#OpeningSentence

Damira followed the blood down the hill.

— The Tusks of Extinction Ray Nayler

There was a vulture on the mailbox of my grandmother’s house.

— A House With Good Bones T. Kingfisher

At one point they tried to calculate when time began, when exactly the earth had been created.

— Time Shelter - a Novel Georgi Gospodinov, Angela Rodel

A sentient space station should have perfect temperature, Mallory Viridian thought.

— Chaos Terminal Mur Lafferty

Let’s go to the baths today, Miss Ikuko said, so we all got ready.

— Under the Eye of the Big Bird Hiromi Kawakami

The axe cleaved the log in two.

— Where the Axe Is Buried Ray Nayler

Each year when Shesheshen hibernated, she dreamed of her childhood nest.

— Someone You Can Build a Nest In John Wiswell

I met the khanym when I tried to kill her.

— North Continent Ribbon Ursula Whitcher

They asked me, “When was the last time you saw Doctor Fell?” and the memory hole I tripped into was ridiculous.

— Saturation Point Adrian Tchaikovsky (duplicate)

There was a fly walking on Cordelia’s hand and she was not allowed to flick it away.

— A Sorceress Comes to Call T. Kingfisher

So. I’m not in an ideal situation right now.

— Full Speed to a Crash Landing Beth Revis

The sea breezes keened of death in Lunurin’s ears, a cacophony of voices urging her to act.

— Saints of Storm and Sorrow Gabriella Buba (Stormbringer Saga, #1)

The world roared.

— Shroud Adrian Tchaikovsky

Shea Ashcroft stepped from a carriage into the low-lit alley as a mongrel lifted its door knocker of a head from a garbage pile.

— Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory Yaroslav Barsukov