Fantasy novels have a serious amount of work to do before their stories can properly begin; they need to introduce unfamiliar worlds, establish an atmosphere, and compel readers to care about a story that could very well take place on an entirely different planet. However, some of fantasy's greatest authors can accomplish this before the first paragraph is even over. With only a single sentence, some fantasy novels tease something compelling enough to make readers desperate to find out what's next.

Of course, even some of the best fantasy books don't necessarily begin with a standout line. Good Omens and A Game of Thrones, for example, contain extraordinary writing in their opening sections, but some of their most celebrated and iconic sentences aren't at the very beginning. When looking at the first sentence of Chapter 1 of the US edition, some fantasy novels prove just how much an author can accomplish with only a handful of words.

There's no telling how long we have to wait for Winds of Winter, but George R. R. Martin has recommended plenty of fantasy books in the meantime.

Mark Lawrence doesn't ease readers in to Red Sister , and instead begins with the unsettling observation that children rarely believe their lives could actually end, even when facing execution. It's a brutally effective introduction to Nona Grey, a young girl with powerful abilities who faces immense danger. The opening line, "no child truly believes they will be hanged," captures something immediately recognizable about her childhood innocence while also threatening to destroy it.

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