Most Recent First Line

"It was hot in the attic room."

First response, if a first line is the precursor for things to come, . . . uh oh.

But by the end of the fourth paragraph you realize it's not as bad as all that. In fact it makes me think the rest of the book will be a pretty fun ride.

"It was hot in the attic room. The quarters were small, about three meters square. The door was covered with a metal screen. There was one window, locked and papered over, high up on the pitched ceiling; too high for him to look out, even standing on the bed. The bare gunmetal military cot stood in the middle of the room and was bolted to the floor. It had no sheets or blankets and one filthy pillow. There was a chamber pot in the coren, but no sink, and no running water. The only light was a single bright, bar bulb in the center of the room."

"Wake-up was at 6:00 AM; lights out at 10:00 PM. They made him razor himself with cold water, no soap or shaving cream. Once a week, but never on the same day, he was permitted a shower, to which he was led blindfolded and handcuffed; the cuffs stayed on throughout. Each day, he got to eat a small bowl of watery soup and some tea. He was not allowed to brush his teeth. Sometimes he would have visitors, whom he received blindfolded. But most days would pass without any human contact at all, unless you counted the creep who brought him his meals and, if he felt like it, emptied the chamber pot."

"Still, things could be worse. He could, for example be a prisoner of the KGB instead of the CIA."

Michael Walsh – Exchange Alley