Several fantasy books radiate excellence from the opening scenes of their respective narratives. Fantasy novels do not always begin with compelling sequences — they might end up being excellent narratives, but their beginning is slower. Some fantasy novels fail to pick up the pace until a good chunk of the story is over. However, some of the best fantasy books from the last 10 years need the space to establish the story before things get interesting. That is often the case, especially in multi-genre stories, encompassing books that blend fantasy and horror.
On the other hand, there are fantasy books that accomplish the opposite. These stories start strong but eventually crash and burn, turning into significant disappointments. But there is a third kind of fantasy story — books that are excellent from their opening scene and remain stellar throughout the narrative. These fantasy books are often ambitious without faltering for a second, making an impact from the first scene. Whether the opening scene is vague and obscure, jumps right into the action, or features an iconic quote, it hooks readers right away.
10 A Game of Thrones By George R. R. Martin
Opening Scene: Men From The Night’s Watch Meet White Walkers
A Song of Ice and Fire, the hugely successful epic high fantasy series by George R. R. Martin, has one of the best opening scenes in a fantasy series. While each Song of Ice and Fire book has an intriguing prologue, the one in A Game of Thrones stands out. Three men from the Night’s Watch search for the wildlings’ bodies that Gared claims to have seen — however, these bodies have mysteriously disappeared. The three rangers—Gared, Waymar Royce, and Will — also encounter the Others, resulting in Waymar becoming a White Walker, Will dying, and Gared fleeing for his life.
Game of Thrones
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Game of Thrones is a multimedia franchise created by George R.R. Martin. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is the basis for the award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones, which lasted for eight seasons. After the incredibly divisive final season of Game of Thrones, the series was followed up by the prequel series House of the Dragon, which also received critical acclaim.
After the prologue, A Game of Thrones picks up in 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 are puzzled as to why someone as loyal as Gared could abandon the Night’s Watch, the prologue answers this question — it has something to do with the mysterious White Walkers. It is a bone-chilling opening scene that begs to learn everything possible about the Others and how the Song of Ice and Fire narrative will build toward them.
9 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 is from Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief, the first installment in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. It is not only an iconic first line for fantasy, but it is one of the most striking excerpts from literature in general. Yet the opening scene does not stop there. After Percy’s renowned introduction, he recounts the time he accidentally killed his algebra teacher, Mrs. Dodd, who turned out to be a harpy.
Percy Jackson & The Olympians
A young demigod named Percy Jackson learns about his divine heritage and must navigate a world where Greek mythology intersects with modern life. Alongside friends from Camp Half-Blood, he faces mythical creatures, uncovers family secrets, and undertakes perilous quests to thwart ancient prophecies. The series intricately weaves classical mythology with contemporary challenges, exploring themes of bravery, loyalty, and self-discovery, captivating audiences with its rich blend of adventure and timeless legends.
Shortly after the incident, the narrative unfolds as Percy learns 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 books are still among today’s best fantasy books. They are timeless classics and not just as kids’ fantasy books. It is hard to beat The Lightning Thief‘s epic opening scene because it has everything an ideal opener needs — iconic quotes, riveting action, and a perfect narrative setup.
8 The Fifth Season By N.K. Jemisin
Opening Scene: The Boy At The End Of The World
The Fifth Season‘s opening scene alternates between two characters in the prologue. The narrator speaks to the protagonist — later revealed to be Essun — as she stumbles upon her son’s lifeless body, beaten to death by her husband and his father. On the other hand, another character — Alabaster — is at the center of their continent, the Stillness, accompanied by a stone eater. Alabaster cracks the entire continent in half, triggering a Fifth Season, the deadliest type of catastrophic natural disaster the Earth can endure. This scene marks the beginning of a great novel for two reasons.
First, the prologue’s illustration of the contrasting scenes foreshadows how these two characters are irrevocably entwined in their pasts, presents, and futures. They are both orogenes, people who can manipulate earth textures. Essun deals with the aftermath of her husband’s bigotry against orogenes after having discovered his own son is one. Alabaster is devastated by orogenes having faced oppression from the Fulcrum for hundreds of years. However, neither character recounts the chilling third person passage from the prologue, the other reason why The Fifth Season‘s opening scene kickstarts an excellent story:
This is what you must remember: the ending of one story is just the beginning of another. This has happened before, after all. People die. Old orders pass. New societies are born. When we say “the world has ended,” it’s usually a lie, because the planet is just fine.
But this is the way the world ends.
This is the way the world ends.
This is the way the world ends.
For the last time.
This passage suggests that Earth has ended plenty of times before, but there is something inherently different about this occasion. When the world ends this time, it has a tone of finality it lacked before, making 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.
7 Children Of Blood And Bone By Tomi Adeyemi
Opening Scene: Guards Demand Taxes From Mama Agba & The Maji
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi is an action-packed novel from start to finish, but it is still surprising that a simple opening scene is so effective in the overall story. The protagonist, Zélie, is training under 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 how they treat maji, the oppressed class in Orïsha that Zélie is part of. The maji used to wield magic, but they have lost the ability for over a decade.
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The purpose of this opening scene is to establish the world that Zélie lives in and what she must combat if she is to defeat the oppressive regime. Is also establishes Zélie’s character, her presence in the narrative, and her place in this world. The most riveting factor in Children of Blood and Bone‘s opening scene is the final line, when Zélie’s brother, Tzain, suddenly arrives and says, “It’s Baba,” referring to their father. It is an excellent way to end the first chapter and begin a compelling narrative.
6 Furyborn By Claire Legrand
Opening Scene: The Blood Queen Forces Simon To Escape With Her Newborn
Furyborn is the first book in the Empirium trilogy by Claire Legrand, 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 grow when Rielle realizes that someone is coming for her child, so she races to protect her with the help of a boy named Simon. The opening scene has non-stop action, an excellent way to dive into this world’s chaos and illustrate how it fell apart under Rielle.
5 The Poppy War By R. F. Kuang
Opening Scene: Fang Runin Takes The Keju Test
The Poppy War is a monumental high fantasy trilogy loosely based on the Opium Wars between China and Britain. It revolves around Fang Runin, as she enters a secondary education institution with war looming on the horizon. However, before these events occur, Rin takes the Keju, an entrance exam for the school she hopes to attend. The prologue illustrates Rin’s entire process, from dedicating herself to her studies, taking the exam, and getting the highest scores in her region. The prologue is gripping because of the extreme lengths Rin endured to ace the Keju.
4 The Priory Of The Orange Tree By Samantha Shannon
Opening Scene: Niclays Roos Hides A Foreigner
The Priory of the Orange Tree is an epic fantasy novel about a broken, divided realm that must come together when a dark force rises again after a thousand years. The opening scene takes place in the East, where a woman notices an outsider sneaking into Eastern territory. She brings this person to Niclays Roos’ house, an alchemist who has evaded airtight borders before. It is a serious crime if the authorities catch Niclays hiding a foreigner when his kingdom’s border has been closed for a thousand years.
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The Priory of the Orange Tree has an excellent opening scene because high stakes are automatically established when Niclays takes in the foreigner. It begs the question of what could have occurred a thousand years before that prompted his kingdom, Seiiki, to fear the Draconic Plague so much that any outsider caught will face execution, along with anyone who has helped them. The brief chapter ends with Niclays seeing a dragon fly overhead, which is the introduction of mythical creatures in The Priory of the Orange Tree.
3 The Jasmine Throne By Tasha Suri
Opening Scene: Emperor Chandra Attempts To Burn His Sister Malini
The Jasmine Throne is the first novel in the Burning Kingdoms trilogy, a riveting narrative from the very first page. The prologue comprises a very short opening scene, but it uses the right formula that dives into the narrative in the most compelling way possible. Emperor Chandra has ordered his sister, Princess Malini, to be burned alive on the pyre to save her purity. Emperor Chandra also accuses Malini of betraying her family and purpose. The prologue immediately poses several questions, given the vague nature of the events unfolding.
2 The Wolf And The Woodsman By Ava Reid
Opening Scene: Évike Poses As A Seer For The Woodsmen
The Wolf and the Woodsman is a historical fantasy fiction novel based on Jewish and Pagan mythology. It is about a Yehuli and Pagan girl named Évike, who does not have the same magical abilities as her people because she is also Jewish. The opening scene makes for a great narrative because it wastes no time by jumping into the action. Évike and her fellow villagers are preparing for the Woodsmen to arrive until their seer, Katalin, realizes that the Woodsmen are coming for a seer. Évike’s village then betrays her by disguising her as a seer rather than giving up Katalin.
This opening scene reveals much about Évike’s character, her life, and the stakes at hand. The book portrays the terrible bigotry that both Pagan and Jewish communities suffered at the hands of European monarchies. However, Évike does not fit in anywhere, and as a result, she must make her own way in the world, as evidenced by her village’s betrayal. There is a lot to unpack in the first scene alone, but the narrative continues into an epic journey for Évike.
1 The Familiar By Leigh Bardugo
Opening Scene: Luzia Magically Fixed The Burned Bread
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo revolves around Luzia, a Sephardic Jewish girl hiding her identity in sixteenth-century Spain. The opening scene is a short chapter about Doña Valentina’s cook burning the bread. Valentina checks on the kitchen staff every morning, and one particular day, she smells burned bread coming from the kitchen. After seeing the bread, she has to answer the door before she can find her cook. When Valentina returns to the kitchen, she is shocked to discover that the very same loaf of bread is perfectly baked.
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This opening scene seems ordinary, but it establishes a compelling narrative immediately because of the first line: “If the bread hadn’t burned, this would be a very different story.” This is how Valentina discovered that her servant could perform miracles. However, Luzia’s miracles are spoken words of magic rooted in her Sephardic Jewish culture. The opening scene suggests that the novel will revolve around Luzia and her magic, and prompts the question of what disastrous chain of events could have sprung from simple burned bread.
