Please name and/or describe the intro (I don't mean the prelude) and conclusion that captured your imagination and ignited your interest most! They both don't have to be from the same book. My favorite intro*: Mary Poppins! Having a main character arrive on the end of an umbrella is kind of hard to beat. Favorite conclusion: Gone with the Wind. Rhett dumps Scarlett just when she realizes that she loved and wanted him after all. Also, The Empire Strikes Back (yes, there is a book) - Han is frozen in carbonite, and Luke gets his hand chopped off and learns that his father is actually the villain whom his mentor said killed his father. *Okay, these are just some of my favorites.
I know a lot of people don't like Harry Potter, but I think that the intro to the fourth book was really enticing. It was exciting, because even though readers know the characters really well, you're unsure where it's going. It's especially exciting because new characters are introduced in the beginning even though it's the middle of the series. I really enjoyed the beginning of Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty, (the first of a trilogy) as well. It starts with this sentence: "I'm staring into the face of a hissing cobra." Libba Bray really does a good job setting the scene and showing who the MC is immediately in this book. Endings are a little trickier. The third book in Libba Bray's trilogy was wrapped up very well. No loose endings, but it's still open for imagination. There was an epic battle, some very sad moments, some very uplifting moments. It was intense! I also really loved the ending to Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. That whole book was fantastic, but the ending was so well-written. It was descriptive, but not overly so. It was a twist. It was emotional, but powerful as well.
For whoever removed my post ==" "People are afraid to merge on the freeways in Los Angeles." is my favourite book opening. Its simultaneously superficial and stupid, and deep and metaphorical. Good way to start a book. Oh, and its from Less than Zero, but really, everyone should already know that opening line XD
Any post in this thread that does not clearly identify the source of a quoted passage will be removed without notice.
The beginning of A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb: If that doesn't intrigue you about the story, then nothing will!
