
Since this typically is a joyous time of year, I tried to find a happier “beginning” for this week – which should be a challenge given the desire to create tension in the opening passage of a novel. The beginning of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring comes close to fitting this bill, while…
As an element of fantasy fiction, the Magic Weapon is so often used it’s either the most cliché item on my Top 5 list or it’s an essential ingredient of such stories. Now, we know the latter’s not true as we’ve all read great works of fantasy fiction that lacked any emphasis on magic weapons….