What kind of fantasy beginning hooks you the most?

[Justin]

I give a new book 100 pages. If the author can put a sentence together and create an enjoyable character I will usually stay with a book. However, if the book seems to be written with clunky prose and no depth or character development its back to half price books with it!

[Lára]

"fantasy" beginnings - unique beginnings. If the books starts the same or similar to the book I´ve read before, I´ll give it up.

You need to make it original or I won´t bother to read it. Lame motives as "he-wants to kill me so I better kill him first" or "he killed my father so I´m going to kill him too" are below big NO. If you´re not able to come with something that´s above "general human needs" (sex, food, drink, death) in fantasy book, be sure I won´t give you a chance

I´m a reader (and only a reader) that picks a book by reading the sample and if I´m not interested in your book after sample (89/100% I don´t even finish a sample) I won´t read your book

[James]

Maybe I'm the odd man out, but what really hooks me the most is the author's voice. My favorite novels (fantasy or otherwise) are ones where the author's voice comes in strong and accessible right at the start. This is definitely easier in novels written in first person as then the author's voice is essentially the main character's voice, but it can also be done very well in third person books. Some that come to mind are anything by Douglas Adams, Lev Grossman's The Magicians, The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, Snow Crash, anything by Tad Williams, Dan Simmons, Sean Williams, Sean McMullen.

Aside from that, I'm a big fan of "in media res" or starting in the middle of the action. I was a little more tolerant of the slow, expository introduction to a world when I was first starting and reading stuff like The Hobbit and The Eye of The World, but now I want better pacing than that. I like the feeling of being dropped into the middle of a strange place and picking it up as I go along.

[Leady]

I think that the place where a person lives influenced his personality, so I like books where the settings is well defined and credible in rapport with the characters. A good character in a good world suitable for him, is the best that I can find in a book.

[L.E.]

James wrote: "Maybe I'm the odd man out, but what really hooks me the most is the author's voice. My favorite novels (fantasy or otherwise) are ones where the author's voice comes in strong and accessible right ..."

Totally agree with you James. I've just finished the last book in the Glass Books of the Dream Waters and it was like being with an old friend. After over a five year gap between novels it's that kind of voice that really draws you in. Compelling characters also help.

[Michele]

I like to start where the story starts - as in, following the main character through ordinary actions, right before something throws the whole plot into action. Give me an idea of the character, a taste of the world, and then let the fireworks begin.

A short (1-2 page) prologue is fine, if it gives a clue or shows a glimpse of the bad guys or some history that will play a part later.

Almost any beginning can work well, if the author knows what he/she is doing.

[Ungar5]

i like it when a book starts with some world-building. a prolog that depicts an even from the past is usually the best. not too long. up to 4-5 pages is ideal. something to build more on, as the story goes on. i love a world with good history to it... and if it has some forshadowing, all the better.

[Kasey]

For me it's not so much what a book starts with so much as how it is written. A good author can start at any point and knows the first 1,000 words are going to either hook your reader or turn them away. If it's full of mistakes and poor writing those first 1,000 words I'm not going to keep reading. If it's clean and well edited I'll give the book a chance and keep reading. I enjoy a good hook, something interesting, at the start. Usually it's a situation or a character saying something. World building can be blended into this or not.

[Lee]

My favorite beginnings are the ones that make you ask - WTH did I just read? I'm definitely a sucker for a beginning that takes place out of sequence of the book. Far in the past, or the future. And I like books that start with the ending and the reader has to figure out how it all connects together. One of my favorite beginnings is Wheel of Time's The Eye of the World.

[David]

For me the very first thing is the writing style. If I like the writing style, and this goes for all genres, I look for a subtle blend of conflict, scene setting, and exposition of character. A good writer can reveal all of these at the same time and draw the reader into the world of the story. Terry Goodkind pulls this off, I believe, in Wizard's First Rule.

[Leonnel]

for me..writing style. if i dont like the writing style i put down the book never read it again..haha..XD..and the first scene should be a foreshadowing of whats going to happen or some clues of what the story is about....^^

[Ruby]

The best beginning sentence ever is the one in Tinker. Just go read that one. The whole world (at least the first-book-in-series version of the world, it expands later) is immediately established and action is instantly happening.

[Jessica]

I found that a first page including a mystery of some sorts usually gets me hooked. I've no trouble reading trough introductions of people, places and problems first, but I only get hooked straight away when there's a good mystery.
A good example of this is the prelude of Rothfuss' "Name of the Wind", but the book earlier in this thread that started off with an often-beaten slave suddenly smiling wide to his master sounds like one of those mysteries as well

[Elpida]

That's a particularly tough question.. I never thought there's something specific I look for or expect, but looking back on books I loved, they all have something in common. They're not what you think. Either a twist on what you think you know, or a description that suddenly shifts, or a character that does something inexplicable. If something like that doesn't happen early, usually in the 1st chapter, even if I don't drop it, the book will never become memorable.

[Cee]

For me it's the writing style. Sometimes I can instantly become enthusiastic by the first sentence.

I'm probably the only one, but I hate it when a book starts in the middle of an action scene. It makes me feel disorientated and confused, and vaguely like I'm watching a Bruce Willis action movie (all the action, zero story).

[Greg]

Nothing like a good info dump to get things rolling :)

[Marc]

Greg wrote: "Nothing like a good info dump to get things rolling :)"

An info-dump pretty much by definition does not get things going, that's why it's a dump.

Celine wrote: "I hate it when a book starts in the middle of an action scene."

A lot of authors mistake an action-scene beginning for 'in media res', which is a beginning in the middle of an action, but not necessarily action-movie type action. One of my favorite books begins with a janitor pushing a mop bucket through a doorway. A lot of writing advice says to avoid the action-movie opening, as the characters won't have had time to develop any sympathy from the reader.

[Mary]

the only one I can reliably describe is an engaging voice. Robin McKinley's Beauty. All others shift too much when I put weight on them.

though I will say that introducing too many characters with their own scenes is dangerous, if I can't see any connections between them.

[Betelgeuze]

For me it is rather hard to define what type of beginnings I like the most. I like a build up in the beginning and generally don't like it when a book starts in the middle of an action scene. I also do not like prologues and often skip them.